Planning for the Uchiha Clan

Sasuke's haughty expression had yet to fade from his face, and his eyes were filled with shock.

"Impossible!!!"

"I, the great Sasuke Uchiha, was actually defeated by this unremarkable outsider from another village!" Wrapped in snow and unable to move, Sasuke couldn't accept reality.

Seeing Sasuke defeated in a single move by the ordinary-looking Yota, the children watching were all stunned. They hadn't expected Sasuke, who had seemed so imposing just a moment ago, to be subdued the next.

A group of girls quickly snapped out of it and rushed forward to help Sasuke brush the snow off himself.

Naruto scratched his head. He hadn't expected his friend to take care of that arrogant Sasuke so easily, either.

Yota had been able to defeat Sasuke so effortlessly because he possessed an extremely powerful Kekkei Genkai: Weather Manipulation!

Since he was still young, Yota hadn't yet mastered his control over the weather. Much of the time, his Kekkei Genkai activated according to his emotions. For example, when Yota was happy, the weather nearby would become sunny; when he was sad, torrential rain would pour down around him.

Yota could also precisely manipulate the weather's power. For instance, he could concentrate rain over a tiny area to attack an enemy, and the sheer volume of water could knock them down and keep them from standing.

It was precisely because of Yota's powerful talent that, like Kimimaro, he suffered from an incurable Kekkei Genkai Disease. If he hadn't met Tsunade and Kabuto, Yota would have died at around this age, much as he had in the original story. Later, Orochimaru would revive him to experiment with the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

The Itachi standing beneath a tree some distance away slowly turned to look at Kabuto beside him. His usually placid eyes seemed to conceal a hint of killing intent. After all, Yota, who had just taught his precious little brother a lesson, was under Kabuto's care.

Under Itachi's gaze, Kabuto pretended not to notice and pushed up his glasses. A bead of cold sweat, as big as a bean, slowly trickled down his forehead.

Watching this, Izumi covered her mouth with her hand and struggled to suppress a laugh.

At the same time, in the Third Hokage's office.

"Sarutobi, I've received word that the Uchiha Clan is already plotting a coup."

"The situation is urgent. We have to act immediately!"

Danzo sat across from the Third Hokage and spoke in a grave voice.

The Third Hokage frowned and replied slowly, "I heard about it from Shisui, too. The Radical Faction within the Uchiha Clan does have certain ideas, but things haven't reached the point of a coup yet."

"We shouldn't resort to extreme measures just yet. That would only worsen our conflict with the Uchiha Clan."

Danzo flew into a rage and rose from his seat, slamming his hand on the table. "Hmph, Sarutobi Hiruzen, your indecisiveness is what brought us to this point."

"What about gradually weakening the Uchiha Clan and chipping away at their strength? That approach was never going to work!"

"Although I loathe the Uchiha, I have to admit that they're truly blessed with exceptional talent, and powerful shinobi keep emerging from their ranks. Setting Uchiha Yusuke aside, even the younger generation in their clan is full of strong shinobi."

"Your plan to use Shisui to draw Uchiha Itachi into the Anbu has already failed. If something happens to Shisui and he slips out of your control, do you really think we can still match the Uchiha Clan?"

As he spoke, Danzo couldn't help recalling a clash with Yusuke a year earlier.

At the time, the Root Organization had discovered a child with a powerful Kekkei Genkai that could control the weather, so Danzo had ordered his men to bring the child to Root.

Unfortunately, the Root operatives he sent returned empty-handed. The child was staying with the Uchiha Clan—and, moreover, was temporarily living at Yusuke's home.

After learning this, Danzo had been unwilling to give up on the child. He had even gone in person, intending to take him by force.

But when he arrived at the Uchiha Clan's compound and ran into Yusuke, he realized that Yusuke had already become an opponent Root couldn't handle!

As the two sides faced off, the aura radiating from Uchiha Yusuke proved too much for Danzo and all the Root shinobi present to withstand. The pressure seemed to strike at the soul itself, completely robbing him of the courage to take the child by force.

By then, Yusuke had already mastered the ability to project his Reiatsu. He had used it to intimidate Danzo and keep him from acting rashly.

The Third Hokage knew about the incident, too. He had originally assumed that Danzo would surely succeed after going to the Uchiha Clan's compound in person. He hadn't expected Danzo to give up in the end.

When he later asked Danzo what had happened, Danzo didn't reveal the real reason—that he had been terrified at the time—and merely gave the evasive explanation that he didn't want a large-scale clash with the Uchiha Clan just yet.

After hearing Danzo's assessment of the Uchiha Clan's strength, the Third Hokage adjusted his posture, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes in thought.

A moment later, the Third Hokage opened his eyes and said slowly, "Use Shisui's eye to control Fugaku!"

"Although Fugaku's control over his clan has weakened, he's still their leader, and he's personally very strong."

"Once we have him under our control, we can use tougher measures to target the Radical Faction within the Uchiha Clan."

"No!" Danzo objected.

"Shisui's so-called Kotoamatsukami ability has never been used, so we don't know what it can do. And if it fails, we'll alert them to our plans, and Shisui's identity will be completely exposed."

Though Danzo said this, he was actually concerned about three other things.

First, he had already set his sights on Shisui's Sharingan, and didn't want to waste Kotoamatsukami, which had an extremely long cooldown, at a time like this.

Second, even if Shisui used his ability to control Uchiha Fugaku, Fugaku wouldn't obey Danzo. He would answer to the Third Hokage instead, which would be of no benefit to Danzo. And if the Uchiha Clan really joined the Third Hokage's faction, it would make Danzo's future bid for the Hokage position even more difficult.

Third, Danzo loathed the Uchiha Clan, and believed there was no need for them to exist at all. It would be better to wipe them out completely!

The Third Hokage considered Danzo's objections and decided they had some merit. He asked, "Then do you have a suitable plan?"

A cold smile curled Danzo's lips. His left eye, visible beyond the bandages, narrowed and flashed with a sharp glint.

"Of course. If you agree, this plan is absolutely foolproof."

"The Uchiha will disappear from the Ninja World for good!"