In the heavy silence, Hiruzen looked at Itachi, his harsh expression softening slightly. "Itachi, what is Shisui's attitude? Does he lean towards the Conservative Faction or the Radical Faction?"
"He should lean towards the Conservative Faction." Itachi wanted to say, but he recalled Shisui's words—"The ones hostile to the Uchiha clan are not the villagers, but the High Command."
Looking again at Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, who looked as if they couldn't wait to wipe out the Uchiha clan immediately, he seemed to understand Shisui's words.
But he still hoped the village and the Uchiha clan could coexist peacefully, so he honestly said, "Shisui is currently likely in the Conservative Faction, but if anything happens to the clan members or his younger brother, I'm afraid he will immediately turn into the Radical Faction."
Hiruzen murmured, "Changing according to our attitude, huh..."
Compared to Fugaku's constant requests for help and placing hope in him, Shisui's attitude was actually more troublesome.
A sense of unease, as if something were slipping out of control, sprouted in his heart like a thorn. It didn't pierce, but it was uncomfortable.
However, the most important thing right now was to appease the Uchiha clan. He absolutely could not let Kumogakure or Iwagakure have any opportunities.
Thinking of this, he looked at the biggest factor of instability beside him.
"Danzo, if anyone from the Uchiha clan goes missing, regardless of whether you did it or not, you must quell the Uchiha clan's anger."
Homura and Koharu were startled. Even they could hear the underlying meaning in Hiruzen's words—if an Uchiha went missing, Danzo would be sent by Hiruzen to the Uchiha clan as a sacrificial lamb.
'How did Hiruzen become so ruthless?' The two were shocked and couldn't help but shrink back, fearing they would be targeted by Hiruzen next.
Meanwhile, Danzo gritted his teeth so hard that a cracking sound seemed to emerge. His hand gripping the cane trembled slightly, veins bulging. His breathing became heavy as he stared fixedly at Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen!!!" His voice was very raspy, as if coming from hell, filled with endless fury.
Hiruzen seemed unable to bear it and looked away, gazing at the moon outside the window, and said, "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for stealing the Uchiha clan's eyes."
Danzo's grip tightened until it creaked.
Thump!
He slammed his cane down, swept his sleeve, and stormed out in a rage. From his back and movements, one could see the endless fury he was suppressing.
Danzo couldn't understand Hiruzen. When his assassination attempt on Hiruzen was discovered, only one experimental subject had been seized.
Now, just because he took a few Uchiha eyes, it had come to this?
"Hiruzen! You will definitely regret this!"
Regardless, he had to stop the two orders being carried out by the Root members.
After all, whether or not Shisui would try to control Hiruzen due to the disappearance of clan members, Hiruzen would not let him off.
By then, the entire Konoha would be hunting him.
As a rogue Ninja, could he still become the Hokage?
At that point, let alone Hokage, he wouldn't even be able to remain the leader of Root.
And all of this was caused by that Uchiha brat. If he hadn't recklessly caused a scene in the village, with his perfect plan, how could things have reached this point?
"Uchiha Hiromi..."
The killing intent in Danzo's eyes flickered wildly in the darkness.
...
Shisui becoming the Clan Head intimidated the High Command. But similarly, to put the High Command at ease, his residence became the most closely monitored place. Four Anbu were assigned just to keep a close eye on him, and they had to send a message every five minutes to prevent being controlled.
To avoid affecting Hiromi, Shisui moved out and lived in the very center of the Clan Grounds.
Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief upon learning of Shisui's actions. It could be seen from this that Shisui was cooperating with him.
Thus, Konoha's surveillance of the Uchiha clan changed. It shifted to monitoring the entire Uchiha clan with Shisui as the center.
From then on, Shisui never stepped out of his house again, nor did he have private conversations with anyone. His every move was under surveillance, including eating, sleeping, and bathing.
The High Command gradually began to feel at ease.
But Itachi's heart was filled with desolation.
Surveillance?
No, this was a form of imprisonment.
But this was Shisui's own choice. He was using his freedom to buy time to delay the Uchiha's Coup détat.
But what was he, Itachi, doing?
Feeling disappointed by the clan members' suspicions?
Feeling irritable about the Uchiha's current situation?
Feeling lost about his own helplessness?
He felt a faint pain in his heart.
He stared blankly while monitoring Shisui, who was calmly meditating in the room, and Shisui's words couldn't help but resurface in his mind—"Itachi, the ones hostile to the Uchiha clan are not the villagers, but the High Command."
The pain in his heart grew stronger.
"Shisui..."
His Sharingan spun slightly, the deep blood-red color shining as if it were about to drip.
—
Time passed steadily.
The Uchiha Clan Members clearly perceived some changes. When Shisui first became the Clan Head, the High Command was wary and very cautious. It was as if they were afraid of giving them an excuse to use as a pretext.
This made the Uchiha Clan Members curious and confused, yet also filled them with excitement.
Such an attitude from the High Command, who had always looked down on the Uchiha Clan Members, proved that the Uchiha clan was doing better.
But after a few weeks, this change disappeared.
Although the people in the Hokage Building were much gentler towards them,
another group of people became even harsher, provoking them from time to time, making them flush with anger and hot-blooded.
The situation escalated.
Eventually, the Uchiha Radical Faction gathered together, preparing to launch a Coup détat.
Various departments looked cautious amd various clans shook their heads in silence.
Facing the combat power of the entire village, the Uchiha clan had no chance of winning.