At the entrance of Fugaku's home.
Itachi leaned against the doorframe, looking at Shisui who was walking over alone.
"Shisui, you..."
Just as Itachi spoke, his words were interrupted by Shisui.
"Itachi, the ones hostile towards the Uchiha clan aren't the villagers, but the High Command."
"What do you mean?" Itachi frowned slightly, hoping Shisui could provide an answer.
But Shisui shook his head and said no more. Only an answer found by oneself is truly convincing. This was true for him, and even more so for Itachi.
Shisui passed by Itachi and entered Fugaku's home.
At that moment, Fugaku walked into the hallway, looked at Shisui at the entrance, and said, "Shisui."
There was not a trace of a smile on that stern face.
Shisui nodded slightly as a greeting.
The two tacitly remained silent.
Amidst the heavy atmosphere, Fugaku led the way forward while Shisui followed behind.
Soon, they entered a tatami room, closed the door, and silence returned.
However, Itachi could feel that the emotions inside that room were very intense. And the one with such intense emotions was his own father—Fugaku.
"Shisui... what exactly did he say?" Itachi looked toward the room, feeling somewhat worried and uneasy.
—
Two days later.
A major event happened in the Uchiha.
Fugaku abdicated, and Shisui became the clan head.
Whether the clan members were from the Radical Faction or the Conservative Faction, they were filled with bewilderment.
"What happened?"
"Why did Clan Head Fugaku suddenly abdicate?"
"Why aren't the elders saying a single word?"
"How did Shisui suddenly become the Clan Head?"
Compared to the confusion of the clan members, it was the same for most of the clan heads of Konoha's various clans.
They paid close attention to the major events in the village. The conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village was common knowledge.
The smarter ones, like Shikaku, knew that the Uchiha clan had identified the wrong target. The village wasn't the cause of their conflict, the High Command was.
But as for why the Uchiha clan changed their Clan Head, he was somewhat puzzled.
He didn't know about Kotoamatsukami or the Mangekyo. But seeing the Susanoo that Hiromi manifested that day, he guessed that Shisui must also possess the same eyes.
But using threats to ease the atmosphere between the two sides? Don't be ridiculous.
Even Shikaku couldn't figure it out.
The villagers also knew, but it was just casual conversation.
Meanwhile, the Konoha High Command was filled with nothing but endless panic and unease.
—
Sarutobi Clan Compound.
Homura and Koharu were there, and even Danzo had been invited over.
And standing beside them was Itachi.
Although Danzo was displeased that an Uchiha was standing nearby, the fact that Hiruzen could invite him over meant that his treatment would be further restored.
For the sake of his Root base and subordinates, he only gave a "humph" to express some dissatisfaction and didn't say much else.
"Hiruzen, did you invite us here because of the change in the Uchiha clan Head?" Homura asked.
"The Uchiha must be up to some conspiracy." Koharu asserted.
Hiruzen seemed to listen, yet also seemed not to, as he looked at Itachi and said, "Itachi, repeat Shisui's words once more."
Itachi said, "Yes. Shisui said that he doesn't want anything to happen to the clan members, and he doesn't want there to be a day when he has to use his eyes."
As soon as these words were spoken, before Homura and Koharu could react, Danzo raised his cane and brought it down with a "thud." The sudden sound was intimidating, and Homura and Koharu were a bit startled.
"How dare they threaten us! The Uchiha are going to rebel!"
Danzo immediately looked at Hiruzen. "If we don't act now, the Uchiha will claim themselves kings."
Upon hearing the word "threaten," Homura and Koharu's eyes were filled with confusion.
Hiruzen looked at Danzo, shedding his previous nice-guy persona, and snorted coldly, saying, "If you hadn't gouged out his eye, how could Shisui have suddenly become the Clan Head of the Uchiha clan?"
Keep in mind, just a few days ago, Shisui was still his good subordinate, listening to whatever he said. Now, he was directly threatening him.
At this stage, who is to blame?
"Hmph! The Uchiha clan is just making a mountain out of a molehill." Danzo said, as if magnanimously taking a step back.
Itachi: "..."
Hiruzen sighed.
Meanwhile, Homura and Koharu were still full of question marks. They knew Danzo had gouged out Shisui's eye, but they didn't know the specialty of Shisui's eyes.
Until Hiruzen said, "Shisui's dōjutsu is called Kotoamatsukami. I've heard it can manipulate a target without being noticed, making the other party appear as if they are acting according to their own will."
"This... this..." Homura and Koharu were horrified.
Being controlled isn't scary, what's scary is not even knowing it.
Immediately, they understood the message Shisui had sent.
The underlying meaning was obvious: if the clan members are fine, I won't use Kotoamatsukami to control you.
Once they understood such a blatant threat, how could they sit still?
"Hiruzen! The Uchiha clan cannot be allowed to remain!"
"Such a dōjutsu... it absolutely cannot be allowed to remain!"
Both Homura and Koharu supported Danzo's words—to immediately exterminate the Uchiha clan.
However, they knew of Kotoamatsukami, but they didn't know that those eyes could activate Susanoo.
Even if Hiruzen wanted to take action, he had to be prepared to pay a heavy price.
Susanoo is an existence that can go one-on-one with the Nine-Tails. Konoha definitely cannot withstand another Nine-Tails incident.
"I summoned you here, not to have you pressure me into acting!" Hiruzen was a bit angry.
Usually gentle, he suddenly erupted with a fierce aura, striking fear into their hearts and making them tremble.
Homura and Koharu lowered their heads and sat back down. Danzo sat motionless, seemingly unmoved.