The news quickly spread throughout the entire Uchiha clan district.
When Fugaku arrived at the scene, he saw chaos and the irrepressible fierce glint in his clan members' eyes. He knew that this time, he could no longer suppress them.
On this very night, the Uchiha clan made its final decision.
Tomorrow, under the guise of ancestor worship, the entire clan would secretly gather at the Naka Shrine, no longer waiting for Satoshi.
A military coup was imminent.
Even if Satoshi was absent, there was still the genius Itachi within the clan. They believed that with Itachi's strength and coordination from within and without, the scales of victory would still tip towards the Uchiha.
Late night.
Shisui and Itachi once again came to the cliff edge. The atmosphere was even heavier than last time.
"We still couldn't change the clan members' minds after all."
Shisui looked at the flowing river and whispered, "Actually... I've already thought of a way."
Itachi looked up at Shisui, a faint spark instantly igniting in his dim eyes.
"Really? Tell me what you're going to do, I can help you."
Shisui slowly turned around. He reached out and, like when they were children, gently poked Itachi's forehead.
"Forgive me, Itachi, not this time."
After speaking, he patted Itachi's shoulder firmly. Then he turned resolutely, his figure blending into the deep night.
Watching Shisui's back, Itachi had a bad premonition.
Early morning.
Shisui entered the Hokage office alone.
Facing Hiruzen, he unreservedly reported the top-secret intelligence that the Uchiha clan was about to launch an armed coup today. He hoped the village could change its policy towards the Uchiha.
Once the coup truly began, he would use his ocular jutsu to change Fugaku's will, making him absolutely loyal to Konoha.
Hiruzen, with his pipe in his mouth, remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "If you can truly do that, we will certainly change our policy towards the Uchiha. After all, no one wishes for war to happen."
Shisui nodded. "I understand, Hokage-sama."
After Shisui left, Danzo found Hiruzen again. He noticed that the Uchiha's situation had been somewhat off recently and demanded that Hiruzen order the use of the entire village's power to deal with the evil Uchiha clan.
Unexpectedly, Hiruzen said, "No need, I already have a solution."
Then, he revealed Shisui's plan, including Kotoamatsukami.
After hearing it, Danzo was stunned.
A genius Uchiha, at such a critical moment of life and death, actually took the initiative to expose his trump card—the ultimate ocular jutsu capable of changing the course of battle—to the opponent without reservation.
He didn't even bother to hide the curve of his lips.
Such intelligence...
Forget it, he didn't even deserve to be ridiculed.
If Hiruzen hadn't been so sure, he would have even thought it was Shisui's trap.
After a brief moment of absurdity, Danzo's heart, twisted by power and ambition, was instantly ignited by the flames of greed.
The Mangekyo that could greatly increase his strength, the Kotoamatsukami that could change others' will.
The value of these eyes was simply immeasurable.
This ocular jutsu could be used on Satoshi. Then he could go on to control Nine-Tails or something... or even make Hiruzen pass the Hokage position to him.
In short, these eyes held immense attraction for him.
Hiruzen was still talking about his plan. Things like, if Fugaku stabilized the Uchiha, they could also make concessions.
Fighting would be good for no one, and so on.
But Danzo didn't listen to a single word. He had already devised nine plans to seize Shisui's eyes.
—
Deep in the dense forest, Danzo and Shisui were talking.
A group of Root elites was hidden nearby. This was an operation known to no one except Danzo's subordinates.
"Even if you use Kotoamatsukami to change Fugaku's will, others in the village will not change their suspicions of you."
"Perhaps your clan members will remove him from his position as clan head."
"At that time, will you also use Kotoamatsukami on us and seize the Hokage position?"
Facing Danzo's relentless pressure, Shisui didn't know how to answer.
Theoretically, Kotoamatsukami could indeed be used again after its cooldown period. But he had no intention of seizing the Hokage position with this ocular jutsu. Otherwise, he would have just controlled the Hokage directly.
As Shisui pondered, Danzo suddenly revealed a sinister expression, reaching out to grab Shisui's eyes.
The tomoe in Shisui's eyes spun rapidly, flashing with a crimson light. He instantly cast a genjutsu on Danzo, rendering him immobile.
"Danzo-sama, please calm down."
The next second.
A sudden change occurred.
As Shisui turned to leave, Danzo's figure reappeared before him. A sharp kunai pierced his lower abdomen, and the other hand gouged out his eye.
Shisui looked at Danzo in disbelief.
Danzo uncovered the bandage that had been on his face. It was a Sharingan, now turned white.
This was the Uchiha's forbidden Ninjutsu, Izanagi.
After using it, one could reverse an unfavorable situation within a certain period, at the cost of one Sharingan going blind.
Shisui had never even dreamed that Danzo actually possessed a Sharingan.
"Give me your other Sharingan as well."
As Danzo spoke, a group of Root ninjas rushed out.
Shisui prepared to form hand signs but suddenly felt a blur.
"The kunai was poisoned, you are bound to die."
Shisui endured the pain and instantly disappeared from his spot.
Danzo waved his hand, signaling the ninjas to follow. He looked at the Sharingan in his hand, a smirk on his lips.
"Finally..."
It was also at this moment that a sharp water gun pierced his chest.
Pfft!
"Old man, you should have died a long time ago."
Danzo looked at Satoshi in disbelief. How did he get back so quickly?
His subordinates said he had been in the Land of Rain.
"You inherently evil Uchiha brats, if Tobirama-sensei hadn't chosen Monkey back then, I would have killed all of you."
Satoshi sneered, "If you had stepped forward back then, Tobirama-sama would have only left you to cover the retreat."
"But that's fine too. At least you would still be Konoha's war hero."
After speaking, Satoshi drew out his short blade.
Danzo collapsed weakly.
Satoshi sealed his corpse into a scroll before turning to leave.
Above the cliff.
Shisui eliminated the last Root ninja. He felt his vision becoming increasingly blurry.
Using the last of his Chakra, he sent a secret contact signal to his most trusted coordinate, urging him to meet him as soon as possible.
When Itachi appeared at the agreed location, the sight that greeted him struck him like a bolt of lightning.
What he saw was not his spirited best friend, but a frail figure covered in blood, with only a gaping hole where his right eye should have been.
Hadn't Shisui found a solution? How did it still turn out like this?
"Shisui, what happened to you?!"
Shisui laboriously raised his hand, desperately clutching his agonizing, empty eye socket, his voice hoarse but with a strange calm.
"I originally intended to use Kotoamatsukami to change the coup, but Danzo didn't trust me and took my right eye."
"He wants to solve the problem his own way, and I'm afraid he won't spare my other eye either."
"Rather than letting him defile this power..."
Shisui's left hand suddenly shot up, fingers like hooks, unhesitatingly piercing his remaining left eye.
"I entrust this eye to you, and I also entrust the heavy responsibility of protecting Konoha and the Uchiha clan to you."
He tremblingly offered the eyeball in Itachi's direction.
Blood from his fingertips snaked down his arm, dripping onto the cold rock.
Itachi was on the verge of tears.
A jet-black crow descended from the sky, landing on Shisui's hand.
The moment it grasped the eye, it transformed into countless feathers and vanished.
"Shisui, if you give me your eye, what will you do?"
Shisui slowly retreated to the edge of the cliff. "Perhaps my death can change some things."
Shisui continued to retreat, stepped into empty air, and fell.
"Itachi, I'm counting on you."
Shisui plunged straight into the roaring, dark river below, instantly swallowed by the torrent.
"Shisui!"
The death of his best friend almost broke Itachi.
An unprecedented wave of immense grief instantly overwhelmed all his reason.
A violent Chakra, originating from deep within his bloodline, roared wildly within him like a breached dam.
Itachi clutched his eyes in pain and knelt on the ground.
Stimulated by that violent power, the three jet-black tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly at an unprecedented speed.
When Itachi looked up again, what opened in his eyes were no longer tomoe. Instead, it was an unfamiliar pinwheel pattern—Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
He rushed to the cliff edge, his Mangekyo vision piercing the night, frantically scanning the rushing river. But he could no longer detect a trace of a familiar presence.
Shisui, along with his serene smile, had completely vanished.