Planning

A few days later, late at night, Houka met with Uchiha Itachi, who had come as promised, in a small patch of woods.

Uchiha Itachi was still dressed as an Anbu, his face hidden behind a mask. His features could not be seen; only a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan flickered in and out of sight beneath the moonlight.

"What did you call me here for?" Uchiha Itachi asked bluntly.

"It's about Shisui's eyes." Houka spoke vaguely. "I pulled his... his eyes out of the river. Where are they?"

Uchiha Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly. "I see. No wonder they never found Shisui's body. Did you bury him?"

Houka neither spoke nor nodded, merely staring straight at him.

After a long while, Uchiha Itachi spoke again. "Danzo took Shisui's right eye. I have the left one."

"Danzo was the one who did it?" Houka asked.

Uchiha Itachi nodded.

"I want to take Shisui's eyes back." Houka snorted. "Danzo doesn't deserve to possess the Sharingan!"

Uchiha Itachi hesitated slightly.

Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan were Mangekyou Sharingan, and they contained Kotoamatsukami, the strongest Genjutsu capable of silently altering another person's thoughts. If Houka used them to do evil... well, they were still better off in Houka's hands than Danzo's.

Besides, he might yet be able to play the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole waiting behind.

Uchiha Itachi's thoughts raced, but he nodded without betraying anything. "I can help you, but I can't show myself."

Houka smiled. "Of course."

At the same time, Danzo also slipped away in secret and left the village, meeting Orochimaru face-to-face once more.

"The time is almost ripe. This time, I don't just want the Uchiha Clan gone—I want Uchiha Houka dead as well!" Danzo's face twisted viciously. "Orochimaru, have you made the arrangements on your end?"

"Of