Uchiha Itachi

Uchiha Itachi was a young genius of the Uchiha Clan. Powerful and exceptionally gifted, he was also one of the few who was not bound by the clan's narrow-minded tribalism. At the age of seven, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had praised him for being able to think from a Hokage's perspective.

As an illiterate ninja who had gone to war at the age of four, he had been influenced by the Will of Fire far more deeply than most. Now, he had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and joined the Konoha Anbu.

By the Naka River.

Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui each sat on a stone pedestal, facing the rising sun.

This was a place where they trained, gathered, and relaxed together, but the atmosphere was especially heavy now.

Uchiha Itachi was opening a scroll, his face grave.

The figure drawn on the scroll was precisely Uzumaki Naruto's disguise from the early hours of the morning: a hood over his head, a white robe, and leather armor all over his body. He looked nothing like someone from the Ninja World.

Still, that unusually tall and burly build did somewhat resemble the people of the Land of Lightning.

"To be honest, even having this portrait won't be of much use."

Shisui could not help sighing, his expression bitter. "The other party used an extremely sophisticated Transformation Technique to conceal his appearance. Even I couldn't see through it. I could only tell that he had used a Transformation Technique."

Only afterward did Uchiha Shisui realize why the other party had seemed full of openings during their battle. It was because his original body was not shaped like that at all. Naturally, fighting in that form created a sense of disharmony, making him appear riddled with flaws.

"Even you couldn't see through it, Brother Shisui?"

Uchiha Itachi's face changed drastically. Uchiha Shisui had never hidden anything from him, so he naturally knew that Shisui's eyes were not ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but Mangekyō Sharingan. There was actually a Transformation Technique that even the Mangekyō Sharingan could not see through?

Uchiha Shisui nodded. "That's why this is so troublesome. If he remains hidden in the shadows and waits for chances to seize other bloodlines, I'm afraid he may bring irreversible consequences upon the village."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head, his expression dark. Both hands clenched the scroll tightly. He would not allow anyone to harm the village he loved most.

Then, as though he had suddenly thought of something, he jerked his head up to look at Uchiha Shisui. Gritting his teeth, his voice trembling slightly, he asked, "Brother Shisui, e-even your eyes can't do anything?"

Uchiha Shisui naturally understood what Itachi meant. He had told Uchiha Itachi about his Mangekyō's dojutsu long ago. The effect of Kotoamatsukami in his left eye could be called the strongest genjutsu, but he likewise did not know whether this ability would work on someone who also possessed Mangekyō Sharingan. Even if it did, he did not dare try it.

Because if he did, he would have no way to resolve the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.

"Itachi... I've already confessed the dojutsu of my eyes to the Third Hokage, and I will use these eyes to resolve the Uchiha Clan's problem."

Uchiha Shisui's expression was complicated, his heart filled with pain, yet he could find no release.

Sometimes, pain was not entirely caused by the helplessness of those involved. Sometimes, it was caused by their own stupidity.

Uchiha Shisui had been blinded by the Will of Fire. His blind trust kept him from seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's true face behind that Will of Fire. At the same time, he could not let go of the clan that had raised him. That was why he was caught in the middle, bearing the pain alone.

It could only be said that his Will of Fire was not as pure as Uchiha Itachi's. Itachi would never hesitate between the village and the Uchiha. In his eyes, aside from Shisui and Sasuke, the Uchiha were all arrogant, foolish, innately evil people. That was why he could slaughter every Uchiha man, woman, elder, and child in the name of protecting the village without a shred of guilt.

"Brother Shisui, what do you mean?" Uchiha Itachi looked startled.

Uchiha Shisui gritted his teeth. He knew his actions might hurt Itachi, but there was no other way to stop the Uchiha coup.

Looking at Uchiha Itachi with an apologetic expression, he said self-reproachfully, "I'm sorry, Itachi. Yesterday, I proposed to the Third Hokage that I use the Kotoamatsukami in my left eye to control Fugaku Clan Head and stop the Uchiha coup."

After saying that, Uchiha Shisui involuntarily lowered his head, deeply ashamed. Telling Itachi to his face that he intended to turn his father into a puppet made even Shisui want to curse himself.

Even so, he still could not tell the truth. He alone knowing that the mysterious person was from the Uchiha Clan was enough. The relationship between the village and the Uchiha could not worsen any further.

After a long silence, Uchiha Itachi spoke. To Uchiha Shisui's surprise, Uchiha Itachi did not blame him. Instead, he even seemed somewhat relieved.

"Brother Shisui, it's all right. If this can solve the Uchiha coup and keep the village peaceful, then it would be a good thing for the village. I think Father would be happy about it too."

Uchiha Shisui stared blankly at his friend. He suddenly felt as though he were meeting him for the first time, his face full of astonishment.

Compared to the Uchiha, Itachi seemed to care more about the village.

Itachi...

--

The sun was already high in the sky, and noon was approaching.

Only then did Naruto wake from his sleep. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, his eyes were hazy and his head groggy.

It could not be helped. That was what happened when you stayed up late and woke up late.

It could not be helped. He had been too excited yesterday, messing around until very late and even trying out Susanoo, so he had overslept.

Grrr...

Just as the world before Naruto's eyes changed from 360p to 1080p, his stomach suddenly let out a series of sounds like a loudspeaker.

So hungry.

"Ah—yawn—"

Naruto let out a long yawn and took several cups of expired instant noodles from the refrigerator. Though they were expired, they were still edible. Of course, expired milk definitely could not be drunk.

"Kurama, do you think I can beat that Uchiha head-on?"

Naruto brushed his teeth as he asked the Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space.

"Ah—yawn—" The Nine-Tails yawned as well and answered without a second thought, "No idea. You two held back too much yesterday. It was no fun at all."

Naruto smiled, unsurprised. Although he had briefly activated Susanoo yesterday, the battle had still not been satisfying enough.

Uchiha Shisui had wanted to deal with him without alerting the village, while he had only wanted to test his own strength. With both sides holding back, it was indeed difficult to judge the true gap in their strength.

"But that guy's Mangekyō dojutsu is far greater than yours. I think his Susanoo can probably go two stages higher."

"Is that so?"

Naruto was not surprised by that either. He remembered that in the original story, the other party could activate Susanoo with one eye. His dojutsu definitely was not weak.

"Naive, foolish, indecisive people suffer the most."

"What do you mean?" the Nine-Tails asked, confused.

"That Uchiha," Naruto said with a smile. He wiped his face and left the washroom. The water had just boiled, so he prepared all the cups of instant noodles and sat down to wait.

"He clearly believes in the Will of Fire, yet he can't let go of his clan. He wants to preserve his clan, yet he still believes in that old bastard Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"You have to understand, everyone is hostile toward the Uchiha. If he could truly be conciliatory toward them, how could he have held his position as Hokage for decades?"

The Nine-Tails considered Naruto's words. "So you want him to help you deal with Konoha?"

"Heh."

Naruto snorted disdainfully. "Kurama, don't you understand? People who have been brainwashed by the Will of Fire are the most troublesome."

"I only want his Sharingan."

Uchiha Shisui, I already warned you.

I hope you can keep your right eye.