"The Sharingan has the power to control Tailed Beasts. Some people in the clan harbor deep resentment toward the village. If they're pushed too far, they'll definitely do it."
"Both sides would likely suffer heavy losses."
"But as long as you're there, Itachi, you can take them all by surprise and control everyone."
"Then the revolution can succeed without bloodshed."
"A bloodless revolution?"
"Itachi, you're my son. Please."
Uchiha Itachi walked out of the shrine in silence.
"Father, why are you just as arrogant as the other Uchiha?"
"Trying to overthrow Konoha by force?"
"I'm truly disappointed in you."
Watching Uchiha Itachi walk away in silence, Uchiha Fugaku felt a heavy gloom settle over him.
"What choice will you make, Itachi?"
"But no matter what you choose, your mother and I will support you."
With that, Uchiha Fugaku decided to head home. He wanted to spend what little peaceful time remained with Mikoto and Sasuke.
"But what's going on?"
Uchiha Fugaku had only taken two steps when a sharp pain struck his head. With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.
The Uchiha ninja who heard the noise rushed in at once.
"Clan head! Clan head, are you all right?"
"Lady Uchiha Mikoto, the clan head suddenly collapsed for some reason."
"Please hurry to see Uchiha Ri, the clan's medical ninja."
Uchiha Mikoto's head buzzed.
"Itachi, how could this be? Did you really attack your father?"
Mikoto immediately thought of Itachi, because she knew why Fugaku had stayed behind.
But first, she needed to see how Fugaku was doing.
Hokage Building
The four members of the Konoha High Command—Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hokage advisor Shimura Danzō, councilor Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—were already seated, waiting for Uchiha Itachi's report.
Uchiha Itachi arrived at the Hokage Building, knelt on one knee, and spoke words that shocked the four of them.
"The Uchiha are planning to start a revolution in the village."
Hearing this, Danzō immediately said, "We have to strike first, before they make their move."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, intent on preserving his image, immediately objected. "The Uchiha Clan has been our comrade in arms for generations. I want to solve this through dialogue, not force."
The meeting of the Konoha High Command ended.
With the tacit approval of the others, Danzō met with Uchiha Itachi.
"Itachi, Hiruzen may talk a good game, but when it matters, he'll still choose to protect Konoha."
"I hope you'll make your choice."
"Will you join the Uchiha Clan's revolution and let your entire family perish along with the clan?"
"Or will you stand with Konoha, save your younger brother before the rebellion, and help the village wipe out the Uchiha Clan?"
"No matter what, we have to put a stop to all this before the rebellion."
"And the only ninja capable of shouldering this responsibility is you, the double agent between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha."
"Itachi, are you willing to accept this mission?"
After who knew how long, the unconscious Uchiha Fugaku slowly woke up in bed.
"Who am I?"
"Am I Uchiha Fugaku?"
"No, I'm Zhao Fuyue."
The moment Zhao Fuyue sorted through his memories, he was stunned.
Zhao Fuyue had known that he'd transmigrated.
He just hadn't known that he'd transmigrated to the Shinobi World, or that the person whose body he'd taken over was Uchiha Fugaku.
Zhao Fuyue had transmigrated before Uchiha Fugaku was born.
But Zhao Fuyue's soul was too powerful for the unborn body to bear. His body was on the verge of collapsing.
So the system had no choice but to seal away most of his soul and memories to keep him alive.
There had been no other option. Without sealing away his soul and memories, he would have died.
But he hadn't expected that even after taking over someone else's body, Fugaku's life would still follow the same old path.
And the system hadn't said it would seal him away for this long. It had clearly said only a few years.
But the seal had lasted nearly thirty years!
He'd left himself with a huge mess to clean up, and his own "dutiful" son was about to butcher him.
If the previous Fugaku hadn't been him too, Zhao Fuyue would honestly have wanted to curse.
But this was the system's fault. If it didn't give him compensation, he wouldn't let this go.
At the thought, Li Yu immediately questioned the system in his mind.
"System, system, didn't you say my memories wouldn't be sealed for long?"
"How did you end up sealing them for nearly thirty years?"
The system, roused by Li Yu, immediately began running a diagnostic.
Along with the sound of the diagnostic, it murmured groggily, still half asleep.
"What's going on? I clearly set it to sleep for three years."
"Why have you only unsealed and awakened me now?"
Before long, the system's intelligence found the cause.
It was speechless to discover that it had been its own fault.
When it had gone dormant, it had forgotten to set an awakening time. If the host's soul hadn't sensed danger and woken it up, it might not have been forced awake until the host died.
Should it tell the host the truth?
But if it did, would the host curse it to death?
To avoid getting cursed, the system's intelligence made a decision that went against its conscience.
This absolutely couldn't be its fault. It had to find someone else to blame.
But what excuse should it make up?
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed the system's intelligence. That was it. It would use that excuse.
After hearing the system's explanation, Zhao Fuyue finally understood roughly what had happened.
After sealing away his soul and memories, the system had been affected by some inexplicable interference from this world and fallen asleep.
But what could possibly interfere with you, system?
Could the Shinobi World have something like a Deva Path? Or was it the Sage of Six Paths, staying in the Pure Land?
Or could it be both?
The system in Zhao Fuyue's mind was speechless.
"That was just a random excuse I made up."
"Please don't overthink it, okay?"
Before you continue