First Meeting with Shion

A coup!

The word struck Itachi like a thunderbolt, leaving his head ringing with a dull, persistent hum.

"How could it be? How could this..."

Itachi kept questioning, repeating the phrase over and over, yet his heart could find no words to refute it.

The current situation of the Uchiha was laid bare before him; when all the various pieces of intelligence were gathered together, the conclusion was inescapable: a coup was indeed the most likely outcome.

"Then... is there still salvation for the Uchiha?"

Itachi stood up and asked, his expression agitated. At this moment, his clan still held a significant place in his heart.

Especially when he thought of his beloved younger brother, Sasuke, his face grew even more anxious.

Baiyu waved a hand and said, "Do not worry, it is not happening just yet. As the power of the Hokage Faction within the village wanes, the Uchiha's expansion is entirely logical.

Once the older generation of core power passes away, even if the Uchiha do not stage a coup, the village will move against them to maintain the Hokage Faction's dominance. Without strength, anxiety is useless!"

The Uchiha clan's decision to co-found the village with the Senju under Madara's leadership had destined them for destruction.

If the village had been led by the Uchiha, the Senju would have been the ones destined for ruin.

The two clans were blood enemies for a century; it was impossible for their deep-seated hatred to simply vanish just because their leaders shook hands.

The current vilification of the Uchiha within the village undoubtedly contained seeds sown by the remnants of the Senju.

The policies of the Second Hokage were entirely aimed at suppressing the ninja clans, with the Uchiha as the primary target.

Because the Uchiha were the most powerful and prominent, the damage inflicted upon them was all the greater.

They had become the village's scapegoats, and under the suppression of the Hokage Faction, which inherited the Second's will, their extinction had become a foregone conclusion.

With the Third Hokage aging and lacking the support of the Sannin, even Danzo might not be able to suppress the Uchiha.

"As the Third Hokage grows old, he will never tolerate the Uchiha continuing to oppose the village. In truth, all of this stems from one person—the Konoha high-ranking official who once ordered the Uchiha to remain in the rear..."

Baiyu revealed some secrets to Itachi. During the Nine-Tailed Fox incident four years ago, Itachi was still just a student and had no access to inside information.

Uchiha Fugaku was too upright; upon hearing Danzo's order, he had truly remained motionless.

While other ninja clans suffered heavy casualties, he had indeed held his position.

Because of this, he drew the hatred and dissatisfaction of the rest of the village. Coupled with their past enforcement of the law, which had offended some villagers, the conflict suddenly centered entirely on the Uchiha.

If Fugaku had acted directly at that time, using the Mangekyo Sharingan to control the Nine-Tailed Fox and save the Fourth Hokage, the current situation would never have occurred.

At the same time, he could have gained the right to choose the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, earned the adoration of the villagers, and secured the capital to stand on equal footing with the Fourth Hokage.

After all, Minato Namikaze, having just taken office as the Fourth Hokage, was a commoner by birth. His Anbu forces had not yet been established, and the only person he could truly trust was his disciple, Hatake Kakashi.

"Who?"

Hearing Baiyu's account, Itachi finally truly understood the inside story between the village and his clan.

He had always believed that the arrogance and discrimination of his clansmen were the cause of the hostile relationship between the village and the clan.

He had witnessed the unpleasant behavior of the people around him, leading him to believe that all the sin lay with the Uchiha—a belief that would later foreshadow his decision to exterminate his own kin.

Only after Baiyu's explanation did he see the other side of the coin.

The Uchiha had become a pawn sacrificed for power.

"That is something you must discover for yourself!"

Baiyu shook his head, refusing to say more.

Some things must be learned through one's own investigation to leave a lasting impression.

Words alone carried little credibility.

Once Itachi investigated the true state of the Uchiha himself, his heart would surely change.

After all, even Shisui, who had been single-mindedly trying to ease the relationship between the clan and the village, still held deep affection for his kin.

It was just that while Itachi had inherited Shisui's belief in peace, he had not inherited Shisui's bond with the clan.

In the camp, a bonfire burned outside several tents.

Miroku sat in the seat of honor, chanting scriptures.

Several guards stood watch around her, one of whom was the captain, Inoue Yuhide.

After so many days of travel, he felt increasingly that this trip was not worth the cost.

Just as they were about to return to the Land of Demons, he couldn't help but ask, "Lady Miroku, why spend such a huge sum to invite these two little brats?"

Inoue Yuhide was merely a samurai who had practiced martial arts; he had heard of the power of chakra-wielding ninjas, but he did not truly understand it.

Because Baiyu and Itachi had cleared away all obstacles out of their line of sight, he believed they hadn't encountered any enemies along the way, making the massive payment seem like a waste.

The Land of Demons was located on the edge of the world, its land barren and its output meager; one hundred million was roughly the entire tax revenue of the country for a year.

The shrine did not have high expenses and had some savings, but it could not afford such reckless spending.

In Inoue Yuhide's eyes, the two children were completely useless.

Miroku ceased her prayers and looked toward Inoue Yuhide, saying, "The person who comes does not represent themselves; they represent the stance of a nation. Our envoys to the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth have all returned empty-handed. If the Land of Fire does not agree, we will be left without any support."

Miroku saw the situation very clearly: the one hundred million ryo was merely to purchase a stance from Konoha in the Land of Fire.

As the number one ninja village in the world that had defeated the combined forces of three major ninja villages, Konoha was well-deserving of its reputation.

An escort mission worth one hundred million ryo was, in her eyes, a matter of course.

The citizens of her country were simply too ignorant and foolish.

They did not understand that once there is a first time, there will be a second. Once the relationship reaches a certain level, there will no longer be a need to worry about Sunagakure and Iwagakure when interacting with Konoha.

Deep down, everyone had their own little schemes.

The Third Hokage did not wish to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, but considering the political climate within the village, he decided to let Baiyu and the others go.

If any problems arose, he could conveniently shift the blame onto the Uchiha.

This was yet another butterfly effect caused by the appearance of Baiyu; originally, the Third Hokage would never have agreed to send village ninja to the Land of Demons for a mission.

Inoue Yuhide was about to say something more, but seeing Uchiha Itachi standing before him, he immediately swallowed his words.

The night passed without incident, and before dawn the next day, the group continued their journey.

After several more hours of travel, with Baiyu clearing the path ahead, he saw the gates of a shrine in the distance and immediately knew they had reached their destination.

"The Shrine of the Priestess, we've finally arrived."

Baiyu leaped from a tree trunk and stood atop the red wooden frame above the shrine gate, surveying the grounds.

A vast, open space paved with marble stretched out before him, leading to a shrine building far more magnificent than the Uchiha ancestral hall.

Just as Baiyu was examining the shrine, a soft greeting suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Big brother, what are you looking at?"

Baiyu turned around in surprise to find a cute little girl standing below, looking up at him with a curious expression.

Mind's Eye... failed?

That shouldn't be!

He could clearly sense the movements of the group behind him...

Yet he hadn't noticed the movements of the girl right in front of him.

Had he become too reliant on the Mind's Eye?

His reaction speed, which he had worked so hard to train, had actually declined.

It isn't that the Mind's Eye has failed, but that this girl's heart is completely devoid of distracting thoughts. Even that question just now was a simple inquiry, without a trace of doubt...

The Mind's Eye could see through the distracting thoughts, desires, and emotions of everyone nearby; anyone approaching with even a shred of impure intent could be clearly sensed.

If someone possessed a Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart—a heart so transparent and clear that it remained without a ripple—the Mind's Eye would not be triggered.

This must be Shion, right?

The other half of Moryo's power...

A little girl who looked like she couldn't even truss a chicken... or was she?