At the Hokage council meeting, everyone felt an inexplicable tension in the air.
Anyone qualified to sit there was no fool. They could all see that after everything that had transpired, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's leadership had escalated to the brink, ready to ignite at any moment!
Now that the external threat of Kumogakure had been dealt with, it seemed the long-delayed civil strife was about to erupt in earnest.
Hatake Kakashi spoke up:
"Even if we're currently holding the upper hand on the battlefield, I suspect that, in negotiations, we'll still make concessions to the Cloud, won't we?"
Everyone's expression shifted slightly.
He's not giving Sarutobi Hiruzen even the slightest courtesy…
Hiruzen's face darkened.
"Kakashi, what are you implying?"
Kakashi smiled faintly.
"Nothing in particular. If the Hokage doesn't like what I said, just treat it as idle chatter."
Hiruzen gave a cold snort.
"Kakashi, although I did order the Anbu to track down Danzo this time, I never authorized you to leave the village on your own, nor to bring an Anbu squad and the forces of the Ino–Shika–Cho families, did I?
You openly disobeyed orders."
Kakashi looked unruffled.
"You're correct, Hokage-sama. I did break regulations, and so I'm unfit to serve in Anbu any longer. Therefore…"
"I hereby request to resign from my position as an Anbu squad leader."
Hiruzen knitted his brows. Then, after a moment, he relaxed.
"Very well. Since that's your decision, I won't stop you."
Kakashi smiled slightly.
"Now that I'm free of all official ties…
Uchiha Chiyu, is it alright if I join the Police Force under your command?"
At that, everyone's faces shifted again.
This was Hatake Kakashi openly declaring allegiance…
Even Chiyu himself hadn't expected Kakashi to do that. Still…
Turning to Kakashi, Advisor Mitokado Homura frowned:
"But the Police Force has always been staffed by the Uchiha alone; Kakashi is an outsider—doesn't that violate established rules?"
"Rules are dead; people are alive."
That single sentence stifled Koharu from replying.
Hiruzen was so furious his face flushed, but since Kakashi had obviously switched sides, he had no real means to stop it.
Yet Hiruzen still had one piece of good news that let him breathe easier. He declared aloud:
"There's one more thing…
Jiraiya is returning to the village."
That name caused a stir among them.
After all, he was one of the legendary Sannin—a genuine top-tier figure in the shinobi world.
No wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't been driven to complete despair by Danzo's death. This was clearly a trump card of his own…
Everyone exchanged glances; the coming internal upheaval was bound to be even more complicated and chaotic.
Hiruzen allowed a barely perceptible smile to surface.
Because, in truth, Jiraiya was not his only card.
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha compound's Naka Shrine, all was empty and silent.
Suddenly, the air wavered faintly, and a figure appeared without a sound—strangely and quietly.
Clothed in a black robe with a hood pulled up, wearing a tiger-striped mask covering his face, he was utterly inscrutable, displaying no recognizable features.
The mysterious masked man stood in the shrine for a moment, as if pondering something. Then he headed toward a concealed basement passage as though entirely familiar with it.
Down below, it was pitch-dark, lit only by faint candlelight; it was impossible to see much of anything. Yet for the masked man, he could perfectly see the stone tablet at the chamber's center.
On that tablet were carved archaic, cryptic characters.
He studied it carefully, scarlet light glinting in his eyes.
A somewhat youthful voice sounded unexpectedly from behind him.
The masked man froze in surprise. Turning, he found himself facing a boy of perhaps ten years.
"So you're the eldest son of Uchiha Fugaku…
The masked man appeared both surprised and pleased, nodding:
"Not bad at all, realizing my presence without a sound. You really live up to your reputation as a genius."
Itachi's expression remained cold.
"You've intruded on Naka Shrine before.
Why are you entering this place? What's your objective?
Who exactly are you?"
The masked man gave a faint sneer.
"My, so confrontational.
But since you managed to notice me, I don't mind telling you. My name is…
Itachi's eyes widened dramatically in shock:
Impossible. He was the ancestor of our Uchiha clan, but died in battle against the First Hokage many years ago…"
The masked man laughed coldly.
"That's just the ignorant world's misunderstanding. Dying by Hashirama's hand? Ha!"
Itachi swiftly recomposed himself.
"Even if you aren't the real Uchiha Madara, you must be intimately linked to him. You can pass Konoha's barrier unnoticed, and you know Naka Shrine's secrets, along with that mysterious space time jutsu of yours…"
The masked man's eyes flickered.
"Hah…a mere child, yet so calm and analytical. You remind me of someone else…
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
During the Nine-Tails' rampage, he deduced the same thing you just did."
Itachi's face shifted:
"So the one who unleashed the Nine-Tails against Konoha was indeed you?!"
The masked man neither confirmed nor denied.
Itachi fell silent a moment:
"Because of that Nine-Tails incident, our Uchiha clan has been suspected by the entire village, cornered to this day. That's the direct cause of our conflict with the higher-ups."
The masked man sneered:
"If you truly are an Uchiha or connected to Madara, why deliberately set us up?"
"Don't flatter yourselves. I unleashed the Nine-Tails just on a whim; as for the Uchiha clan, they never factored into my concerns. If the outcome forced them under Konoha's suspicion, that was an afterthought at best.
Besides, don't assume I'd have any attachment or sentiment toward the Uchiha clan just because I come from them.
His voice turned grim:
"This time I've come to Konoha precisely to…
wipe out the Uchiha clan!"
Itachi's eyes went wide.
The masked man spoke coldly:
"From the moment I left Konoha back then—yet the Uchiha betrayed me, siding with Hashirama—Uchiha meant only hatred to me.
Letting them survive this long is enough. The day of reckoning has come…"
He gave Itachi a keen look.
"Well then, Uchiha Itachi, want to join forces with me?" Follow current novels on novel_fіre.net
Itachi still seemed in shock:
Why on earth would I help you destroy my own clan?"
The masked man sneered:
"Don't think I don't know. You've already given your loyalty to Konoha's higher-ups—after Shisui, it's you they're grooming. You are Hiruzen Sarutobi's new trump card, are you not?
And all he expects you to do is basically the same task I plan to accomplish."
He eyed the stone tablet.
"By the way, how many lines of text can your eyes read on this tablet?"
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment. Then he reopened them, revealing Mangekyō Sharingan's crimson glow.
"After Shisui-senpai died, I awakened these eyes. But…"
He swiftly deactivated them, shaking his head.
"They're meaningless."
The masked man frowned:
"Mangekyō Sharingan is meaningless?"
Itachi's tone was resolute:
Neither you nor I could possibly defeat that man.
The masked man froze briefly. Then his rage flared.
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