Forever Supporting You

Chapter 50: I'll Always Support You

"The choice has been presented, and it's time to make a decision, Brother Itachi."

Kagami knew that the Uchiha clan extermination incident had officially begun.

Although Fugaku's words made sense, with Itachi's help, a bloodless revolution might indeed be possible. This way, both the village and the Uchiha could be preserved.

However, both Kagami and Itachi felt that Fugaku had subconsciously overlooked one thing—the possibility of failure!

Even with Itachi's help, a bloodless revolution wasn't guaranteed to succeed 100%. Moreover, in terms of overall strength, Konoha was stronger than the Uchiha. Even if the Uchiha succeeded in a bloodless revolution, they might not be able to subdue the other clans.

What's more, if the Uchiha couldn't even complete a bloodless revolution, there would only be one outcome: a full-scale war between the village and the Uchiha.

What would a full-scale war lead to? There was no need to elaborate. Other countries could invade Konoha in minutes and completely destroy it.

Therefore, the Uchiha's bloodless revolution plan was a dead end if it failed. Even if it succeeded, they might not be able to subdue the other clans. If they couldn't subdue the other clans and ended up fighting them, it would still be a dead end.

In Kagami and Itachi's eyes, this plan carried too much risk. Of course, this was from the perspective of considering Konoha's welfare. If they were considering the Uchiha's welfare, then a bloodless revolution was the best and only method for the Uchiha to stage a coup at this time.

So, this choice was less about letting Itachi choose a method and more about letting him choose between his clan and the village.

Of course, Kagami also knew that Itachi would definitely choose to preserve the village. In Itachi's heart, the village held more importance than the clan.

Kagami wouldn't interfere with this. His current abilities were limited, and he couldn't oppose the entire Konoha. His promise to Shisui also restricted him from directly attacking Konoha. The Akatsuki organization was also unwilling to help him at this stage, so Kagami had few options to deal with the Uchiha's crisis.

Sitting in a ramen shop, Kagami ordered a bowl of ramen. It tasted quite good.

Even though he was wearing an Akatsuki robe, in the original story, Itachi still wore his Akatsuki robe to eat dango in Konoha after Orochimaru invaded. So, Kagami doing so now was even less of an issue.

The people around didn't pay any attention to Kagami's attire.

"Ah, this is delicious!"

A voice suddenly rang out, attracting Kagami's attention. He turned his head slightly, his eyes under the hat revealing a hint of surprise.

Iruka-sensei? I didn't expect to run into him here.

Iruka was sitting to Kagami's right, two seats away. Because Kagami's hat obscured his face, Iruka didn't recognize him.

Kagami smiled slightly. He felt a sense of nostalgia seeing Iruka, but he couldn't stay long. To prevent Iruka from recognizing him, Kagami quickly got up and left.

The Uchiha clan's affairs were more important now.

In a secret room.

Itachi knelt on one knee.

"The Uchiha clan has decided to launch a coup in Konoha!"

He had made his choice, just as Kagami had predicted. Itachi chose to protect the village.

Above Itachi, from left to right, sat Danzō, Utatane Koharu, the Third Hokage, and Mitokado Homura.

"What?!"

The first to exclaim was Utatane Koharu.

Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You have gathered the evidence, haven't you?"

Itachi nodded in response.

"Yes."

Danzō spoke decisively.

"The situation is urgent. We must strike first before they can make their move."

The Third Hokage, as usual, objected to Danzō.

"The Uchiha are our former comrades. I want to resolve this through communication, not force. I will think of a countermeasure!"

The last sentence was a definitive statement from the Third Hokage. After all, he was the Hokage, and once he made a decision, it was difficult for others to refute it.

After this brief discussion, Danzō met Itachi in front of a temple. This was the place where Danzō had previously used Kotoamatsukami on Shisui. Back then, Danzō was ruthless and showed no regard for the Uchiha clan. Yet now, Danzō had to come here to ask Itachi to help him clean up the Uchiha's mess.

"Don't be fooled by the Third Hokage's pleasant words. In critical moments, he will still choose to protect Konoha. I hope you make your choice: will you stand with the Uchiha and participate in the rebellion, perishing with your family, or will you stand with us in Konoha and assist in killing all the Uchiha clansmen before the rebellion, leaving only your brother behind?"

Itachi's eyes widened. Although he had chosen to stand with Konoha, he had not considered the cruel method of killing all the Uchiha before this. He didn't want to do it, not at all. But now, it seemed there was no other way.

It wasn't that a better method couldn't be found, but rather that the conflict between the two sides made them unwilling to choose a better method.

It was like an ordinary person whose family was killed before his eyes. The most rational choice would be to call the police. However, if he truly, deeply loved his family, he would most likely seek out the killer and fight them to the death.

But was fighting to the death the best choice? No. The reason for doing so was simply that humans are human. To expect a person to always make the best, most rational choice was like a fool's dream.

This was the current situation with the Uchiha and the village. The emotions of the people at the lower levels on both sides were running high.

Reconciliation without any concessions? It was estimated that the entire Uchiha clan would not agree. In fact, even the option of "reconciliation" had been discarded.

Humans are animals, not machines. Emotions are often incomprehensible.

The current situation was not about choosing the best method, but about choosing the best method that both sides could not disagree with.

Danzō continued.

"To protect the village, we must suppress the disturbance before the chaos erupts, no matter what. The only ninja capable of bearing this heavy responsibility is a double agent for both the Uchiha and Konoha. Itachi, no one else can fulfill this role besides you. Are you willing to accept this mission?"

The sky rumbled with thunder, dark and overcast, much like Itachi's mood. That night, no one knew what answer Itachi gave to Danzō.

The very next morning, Kagami received a crow. He was a little surprised, Kagami hadn't expected Itachi to seek him out on his own.

A long while later, on the other side of the waterfall, where Shisui had died, Kagami met Itachi.

"Brother Itachi, is something the matter?"

Itachi looked at the waterfall before him, his back to Kagami, and spoke.

"Kagami, tell me, are the village, the clan, and the ninja, is their struggle born of necessity? The village and the clan, what should I do? If it were you, what would you do? If it were Shisui, what would Shisui do?"

The crow on Kagami's shoulder spread its wings and flew to Itachi's side. It was Itachi's crow.

Kagami smiled faintly.

"Brother Itachi, if it were me, I would definitely stand firmly with the Uchiha and stage a coup d'état with the clan members."

Itachi froze, a sense of confusion washing over him. Was he wrong then?

But Kagami wasn't finished speaking. He continued.

"But if it were Brother Shisui, I think he would make the same choice as you. Brother Itachi, tell me, what is your name?"

Itachi turned his head in confusion to look at Kagami. What was his name? Didn't Kagami know? But looking into Kagami's eyes, Itachi still spoke.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Kagami smiled again, raising his hand to pull his hat down slightly.

"That's all that matters. Uchiha Itachi, is the dear friend that Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Kagami will always believe in. No matter what decision he makes, no matter if he ultimately succeeds or fails, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Kagami will always support him. This is beyond doubt."

As his words fell, Kagami vanished from his spot using the Body Flicker Technique.

As Kagami disappeared, two Anbu members fell from the branches above, unconscious.

Itachi looked at the spot where Kagami had vanished. After a long silence, Itachi smiled, a rare smile that seemed to transport him back to the days when the three of them trained together. Back then, although the situation between the Uchiha and the village remained tense, it was still enough to put Itachi and Shisui at ease. Those were Itachi's last happy moments.

"Thank you, Kagami."

His parents, Sasuke, Shisui, Kagami, Izumi—these were all the people Itachi held most dear.

Good morning, everyone. Today is another day of asking for votes and comments.

This chapter is being released on March 28th. This is Sakura Haruno's birthday. Happy birthday, Sakura!