The sun hung low in the sky, its faint light falling across the trees as if gilding them with a layer of gold dust.
Sasuke darted through the woods. He had just finished the training Kakashi-sensei had assigned and was already rushing to the Training Ground in the Uchiha Clan's district.
His Sharingan still had only two Tomoe, so he wanted Shisui to continue guiding his training and help him evolve it into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan as soon as possible.
"Shisui's here, just as I thought... Huh, my brother's here too!"
With one foot braced against a thick tree trunk, Sasuke could see Shisui below. What surprised him, though, was that Itachi was there too.
"Shisui, the Third Hokage has decided to eliminate the Uchiha Clan, and Danzo wants me to strike first and wipe out the clan to protect Sasuke!"
Sasuke had been about to jump down and greet them, but the words that suddenly reached his ears stunned him into stillness.
"Itachi, Danzo's plan is far too ruthless. They want to destroy the Uchiha Clan without shedding a drop of blood!"
After hearing Itachi's explanation, Shisui said furiously.
As Shisui's words fell, Sasuke's fists clenched. Blood vessels spread faintly across his dark eyes, and a moment later, a voice filled with fury rang out in his heart.
"Danzo, you have to die!"
As far as Sasuke was concerned, Danzo had failed to get Shisui's eyes and, enraged, had resorted to underhanded means to make Sarutobi Hiruzen order the Uchiha Clan's extermination.
In other words, the extermination plan that would not have been carried out until two years later in the Naruto anime had begun ahead of schedule.
That meant every plan Sasuke had come up with to save his clan would come to nothing. All those plans depended on him having considerable strength, and with his current abilities, he clearly couldn't make much of a difference.
The mood was heavy and oppressive. Hearing Shisui's angry words, Itachi sighed and asked helplessly, "What should we do now?"
Shisui fell silent too. He knew the strength of Konoha well. If the Uchiha Clan fought the village, they were doomed. But if they did nothing, they would die all the same!
Just as Shisui was torn, unable to think of a solution, Sasuke leaped down from the tree.
"Brother, I heard everything you said. But I don't think we should let someone else decide the Uchiha Clan's fate!"
Looking at Itachi, Sasuke took a deep breath and forced down his fury toward Danzo before speaking in a low voice.
"Sasuke, what do you mean?"
Thinking Sasuke might have a better idea, Itachi immediately pressed him for an answer.
"Tell Father right away that the Konoha High Command is planning to move against the Uchiha Clan. Have him call a clan meeting immediately so everyone can come up with a solution together!"
Sasuke had indeed thought of a plan, but it required the cooperation of the entire Uchiha Clan, so he had to bring it up at the clan meeting.
"Sasuke's right. More people means more ideas. This concerns the future of the Uchiha Clan, so we need to discuss it together."
Shisui nodded and immediately agreed with Sasuke's suggestion.
"Good! Then let's go now!"
Seeing that Shisui agreed too, Itachi didn't object and quickly replied.
With that, Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui left the Training Ground at once and headed to the Military Police Force to find Uchiha Fugaku.
After hearing the news from Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku, who was usually calm in the face of trouble, was thrown into a panic. He immediately called an emergency clan meeting.
The clan meeting was usually held at the end of the month. The clan leader's sudden summons made it clear to every Uchiha that something major might happen that night, so someone from every Uchiha family attended.
In less than an hour, the secret chamber beneath Naka Shrine was packed with clan members who had come to the meeting.
"The reason I called everyone here so urgently is that Itachi has received some important information!"
"The Third Hokage has given the order to prepare to wipe us out!"
Standing at the front of the chamber, Uchiha Fugaku looked around at everyone, then spoke gravely.
"What? The Third Hokage gave the order?"
"Damn it! The Konoha High Command wants to kill us?"
"What are you afraid of? We were planning a coup anyway. Now we can just make our move!"
As soon as Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, the chamber erupted into chaos. Shouts and panicked voices mingled, swirling around the room until they made everyone's head spin.
Uchiha Fugaku frowned at the disorderly scene and shouted in a deep voice, "Quiet! How can we come up with a solution if everyone's shouting?"
At Uchiha Fugaku's words, the din in the chamber gradually died away. A moment later, it fell completely silent.
Once the chamber was quiet again, Uchiha Fugaku said, "If anyone has an idea, speak up one at a time."
"Clan leader, what else can we do? The Konoha High Command is coming after us. We can't just sit here and wait to die. We should launch the coup early!"
Hearing Uchiha Fugaku, a clan member named Uchiha Yashiro immediately stood up and shouted from the crowd.
Uchiha Yashiro was a hardliner in the Uchiha Clan. He had long hoped to launch a coup and seize power.
"The chances of a coup succeeding are very slim. We wouldn't only have to fight the many elite Anbu and Konoha Jonin; we'd also have to face the other clans in Konoha. If our clan fell, they would benefit, so they would definitely support the Konoha High Command!"
At that point, Shisui spoke up and analyzed the situation seriously.
After Shisui's words spread through the chamber, nearly everyone—including Uchiha Fugaku—grimaced. The Hyuga Clan alone would be enough to give the Uchiha Clan a hard time. If the other clans joined in too, the Uchiha Clan truly wouldn't be able to hold out.
"Even if we can't win, we can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?"
After the chamber had been quiet for a while, a clan member named Uchiha Yakumi spoke in a low voice.
Uchiha Yakumi was a fiercely loyal member of the Uchiha Clan. He worked tirelessly in the Military Police Force to support Uchiha Fugaku, and he was usually a man of few words. But this meeting concerned the life and death of the Uchiha Clan, so he was searching for a way forward too.
"Our Uchiha Clan has the power of the Sharingan. If we fight, we may not lose!"
"Exactly. Better to fight than sit around waiting to die!"
Some of the more hardline clan members grew vocal again, and the chamber filled with debate.
Uchiha Fugaku raised a hand, silencing the clamorous discussion. After his gaze flickered for a moment, he said solemnly, "Everyone, think carefully. The decision we make tonight concerns every one of our family members."
"My child was just born. If a conflict really breaks out, it would be too cruel to him..."
"Then what are we supposed to do? I don't want to stand by and watch someone kill my elderly mother either!"