Hearing Sasuke mention the Root Organization, both Itachi and Shisui looked surprised.
Given Sasuke's current status, he shouldn't have known the Root Organization existed.
After all, it was the organization the Third Hokage used to handle matters in the shadows.
A little kid...
Could the clan head—his father—have told Sasuke about it?
"Sasuke, why did you mention the Root Organization?"
Shisui couldn't make sense of it.
The Root Organization was a special unit directly managed by Danzo and answerable to the Hokage.
How could an organization like that be used to shift the blame?
"Big Brother Shisui, why do you think the Konoha High Command is targeting the Uchiha?"
"Just because the Uchiha are too proud?"
"Just because of the Nine-Tails Rebellion, for which they've been falsely accused?"
Sasuke didn't answer Shisui's question.
There was no need to spell everything out.
What Sasuke needed to do now was bring Shisui, one of the clan's top fighters, back into the clan's fold.
That way, the Konoha High Command, now aware of Shisui's eye ability, wouldn't dare act so recklessly.
"Then... did the clan head tell you something?"
After a moment of thought, Shisui still had no answer.
It seemed his talent had taken up too much space in his head.
He simply couldn't think through things like this.
"It's because of our power!"
"Some covet our Sharingan..."
"Some fear our power getting out of control..."
"If one side of the High Command wants to obtain our abilities, while the other wants to control them, do you think the Uchiha still have any chance of making peace with the village?"
Sasuke laid out the heart of the matter simply and clearly.
No matter how much Shisui didn't want to believe it, this was the truth.
"The Root Organization... that man wants our eyes?"
"The Hokage wants to control our power?"
"Sasuke, that's what you mean, right?"
Itachi spoke up.
Having already been struck by Sasuke's unusual way of thinking, Itachi found these claims easier to accept.
"Yeah."
"So what we need to do now is use the Will of Fire as our opening, and show the Hokage how the Uchiha are changing."
"Especially the changes in our geniuses and our strong fighters."
"If one side believes it has the Uchiha's power under control, how likely is the other side to make a forceful move?"
"Can't the conflict be redirected?!"
Sasuke was looking at Itachi as he spoke.
But every word was meant for Uchiha Shisui, standing beside him.
Itachi was a genius, that much was true.
And it was also true that Itachi, who would turn eleven next month, already had the strength of an Elite Jonin.
But he was still far behind Uchiha Shisui, who had mastered the Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo.
Shisui was a true Kage Level fighter.
With an ability as broken as his, protecting the Uchiha clan was no problem.
As long as he started using his head...
"Sasuke, I promise I won't tell anyone what you said today."
"But I won't put complete faith in everything you've said."
"I'll look into it myself."
With that, Shisui vanished.
Itachi raised a hand, as if he wanted to say something, but let it fall again.
Shisui was usually a gentle person.
But...
What Sasuke had just said had touched a nerve.
Since Shisui hadn't immediately denied it, there was probably a good chance it was true...
Let him take some time alone to calm down.
"Big brother, Big Brother Shisui is going to die soon..."
While Itachi was thinking, Sasuke suddenly spoke.
"What?!"
Itachi's expression changed. He stared at Sasuke in disbelief.
He tried to see if Sasuke was lying.
"It won't be Father who comes after him. It'll be Root."
"They can't wait much longer."
Sasuke spoke urgently.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated in an instant.
As chakra surged through him, its ocular power spilled out.
"Sasuke, your eyes..."
"Yeah, my Sharingan is a little unusual."
Sasuke nodded.
Then he began making up an ability for his Sharingan.
[At first, I thought it was just an illusion.]
[The ability to foresee things appeared at random. The people and events were different each time, and the timing was impossible to predict.]
[I saw the Uchiha's future. Someone wiped out the clan, and that person was an Uchiha.]
[Uchiha Shisui tried to protect the clan, but Danzo gouged out one of his eyes. Then, in front of Itachi, he gouged out his other eye and killed himself.]
As a transmigrator, making up an ability like this was easy.
He couldn't choose what he saw, and the timing was uncertain.
That left a lot of room to work with.
And with Uchiha Itachi, the brother-obsessed guy, involved, everything would seem perfectly reasonable and entirely doable!
"Have you told Father about this?"
After a long moment of shock, Itachi finally spoke.
"No."
"You're the only one who knows besides me, Big Brother."
Sasuke looked at Itachi with complete seriousness and conviction.
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi believed him instantly.
What could make a brother-obsessed older brother happier than his little brother's trust?
"Sasuke, don't tell anyone else about this for now."
"I'll go find Father first, then Big Brother Shisui."
"What you need to do now is train."
"By the way, you've been running short on money lately, haven't you?"
"Here's ten million. Take it for now, and tell me whenever you need more."
"And..."
After lecturing him for several minutes, Uchiha Itachi left a thick stack of cash and vanished.
"Uh..."
"He seems to have forgotten to take me with him..."
Sasuke looked helpless.
Fortunately, he was still in the village, not far from the clan compound.
And with Orochimaru having just fled, it shouldn't be a problem.
With that in mind, Sasuke activated his Thunder God Mode and began tempering his body and practicing Taijutsu.
Meanwhile, in an underground building.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you giving me this information on the Uchiha?"
Danzo looked at the documents in his hand, displeasure showing on his face.
Some of it came from his dislike of the Uchiha. The rest came from his deep dissatisfaction with the progress this man had made.
"Lord Danzo."
"I want the person listed here."
"The rest will be easy to arrange."
"Besides, I'm ready. We can begin the experiments."
The hooded man standing before Danzo slowly pulled back his hood.
He revealed a deathly pale face.
That's right. The man who had come before Danzo was Orochimaru, an S-rank missing-nin from Konoha!
And the documents in Danzo's hand were Uchiha Sasuke's!
Before you continue