Guessing and Investigation

"Is that so? You don't know where Shisui is either? Could it really have been Konoha's ninja...?"

Uchiha Itachi sighed, but he didn't suspect Uchiha Shūichi.

Not only were Uchiha Shūichi and Uchiha Itachi friends, with all three of them sharing the same ideals, but in terms of strength alone, Uchiha Shūichi couldn't possibly have been a match for Uchiha Shisui. Even a sneak attack would have given him little chance of success.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo awakening had been a closely guarded secret, but he hadn't hidden it from Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shūichi. He had simply never told them what his Mangekyo could do.

Besides, Uchiha Shisui wasn't the sort of ninja who became powerless without his Mangekyo. Even with only the Three Tomoe, he had made a name for himself on the battlefield as Body Flicker Shisui. He truly deserved to be called the strongest ninja in the Uchiha Clan.

Apart from Konoha's higher-ups, who had caught Uchiha Shisui completely off guard, Uchiha Itachi couldn't imagine who else could have killed him without a trace.

"Itachi, you're an Anbu member now. Keep an eye on what's happening in Konoha, especially Root."

"You suspect Shimura Danzō?"

"If you had to pick someone among Konoha's higher-ups who would assassinate Shisui, wouldn't you pick Shimura Danzō?"

Uchiha Itachi sighed. In truth, he had the same suspicion. No matter how devoted he was to Konoha, he had to admit that considerable darkness still lurked within the village.

Shimura Danzō, in particular, had made no attempt to hide his hostility toward the Uchiha. Even if Uchiha Shūichi hadn't brought it up, Uchiha Itachi would have found it hard not to suspect him.

"Leave this to me! I'll find out who killed Shisui... No matter what, that person will pay!"

Without Uchiha Shisui's warning from the original story, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help feeling some resentment over Shisui's death, no matter how devoted he was to Konoha. He wouldn't do anything to Konoha, but taking revenge on the person who had hurt Shisui was only natural.

"Then be careful while you investigate. Shimura Danzō isn't easy to deal with, and if he really did kill Shisui, he should have Shisui's Mangekyo by now."

"Mangekyo Dojutsu can take all kinds of forms. One of them might have some strange, instantly lethal ability. And against the Three Tomoe Sharingan, it has a powerful suppressive effect."

Uchiha Itachi nodded.

"I understand... But Shimura Danzō isn't an Uchiha. Using the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo with an ordinary ninja's body is not the same as wielding its true power."

"Besides, this is all just speculation. Maybe Shisui wasn't attacked by Konoha's higher-ups at all. For now, my mission is only to investigate."

"Then good luck."

Uchiha Shūichi smiled, but inwardly he sneered. With Shimura Danzō's personality, Uchiha Itachi's investigation would definitely provoke a counterattack.

This wasn't a question of whether Uchiha Itachi was cautious. The key was that he didn't know the full story. As far as Shimura Danzō knew, although he had attacked Uchiha Shisui, Shisui had still managed to escape with his life.

Even with only one eye, Uchiha Shisui could use Susanoo and was still a Kage-level Ninja. Once he recovered, Shimura Danzō might not even be a match for him.

So under the circumstances, Uchiha Itachi wasn't the only one truly concerned about whether Uchiha Shisui was alive. Shimura Danzō himself was just as worried.

Uchiha Itachi had already been one of the Uchiha ninja Shimura Danzō watched most closely. With their information so unevenly matched, the moment Itachi started asking questions, he was bound to provoke Danzō's hostility.

Shimura Danzō had dared to kill Uchiha Shisui. Killing Uchiha Itachi as well would be no great concern to him.

Besides, Shimura Danzō had now obtained Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo. He might even use it on Uchiha Itachi.

But Uchiha Itachi wasn't someone to take lightly. Aside from his flaw of having an extreme personality, he was in no way lacking in strength or combat intelligence. In fact, in the original story, Uchiha Itachi was one of the very best examples of a ninja's combat intelligence.

He had already taken precautions against Shimura Danzō having a Mangekyo. With his combat intelligence and experience, even without having awakened his own Mangekyo, he still had some chance of turning the tables.

As far as Uchiha Shūichi was concerned, he'd be delighted whichever one died, Uchiha Itachi or Shimura Danzō. If Shimura Danzō used Kotoamatsukami to control Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shūichi would be even happier.

Kotoamatsukami wasn't an unbreakable genjutsu, after all. The Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan could counter it to some extent. Even if they couldn't break it, they could at least detect it.

If the Uchiha Clan found out that Uchiha Itachi had been controlled by Kotoamatsukami, then things would get really interesting.

Uchiha Fujioka wavered over whether the Uchiha Clan should stage a coup, but he doted on his eldest son. If Uchiha Itachi were controlled by Kotoamatsukami, the Uchiha Clan would probably be fighting Konoha by the very next day.

"Heh. Whatever the outcome, it'll be quite a show for me!"

Uchiha Shūichi disliked Konoha's higher-ups, and he was just as interested in using the Uchiha Clan for his own ends. If the two sides fought, he'd only feel that his opportunity had come.

Now he had Kotoamatsukami in his possession, and he also had Uchiha blood. He could use it far more effectively than Danzō. Add in the Hashirama Cells that let him recover from Kotoamatsukami's cooldown, and there was simply too much he could do amid the chaos.

The next morning.

Uchiha Shūichi had just gotten up and washed when he heard a bird calling outside the door. His expression didn't change. Once he'd finished washing, he casually picked up a rice ball and walked out.

As he stepped through the doorway, Uchiha Shūichi casually pressed a hand to the doorknob, and a tiny slip of paper appeared in his hand.

He opened it and glanced at it. A flame sprang up in his hand, and in an instant the paper had burned to ashes.

The paper contained no secret information, only a set of coordinates.

As he left the courtyard, Uchiha Shūichi had already made a Shadow Clone, which vanished in the blink of an eye.

Ten minutes later, Uchiha Shūichi arrived at the location written on the paper. It was a waterfall, its thunderous roar and damp mist spreading all around.

But as Uchiha Shūichi approached the waterfall, it seemed to flicker and turn unreal for a moment. The next second, he passed through a genjutsu barrier and entered a cavern within the mountain.

The cave, which should have been dark and damp, was now quite dry. An old man wearing a Hokage Hat sat there, smoking a pipe.