The instant Yashiro saw those Sharingan, he felt his body stiffen.
"Enemy!?"
This thought instinctively flashed through his mind. Before he could ponder why the enemy possessed the Sharingan, his own eyes transformed into Three Tomoe.
However, unexpectedly, Fugaku in front of him moved.
Splat!!
His hand, which had, at some unknown point, grasped a kunai, shot out with a tearing whistle, instantly piercing Uchiha Yashiro's chest!
"Puh!"
The crimson in Uchiha Yashiro's eyes instantly froze. His body stiffened, and he incredulously looked down at the hand that had penetrated his heart. Then, with a blank expression, he looked up at Fugaku, who was standing right in front of him.
Fugaku's face was still calm, still composed, still the Fugaku-sama he knew, but there was no anger, no hatred, not the slightest emotional fluctuation that should have been there. There was only a chilling coldness that struck fear into one's heart.
"Fugaku, Lord, you..."
Excruciating pain and terror swept through his body. Yashiro's mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but Fugaku withdrew the kunai.
Splat!
Blinding scarlet blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly staining his chest and Fugaku's arm! Along with it, Yashiro's life poured out.
Uchiha Yashiro's body crumpled as if all his bones had been removed, collapsing helplessly to his knees. Blood rapidly spread beneath him, forming a stark dark red pool. He looked up, his gaze fixed on Fugaku's eyes, the emotions within them gradually shifting.
Doubt, pain, fear, anger...
But his consciousness quickly blurred, and his vision plunged into complete darkness.
Fugaku said nothing. He simply watched Yashiro silently, his deep black pupils, especially profound in the pale moonlight, showed no emotional fluctuations.
But at this moment, within the spiritual dimension, Uchiha Fugaku's face was blank as he looked at Yashiro, whom he had personally killed. Yashiro's eyes were still wide open, staring fixedly in Fugaku's direction, filled with frozen resentment and confusion. Even until his death, he couldn't understand, couldn't believe.
Why, why did Lord Fugaku kill him...?
It was as if he was saying, I trusted you so much, everyone trusted you so much, everyone believed you could lead the Uchiha clan to a better future...
"No!!"
Looking at those eyes, unwilling to close even in death, Uchiha Fugaku let out an unprecedented roar, filled with pain, anger, and terror: "Why? Why me?!"
"Shisui! Itachi! Tell me!!"
That was a subordinate who trusted him, who followed him! That was a living person with a family, with worries, with simple wishes!
And now, he had killed him with his own hands!
Pain and anger, like monstrous waves, eroded his last vestiges of consciousness. The black liquid that maintained his sliver of self-awareness also seemed to sense this pain, silently churning.
"It's far from enough."
Hyuga Kawa coldly overlooked these changes, the Jigoku Box slowly rotating in his palm. This pain of watching himself personally kill a comrade was completely different from the helplessness and relief of accepting death in the original story, after everything had already settled. Most people were like this. Until the knife fell upon their own body, they could not truly experience the pain. The number of dead was no longer cold figures, but had become living, breathing people. This was what Fugaku, as clan head, should endure. Not like in the original, ignoring his responsibility as clan head, choosing instead to die as a father, with a sense of relief and generosity.
Meanwhile, in reality, Uchiha Fugaku wiped away the blood on his hands. Like a programmed machine, he stepped by step, treading through blood, back towards the clan compound.
In the shadows behind him, the crimson in Uchiha Shisui's eyes faded, his face equally pale. Even though he had made up his mind, for him, who also cherished his clansmen, this process was accompanied by pain.
In contrast, Uchiha Itachi, standing beside him, had a calm expression, completely unmoved by Yashiro's death. After all, in his view, the deaths of these people bought stability for others and peace for the village. If his own death could achieve these things, he would also face it calmly.
So, Yashiro died a worthy death. Yashiro's sacrifice was meaningful. It was certainly better than foolishly launching a coup and dying meaningless, also causing the deaths of other innocents.
"Go."
Uchiha Obito's equally cold voice came from the tree. A White Zetsu crawled out from the ground like mud, then placed its hand on Yashiro's still-warm corpse. Soon, a figure identical to Uchiha Yashiro appeared there. After giving Shisui and Itachi a chilling smile, it turned and left. It would return to that dimly lit home, continuing to play the roles of husband, father, and grandfather.
"Itachi, Shisui, I need to remind you."
Just then, the pitcher plant-like creature, whom "Madara" called "Zetsu," suddenly spoke in a raspy voice: "White Zetsu cannot replicate a deceased person's memories."
"It can only, to some extent, mimic the deceased's habits and personality based on previously collected intelligence."
At these words, Uchiha Shisui and Itachi's expressions immediately changed. They abruptly turned to look at "Zetsu" and "Madara."
"Why are you only telling us now?" Shisui demanded, his voice filled with shock and anger. "Without memories, how can we possibly hide it from their close ones?!"
"So what? If we had told you, would you not have done it?" White Zetsu spread its hands, laughing. "As long as you kill fast enough, before they notice, wouldn't it be fine?"
"You don't think that after doing all this, you can continue to be Konoha's good little genius, do you?"
Uchiha Shisui's shocked and angry expression immediately froze, replaced by deeper powerlessness and pain. These two were clearly doing this on purpose, giving them no room for regret!
Meanwhile, Yashiro's corpse was taken by Uchiha Obito into a scroll. Although Shisui and Itachi had complex expressions, they remained silent.
The Sharingan.
This was the condition "Madara" had offered to help them. Even if it meant a falling out, it wouldn't be now.
However, no one noticed that Uchiha Yashiro's invisible soul had entered Uchiha Fugaku's body.
"Let's go."
Uchiha Obito's figure vanished, leaving behind only a cold remark.
"The night is still long."
Hearing this, Uchiha Shisui took a deep breath, then also vanished from his spot.
But Uchiha Itachi did not immediately follow, instead looking at Zetsu, who also hadn't left.
"How many White Zetsu do you have?" he asked coldly.
Hearing this, half of Black Zetsu's face revealed a smile as he replied, "As many as you desire."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi was silent for a moment. Finally, he said calmly, "If anyone discovers an anomaly with a White Zetsu, don't hold back." In other words, if the families of Uchiha Yashiro and other hardliners detected any abnormality during the White Zetsu's impersonation, they were to be immediately killed and replaced by another White Zetsu. No matter what, the plan absolutely could not be exposed before the hardliners were completely eliminated!
However, this matter, of course, had to be kept from Shisui; otherwise, with Shisui's personality, he would never agree.
Shisui has done enough. This deeper darkness and sin, I will bear it alone, Uchiha Itachi thought to himself.
"Ho ho ho," Black Zetsu chuckled strangely. "A strong resolve, Itachi. Don't worry, I'll do it."
Uchiha Itachi ignored him. After receiving the affirmative reply, his figure also vanished from the spot.
The night grew deeper, thick and impenetrable.
Deep within the Uchiha clan compound, the clan head's residence had long fallen silent. Only the lanterns hanging under the eaves emitted a faint, dim light, dispelling the darkness of the porch.
Two figures appeared silently, like ghosts merged with the night. It was Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi.
They had changed their clothes, no longer wearing the dark casual attire suitable for stealth, but clean casual wear. The bloodstains on them had long been washed away, their skin even appearing red from excessive scrubbing.
The father and son exchanged no words, not even a glance. A suffocating silence enveloped them.
Uchiha Itachi was the first to push open the door, stepping aside to let Fugaku enter first, then slipping inside himself, gently closing the door behind him. The entire process was utterly soundless, even the faintest friction being suppressed.
Uchiha Fugaku walked straight towards his bedroom, his back straight, his steps steady, yet somehow imbued with an indescribable, stiff lifelessness. He was like a puppet programmed to precisely execute the "go home and rest" command.
Uchiha Itachi walked towards another room, similarly pushing the door open gently. The room was dim, with only faint moonlight from outside filtering through a gap in the curtains, casting a narrow patch of light on the floor.
By this meager light, his gaze fell upon the small figure in the center of the room. Uchiha Sasuke was sleeping soundly, his body relaxed and defenseless. One leg was casually stretched out from under the blanket, and the other foot had kicked the blanket half off.
"Mmm."
A cool night breeze drifted in through the window crack. The little one seemed to feel a bit cold, unconsciously smacked his lips, and his small body shivered.
Seeing his younger brother, the layer of icy indifference on Uchiha Itachi's face gradually melted, leaving only a warmth as gentle as moonlight. He quietly walked over and bent down, carefully reaching out. With gentle movements, he carefully pulled the kicked-off blanket back over Sasuke, even tucking in the corners meticulously.
And after doing all this, he didn't leave immediately. He just stood there quietly, gazing at Sasuke's small face, which looked especially innocent and cloudless in his sleep under the faint moonlight. Sasuke's breathing was even and long, and his lips seemed to curve slightly, as if he were having a sweet dream.
Looking at this face, Uchiha Itachi's heart gradually calmed, but his resolve grew even stronger and more absolute.
"I must stop the coup."
"I must thoroughly eliminate those incorrigible hardliners."
"At all costs! Sasuke must never be dragged into this filthy whirlpool!"
"What I must protect is Sasuke's future, Konoha's peace!"
This silent vow was etched deep into his soul, and the last shred of guilt in his heart vanished like smoke. He took one last, deep look at his sleeping brother, as if to engrave this peaceful sleeping face into his heart, then silently exited the room, gently closing the door behind him.
In the air, there seemed to linger a faint, almost imperceptible scent of cheap, sweet shower gel—not their usual soap—a trace left from a hurried wash at a public bathhouse far from the clan compound.
In another bedroom, Uchiha Fugaku pushed open the door and entered, moving lightly and silently. Uchiha Mikoto lay on her side, her back to the door, covered by a thin blanket. Her dark hair was smoothly spread on the pillow, and her breathing was steady and long; she seemed to have long fallen into slumber.
Uchiha Fugaku, as usual, walked to the bed, pulled back the blanket, lay down, and placed his hand on his wife's waist. Only their soft breathing filled the room.
However, Mikoto, whose back was to Uchiha Fugaku, slowly and silently opened her eyes in the darkness. She didn't move, not even altering her breathing frequency in the slightest. Only her nose twitched almost imperceptibly.
"This scent..."
A faint, almost imperceptible scent of soap lingered on Fugaku. This was the lingering scent left by Shisui, at Zetsu's "suggestion," to cover the smell of blood on Fugaku. As Uchiha Fugaku's bedmate, Uchiha Mikoto knew her husband well. This rigidly self-disciplined, almost苛刻 man had always used only unscented medicated soap. He had often seriously stated that a ninja should not have any special scent, as it would become a fatal weakness.
Moreover, during this period, due to increasingly heavy pressure, Fugaku often returned home exhausted, sometimes even forgetting to bathe and simply collapsing into sleep with the smell of sweat. Even when he occasionally bathed, it was always within three minutes.
However, today...
A hint of doubt arose in Uchiha Mikoto's heart. Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi had already witnessed Zetsu's elusive, intelligence-gathering abilities. When Zetsu reminded them to remove the smell of blood, they naturally had no suspicion whatsoever. They had no idea that Black Zetsu was intentionally exposing this flaw to Mikoto. The purpose was to make Uchiha Mikoto realize the anomaly, and then to force Uchiha Itachi to personally kill his mother to prevent the plan's exposure, thereby awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Those two, Black Zetsu and Obito, are truly going to great lengths for the Rinnegan," Hyuga Kawa, from within Fugaku's spiritual dimension, took in everything and naturally guessed the intent behind Black Zetsu and Obito's actions, chuckling lightly.
However, the day they laid hands on Uchiha Mikoto would be the moment Uchiha Fugaku completely transformed.
Just then, as if sensing something, Hyuga Kawa, currently lying in bed in the Hyuga clan compound, opened his eyes.
Thump thump thump!
Urgent knocking, filled with clear panic, broke the deep silence of the night like a sudden downpour.
Hyuga Kawa's eyes showed no displeasure at being disturbed, only a contemplative calm. He then rose, unhurriedly put on his shoes, and walked to the entrance.
Click.
As he pulled open the door, the cold night wind rushed in.
Outside the door stood a young Hyuga clan member. Hyuga Kawa instantly recognized him. It was a member of the Hyuga Branch House, Hyuga Kō. This usually mature and steady Branch House youth's face was now ashen white, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat, and his white pupils trembled slightly from extreme fear.
"Yu-Kawa-nii, this is bad! Something big has happened!"
Hyuga Kō even disregarded etiquette, panting, his voice hoarse and panicked: "Main House! Someone else died in the Main House! The elders are going house to house, thoroughly investigating all Branch House members!"
"They, they even want to take suspected clan members to the Yamanaka clan for interrogation!"