An All-Night Coup

Four ANBU stood atop a high tower outside the Uchiha Clan Compound, constantly observing through telescopes.

The tower had been built after the Uchiha moved here, with the official excuse that it was for keeping watch at night.

In truth, it was there to monitor the Uchiha Clan.

With Uchiha Itachi, the mole, providing cover, a great deal of Uchiha intelligence had been leaked to the Third Hokage.

"Another gathering." The fox-masked ANBU yawned. "That makes three this week, right? Do the Uchiha never sleep?"

"Say less." The dog-masked captain rebuked him quietly, sweeping his gaze across the Uchiha Clan Compound through his telescope.

"If they told us to watch, then we watch. The rest isn't our concern."

"Captain, what do you think the Uchiha are trying to do?"

"Don't know. Don't want to know."

The dog-masked captain lowered his telescope. "Our mission is to 'watch,' not to 'guess.'"

"Someone's coming!"

The group instantly became alert.

"It's Uchiha Itachi. He's coming up."

The dog-masked captain was not particularly wary. After all, Itachi had provided them with intelligence many times before.

Soon, Itachi, dressed in ANBU attire, leaped inside.

"I have critical intelligence that must be reported to Lord Hokage immediately!"

The moment he arrived, Itachi spoke with a grave expression.

The four men's attention was immediately drawn to him.

"What intelligence?" The dog-masked captain frowned.

Itachi did not answer.

The instant the Three-Tomoe Sharingan lit up in his eyes, he had already locked onto the gazes of all four men.

"...!"

The dog-masked captain's pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, he tried to look away, but it was already too late.

Endless darkness and blood-red visions filled his sight.

The four dead men simultaneously fell into the fears buried deep within their hearts. Their bodies stiffened, and their eyes went unfocused.

Itachi's blade flashed past, clean and decisive.

He propped the four corpses against the tower railing, using their weapons to support their bodies.

From a distance, they appeared to still be carrying out their mission.

Itachi wiped the blood from his face and jumped down from the tower, signaling to Zhengye.

"Senior Zhengye, aside from this route, we found Root personnel in other locations as well."

Zhengye nodded. "Let's move faster."

Under cover of night, the five of them headed toward the Shrine Hall, where the gathering had yet to end.

Uchiha Clan Compound, Shrine Hall.

"...Next, I will continue relinquishing certain benefits. This can earn us more trust from the Third Hokage."

Uchiha Fugaku explained confidently.

Below him, Uchiha Yashiro frowned, clearly not in agreement with the decision.

"Fugaku, this is too risky."

Fugaku waved a hand. "Itachi has already brought the clan plenty of intelligence. My decision is final."

Yashiro fell silent. After all, the other man was the clan head. Fugaku had the final say in such matters.

Just then.

Bang!

A violent crash came from the door.

Everyone turned toward the sound, only to see Uchiha Zhengye barging in at the front, followed by Shisui, Itachi, Inabi, and Tekka.

"Zhengye!" A short-haired young man rose from the crowd. He was Uchiha Medicine Flavor, Fugaku's staunch supporter, a jonin, and one of the Police Force captains.

"You were already dismissed by the clan head. What right do you have to come here?"

Zhengye turned his head, a mocking smile appearing on his face.

"I'm already here. What can you do about it?"

Then someone noticed that Shisui's right eye socket had shriveled, and they immediately cried out in shock and fury.

"Shisui, what happened to your right eye!?"

Fugaku's attention was also drawn to Uchiha Shisui. His expression instantly turned grave.

"What happened? Who dared touch your eye!?"

"Heh!" Zhengye sneered. "You have your indecisive clan head to thank for that. You don't fight when you should, and you don't stand firm when you should."

"Why did Konoha dare lay hands on us? Because they know that the Uchiha Clan's head is spineless!"

"Zhengye!" Fugaku shot him a sharp glare. "Shut your mouth. We're talking about Shisui right now!"

"What I'm talking about is Shisui's matter."

Zhengye did not back down. He stepped forward and stared directly at Fugaku.

"Today, Danzo summoned Shisui under the pretense of 'discussing Uchiha affairs' and tried to turn him. Shisui refused."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every clansman present.

"Then Danzo acted. He gouged out Shisui's right eye—the Mangekyō Sharingan!"

The Shrine Hall erupted into uproar.

They were shocked that Shisui possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and even more unable to believe that Konoha's upper ranks had actually attacked them.

Zhengye did not stop. He turned to Itachi. "Shisui lost his eye because he was too naive. He thought reporting the Mangekyō Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami would earn him trust."

"But why did Danzo dare act? Because Konoha's upper ranks believe the Uchiha are easy to bully!"

He pointed at Itachi.

"And Itachi repeatedly cooperated with the Third Hokage in the ANBU, selling out the clan's interests."

"The Police Force's patrol hounds were cut back, the Ninja Academy's recommendation quotas were reduced, and our clansmen's businesses were squeezed out—of all these things, which one was not Konoha steadily devouring us?"

"They dared to gouge out Shisui's eye today because they believe the Uchiha will not resist!"

Shisui stood behind Zhengye, his lone eye calmly watching everything unfold.

He said nothing, but the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his remaining eye continued to turn slowly.

Anger? Of course.

But more than that, he blamed himself.

If he had not naively reported the Mangekyō Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami to Konoha, perhaps none of this would have happened today.

Now was not the time to settle accounts.

The Uchiha's future mattered more than one eye.

Zhengye pointed at Fugaku. "Sending Itachi into the ANBU as a double agent was your idea."

"But Itachi has already been brainwashed by the Third Hokage. You think he has been sending intelligence to the clan, but in reality, he only gave you what you wanted to hear."

"The clan's real interests have long been nibbled away by Konoha, bit by bit."

Zhengye said bitterly, "Your so-called 'double agent' has long become a blade in Konoha's hand!"

The icy mask on Fugaku's face finally cracked. He turned and stared fixedly at Itachi, the skin on his face twitching faintly with humiliation, disappointment, and rage.

"Itachi! Is what Zhengye said true!?"

Since returning from the future, Itachi had remained silent. Compared with the shock of the clan's massacre, and his father's trust in offering up his neck to be slaughtered—

His own pride was worth less than nothing.

Thud!

Itachi looked at the father he had bitterly resented only yesterday, his eyes red as he said in a trembling voice,

"Father, I was wrong."

Thinking of what his parents had said when he killed them two years later, Itachi knew that he had never understood his father, nor had he ever understood his heart.

His voice choked. "I was deceived by Sarutobi Hiruzen and sold out many of the clan's interests. I... I am guilty."

The moment those words left his mouth, the Shrine Hall exploded.

"You bastard, Uchiha Itachi! You actually dared betray the clan!"

"Damn it! We sent you to the ANBU, and Konoha bought you off!?"

"Did the clan treat you badly? Why would you do this!?"

"Are you worthy of the Uchiha name!?"

Before Fugaku could speak, the clansmen had already become righteously indignant.

The Uchiha might have hot tempers and unstable emotions, but they valued the clan's honor greatly.

Most of them were simply shocked and unable to believe it.

After all, betraying the clan would always come after death as an option.

Itachi's words, "I was wrong." And, "I am guilty."

Were like explosive tags detonating beside Fugaku's ears, leaving him stunned.

No emotion could be seen on Fugaku's face, but beneath the table, his clenched hand had turned white.

Itachi had admitted his fault.

His son, proud to the bone, had actually admitted his fault!

Complex emotions churned within Fugaku—anger, disappointment, sorrow, and an indescribable ache.

He took a deep breath, suppressing those surging feelings. His voice was hoarse.

"Your matter... can wait. The most important thing now is recovering Shisui's eye."

Fugaku took another deep breath and rose to his feet, his voice steady.

"I will go to the Hokage's Office now and negotiate with the Third Hokage personally."

"Shisui's eye, the Uchiha's Sharingan—outsiders cannot take them."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

"Stop!"

Zhengye's voice was not loud, yet it nailed Fugaku in place like a spike.

Fugaku turned around, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Zhengye, for the sake of you bringing Itachi back, I will not pursue your insolence. But now is not the time to waste time."

"Waste time?"

Zhengye laughed, his smile full of ridicule.

"You'll negotiate with the Third Hokage, and then what? He'll claim that 'this was Danzo's personal action,' apologize, return a fake eye, compensate you with a few million ryo—and you'll be satisfied?"

Fugaku's expression darkened.

"Since when did Uchiha belongings become something for outsiders to exchange?" Zhengye's voice gradually rose.

"Our own eye was gouged out, and we have to rely on others to 'return' it—this alone is disgraceful!"

Only then did Fugaku realize that Itachi, Shisui, Inabi, and Tekka were all standing behind Zhengye.

His eyes narrowed. "Zhengye, what do you mean?"

Zhengye stepped forward, facing Uchiha Fugaku directly. A sharp, chilling aura radiated from his entire body.

"What I mean is that you, Uchiha Fugaku, are unfit to be clan head."

The Shrine Hall fell instantly silent.

Step down!