What's more terrifying is that they seem to have taken an interest in the Jinchuriki. If the Nine-tails are released... Konoha has already lost the Fourth Hokage, and cannot afford to lose another Hokage and sacrifice to seal the Tailed Beast.
"That's good, from now on, you will have a dual identity with both the Anbu and the Root."
No right for Itachi to refuse.
Danzo, in a commanding tone, made Itachi join the Root.
Although Itachi is a ninja directly under the Hokage's Anbu, with no official connection to the Root, and holds no subordinate relationship to Danzo, Danzo doesn't intend to follow the normal procedures.
And Itachi has no intention of resisting; to him, as long as he can better protect the village, joining the Root or the Anbu makes no difference.
This man, who many call the Dark Ninja, is merely an ordinary Konoha ninja.
◎
"Goodbye, Uncle Rika!"
"Mm, goodbye, don't stay out too late, remember to return home for dinner on time."
After playing ninja games with the family's children on an open ground, the Uchiha man, nearly fifty, suddenly felt he was getting old.
Once the top intelligence figure of the Uchiha clan, after Uchiha Fugaku came to power, his intelligence work had already come to a halt.
Rika watched the sunset drop below the hills at a distance, its warm afterglow casting a beautiful twilight on his face.
Unknowingly, he had grown further and further from the core of the clan.
He occasionally attended clan meetings but rarely had anything to say.
The radicals were conspiring a coup, secretly purchasing arms, plotting a beheading operation to establish Uchiha rule.
Although theoretically impossible to fail, Rika truly worried about the clan's future.
The outcome of failure would only be annihilation.
Thinking of the fate of the Uzumaki Clan, it's clear what result awaits a declining clan.
The so-called misfortune not affecting family is merely empty talk. Rika is certain that if the Uchiha plot fails, the entire Uchiha clan, whether children or newborns, would be completely exterminated, leaving not a single spark.
This is a question where the correct answer doesn't require much thought.
Residential streets, commercial streets, parks, forests, all lands within Uchiha's clan territory, Rika stepped on them without exception.
Seemingly just a semi-retired Uchiha leisurely wandering the streets.
But this habit has persisted for more than a decade, almost continuously.
Whether in the old or new clan lands, every grass and tree was Rika's eyes.
Sometimes, instruments cannot detect things that the human eye can recognize, traces that instruments can't make out.
As long as there's any sign of foreign intrusion, no need for instruments to distinguish, Rika would know how many eyes are spying on the Uchiha clan.
"The wind seems to have changed today... Is it because summer is approaching?"
Muttering with what seemed like a meaningless sigh, Rika casually left the park, not deliberately taking a detour, stopping by a stand to buy some takoyaki, eating while heading home.
Did the 'wind direction' suddenly change? Did those monitoring the Uchiha change to a different group?
To date, Konoha's higher-ups have not sent anyone over to negotiate and continue their stalemate.
Rika doesn't like to assume the worst intentions in others, but does this attitude of Konoha's higher-ups prove they have no intention of negotiating with the Uchiha at all?
Faced with Konoha's mighty ninja village machinery, the Uchiha clan is inherently the most humble, disadvantaged group.
Now, things are unavoidable. A coup is just a matter of time.
From the moment the Third Hokage resumed his position, Danzo regained power, and the Sannin left one by one, the fate of the Uchiha clan may have entered a countdown.
The unchecked and uncompromising power of the high-up's is truly arrogant and overbearing, Rika lamented in his heart.
With things as they are, what should be done?
Since the Uchiha clan prepared for a coup, he has been contemplating this.
What should he do next? What can he do?
Rika began to ponder this question.
◎
As usual, Itachi was called by Shisui to a grove where they trained together.
It was nighttime; the moon shone brightly in the sky.
"Shisui, to call me out at this time, is there something you want?"
After seeing Shisui's back, Itachi asked him.
Shisui turned around; Itachi saw the heavy dark circles under Shisui's eyes, looking overly tired and worn out.
"You seem very tired; if it's not important, you should quickly go back and rest."
Itachi said with concern.
He didn't know why Shisui was so tired — was it due to missions?
But with Shisui's strength, what level of mission would make him so exhausted?
"Ah, it's nothing, just entangled in some slightly tricky matters lately. This time I called you out to ask why you didn't go to Nankai Shrine to attend the clan meeting a few days ago?"
Shisui scratched his head, asking in a casual manner.
"Oh, that. On that day, I happened to have a mission in the Anbu, so I could not make it to the meeting. I remember mentioning it to my father in advance."