Shisui led Itachi outside the clan compound, where Itachi finally voiced the questions bubbling within him. "Shi-san, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? Shouldn't we be stopping the coup? Why are you initiating it?" Shisui glanced at Itachi, whose expression was a mix of surprise and confusion. If it were anyone else, Itachi might have been angry, thinking how he could disobey the Hokage's order. Even Shisui's steady and calm demeanor surprised Itachi further. It was as if Shisui had done nothing wrong, with nothing to worry about.
"Itachi, there are many things you don't know about the village's higher-ups," Shisui began, then asked, "Why do you even think the clan is in an odd situation with the village? Do you truly believe the entire mistake lies with our clan?" Itachi was momentarily surprised by the question, then replied as if the answer were obvious, "Yes, isn't the Uchiha clan in the wrong here? They are too prideful for their own good, and even trying to launch a coup, which definitely needs to be stopped."
Shisui listen him and then asked, "I asked, what do you think is the reason for this whole situation? You said they are too prideful. Why wouldn't they be? They possess the Sharingan, one of the most powerful abilities in the world. Who among them wouldn't take pride in being strong, in possessing such strength?"
Itachi opened his mouth to reply but found no words. The Uchiha were prideful, that was correct, but other clans were also prideful, especially the Hyuga clan, who were equivalent to the Uchiha in terms of pride in their own Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, and their Gentle Fist taijutsu. Now that Itachi considered the reason, he could think of no explanation for why the Uchiha clan and the village were at odds, aside from simply blaming the clan. What was the main reason for all of this? Why was the Uchiha Clan contemplating a coup? How long had both sides been at odds?
Since Shisui had asked him, he wondered if there was something about all this he didn't yet know. Was the Uchiha clan not the wrong side? But he couldn't believe it that easily; his mind was already convinced that the clan was in the wrong, not the Hokage and elders. Unable to conjure any logical reason, Itachi instead posed a question, "Shi-san, it has only been a few hours since you said you needed time to make up your mind about using your Mangekyō on Father. What did you learn in such a short time that completely changed your mindset?"
This was the biggest doubt in his mind. Shisui's shift in mentality occurred not in weeks or days, but in mere hours. What could be the reason for such a drastic change? "Phew, Itachi, listen carefully to what I am about to say," Shisui sighed lightly. "During the Kyuubi incident, where Yondaime-sama died, Danzo sent the Uchiha clan to safely escort civilians, and after that, he blamed the Kyuubi's appearance in the village on the Uchiha clan, claiming that the Kyuubi was controlled by a Sharingan."
"But isn't that correct? The Kyuubi was indeed controlled by a Sharingan, that's why the Uchiha clan was under surveillance, to find the culprit within the clan," Itachi commented. Shisui nodded and asked, "Then for the last seven years, why are we still under surveillance? Did it really take this long? Moreover, why was only our clan forcefully relocated to the outskirts of the Village?"
Itachi pondered, about to reply, before Shisui spoke once again. "Just stay with me tonight. Don't worry about the coup. I will show you the true colors of the higher-ups. I know you won't believe unless you see proof with your own eyes." Itachi remained reluctant, still disliking the idea of a coup. Shisui then had no choice but to exploit Itachi's weakness.
"Alright, suppose I use my Mangekyō on Uncle Fugaku and stop the coup for now. But what about the 24/7 surveillance on us, and our bad reputation, which mostly comes from the rumor that the Uchiha were the reason the Kyuubi appeared seven years ago?" Shisui's mouth cracked into a grin. "How would you respond if these questions were asked by Sasuke when he grew up? Would you just keep blaming the clan or force Sasuke to agree with your ideology?"
Once Sasuke was mentioned, Itachi's mind went blank. Although in the anime, Itachi did the same, trying to make Sasuke's ideology align with his own, that was why he initially decided to use Shisui's left eye on Sasuke in canon. But now, things had not yet reached that point. The mere thought of Sasuke asking the same questions Shisui had just posed, and he, just like now, having no concrete answer, made him recoil from the idea of forcing Sasuke to agree with him. He shook his head, and after some thought, agreed with Shisui. However, if Shisui were proven wrong, then they would support the Hokage against the Uchiha Clan.
Shisui smirked and quickly accepted. Later, they had dinner together, but not ramen at Ichiraku; Shisui thought he would go there when the situation was stable, which might be the case tomorrow. Night fell in Konoha, with stars shining brightly and moonlight illuminating the village. Shisui had already taken Itachi with him, outside the clan compound. Shisui called his Anbu squad, which was usually larger than a Genin squad and consisted of elite shinobi. An Anbu squad typically comprised six members; with Shisui, five other members were part of it.
Meanwhile, Itachi was part of Team Ro, with Kakashi and Yamato, but since he agreed to go with Shisui, they were together. All seven of them wore their Anbu uniforms—a full black base outfit with long-sleeved shirts and pants, grey flak jackets, metal arm guards and gloves with ninja pouches, and animal masks. Shisui then addressed his team, "Our mission is top secret, just issued by Hokage-sama. We have to secretly attack the Root base now."
One member in a raven mask, code-named Corvus, asked with shock, "Captain, are you talking about the base of the separate Anbu called Root, of Elder Danzo?" The other four members, including those with lynx, viper, badger, and owl masks, shared the same shock. Itachi, wearing his weasel mask, stood beside Shisui, who wore a falcon mask, saying nothing about the lie Shisui had just told his team.
"Yes, Root base of Elder Danzo," Shisui replied. "Hokage-sama has suspected Elder Danzo and found some proof that he, along with missing-nin Orochimaru, has conducted forbidden research on civilians and ninjas of the village. Our mission is to destroy their base and kill every Root ninja, including Elder Danzo." Viper asked, "But Captain, Root has around 100-150 ninjas. Even if many are on missions, how can our single squad complete that mission alone?"
"Don't worry, Hokage-sama has already given this mission to others as well," Shisui explained. "Weasel from Team Ro is also here with us for the same reason. Along with Team Ro, many squads are involved in this mission. Our objective is to strike first and catch them off guard; later, other Anbu will join."
With this, everyone prepared for the mission and moved silently and swiftly towards the Root base, which was underground around the same area as the Shimura clan, though not on the outskirts of the village, but on the corner of the village where a forest area was also included. At the same time, Fugaku also began his part of the plan.
He had ninja from the clan, below Special Jonin rank, evacuate and take non-shinobi and other clan members to the Naka Shrine, ordering them to remain there for their safety. Meanwhile, he, along with the Jonin and Elite Jonin of the Uchiha, as planned, moved towards the Sarutobi Clan. This was personally conceived by Fugaku, who wanted to give Hiruzen a taste of his own medicine; if the Sarutobi Clan suffered great losses, Hiruzen's power would also decrease significantly. And if Hiruzen were not present in his clan compound but in the Hokage's office at this time, it would be even better.
Before that, Fugaku also tasked Ryo Uchiha's squad with eliminating the Anbu who were on surveillance around the Uchiha Compound. This would also prevent news of their coup from reaching Hiruzen early, giving them the advantage of a surprise attack. Fugaku, with all the elites and members of the Konoha Military Police Force, prepared to move towards the Sarutobi Clan area. They all wore standard shinobi attire, either of Konoha or the Police Force, but with the Uchiha clan's fan design on their backs.
"Everyone, make sure there's no mistake. Sora, you go ahead and use flame formation and silencing seals around the Sarutobi Clan," Fugaku instructed. "Ryo, you and your team will protect the clan, understood? Haruo and Isamu, your team's will be with me to attack them. We need to eliminate as many as possible before other clans can get involved. Understood?"
"Yes, Fugaku-sama!" Everyone replied in unison, their voices filled with anticipation. After all, their desire for a coup had been simmering until now, and tonight was finally their chance. Meanwhile, Shisui, with his squad and Itachi, reached the Root base's location. "Alright, we will eliminate as many of them as possible until the support team comes and takes over the mission," Shisui ordered. "We'll go all out from the start; it's not going to be our usual mission of stealth and assassination once we enter the base, understand!"
Everyone nodded in response. With that, all the seven of them swiftly moved forward, silently taking down the Root guards first before entering the base. 'I want to do this as early as possible,' Shisui thought. 'But I never thought I would be able to convince Fugaku and start the coup just tonight. Well, whatever, it's all going well.'
-- To Be Continued --