Who Are You?

When Uchiha Shisui told him that Danzo had gotten so furious over something like that that he'd completely lost his composure, and had even gone to confront Orochimaru afterward, making the whole affair known to the higher-ups and eventually reaching the Uchiha Clan, Shiba Seika nearly burst out laughing.

He had to exert a great deal of effort to suppress the grin tugging at his mouth, making sure Shisui didn't notice anything amiss.

From the start, he had forced Minato Namikaze to write that statement with the express purpose of getting Root and Danzo into trouble. Now that Danzo was upset, Seika was naturally pleased.

As for the impact of making Danzo take notice of the Akatsuki Organization ahead of time, Shiba Seika didn't care in the slightest.

It was bound to happen anyway. Whether it happened sooner or later made no difference.

He had never considered reconciling with Danzo.

Judging by the original story, Shimura Danzō simply had no strategic vision or ability to build alliances. He regarded every ninja village outside Konoha as an enemy, and throughout his life, he never once secured an ally for Konoha.

Even setting aside personal preferences, Shiba Seika could never cooperate with someone like that.

So why should he care about Danzo losing his temper and hating him?

Still, another detail in Shisui's account caught Shiba Seika's attention.

"Shisui, have the higher-ups in Konoha also sensed that the war is about to escalate?"

Shisui, innocent as ever, had no idea he was being pumped for information. He foolishly spilled all the intelligence that the village's intelligence network had worked so hard to uncover.

"Yes. Have you reached the same conclusion in the Land of Rain, Aizen? Lord Hokage estimates that Iwagakure and Kirigakure will lose patience by early spring at the latest. When that happens, Konoha will likely face its most difficult time yet."

The weather had recently begun to turn wintry.

By the looks of it, the Third Great Ninja War was at most only a few months away from reaching its climax!

Shiba Seika lowered his eyes. A host of complicated emotions flickered through them for an instant.

I need to pick up the pace, too. There isn't much time left!

He couldn't really wait until the date of his death, as calculated by the system, to make his move!

Chaos is a ladder! The moment the Great Ninja War reaches its height will also be the perfect time for me to overthrow the Land of Rain!

He had to hurry and get everything ready!

After a brief silence, Uchiha Shisui awkwardly steered the conversation back to the subject at hand.

"So, Aizen, do you know anything about this organization called the 'Akatsuki'?"

Shiba Seika chuckled. "Of course. I've crossed paths with them several times and know quite a bit about some of their key members."

"That's wonderful! Could you share more information about them?"

"But the Akatsuki Organization has already earned the approval of our leader, Lord Hanzo the Salamander. They're all members of the Land of Rain, after all—dear friends, brothers in arms."

Uchiha Shisui looked utterly guileless. Hearing that, he said dejectedly, "I see. Then I'm sorry for putting you in a difficult position, Aizen."

But in the next moment, Shiba Seika leaned forward slightly and declared, "No. What I mean is, it'll cost you extra."

"..."

Young Uchiha Shisui had never encountered a move like that. He stared blankly for a second, then hastily said that he would have to go back and ask the Clan Head.

Shiba Seika was perfectly agreeable and let him go.

After returning, Uchiha Shisui immediately went to see the Clan Head, Fugaku, and explained what had happened to him in Cat Country that day.

Shisui had expected Fugaku to flatly refuse and perhaps even fly into a rage. After all, when had the proud Uchiha ever let anyone push them around like that?

Shisui had even begun thinking of ways to defend Aizen, since he'd found him to be a pretty nice guy after their few encounters.

But Fugaku not only didn't get angry; he even asked, "Did that Rain ninja really say he knew all the key members of the Akatsuki Organization? If so, there's no harm in agreeing to the deal.

"He probably just wants a few more ninjutsu for his so-called extra fee. We can give them some low-level ninjutsu scrolls. The Uchiha have plenty in our collection."

Uchiha Shisui was astonished. He couldn't help looking up at Clan Head Fugaku.

Meeting his gaze, Fugaku saw the confusion in Shisui's eyes. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"There's something you probably don't know. Kakashi, Minato Namikaze's most outstanding student, has recently been accused of harming his comrades. He may soon face a trial."

Uchiha Shisui gasped. Then he naturally jumped to a conclusion and asked, "Was this Root's doing?"

Danzo had recently been making trouble for Minato Namikaze, so it was reasonable to think Root had gone after Kakashi. Even someone as guileless as Shisui could reach that conclusion, and there were undoubtedly plenty of people in the village who suspected the same.

Clan Head Fugaku sighed. "We don't know the exact circumstances yet, but judging by the evidence so far, Kakashi may not be innocent."

"What did Kakashi do?"

"Over the past week, several active and retired ninja have killed themselves in the village. They all had one thing in common: three years ago, they had publicly criticized Hatake Sakumo for abandoning a mission to save his comrades.

"Yet in the days before each of them died, Kakashi had gone to visit them."

At that, Uchiha Shisui's eyes dimmed.

Though he was a staunch supporter of Konoha who defended the village at every turn, even getting into repeated arguments with many hardliners within his own clan, he still disapproved of how the village had handled the suicide of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, three years ago.

How could protecting one's comrades be wrong? And White Fang had been protecting a young junior who was younger than him.

Didn't the Will of Fire teach that the older generation should sacrifice themselves for the younger? Wasn't that the right thing to do?

Shisui didn't understand.

So at that moment, he simply couldn't bring himself to condemn Kakashi's actions.

But while he couldn't say it, someone else could.

There were always plenty of people in the clan who called Shisui extreme. Yet there was one person who often complained that he was too conservative.

That person was none other than Uchiha Itachi, who was only five years old!

"No matter the reason, harming a fellow villager is unforgivable! Even as Minato Namikaze's student, Kakashi must face trial!"

Uchiha Itachi spoke with righteous conviction.

Though he was still very young, he had already settled on the belief that the village could never be wrong, no matter what.

The village could never be at fault; therefore, someone else had to be. That was Itachi's logic.

Uchiha Fugaku stood up and scolded him angrily. "Itachi! What are you doing here? I'm discussing something important with Shisui. Get out!"

Uchiha Itachi looked deeply at his father. In the end, he said nothing more and silently left the room.

Uchiha Shisui felt helpless.

Honestly, even as an outsider, he found the atmosphere in this family suffocating.

But this was the Clan Head's home, and as an ordinary clan member, it wasn't his place to voice his opinion.

In the end, he could only sigh and deliberately change the subject, returning to his original question. "Clan Head, what does this have to do with our deal with Aizen?"

Uchiha Fugaku settled back onto the cushion on the tatami and rubbed his brow in frustration. Then he looked up and continued answering Uchiha Shisui's question.

"I only learned this after asking around in several places: apparently, all of Kakashi's recent changes began on the day Minato Namikaze wrote that statement in the Land of Rain.

"Someone from the Akatsuki Organization completely changed Kakashi!

"So, Shisui, you must ask Aizen from the Land of Rain who that mysterious person in the Akatsuki Organization really is!"