Guesswork and Investigation

"Is that so? You don't know where Shisui is either? Could it really have been Konoha shinobi who made the move..."

Uchiha Itachi sighed, and didn't actually suspect Uchiha Shūichi.

Not to mention that Uchiha Shūichi was still Itachi's close friend, the three of them sharing the same ideals—purely in terms of strength, Shūichi couldn't possibly be a match for Uchiha Shisui, not even with a sneak attack giving him any real chance.

That Uchiha Shisui had awakened the Mangekyo was a closely guarded secret, but he hadn't hidden it from Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shūichi—he simply hadn't told them what his Mangekyo ability was.

Beyond that, Shisui wasn't the type of shinobi who lost all combat power without his Mangekyo. Even with just the Three Tomoe Sharingan, he had carved out the name "Body Flicker Shisui" on the battlefield, living up to his reputation as the strongest Uchiha shinobi.

Aside from the Konoha higher-ups who had caught Shisui completely off guard, Itachi couldn't think of anyone else who could have silently taken him down.

"Itachi, you're in the Anbu now. Keep an eye on Konoha's movements—especially Root."

"You suspect Shimura Danzō did it?"

"If there's one person among Konoha's higher-ups who would actually assassinate Shisui, wouldn't you pick Shimura Danzō?"

Uchiha Itachi let out another sigh. In truth, he harbored the same suspicion. Even if he was loyal to Konoha through and through, he had to acknowledge that the village still concealed a fair amount of darkness.

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

"Leave this to me. I'll find out who really killed Shisui... No matter what, that person has to pay the price."

Without Shisui's final plea from the original timeline, Itachi—no matter how loyal he was to Konoha—couldn't help but feel a surge of hatred over Shisui's death. He wouldn't take it out on the village, but taking personal revenge against whoever harmed Shisui was only natural.

"Be careful when you investigate. Shimura Danzō isn't easy to deal with, and if he really did kill Shisui, then Shisui's Mangekyo has probably fallen into his hands."

"Mangekyo dojutsu are endlessly varied. There might be some bizarre first-encounter killing technique, and they have a powerful suppression effect on the Three Tomoe Sharingan."

Uchiha Itachi nodded:

"I understand... But Shimura Danzō isn't an Uchiha after all. Driving an Uchiha's Mangekyo with an ordinary shinobi's body isn't the same as a true Mangekyo ability."

"And besides, this is still just speculation. Maybe Shisui wasn't killed by the village higher-ups at all. For now, my mission is only to investigate."

"Then good luck."

Uchiha Shūichi smiled faintly, but inwardly he sneered. Given Shimura Danzō's personality, Itachi's investigation would definitely provoke a counterattack from that man.

It wasn't a matter of whether Itachi was cautious enough. The key was that Itachi didn't have the real intel. In Danzō's eyes, even though he had ambushed Uchiha Shisui, Shisui had still managed to escape with his life.

Even with only one eye, Shisui—capable of manifesting the Susanoo—was still a Kage-level shinobi. Once he recovered from his injuries, Danzō might not even be a match for him.

So under these circumstances, the one most concerned about Shisui's survival wasn't just Itachi—it was Danzō himself.

Itachi was already a Uchiha shinobi under Danzō's close watch. With this imbalance in information, once he started poking around, he was bound to stir up Danzō's malice.

If Danzō had the nerve to kill Shisui, killing another Uchiha Itachi would be nothing to him.

And now that Danzō had obtained Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo, he might even use it on Itachi.

But Itachi wasn't an easy mark either. Apart from his tendency to go to extremes, he was no slouch in strength or combat intelligence. In fact, in the original story, Itachi was one of the ceilings of shinobi combat intelligence.

He was already on guard against the possibility that Danzō possessed a Mangekyo. With his combat intelligence and foundation, even without having awakened his own Mangekyo, there was still a chance he could turn the tables.

For Uchiha Shūichi, whether Itachi or Danzō died, he'd be thrilled either way. If Danzō used Kotoamatsukami to control Itachi, Shūichi would be even happier.

Kotoamatsukami wasn't an unbreakable genjutsu. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan had some resistance to it—even if they couldn't dispel it, they could at least detect it.

Once the Uchiha Clan discovered that Itachi was under Kotoamatsukami's control, that would be a real show.

Uchiha Fujioka was wavering on the clan's coup, but he doted on his eldest son. If Itachi were controlled by Kotoamatsukami, the Uchiha would probably be at war with Konoha by the next day.

"Heh, no matter how this plays out, it's a good show for me."

Uchiha Shūichi didn't like Konoha's higher-ups, and he mostly viewed the Uchiha Clan as a tool. If the two sides clashed, he'd only see it as his opportunity.

He now had Kotoamatsukami in hand, and with his own Uchiha bloodline, he could use it far better than Danzō. Add in the Hashirama Cells to shorten Kotoamatsukami's cooldown, and there was far too much he could do in the chaos.

The next morning.

Uchiha Shūichi had just gotten up and washed up when he heard a bird chirping at the door. His expression didn't change. After finishing his morning routine, he grabbed a rice ball and stepped out.

The moment he walked out the door, he casually pressed a hand against the door handle, and a small slip of paper appeared in his palm.

He opened it, glanced at it, and a flame flickered to life in his hand, burning the paper to ash in an instant.

The note didn't contain any sensitive information—just a set of coordinates.

As he left the courtyard gate, Shūichi had already formed a Shadow Clone, which vanished in an instant.

Ten minutes later, Shūichi arrived at the location marked on the note. It was a waterfall, the roaring sound of water and damp mist filling the air around it.

But as he walked toward the waterfall, the entire cascade seemed to flicker for a moment. The next second, Shūichi passed through a genjutsu barrier and entered a mountain hollow.

What should have been a dark, damp cave was instead quite dry. An old man wearing the Hokage's hat sat there, pipe in mouth.