The Village You're Loyal To Doesn't Actually Care About Your Loyalty

"Of course, if the situation becomes dire, I will join you in forcing the clansmen to abandon the coup when necessary."

Itachi said this plainly.

His own words alone might not be enough to firmly suppress all the clansmen.

Although Shisui possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shimizu did as well.

Beyond that, his father, acting as the clan head, remained a significant obstacle.

If it truly came to it, he would seek out... Uchiha Madara.

That Masked Man could evade the Konoha Military Police Force; even the secret stone tablet in Naka Shrine bore traces of him, and only those of the Uchiha would know its location.

An outsider could never have known of it, no matter what.

Those Anbu had only managed to grasp the Uchiha's situation by secretly installing numerous surveillance devices in recent years.

But the Masked Man could not possibly be someone from the village.

Itachi had first sensed this man while on an Anbu mission to monitor the clan.

Later, Itachi encountered this man in person at the Naka River.

Thus, he immediately concluded that the man before him had already infiltrated the clan.

Itachi began to investigate the Masked Man's actions... investigating what kind of person he was and what his ideology might be.

After eliminating all other possibilities, Itachi finally determined that it was—Uchiha Madara.

If it were Uchiha Madara, perhaps there would be value in utilizing him.

To Uchiha Madara, the Uchiha Clan were nothing but traitors.

Having consulted a vast amount of records, Itachi knew this fact clearly.

"In the end, it seems only the two of us are firmly against the coup; everyone else, even the Dove Faction, is wavering."

"Hmm..."

Itachi nodded.

The capacity of this clan had already been laid bare.

Only Shisui and he shared the same aspirations.