Danzo's Coup

Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Itachi Uchiha stood at a high vantage point, looking toward the Hokage Building in the distance.

He had already delivered the intelligence to Danzo.

Of course, that intelligence had been personally crafted by Uchiha You.

Nine truths and one lie.

Even the matter of the Mangekyo Sharingan's side effects was true.

The Mangekyo Sharingan did indeed have side effects.

The more frequently it was used, the greater the consumption of ocular power.

Eyesight would also deteriorate.

This was not entirely undocumented within the Uchiha Clan.

If Danzo investigated, he could find similar clues.

So when Itachi passed along this information, Danzo would certainly believe it.

But the key issue was that Uchiha You was different from an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan user.

He had a system.

He could spend Behind-the-Scenes Points to repair the damage to his ocular power.

Danzo could never possibly know that.

Thus, in Danzo's eyes, Uchiha You's recent frenzied use of the Mangekyo Sharingan was nothing but courting his own death.

But in Uchiha You's eyes, Danzo believing that was the same as delivering himself to the door.

Itachi sighed faintly to himself.

When it came to manipulating people's hearts, Danzo was indeed insidious.

But Uchiha You was even more terrifying.

Because You did not merely know his enemies' weaknesses.

He would even take the initiative to hand his enemies a "seemingly genuine weakness."

Making them think they held the upper hand.

Then leading them step by step into a trap.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Uchiha You walked over.

"Did you send the intelligence?"

Itachi nodded.

"I sent it."

Uchiha You asked,

"How did Danzo react?"

Itachi said,

"There was no direct response from Root."

"But I could sense that Danzo believed it."

"Of course he believed it."

"The Mangekyo Sharingan's side effects are real."

"My frequent use of the Mangekyo Sharingan lately is real too."

"It would be stranger if he didn't believe it."

Itachi looked at him.

"Are your eyes really all right?"

Uchiha You said calmly,

"There's a problem."

Itachi frowned.

Uchiha You continued,

"But it isn't a serious one."

Itachi fell silent.

That did not sound like an explanation.

It sounded more like a brush-off.

Uchiha You glanced at him and smiled.

"Don't worry."

"I'm not blind yet."

"At least not before Danzo dies."

Itachi did not press the matter further.

Everyone had secrets.

He had long known that Uchiha You had his own secrets.

What he truly cared about was whether this plan could succeed.

"If Danzo is really provoked, he may push the final plan forward ahead of schedule."

Uchiha You nodded.

"That's exactly what I want—to move it up."

Itachi frowned.

"If it happens too early, the clan may not be fully prepared."

Uchiha You said,

"Then we speed things up these next few days."

"How is the evacuation of the women and children going?"

Itachi answered,

"Thirty percent on the surface."

"In reality, it's already close to eighty percent."

Uchiha You nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

"What about the combat squads?"

Itachi said,

"Uchiha Chuan is responsible for countering the outer blockade."

"Shisui is handling genjutsu support."

"Father is secretly gathering the clan's Three-Tomoe Sharingan users."

"But some of the more conservative clan members still don't know."

Uchiha You said,

"Keep them in the dark."

"The more people who know, the more holes there will be."

Itachi nodded.

At that moment, the system's voice rang out in Uchiha You's mind.

[Itachi Uchiha has successfully delivered misleading intelligence to Danzo.]

[Danzo has confirmed the intelligence concerning the Mangekyo Sharingan's side effects and has judged the host to be in a high-consumption state.]

[Danzo's assessment of the host's strength has become distorted.]

[The likelihood of Konoha's upper ranks acting ahead of schedule has increased.]

[Side Quest Two: Win Over Itachi Uchiha. Progress has increased to 85%.]

[Behind-the-Scenes Points gained: 10000.]

[Current Behind-the-Scenes Points: 90000.]

Uchiha You's eyes lit up slightly.

Ninety thousand Behind-the-Scenes Points.

Excellent.

That old dog Danzo had already begun crawling into the cage.

Seeing the smile at the corner of Uchiha You's mouth, Itachi suddenly asked,

"What are you smiling about?"

Uchiha You said calmly,

"I was thinking that Danzo should be very happy right now."

Itachi frowned.

"Happy?"

Uchiha You smiled.

"Yeah."

"He thinks he found my weakness."

"He thinks my Mangekyo Sharingan is about to burn out."

"He thinks the Uchiha Clan has not been fully united yet."

"He thinks Sasuke still has you under his thumb."

"He thinks that as long as his right arm recovers, he can immediately pressure the Third Hokage and eliminate the unstable factor that is the Uchiha Clan."

Itachi was silent for a moment.

"You even anticipated that?"

Uchiha You shook his head.

"It wasn't anticipation."

"Danzo will definitely do this."

"The more someone like him suffers setbacks, the more desperate he becomes to prove that he is right."

"This time, I crippled one of his arms and forced him to hand over the files."

"He won't think he was wrong."

"He'll only think that he didn't act fast enough or ruthlessly enough."

Itachi said in a low voice,

"So he'll become even more radical."

Uchiha You nodded.

"That's right."

"He'll force the Third Hokage to make a decision."

"And the Third..."

Uchiha You raised his head and looked toward Hokage Rock in the distance.

"The Third will hesitate."

"He'll struggle."

"He'll say that they cannot easily raise their hands against their comrades."

"But in the end, he'll give tacit approval."

Itachi's fist tightened slightly.

Even though he had already accepted Uchiha You's plan, hearing those words still made him uncomfortable.

The Third Hokage.

After all, he was someone Itachi had once respected.

Uchiha You glanced at Itachi.

"Do you think I'm being too cold-blooded?"

Itachi did not answer.

Uchiha You said calmly,

"Then keep watching."

"Watch how the Third makes his final choice."

Five days later.

Root Base.

The operating room doors slowly opened.

Danzo walked out.

His right arm was once again wrapped in thick bandages.

Unlike the old arm that had been corroded by the Black Umbrella, this newly transplanted right arm brimmed with the vitality of Hashirama Cells.

Though it had not fully stabilized yet, it was already enough to restore his ability to move.

With every step, Danzo could feel the burning heat and rejection coming from within his new right arm.

The Hashirama Cells were struggling.

Trying to consume his body.

But Danzo did not care.

Power always came at a price.

As long as he could eliminate the Uchiha Clan, seize the Sharingan, and allow Konoha to endure within his darkness, what did this little pain matter?

Root ninjas knelt on both sides.

"Lord Danzo."

Danzo slowly raised his new right arm, curling his fingers slightly.

Crack.

His knuckles popped.

It was still somewhat stiff, but usable.

That was enough.

He said coldly:

"Gather Root's Jonin."

"Prepare the final solution for the Uchiha Clan."

A Root ninja lowered his head.

"As for the Hokage..."

Danzo's lone eye turned icy.

"I'll go see Hiruzen myself."

Hokage Building.

Night.

The Third Hokage was handling documents.

Cold moonlight shone beyond the window.

Danzo pushed open the door and entered.

The Third looked up. Seeing Danzo's freshly rebandaged right arm, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Your hand..."

Danzo replied flatly:

"My old arm could no longer purge the erosion from Uchiha You's eye technique."

"I already removed it."

The Third's expression shifted slightly.

He had not expected Uchiha You's eye technique to be this troublesome.

Even the Hashirama Cells could not completely suppress it.

Danzo walked up to the desk, his voice dark.

"Hiruzen."

"We can't wait any longer."

The Third said gravely:

"The Uchiha Clan again?"

Danzo said coldly:

"You've already witnessed Uchiha You's Mangekyo Sharingan ability."

"It corrodes chakra, contaminates the chakra pathways, and regenerates itself."

"If this power continues to grow, all of Konoha will lose the ability to keep him in check."