Itachi's Choice

The Old Naka River Bridge was shrouded in morning mist.

The river flowed beneath the bridge, its quiet murmur making the morning feel colder. The wooden planks were damp and creaked softly underfoot.

Uchiha Itachi stood in the shadows at the edge of the bridge.

An ANBU mask hid his face. His Short Blade remained sheathed, but his hand never left its hilt.

Shisui recognized him.

Not by his clothes.

By the way he stood.

They had trained together since childhood. Each knew the other's presence too well.

Mitokado Homura stood at the center of the bridge. One lens of his glasses was shattered, and his face still bore bruises from Naruto's blows. He looked a wreck, yet when he saw Naruto arrive with Shisui, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"You came after all."

Naruto ignored him. His gaze settled on Itachi.

"Are you here to kill Shisui?"

Itachi's fingers tightened.

Shisui's expression changed.

"Itachi?"

Mitokado Homura smiled.

"Don't make it sound so ugly. Uchiha Itachi is an ANBU member. He's merely here to carry out a necessary mission."

Jiraiya's face darkened.

"Mitokado Homura, you've been caught destroying evidence and helping Root escape. You still dare to deploy ANBU?"

Mitokado Homura looked at him.

"Jiraiya, you've been away from the village too long. You have no idea what Konoha has become. An Uchiha coup isn't speculation. It's only a matter of time."

He raised a scroll.

"These are records of Shisui's activities over the past three months. Secret meetings with the clan's radicals. Entering Naka Shrine at night. Hiding the contents of clan meetings from the Third Hokage. He possesses the most dangerous Mangekyō Sharingan, yet refuses to fully disclose its abilities to the village."

Shisui went pale.

All of it was true.

But every act had a reason.

He had met the radicals to persuade them not to act.

He had entered Naka Shrine to examine the clan's stone tablet and learn what was said at its meetings.

He had withheld some information because he didn't want the leadership using it as an excuse to suppress the Uchiha.

But strung together by Mitokado Homura, those records became evidence of a coup.

Mitokado Homura turned to Itachi.

"Itachi, you've seen it yourself. Uchiha Shisui can no longer be trusted to stand with the village. Only you can stop the Uchiha from turning to rebellion."

Itachi said nothing.

Mist drifted around him at the edge of the bridge.

Shisui stepped forward.

"Itachi, don't let him use you."

Itachi's voice came softly from beneath the mask.

"Shisui, things in the clan really are getting more dangerous."

Shisui froze.

Naruto watched Itachi.

This boy had been forced to make his choice earlier than in the original story.

Mitokado Homura was pressuring him.

With the village, his mission, and the Uchiha's future.

Itachi had not yet lived through the night of the massacre, but the leadership was already pushing him down that path.

Naruto spoke.

"So you're going to kill one of your own first to prove you love the village?"

At last, Itachi looked at Naruto.

"If the clan stages a coup, many people in the village will die."

Naruto took a step forward.

"Then why not kill the people who drove them to the brink of a coup first?"

Itachi fell silent.

Naruto pointed at Mitokado Homura.

"He has records prepared to pin the blame on the Uchiha."

"Danzo has Uchiha eyes in his arm."

"The Advisors' Office moved to seal off the Uchiha in advance."

"Evidence of the maternity ward route being leaked is hidden in the Sarutobi Old Storehouse."

"Can't you see any of that?"

Itachi's fingertips went faintly white.

It wasn't that he couldn't see it.

He was simply used to asking whether the Uchiha might harm the village before asking what the village had done to the Uchiha.

Mitokado Homura snapped, "Naruto, stop twisting the facts! The Uchiha really are inclined toward a coup!"

Naruto turned to him.

"Inclined?"

He pointed at Shisui.

"He urges his clan not to stage a coup, and you call it secret meetings with radicals."

"He investigates the clan's stone tablet, and you say he's hiding his abilities."

"He won't hand over his Mangekyō to you, and you say his loyalties are unclear."

Naruto's voice turned cold.

"With the way you write these reports, you could brand a dead man a rogue ninja."

Mitokado Homura's face twisted.

"You know nothing about politics!"

Naruto vanished and reappeared in front of him.

One slap.

Mitokado Homura slammed into the bridge railing, the scroll flying from his hand.

Naruto caught it, opened it for a quick look, then passed it to Shisui.

"See for yourself."

Shisui took it.

The more he read, the colder his expression became.

Every incident in the records was real.

But all the context had been cut away.

There was no record of his pleas for the clan to stand down, none of his requests for the Third Hokage to mediate. His investigation into Root's suspicious activities had been labeled "contact with unknown forces."

This wasn't surveillance.

It was a draft of his conviction.

Shisui handed the scroll to Itachi.

"You read it too."

Itachi took it.

The bridge fell quiet for a moment.

A few crows called from beyond the morning mist.

When Itachi finished reading, he slowly removed his mask.

His young face showed little emotion, but something had fractured in his eyes.

"Advisor, the mission you gave me was to prevent a coup."

Mitokado Homura held his cheek, breathing heavily.

"That's right."

Itachi raised his eyes.

"Or was it to kill Shisui?"

Mitokado Homura snapped, "If necessary, Shisui must be brought under control. His eyes are too dangerous to remain in Uchiha hands."

Shisui's expression changed.

So did Itachi's eyes.

Cannot remain in Uchiha hands.

The words were all too familiar.

Danzo had used that very excuse to sew Uchiha eyes into his arm.

Naruto watched Itachi.

"Do you understand now?"

"He isn't afraid of an Uchiha coup."

"He wants Shisui's eyes."

Mitokado Homura stumbled backward.

"Nonsense!"

Naruto didn't pursue him.

Itachi had already moved.

His Short Blade flashed from its sheath, and the back of the blade struck Mitokado Homura's knee.

Mitokado Homura screamed and dropped to his knees.

Itachi held the blade across his throat.

"Advisor, the mission has changed."

His voice remained calm.

"As an ANBU member, I'm placing you under arrest."

Shisui looked at Itachi, his expression conflicted.

Naruto looked beneath the bridge.

The Nine-Tails' voice sounded inside him.

"Kid, someone's in the water."

Naruto raised a hand.

A Chakra arm plunged into the river.

Water erupted.

Two Root holdouts were dragged from beneath the surface, each still gripping a Sealing Scroll.

One of the scrolls was already half-open.

Written on it were the words:

"Kotoamatsukami Seizure Plan."