Late at night, Uchiha Itachi stood silently at the cliff where he and Shisui secretly met.
Looking at the bottomless cliff, Itachi's heart was filled with sorrow.
Ever since he had returned from his leave, he had discovered that many things he had once understood had undergone earth-shaking changes.
First was Shisui. This man whom he had regarded as an Older Brother, who had taught and helped him since childhood and conveyed the idea of peaceful coexistence between the village and the clan, had changed.
He had become unfamiliar, completely unlike the Shisui in his memories. The so-called new views Shisui proposed had shattered the beliefs in Itachi's heart.
He had never considered opposing the village, because he liked to think about problems from the Hokage's perspective.
The village's current situation was terrible. Kumogakure's actions had caused the village's credibility to plummet, resulting in Konoha's share of missions rapidly declining.
And under such terrible circumstances, if a fierce conflict broke out between the clan and the village, even escalating into a coup, the blow to the village would be unimaginable.
Moreover, regardless of who won such a coup, the village's weakness would ultimately be impossible to hide.
Every shinobi village had spies in the other villages, which meant that what happened in Konoha would inevitably become known to the others.
And such a weakened Konoha would surely draw the attention of the other villages. The hatred bred by the end of the Third Great Ninja War had never faded.
When the other villages came to Konoha seeking revenge and launched attacks, Konoha would be completely unable to resist their offensives. Konoha would be destroyed!
"This absolutely cannot happen!"
Uchiha Itachi silently swore in his heart. Whether for the village, the clan, or his Younger Brother, he was unwilling to see