Shisui's Death, Itachi's Awakening!

The Hokage Building.

"Itachi, the village is facing its gravest danger... Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Uchiha Itachi wore combat gear and carried a Tachi on his back. He knelt on one knee.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward and helped him up, saying warmly, "You're always so formal."

"It's only right."

Itachi kept his head lowered.

"Ah..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Itachi, you know that relations between the village and the Uchiha have grown more strained ever since the Nine-Tails' Attack..."

"The village has tried to downplay the fact that the Nine-Tails was controlled by the Sharingan and portray the attack as a natural disaster. But you know it hasn't worked. We can't control what people say."

"Even the once-respected Konoha Military Police Force has come to be feared by ordinary citizens. Everyone worries that the Uchiha Clan might unleash another catastrophe like the Nine-Tails' Attack!"

"So we had no choice but to relocate the Uchiha Clan for their own protection. It wasn't an attack on them. From my teacher to me, we've all done everything we can to help the Uchiha Clan become part of the village. Doesn't entrusting them with a department as important as the Konoha Military Police Force prove that?"

After a moment's silence, Itachi said, "Lord Hokage, I understand your reasoning. What are you asking of me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a drag, his gaze deep. "Itachi, yesterday Shinji Uchiha told me that the Uchiha are preparing to rebel..."

"They're going to stage a coup."

What?

Uchiha Itachi jerked his head up.

He stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi in shock.

"Surprised? So am I. To think that everything the village did to protect the Uchiha would leave them misunderstanding us. The rift has grown this deep..."

Confusion filled Uchiha Itachi's eyes...

It wasn't news of the Uchiha coup that shocked him. Big Brother Shinji had actually told the Third Hokage about it openly?

That morning, Big Brother Shinji had gone to ask his father to step down...

What is he trying to do?

"Itachi, the Uchiha are a great clan, one of the foremost in the entire Shinobi World. They have hundreds of Jonin, nearly a thousand Chunin, and countless Genin. Every one of them possesses the Sharingan. Many civilian members are scattered across the Shinobi World, establishing clan outposts and managing the weapons trade. Their reach is vast..."

"If a clan of that size stages a coup inside the village, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "It would spark a massive war, like the fighting between the Uchiha and Senju before Konoha was founded..."

"Konoha, and even the entire Land of Fire, would be plunged back into the Warring States Period. And once the Land of Fire descends into war, the other hidden villages will carve it up."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi didn't know what to say. One question consumed him: What is Big Brother Shinji trying to do?

Seeing no response from Itachi, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "Itachi, the village needs you!"

"Yes, Lord Third! Please give me your orders!"

Itachi came back to himself and bowed his head respectfully, accepting the order.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's frown deepened. "The Uchiha Clan Meeting is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

"I want you to go and find out what's being discussed, so the village and the Uchiha can keep each other informed and avoid a conflict."

Uchiha Itachi replied gravely, "Understood!"

The New Year was approaching.

Uchiha Itachi walked alone through the streets.

Konoha's streets rang with laughter and were bright with decorations. Elegant women in kimonos held children's hands, smiling and chatting happily.

Boys and girls chased each other with fireworks in hand. They bumped into adults and vanished before anyone could catch them...

All of Konoha seemed lively.

Peaceful.

Uchiha Itachi had encountered war at a young age, though he had never fought deep in it or guarded the border as Big Brother Shinji and Shisui had.

Even so, his first experience on a battlefield had left a deep impression on him.

He hated war.

But there was no escaping it.

Disputes broke out everywhere in the world: between countries, between villages, between clans, even between neighbors...

To Itachi, the village's attitude toward the Uchiha didn't matter. Neither did the Uchiha's attitude toward the village.

What mattered was preventing war!

Yet peace seemed like a beautiful, unattainable dream.

He couldn't tell who was right or wrong. He had once considered asking Big Brother Shinji about peace and war.

But...

Compared with steady, dependable Shisui and warm, gentle, fearless Big Brother Shinji, he felt like a creature destined to live in darkness.

He couldn't bear to look into the sunlight.

He didn't dare raise his head before them and reveal the darkness deep inside him.

Besides.

Since graduating early, Shinji Uchiha and Shisui had spent nearly all their time on battlefields or at the border. They returned to the village so rarely it hardly counted...

"Big Brother Shinji... If it were you, how would you resolve the conflict between the village and the clan? I really wish I knew."

Before he realized it.

Uchiha Itachi had reached the little grove that had been burned to ashes.

The Uchiha's Fire Demon—

That was Kumogakure's name for Shinji Uchiha. Within the Uchiha Clan, he was known as Big Brother Shinji the Fire God...

“How much enemy blood did it take to earn a name like that?” Uchiha Itachi couldn't imagine how powerful Big Brother Shinji was, or how many enemies he had killed.

Rustle!

Uchiha Itachi's ears twitched. He darted behind a dead tree and peered toward the sound.

His pupils widened.

"Is that... Shisui?!"

At the far end of the scorched ground.

Shisui stumbled toward him, covered in blood. One eye was an empty black socket, and blood ran down his cheek!

Run!

As Shisui fled, he spotted Uchiha Itachi. Seeming wary of something, he dared not shout and could only mouth the warning.

"...Run?"

Uchiha Itachi had been about to rush over and help. Instead, he froze, his thoughts in turmoil.

This is Konoha!

Why should I run?!

What happened? Who's hunting Shisui?!

Soon.

Uchiha Itachi got his answer. Hidden in the treetop, he watched Shisui being surrounded at the far end of the Plains.

His heart gave a violent lurch.

There were dozens of them...

One man stood out among the dark mass of ninja. He wore white, and bandages covered his head and arm.

Half his body was wrapped in them!

Shimura... Danzo!

Root!

Itachi clenched his fists.

In that moment, all his tangled thoughts fell away. Only one remained: Go back!

Get Big Brother Shinji to help!

But...

Just as he was about to leave, Shisui vanished at the edge of his vision...

Danzo Shimura and the Root ninja scattered. Silence settled over the Cliff at the edge of the woods.

Uchiha Itachi was frantic.

He crept carefully to the edge of the Cliff.

Standing tall on the Cliff, he stared into the bottomless abyss. Tears silently ran down his face.

Only.

The tears were bloodred...

Because Shinji Uchiha had been there, the bond between Shisui and Itachi was not as strong as it might otherwise have been.

But.

No matter how devoted Uchiha Itachi was to the Hokage, he was still human, with all the feelings and desires that entailed. He was still a Uchiha.

He knew who treated him well.

He knew who genuinely cared about him...

Consumed by grief, Uchiha Itachi failed to notice the three Tomoe spinning in his eyes, transforming into the shape of a three-bladed shuriken...

"Shisui..."