Midnight Discussion in the Secret Room

Takuya turned on the lights in the underground secret room, and Uchiha Itachi had indeed awakened, leaning against the stone tablet that recorded many unknown secrets.

Legend had it that this stone tablet was written by the Sage of Six Paths, and its contents could only be seen by following the sequence of Sharingan - Mangekyō Sharingan - Rinnegan.

Takuya knew what was written on it, and coupled with the fact that the stone tablet had been tampered with by Black Zetsu, he couldn't be bothered to look.

He cast his gaze toward Uchiha Itachi leaning against it.

Uchiha Itachi's hands and feet were bound, and even sitting up was a struggle. At this moment, he was motionless, and if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, anyone seeing him in this state now would likely have thought he was a corpse.

Uchiha Itachi's eye sockets were sunken, and without his eyes, they looked like deep black holes, devoid of the slightest light or vitality.

Yet his expression was very calm, even carrying a sense of relief.

"Awake?"

Takuya walked up to him and said indifferently.

Seeing that Uchiha Itachi gave no response, Takuya chuckled, unbothered, and spoke on his own: "The Uchiha Clan staged a coup. I led the clansmen to charge into the Hokage Building and killed the Third, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu."

Hearing the mention of the coup, Uchiha Itachi did not react at first, as it seemed within his expectations, but upon hearing that his father led people to charge into the Hokage Building and killed the Third and the other three lords, Uchiha Itachi panicked and instinctively blurted out a denial: "Impossible."

Takuya said dismissively: "Why is it impossible? Sarutobi Hiruzen and those old fogies, did you think getting rid of them would be difficult? In the time it takes to take a piss, I took them out one by one with a single blade, finishing them all off."

Uchiha Itachi fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth: "Father, you have changed, changed to the point where I can no longer see through you."

He considered himself very understanding of his father. In his eyes, his father was a man of dignified yet indecisive character.

As the head of the clan, he could neither oppose the Hokage above nor unite the clansmen below. Externally, he turned a blind eye to the Konoha faction's increasingly oppressive attitude toward the Uchiha, failing to ponder how to resist the Hokage; internally, he showed no reaction whatsoever to the clansmen who were growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Konoha faction and stirring with restless ambition.

He was a good father, but not a very good clan head. The relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village grew increasingly tense, yet he had achieved nothing.

Dissatisfied with their treatment in Konoha, the Uchiha Clan attempted to launch a coup to seize political power. Once the coup broke out, Konoha would inevitably fall into internal strife, and other nations would likely take advantage of the chaos to instigate a large-scale war, bringing devastating disaster to the village.

Uchiha Itachi knew all too well the cruelty of war. To prevent the village from falling into warfare, he decided to sacrifice the Uchiha Clan as the price in exchange for Konoha's peace and stability. However, he had not expected that while he was still hesitating, his father would beat him to the punch, plotting against him, gouging out his eyes, and placing him under house arrest.

And what surprised him the most was that his father actually possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan as well.

Itachi sighed.

"What good does it do for you to kill Lord Hokage? Lord Hokage is dead, Konoha is on the verge of internal strife, and other nations will likely take advantage of the chaos to instigate a large-scale war, bringing devastating disaster to the village."

"Heh, you don't know shit when you're still wet behind the ears."

Takuya's unceremonious sarcasm caused Uchiha Itachi to flush red.

He opened his mouth, then suddenly felt a stir in his heart. Logically speaking, the village should have already plunged into utter chaos, yet his father still had the spare time to come here? Could it be?

He found it hard to believe.

"The village hasn't fallen into internal strife?"

Uchiha Itachi asked with surprise.

"Of course not."

Takuya said with a chuckle: "After I killed the Konoha F4, I was surrounded at the Hokage Building, but none of them made a move. Konoha ninja have suffered under the Third and Danzo for far too long, you see. I merely proposed sitting down for negotiations, and they readily agreed."

A self-satisfied smile appeared on Takuya's face. After all, everything had gone far too smoothly, even exceeding his own expectations.

He had thought he would have to fight a few more battles and suppress a batch of ninja first.

Konoha F4? Uchiha Itachi wore a blank expression, finding this term somewhat difficult to comprehend, but he quickly realized that what his father was referring to must be the Third, Danzo, and the other four lords.

All that talk about Konoha ninja suffering under the Third and Danzo for long, all that talk about readily agreeing to negotiations...

The more Uchiha Itachi listened, the more absurd it sounded. Just listen to this, is this something a human being would say?

He couldn't help chiming in: "Father, are you telling cross-talk jokes?"

Takuya rolled his eyes and said: "At any rate, Konoha won't fall into chaos. The negotiations went very smoothly. I am taking office as the Fifth Hokage, Nara Shikaku will be the Hokage Assistant, Hyuga Hiashi will be the Hokage Advisor, and I plan to hand the remaining advisor position to the Great Elder."

Listening to his father recount this without the slightest ring of falsehood, Uchiha Itachi fell silent.

This was simply too absurd, alright!? He dared not believe that any of this was real.

Was an Uchiha Clan coup really this simple?

Even if his father possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan, it shouldn't have been possible to succeed in a coup so effortlessly, right?

"Just watch, Konoha Village is only going to get better and better from here on out."

Takuya said indifferently.

Uchiha Itachi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

Seeing Uchiha Itachi fall back into silence, Takuya said no more, giving him a few minutes to digest the information before he gave a cough and spoke once again: "I've told you all this as well. If you don't believe it, go out there yourself and confirm whether what I said is true or false."

A stir rippled through Uchiha Itachi's heart. That's right, after all, I am my father's son; father couldn't possibly keep me locked up forever.

"But my eyes..."

Uchiha Itachi hesitated.

Takuya waved a hand and said: "You can forget about your own eyes. I'll have someone transplant a pair of the clan's Three-Tomoe Sharingan for you."

Hearing this, a bitter taste lingered at the corners of Uchiha Itachi's mouth.

Yet very soon he brushed it aside. Right now, all he wanted was to go out and confirm whether what his father said was true or false.

Had the village truly not fallen into civil strife? Had only the Third and the other three lords died? Did the other ninja clans raise no objections? Would the village genuinely get better and better?

To be honest, if it were his father of the past, he certainly wouldn't have believed it, but today his father had once again taught him a thorough lesson, making him realize that he didn't truly understand his father at all.

"Fine, Three-Tomoe it is. When will you replace my eyes?"

Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath and asked.

Takuya glanced at him and said: "Anytime, right now is fine, but there is one premise."

Takuya licked his lips, finally getting to the main point.

A question mark appeared on Uchiha Itachi's forehead. A premise?

"Go ahead."

Uchiha Itachi asked with bewilderment.

"Hand Shisui's eyes over to me."

Takuya said in a deep voice!

As soon as these words were spoken, Uchiha Itachi's expression shifted dramatically.

Instantly, he realized something, and a bitter smile appeared on his face: "So you knew everything all along, Father."

He had thought everything he did was kept in his father's eyes, and even the single Mangekyō Sharingan entrusted to him by Shisui was actually known to him.

Takuya did not answer his question, putting on a front of deliberate mystery.