Explanation

An elderly man with a tall build and white hair and beard strode into the room.

The moment he entered, he impatiently asked, "Fugaku, the gathering hasn't even started yet. Why did you call me here?"

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the figure lying flat on the table. When he saw the person's face clearly and discovered that his empty eye sockets were hollow like holes, his pupils abruptly contracted as though he had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.

His expression changed drastically. He pointed at the figure on the table, nearly speechless.

It took him quite a while to compose himself before he hurriedly asked, "Fugaku, what happened to Itachi?"

He examined him closely and found that Itachi's eyes had indeed been removed!

Itachi was Fugaku's son. In this village, who would dare lay a hand on Itachi!?

Uchiha Fugaku was the undisputed head of the Uchiha Clan. Although a small number of clan members were dissatisfied with him, he was still the rightful clan head. Attacking his son and removing his Sharingan was tantamount to slapping Fugaku in the face—and slapping Fugaku in the face meant slapping the entire Uchiha Clan in the face!

The Great Elder, Uchiha Sihu, had his beard and hair bristling. His face turned slightly livid, a vein bulged on his forehead, and several tendons around his temples twitched violently. He looked utterly enraged.

Takuya waved a hand. "Keep it down. I did it."

Huh?

It was as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over the enraged Uchiha Sihu. His fury vanished in an instant, leaving him somewhat embarrassed.

Even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs. Fugaku, you...

Faced with Uchiha Sihu's confused, probing gaze, Takuya did not explain much. "I'll explain later. Seal his Chakra first."

"Seal it? Isn't Itachi your son? You want his Chakra sealed? Are you sure?"

Although Uchiha Sihu was filled with countless doubts, since Uchiha Fugaku had said he would explain later, he did not hesitate.

"Fine."

He nodded and stepped over to Uchiha Itachi. Pale blue Chakra emerged from his aged fingers as he solemnly began performing Sealing Jutsu.

Takuya silently watched. Within the Uchiha Clan, Great Elder Uchiha Sihu was the only one who knew a little Sealing Jutsu. Sealing Chakra was more than easy enough for him.

Others might not know, but Takuya knew perfectly well that his bargain-bin son still had one of Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan.

He was about to reach the pinnacle of life—launch a coup, overthrow the Third Hokage, and seize the position of Naruto. He did not want to take a Kotoamatsukami and have everything fall apart.

If he had not wanted the Mangekyou Sharingan in Itachi's possession that had belonged to Shisui, he would not even have bothered calling Uchiha Sihu over to seal Itachi's Chakra. Wouldn't it have been better to just kill him?

After all, he had transmigrated here and had no feelings for this bargain-bin son, Itachi. He was merely a famous character from an anime. Killing him was no big deal.

But on one hand, he greedily wanted Shisui's eye, and on the other, he did not want to fall out with Fugaku's family. Taking both factors into account, he would spare Itachi's life for now.

Before long, Uchiha Sihu withdrew his Chakra and announced that the sealing was complete.

"Alright, what exactly is going on?"

Uchiha Sihu asked in a deep voice.

"Sit."

After the system appeared, Takuya's tense mood had vanished completely. He even smiled with some ease as he invited Uchiha Sihu to sit and talk things over slowly.

"Itachi is indeed my son, but he has sided with Sarutobi Hiruzen."

Uchiha Sihu was utterly stunned upon hearing Fugaku's words.

He could not understand why Itachi would side with the Third Hokage.

"You mean...?"

Uchiha Sihu frowned, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

"He told Sarutobi Hiruzen everything about our planned coup."

The words hit like a stone stirring a thousand waves. Uchiha Sihu's expression changed drastically. "What!?"

He shot to his feet and paced anxiously around the room, a thin layer of sweat appearing on his forehead. "What a sin! I told you long ago that the path of rebellion would never succeed, but you insisted on... sigh!"

He let out a heavy sigh.

Uchiha Sihu was the leader of the Dove Faction and had always opposed the coup.

Takuya calmly took a sip of tea. Once Uchiha Sihu had calmed down, he continued, "Elder, think carefully. Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, how has the village treated us? If you keep clinging to unrealistic hopes, you will only doom the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Sihu looked at Takuya with an ugly expression. He admitted that Fugaku was speaking the truth, but a coup was not a path to survival either. Though the village was currently weakened, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Trying to launch a coup with the Uchiha Clan's strength alone was no different from striking a stone with an egg.

Yet Takuya had no intention of arguing with him. He merely said lightly:

"I have awakened the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan."

A trace of shock flashed through Uchiha Sihu's eyes, and his voice trembled slightly. "Eternal... Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Seeing the disbelief on Uchiha Sihu's face, Takuya smiled and nodded. "That's right. Just as you think."

"Are you certain?"

After Takuya nodded again, Uchiha Sihu began trembling all over with excitement.

"May I see it?"

Uchiha Sihu asked.

Takuya shook his head. "Later. I received word that Konoha will attack us while we gather tonight. This is a battle for the clan's survival. Gather every Jonin in the clan. Move the gathering forward. One hour from now, at Naka Shrine, I will show all of you these eyes."

"Good, good. I never thought that in my lifetime, I would see a clansman awaken eyes like Lord Madara's."

Uchiha Sihu was old. Having lived long and experienced much, he naturally knew certain secrets.

"I'll gather them right away."

Uchiha Sihu was no longer worried. In his view, the current weakened Konoha had no one capable of resisting eyes like Lord Madara's.

The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan! When Konoha had just been founded, there had still been Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, who had been evenly matched with Lord Madara and even slightly stronger. But now...

Uchiha Sihu left the room in great excitement to gather people.

Wasn't it just a coup? Let's do it!

After Uchiha Sihu left, Takuya instructed Uchiha Ryoichi to bind Uchiha Itachi with ropes and take him to Naka Shrine.

There was a secret chamber beneath Naka Shrine. It was perfect for throwing Uchiha Itachi down there.

One hour later, Naka Shrine.

The main hall was packed with people.

They wore matching tight black combat uniforms, with green Jonin flak jackets over them. The Uchiha clan crest was embroidered on both shoulders.

Takuya stood at the forefront on elevated ground, with the Great Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder standing to his left and right.

"Fugaku, aside from those away on missions who could not return, all the clan's Jonin are here."

Great Elder Uchiha Sihu reported respectfully.

The Second Elder and Third Elder still did not know what had happened. They looked at Uchiha Sihu with some astonishment as he made his respectful report.

The two of them belonged to the Hawk Faction and advocated launching a coup. As the leader of the Dove Faction, Great Elder Uchiha Sihu often opposed them, leaving the two utterly baffled.