Pot Kage Was Up to His Old Tricks

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his office in the Hokage Building, exhaustion written across his face.

He spread out a sheet of paper and was about to write when he lit his pipe and took a couple of puffs. "Kakashi! Tell Uchiha Itachi to come see me!"

No one answered.

Sarutobi frowned and raised his voice. "Kakashi?!"

Dead silence still greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi. Startled, he sprang to his feet and dropped into a fighting stance!

"Who's there?!"

"Caw—"

A harsh crow call rang out.

A flock of black Crows fluttered through the window into the office. As they circled, they formed a human figure that stood before him.

"Third Hokage, it's me."

"Itachi?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow tightened. Every muscle tense, he watched Uchiha Itachi, who had transformed from a Crow, warily. "I was just about to send someone for you."

Uchiha Itachi's gaze was calm, his figure shrouded in darkness. "I came to tell you that the plan to eliminate Shinji Uchiha and the Uchiha Clan failed."

"...Wh-what?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face changed. "Eliminate Shinji Uchiha... No, eliminate the Uchiha Clan?! Who told you to do that? What plan?!"

Itachi was silent for a moment. "...Advisor Danzo gave the order the morning after Shinji Uchiha returned to the village, after you summoned me."

Crack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched his fist, his knuckles popping audibly.

The day after Shinji Uchiha returned to the village.

That was after Shinji had burned down the little grove, when Sarutobi had changed his opinion of him... and ordered Danzo to keep him under surveillance!

And this was the result?!

That was his idea of surveillance?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and thought fast. "What exactly did he tell you?"

Uchiha Itachi said, "Advisor Danzo told me to await his orders. If anything happened to him, I was to eliminate Shinji Uchiha immediately and wipe out the clan!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nearly exploded. "Wipe out the Uchiha? Eliminate Shinji? Are you insane?! Is Danzo insane?! Why would he give such a senseless order?!"

"And he expected you to carry it out alone?!"

"No."

Itachi frowned. "Advisor Danzo appears to be working with a mysterious man. He wears a mask... He has the Sharingan and has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"He calls himself—Madara Uchiha!"

"What?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically, and he almost leaped to his feet. He soon regained his composure.

"Impossible! Impossible! Madara Uchiha died long ago!"

"Yes."

Itachi nodded. "Your doubts are reasonable, but he is undeniably powerful and mysterious. Third Hokage, I believe he may be the very person responsible for the Nine-Tails' Attack years ago."

"...What?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was dumbfounded.

Could someone tell him what on earth had happened in a single night?!

Uchiha Itachi had followed Danzo's orders to wipe out the Uchiha Clan and joined forces with a so-called "Madara Uchiha"...

And that man was also responsible for the Nine-Tails' Attack?!

"Are you certain?!"

Itachi said evenly, "Third Hokage, I saw that man back then. The mask, the clothes, the abilities—they were the same. I wouldn't mistake him!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Then he abruptly looked up.

"Itachi, the Uchiha Clan is your family. Your kin live there. Could you really bring yourself to kill them one by one?"

Uchiha Itachi's voice was cold. "At first, I still held out hope for the policies Shinji Uchiha introduced after taking power. But... his actions afterward left me no choice. He drove a wedge between Konoha and the Konoha Military Police Force, created a clan army, and tried to kill a village advisor..."

"That disappointing, petty clan cares only about power. Its existence will drag Konoha into the abyss. There is no longer any reason for it to exist in this world!"

"The Uchiha Clan... must disappear!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath and stared at Uchiha Itachi. "You understand the greater good, child. It's a shame... Shinji Uchiha's position is already secure. Your operation was bound to fail, and Konoha has no grounds to move against the Uchiha Clan. The village's future..."

"Ah..."

Uchiha Itachi suddenly said, "Third Hokage, that 'Madara Uchiha' belongs to a mysterious organization. He invited me to join."

"Hm?"

Sarutobi froze. "You're going to defect... Oh, right. After what happened last night, you can't stay in the village. Thank you for your efforts."

"What kind of organization is it?"

Uchiha Itachi shook his head. "I don't know. But according to him, its targets are the Tailed Beasts... and its members are all powerful. I intend to accept his invitation, infiltrate the organization, and gather intelligence. For the village, and also... to use them to kill Shinji Uchiha!"

"Tailed Beasts?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled, then said thoughtfully, "The Tailed Beasts are all under the control of the major ninja villages. He only managed to release the Nine-Tails back then because Kushina was weakened during childbirth..."

"No."

Itachi's pitiless voice shattered Hiruzen Sarutobi's hopes.

"They used Genjutsu to control the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura. They were the ones behind the Bloody Mist Village... Taken together, everything I know tells me this mysterious organization is extremely dangerous and has ambitions on a vast scale!"

"We cannot let our guard down!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his heart hammering in his chest.

Uchiha Itachi's words broke him out in a cold sweat.

They could control the leader of an entire village?

And a Three-Tails Jinchūriki at that. Did that mean they could decide the fate of any of the other leaders too?

What were they after?

"Itachi! Sorry to put this on you! I'll issue an S-rank wanted notice for you as a rogue ninja. If necessary, I can send Root after you so you can gain the organization's trust more quickly!"

"You must find out how that Masked Man controlled the leader of a village!"

Disappointment flashed through Itachi's eyes, and he shook his head with a self-mocking smile. "There's no need, Third Hokage. The Uchiha Clan... already did that. The sight of them risking their lives to hunt me down will do more than a hundred attacks by Root."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. "So Shinji Uchiha suppressed the news of your defection because he'd only just taken office and feared it would damage his authority?"

"Who knows?" Itachi said coldly.

"Very well!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped Uchiha Itachi's hand and said solemnly, "Be careful. Protect yourself. I'll find a way to contact you when there's a mission, but don't take unnecessary risks. Defeating the dictator Shinji Uchiha will take both of us working together!"

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head. "Yes, Third Hokage. I can't stay long. I'll leave now."

Flutter!

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Uchiha Itachi's body break apart into a flock of black crows.

He drew a deep breath.

A knowing light shone in his eyes.

Buzz—!

Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's vision blurred for an instant. He turned his head instinctively. A black Crow perched on the windowsill.

A crimson Sharingan filled its eye.

Flap, flap!

It glanced back, then flew into the distance.

"Genjutsu..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rose and looked toward Hokage Rock behind him.

He stared at Hashirama Senju's carved face and fell deep into thought.

A long while passed.

"Madara Uchiha?"

"Ridiculous!"

"Someone! How is Danzo? Any sign of him waking up?"

"Third Hokage, Advisor Danzo's vital signs have begun to recover. The nutrient solution we gave him earlier is working, and the cell-suppressing solution has taken effect too!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused. So suddenly?

Wasn't the timing a little too convenient?

Then he waved a hand. "Understood. I'll go there now!"