Getting spat on—who could put up with that?
If they fought back, it felt good at the time, but afterward, Fugaku Uchiha would reprimand them.
But if they did not fight back, the villagers would think the Uchiha Clan was easy to bully and become even more excessive, until they finally could not endure it any longer and fought back.
The result was still the same: they were reprimanded by Fugaku Uchiha.
Under such suffocating pressure, with no outlet either inside or outside the clan, the cries for a coup grew louder and louder.
A year later, Fugaku Uchiha was no longer content with the status quo. He placed his eldest son, the eleven-year-old Uchiha Itachi, in the Anbu as a spy.
But Uchiha Itachi was a child with ideas of his own.
He chose to act as a spy for the Uchiha Clan, reporting everything about the clan to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
By now, two years had passed since the Armistice Agreement with Kumogakure.
Jinghuo Uchiha was five years old.
Konoha was clearly bathed in brilliant sunlight, yet it gave people a dark, oppressive feeling.
But Second Pillar did not feel that way.
As usual, he carried a shoulder bag to the forest on the Back Mountain to practice with shuriken.
His nii-san, Uchiha Itachi, looked incredibly cool when using shuriken, and that was why he had fallen in love with practicing them. He wanted to master shuriken like his nii-san so that the next time he saw him, he could give him a surprise.
And he was not the only one in the forest on the Back Mountain.
As usual, he saw that little boy constantly doing basic exercises such as push-ups, crunches, and frog jumps.
Jinghuo Uchiha, the younger brother of Uchiha Shisui who had stolen his nii-san away, was the same age as him—five years old.
The children in the clan barely knew him, and the adults only remembered that he was Uchiha Shisui's younger brother. Beyond that, they knew nothing.
He was a very strange peer.
Second Pillar blinked. After looking at him a few more times out of curiosity, he continued practicing shuriken as before.
Soon, the sun set and dusk arrived.
After glancing at the delicate-looking little boy resting against a tree trunk, Second Pillar packed up his shuriken and silently turned to leave.
At first, he had worried about that little boy and hesitated over whether to call him and head home together.
But ever since he saw Uchiha Shisui come to pick him up every day, he had not really wanted to bother with him.
Why did his nii-san come pick him up every day while his own nii-san did not come even once?
So annoying!
Today, Second Pillar was lucky. He ran into Uchiha Itachi, who had returned.
"Nii-san!" Second Pillar excitedly ran over.
"Is your mission over? Practice with me!"
Though he called it practice, what he really wanted was to show off the results of his training during this time.
I'll definitely make nii-san's jaw drop! Second Pillar thought smugly.
Uchiha Itachi opened his mouth, but before he could say the word "okay," he spotted a familiar figure flash past ten meters away.
Seeing that, he could only say apologetically, "Forgive me, Sasuke."
Uchiha Itachi left.
Second Pillar puffed out his little cheeks in displeasure. As he watched Uchiha Itachi's retreating back, he could not help thinking of Jinghuo Uchiha waiting in the Back Mountain for Uchiha Shisui to pick him up.
Naka River.
This was a cliffside, and the river ran swift and violent.
Any rocks that fell into it would be smashed to pieces by the current.
Many adults forbade children from coming here to play.
Uchiha Shisui stood to the side, quietly watching as though reminiscing.
Sensing that the person he had invited had arrived behind him, he smiled. "We used to play here all the time."
"You're back." Uchiha Itachi stepped out from behind a tree and came to Uchiha Shisui's side. "What is it?"
The two did not spend much time catching up.
After only a few words, Uchiha Shisui asked, "How serious do you think Fugaku is?"
"Serious about what?" Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly.
"The coup." Uchiha Shisui's tone became grave.
Now, the Uchiha Clan's dissatisfaction with the village was growing by the day. The calls for a coup were no longer merely empty shouts.
The increasingly frequent gatherings proved that point.
There would be another gathering tomorrow.
He had a feeling that the situation had reached a point where delay was no longer possible.
"If they truly launch a coup, then I..." Uchiha Shisui raised a hand and touched his eye, hesitating slightly.
At that moment, Uchiha Itachi voiced his thoughts.
"If the village remains as it is, the Uchiha Clan will likely exceed the limits of its patience. But if the Uchiha do not change first, the village will not change either. As long as both sides continue distrusting each other, the situation will only keep worsening."
"The Uchiha have to change first..." The hesitation in Uchiha Shisui's expression gradually turned into resolve.
Hokage Building.
Uchiha Shisui knelt on one knee.
"Shisui, what do you think of tomorrow's gathering?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked while puffing on his pipe.
"Lord Hokage, if Fugaku intends to launch a coup, I want to resolve it with my Dōjutsu," Uchiha Shisui answered.
Sarutobi Hiruzen relaxed upon hearing that.
"Good. I'll dispatch Uchiha Itachi to support you."
"Yes!"
Next day.
Hokage Building.
Having received the news, Shimura Danzō came before Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"The Uchiha are holding another gathering!"
Shimura Danzō's attitude was sensitive. Though he never once said "strike first," every word he spoke meant exactly that.
Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood what he meant, and he was also well aware of what the Uchiha Clan was thinking now.
However, these issues were not a major problem.
"Shisui," Sarutobi Hiruzen called.
The door opened, revealing a youngster with a dango nose.
"Uchiha Shisui..." Shimura Danzō frowned.
Why was an Uchiha here?
Could an Uchiha possibly help them wipe out the Uchiha Clan?
What a joke.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "Shisui will attend the gathering. If he discovers that Fugaku Uchiha truly intends to plot a coup..."
At that moment, Uchiha Shisui spoke. "I will use Kotoamatsukami!"
"Your Dōjutsu?" Danzo said, pretending not to care, though his gaze flickered subtly.
Root headquarters.
Uchiha Shisui clutched his right eye, from which blood poured without stopping. Cold sweat covered him as he gasped heavily, while the pupil in his left eye trembled violently with disbelief.
Danzo had gouged out his right eye!
"Give me the other one too!" Shimura Danzō said with immense confidence as he stared at Uchiha Shisui's left eye.
The moment Shimura Danzō finished speaking, more than a dozen Root Members appeared instantly, intending to seize Uchiha Shisui.
Uchiha Shisui reacted with extreme speed, rapidly forming hand seals.
Snake—Ram—monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger
In an instant, his chest swelled.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames surged from his mouth.
They formed an astonishing five-meter fireball in the air, scorching and dry enough to evoke instinctive fear in all living things.
The five-meter fireball shot forward mercilessly, intent on burning everything to ashes.
The Root Members were experienced. In an instant, they began forming hand seals.
More than a dozen ninjas moved in perfect unison.
Their cheeks swelled.
The next second, they opened their mouths and spat in unison.
"Water Release: Water Shark Wave!"
More than a dozen small pools of water converged into a massive torrent and collided with the enormous fireball.
The water evaporated, blasting outward in every direction like a steam bomb.
Hot, damp winds swept through everything, while white mist formed by the water vapor blanketed the area.
The next second, the steam formed from the collision of water and fire Chakra rapidly dispersed.
When they looked again, Uchiha Shisui was gone.
"Body Flicker Technique?!" The Root Members were shocked.
So this was Body Flicker Shisui...
A D-rank ninjutsu, yet he could use it so powerfully?!
"Pursue him!" Shimura Danzō barked.
The Root Members immediately gave chase.
Before you continue