After arguing with Fugaku, Itachi made his way to the cliffs near the Naka River.
Gazing down at the rushing river below, his heart was already filled with despair.
The argument with his father had made one thing painfully clear—his efforts over the past six months to mediate between the clan and the village had failed. He couldn't change the minds of the village elders, nor could he stop his father's determination to launch a coup.
Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Uchiha's most powerful ability, he still couldn't alter the course of events.
With a soft sigh, Itachi recalled the times he used to meet Shisui at this very spot. Back then, he and Shisui shared the same goal: to balance between clan and village, working tirelessly to prevent conflict from escalating.
But Shisui had died half a year ago. The bridge between the Uchiha and the village now stood on only one pillar—Itachi himself.
As a double agent, he was constantly crushed by the weight of pressure from both the village's upper echelons and his own clan. It was driving him to the edge of madness.
There were times, when alone, that Itachi had considered ending his life. But in the end, he dismissed the idea.
Shisui had already proven with his death that the conflict between the Uchiha and the village couldn't be resolved by just sacrificing one or two people. This was a struggle between two power blocs. Unless one side was completely stripped of the ability to resist, there would be no end to it.
If he were to die now, it would only ignite further tension between the clan and the village, accelerating the inevitable clash.
So even if Fugaku hadn't forced the question, Itachi still needed to make a decision—stand with the village or the clan. Any hesitation would only lead him down the same path Shisui walked.
But in truth, Itachi had already made his decision the day he awakened his Mangekyō.
He could not abandon the majority of the village's people to support a rebellion by the Uchiha. That choice would save neither the village nor his clan. Ultimately, he could only sacrifice the Uchiha.
The only person in the clan he still truly cared about was Sasuke.
As Itachi pondered, Tobi slowly emerged from a vortex of swirling space. He had been watching Itachi for a while and now spoke with a faint sense of amusement:
"Still troubled over the Uchiha? Your perspective is far too narrow."
"Why not let go of these trivial matters and leave Konoha with me? We have far greater things to do—creating a new order that will free the entire shinobi world from the endless cycle of war."
Tobi's words were laced with persuasion, but Itachi remained unmoved.
He couldn't trust this masked man. This person had killed his friend with his own hands and was the prime suspect behind the Nine-Tails' attack. His presence in the village now surely had more sinister motives than simply inviting Itachi to leave.
Still, as someone who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi could partially counter Tobi. If he could figure out the masked man's true intentions, perhaps he could use him as well.
And truthfully, stopping the Uchiha coup might require Tobi's assistance… Itachi had no confidence that he could prevent it on his own.
After weighing the risks, Itachi turned to the masked man and said, "I will join your organization. But first, you must do something for me—and promise never to harm Konoha again."
Tobi glanced at him, intrigued. "What is it you want me to do?"
Expressionless, Itachi replied, "Help me sever my clan's ties. Assist me in destroying the entire Uchiha clan."
Tobi narrowed his eyes at that. His gaze became more curious and calculating.
He had released the Nine-Tails to weaken Konoha. But why would Itachi want to destroy his own clan? Had he also lost all hope in the Uchiha?
After a moment of contemplation, Tobi nodded. "Very well. I accept your conditions. When do we begin?"
Under the pale moonlight, Itachi's shadow looked twisted and ominous. He spoke coldly, without emotion:
"I will choose the right time. When the moment comes, I'll inform you."
A smile tugged at Tobi's lips. He was beginning to look forward to how this would all unfold.
At the same time, deep inside a hidden chamber within the Uchiha compound—
After months of effort, Shisui had managed to form a small group of several dozen people, including both chunin and jonin.
Many Uchiha wanted to participate in the coup, but feared that if it failed, their families would be caught in the fallout. Their stance remained ambiguous.
So they secretly sent their wives and children to Shisui, hoping he would help them escape Konoha. That way, even if the coup failed, the Uchiha could still have a surviving remnant.
Shisui couldn't persuade the radicals to give up on the coup, but he accepted the women, children, and elderly without hesitation.
Let the ambitious ones perish if they must—he would lead the innocents away.
But how to leave Konoha became the biggest challenge for his group.
Konoha was the military heart of the Land of Fire. Ordinary citizens couldn't leave without Hokage approval, let alone the Uchiha, who had a hostile relationship with the higher-ups.
Even if they were granted permission, they would be followed by ANBU and likely exposed to the clan's hardliners.
Therefore, they needed to flee just before the coup—and do so without drawing attention.
After much deliberation, they came up with only one solution: Reverse Summoning.
But the technique was hard to execute. Although the Uchiha were traditionally allied with the ninja cats, not everyone could form summoning contracts.
Moreover, Reverse Summoning depended not on the ninja's chakra, but on that of the summoning creature.
And the ninja cats were not one of the Great Three Summoning Clans. There weren't many cat summons with chunin-level chakra reserves. As a result, only a few people could be sent away using this method.
Shisui decided to prioritize children under twelve. The rest would have to find riskier ways out.
At the next group meeting, few objected to this plan. But after the meeting, several members who were particularly familiar with the identity of "Lihuo" approached him.
After much hesitation, they finally asked, "You're not really Lihuo, are you? You're someone else."
Shisui looked at his gathered clansmen and frowned.
He was just about to act when one of them quickly said, "Don't get us wrong—we don't intend to harm you. Your disguise was excellent, but we found the real Lihuo unconscious, so we figured it out."
"As for your plan to evacuate the clan, we have no objections. We just want to know—who are you really?"
Shisui released his grip from his katana and said calmly, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that I once gave everything for both the Uchiha and the village. But now… I'm just tired."
The Uchiha looked at one another in silence. They had an idea of who he might be—but didn't dare confirm it.
Very few Uchiha had given everything for both sides—and those people were already supposed to be dead. Could the dead come back?
After sending those people away, Shisui finally let out a sigh of relief.
He hadn't expected so many in the clan to oppose the coup and want to leave Konoha. He realized now that he had long overlooked the voices of the lower-ranking clansmen—he had been too proud, too blind.
At that moment, Shisui suddenly thought of Uchiha Itachi and smiled softly.
His dear friend was probably also trying to figure out how to save the Uchiha right now. If he knew about this plan, he would definitely be pleased.
After all, they had once walked the same path as kindred spirits. Even without speaking, they could understand each other's hearts.
(End of Chapter)
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