Speaking Frankly, Fugaku's Choice

"What?" Uchiha Itachi's expression changed, and he looked up in disbelief.

Danzo said coldly, "Earlier today, Uchiha Sora attacked my Root! He has already been declared a rogue ninja!"

"How is that possible?!" Uchiha Itachi still couldn't believe it.

In his eyes, Uchiha Sora was a good man second only to Shisui, whom he looked up to like an older brother. He was cheerful and easygoing. How could he suddenly do something like that?

"Danzo is telling the truth," the Third Hokage added. "That is why we need you to assassinate him!"

"Why me?" Uchiha Itachi asked, his voice strained.

"Because you are his friend. You have the best chance of assassinating him!" The Third Hokage sighed. "To be honest, he is very strong-so strong that even I, the Naruto, cannot be certain of killing him. We have no choice but to resort to this!"

Uchiha Itachi was stunned!

Had Sora really become that strong?

When had it happened?

"Itachi, you are a clever child. You know what choice you should make!" the Third Hokage said.

"I understand, Lord Hokage!" After a long silence, Uchiha Itachi finally nodded, stood, and left.

Watching Uchiha Itachi walk away, Danzo couldn't help saying, "Hiruzen, with Uchiha Itachi's strength, I doubt the assassination will be easy!"

The Third Hokage nodded slightly. "Yes, but whether he succeeds or not, as long as the Uchiha Clan falls into internal turmoil, we will have achieved our goal."

"In my view, the Uchiha Clan is the lesser concern. Only by killing Uchiha Sora can we rid the village of this threat for good!" Danzo shook his head.

"Only the Sharingan can counter the Sharingan! Even you have failed. This time, we can only place our hopes in the Uchiha Clan." The Third Hokage sighed.

He couldn't help lamenting inwardly. When had the village declined to this extent?

The next day.

After spending the night in the mirror space, Uchiha Sora returned to Konoha.

He intended to visit the Uchiha Clan and speak with Uchiha Fugaku again.

Although there was a rift between them, and they had even crossed blades, Uchiha Sora still didn't want the clan to go down that same old path again.

If possible, he still hoped to save the clan.

At Uchiha Fugaku's home, Uchiha Sora met Fugaku.

Although Uchiha Fugaku had read the suicide note, he still had doubts about Shisui's death, so he gave Uchiha Sora no warm welcome.

If Uchiha Sora hadn't been strong enough to make him wary, he probably would have sent people to arrest him long ago.

Upon meeting Fugaku, Uchiha Sora got straight to the point. "Yesterday, I attacked Danzo's Root!"

Before Fugaku could show his shock, he continued, "Before Shisui died, he left me information. There was more than just that suicide note."

"His death was engineered by the Konoha High Command! Danzo took one of his eyes, and I have the other."

Uchiha Sora's string of revelations left Uchiha Fugaku momentarily dazed.

But he was, after all, the leader of the Uchiha Clan. He soon recovered and said gravely, "Uchiha Sora, what makes you think I will believe you?"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly. "I don't need you to believe me. I am only here to tell you that a coup is doomed to fail, but I can offer the clan another way out!"

Uchiha Fugaku shuddered. "Tell me!"

"Bring the clan and leave Konoha with me!" Uchiha Sora said, stressing every word.

"Leave Konoha with you?" Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened. "You mean the entire clan should flee?"

"Exactly! I have a way to get everyone out without anyone noticing! We won't have to worry about being hunted down!" Uchiha Sora said.

At this point, everything was clear. How could Uchiha Fugaku not realize that he had misunderstood him?

If Uchiha Sora truly were the Konoha High Command's lackey, he wouldn't need to say any of this. He could simply catch Fugaku off guard and join forces with them to destroy the entire clan!

"Sora! It seems you've already thought everything through!" Uchiha Fugaku said with a sigh.

Yet after sighing, Uchiha Fugaku slowly shook his head. "Sora, although you have no faith in this coup, I have already passed the point of no return!"

"The clan has passed the point of no return!"

"As you said, the clan could leave the village. But even if we escaped Konoha safely, what then?"

"The Uzumaki Clan was so powerful! With the strength of a single clan, they founded Uzushio Village and the Land of Whirlpools. But how did they end up? Their enemies banded together against them. Now their people have scattered, and the surviving Uzumaki descendants have long since become homeless strays! They have been reduced to tools for the major powers!"

"No matter how powerful a clan is, once it loses the shelter of a great tree, the wolves outside will eventually tear it apart!"

"To us, Konoha is that great tree!"

"The Uchiha Clan must never follow in the Uzumaki Clan's footsteps!"

"If the coup succeeds, the Uchiha Clan will become the masters of that great tree! From then on, we will stand at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World!"

"And even if the coup fails-even if the clan is destroyed-at least we will not disgrace the Uchiha Clan's mighty name!"

Uchiha Sora frowned slightly, staring into Fugaku's eyes. "It seems you've already made your choice!"

"Yes. I will stay, and so will my warriors!" Uchiha Fugaku said. "However, I hope you can take some of the civilians with you. They cannot fight, but they all carry the clan's pure bloodline. Letting them leave this place of conflict will preserve another hope for the clan."

"All right. I'll give you a day to arrange it. I'll come back at this time tomorrow!" Uchiha Sora nodded.

He didn't try to force Uchiha Fugaku to change his choice.

He also knew that if people like Uchiha Fugaku, who were fiercely committed to the coup, followed him to make a life elsewhere, they would probably all feel stifled.

In their eyes, Konoha was where their roots lay!

They wanted to become Konoha's masters, not leave and live as fugitives.

The next day, at the same time.

Uchiha Sora came to see Fugaku again.

Fugaku had gathered some civilian men and women, along with several children, around a hundred people in total.

"Only this many?" Uchiha Sora looked at them.

The ordinary clan members all looked somewhat bewildered and lost.

Their clan leader had told them that they would soon be sent elsewhere to live.

Although these civilians had doubts about his arrangements, they didn't dare disobey. Besides, they had all been selected for their ability to adapt.

When Uchiha Sora appeared, quite a few of the civilians recognized him.

"Uchiha Sora! You're Uchiha Sora!"

"Sora, are you taking us out of the village? Where are you taking us?"

"Sora, is something going to happen to the clan? The clan leader asked you to help us flee, didn't he?"

Although they were civilians, they weren't fools. Someone soon guessed the clan leader's intentions.

Uchiha Sora smiled. "Don't worry, everyone. Stand together and hold hands. I'll explain in a moment."

Hearing this, everyone hurriedly obeyed and joined hands.

Once everyone was holding hands, Uchiha Sora reached out and took one person's shoulder, sending chakra through them to connect everyone.

He nodded to Uchiha Fugaku. The next second, there was a whoosh!

Flying Thunder God Technique!

Uchiha Sora and the hundred people around him vanished together in an instant!

A second later, he appeared with everyone on the island in his mirror space.

Uchiha Izumi and her mother, who had already been informed, were waiting there.

Seeing Sora arrive with everyone, the two came forward to greet them.

"Sora, did you only bring this many clan members?" Uchiha Hazuki asked in confusion.

"Yes. Perhaps Fugaku thought bringing too many wouldn't be appropriate." Uchiha Sora nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, but I'll leave the explanations to you and Izumi, Aunt Hazuki!"

"It's no trouble. The two of us were getting bored on this island. Having more people around will liven things up." Uchiha Hazuki smiled.

She had already spotted a few familiar faces among them.

Quite a few people also recognized Uchiha Hazuki and her daughter, and they began greeting the two.

Watching this, Uchiha Sora felt reassured for the time being.

These were all ordinary members of the clan. Most made their living through trade, farmwork, or similar pursuits. Having them live on the island would bring some life to it.

Besides, when he had time in the future, he would need to bring in some animals as well. Only then would it feel like a proper space.

"All right, I'll head out now. I'll leave the rest to you." Uchiha Sora nodded to the mother and daughter, then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished.

He wasn't worried about the two being bullied here. Not only was Uchiha Izumi already a Genin who had awakened her Sharingan, with strength comparable to a Chunin's, but Uchiha Hazuki had also been an excellent ninja in her day. Her Sharingan had long since reached three tomoe; she had simply retired years ago.

When Uchiha Sora reappeared, he was back before Fugaku.

"Space-Time Ninjutsu? So that is what gives you such confidence!" Uchiha Fugaku said with feeling as he watched Uchiha Sora reappear before him.

"It's taken care of. What do you plan to do next?" Uchiha Sora asked. "If you're going to stage a coup, sooner is better than later."

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head. "Let's wait a little longer. There is still no word from Itachi. To be honest, Shisui's death was a heavy blow to me! Itachi is the only one I can count on now! Still, if you're willing to help, things might be a little easier for me!"

Uchiha Sora shook his head. "I won't join your coup. Even if I helped, I couldn't fight all of Konoha. I know you can control the Nine-Tails, but that power isn't so easy to control. Besides, I have no interest in ruling Konoha!"

"However, I can help you keep the Third Hokage occupied!" Uchiha Sora added after a pause.

He had already intended to cause trouble for the Third Hokage anyway. If the clan truly staged a coup, he could take the opportunity to go after the Third Hokage and steal the Scroll of Seals. This time, it wouldn't be as simple as sneaking a look at a few forbidden techniques.

He would take the entire Scroll of Seals for himself!

Fugaku certainly understood what Uchiha Sora meant. But his goal in this coup wasn't really to crush Konoha or kill all its leaders. He only hoped to kill the Third Hokage, bring the other leaders under his control, and have himself appointed Naruto.

Once the Third Hokage was dead and his diehard supporters had been eliminated, Konoha's remaining clans and factions would surely hesitate to act for fear of the consequences. Then they would accept a Naruto from the Uchiha Clan!

"Having you keep the Third Hokage occupied will be enough! With Itachi and me working together, we can kill Danzo quickly! The remaining experts will be nothing to worry about!" Uchiha Fugaku said excitedly.

Looking at Uchiha Fugaku, so full of confidence and ambition, Uchiha Sora couldn't help thinking of Itachi.

What choice would Itachi make this time?

PS: After thinking about it for a long time, I finally decided to go with the clan massacre route. I have already provided plenty of reasons, and I believe anyone who has studied the night of the massacre should understand, right? Here, Fugaku is firmly committed to the coup. After planning it for so long, he couldn't simply abandon it. In the original story, he willingly died at his son's hands partly because he didn't want father and son to fight to the death, and partly because his son's betrayal had left him utterly disheartened. But he actually had confidence in the coup itself; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept planning it. I'm not sure whether my interpretation is right. Feel free to share your thoughts...