(T/N: There is a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. Check it out for an early release of 40 chapters edited smoothly. Ps: remove the (.) from P.atreon)
https://www.p.atreon.com/TheForgottenSensei
****
"Nii-san, you haven't had time to practice the shuriken technique with me recently!"
Seven-year-old Sasuke was still very dependent on Uchiha Itachi.
Although he also felt tremendous pressure from his older brother, he still relied on him very much.
"Forgive me, Sasuke… I'll do it the next time!"
Itachi's pointer and middle finger poked Sasuke's forehead.
Itachi had a gentle smile on his face.
At this moment, he was preparing to go to his night shift.
Recently, the ANBU had started targeting the Uchiha, and he had already felt it.
Tonight, Root's leader Danzo had asked him to meet him.
He said he had to attend the meeting because they wanted to talk about Shisui and the Uchiha situation.
Although he learned from his father that Shisui was fine and was doing a secret mission, he still felt that something was wrong.
There were almost no secrets between Shisui and himself.
If he really wanted to do a secret mission, he would definitely contact him.
But there was no news from Konoha's side.
Instead, his father told him, which made him feel that something was amiss.
"Stop it, nii-san!"
Sasuke covered his forehead and pouted with a look of dissatisfaction.
Obviously, he was very unhappy, he didn't get to play-uhm-train with his big brother.
'Definitely next time?'
He had already heard that so many time…
"I'm leaving!"
Seeing his little brother acting cute, Itachi smiled. It was indeed a rare sight.
This was the most relaxed moment for him.
But when he opened the door, his smile quickly disappeared.
"Itachi, I have something to discuss with you."
Uchiha Yamikage appeared in the courtyard of Itachi's house, near the door.
He extended an invitation directly to Itachi.
Yami was alert.
Although Itachi didn't have a Mangekyō, dealing with him wouldn't be that easy.
However, the possibility of convincing Itachi was relatively high, and it should be easier than someone like Shisui. And that was for one reason only.
Shisui was completely poisoned by the Will of Fire. Itachi was not.
"Hmm."
The feeling of being approached like this made Itachi very unhappy.
Especially in front of Sasuke, it made him even more irritated.
He wasn't very familiar with Yamikage, but he knew that this was the most famous genius in the Uchiha before Shisui emerged.
However, after the Nine-Tails attack, he quickly disappeared from prominence and joined the police force, appearing very ordinary.
After Itachi joined the ANBU, he was tasked to investigate information about Uchiha Yamikage.
So, he learned more about him and found that Yamikage's life was very regular and he had been training hard.
But he didn't seem to show off.
After judging that Uchiha Yamikage's strength reached the level of an elite jōnin, his mission was over.
Unexpectedly, this person would suddenly come to his door, and with Shisui losing contact, this made Itachi feel that these things were connected.
"Nii-san!"
Sasuke, on his side, looked at Uchiha Yamikage with his guard up.
'What does this guy want with nii-san? Is he going to spend time training with him?' his glare at Yami intensified.
"Don't worry, this will be over soon."
Yami wanted to go over and pat Sasuke's head for how cute he was acting, but finally gave up.
After all, the biggest threat was right next to him. He couldn't be distracted.
After saying that, he immediately left because he knew Itachi would definitely follow.
"I'm going to work!"
"I will definitely play with you the next time!"
Itachi patted Sasuke's head, then immediately followed him.
Chasing after Yamikage, they soon stopped at the ancestral hall.
There was no one else around, just the two of them.
The Uchiha had begun to clean out Konoha's spies, in order to ensure the smooth progress of their plan.
"What do you want from me, Yamikage-san"
Itachi asked with serious eyes.
At this time, his whole body was tense, ready to take action at any moment.
"You are a direct person, and I'm even more so,"
"I have been tasked to relay a choice to you…"
"The village or our family, make your choice."
"Due to Konoha's unrestrained ostracization and oppression, the Uchiha have decided to evacuate Konoha instead of fighting it out."
"Which side do you choose to be on?"
Yami directly questioned Itachi.
Hearing Yami's words, Itachi's pupils shrank, and he immediately knew that the other party was aware that he was a double agent.
At the same time, he immediately thought about how to deceive him.
"Of course I choose to side with the family!"
For now, Uchiha Itachi naturally wouldn't say anything else, he could only support the Uchiha.
He couldn't tell whether the other party was deceiving him or whether he really had evidence.
Before the other party could produce clear proof that would brand him a double agent, he naturally still had to pretend to support the Uchiha.
But in his heart, he didn't know which side it was better to help at this time.
"Sigh, as if I'll just believe you, haha," Yami chuckled a bit and shook his head.
"Shisui has chosen the clan, and there are very important plans to be carried out next."
"So, you are the only one left in the Uchiha who still has connections with Konoha. Don't try to fool me with such empty words."
"Now that the Uchiha want to evacuate Konoha and are not planning to go to war with the village, which side will you choose?"
Yami directly exposed Itachi's lies and spoke bluntly.
After all, the Uchiha weren't good at brainwashing the others, but they were easily brainwashed by people.
People like, Black Zetsu, Senju Hashirama, and Uzumaki Naruto.
These three had really deceived the strong members of the Uchiha clan, and the Uchiha people in question were completely fooled by these people's talk-no-Jutsu.
"Did Shisui choose the clan?"
Uchiha Itachi was somewhat shocked.
At the same time, he was also surprised by the plan the Uchiha were preparing this time.
He had been inquiring about it these days as part of his investigations, but he couldn't understand what it was.
He knew that he was being watched by his family, but he didn't expect that Shisui, who had lost contact, would actually choose to help the family.
"As a friend of Shisui, I am willing to make the same choice as him!"
"I choose to help the family!"
Uchiha Itachi didn't hesitate and said directly.
He believed in Shisui.
If this was really the choice Shisui made, then he would support it without reservation.
"Then, next, I will seal your chakra and you'll wait for the plan to begin."
Yami said directly.
Uncertain factors needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.
There must still be people within the Uchiha who had been poisoned by the Will of Fire, but there was no time to find them.
Anyway, only a few people knew the final plan.
On the night of execution, they would choose to start and let the members of the police force lead the Uchiha clan to retreat.
By then it would be too late for anyone to cause trouble for them.
Uchiha Itachi was the one who would have killed the Uchiha clan.
For such a person, Yami chose to restrain him, which was the most stable approach.
"Where is Shisui? I need to speak with him before I do anything,"
Hearing Yamikage's words, Itachi hesitated. Then he asked decisively.
He wanted to confirm that this was really Shisui's choice.
"Come out."
Uchiha Yamikage said calmly.
Shisui instantly appeared between the two of them.
Uchiha Itachi activated his Sharingan and confirmed the true identity of the person in front of him.
He was relieved to see that it was really Shisui.
"This plan will work, Itachi."
"Believe in Yamikage-san!"
Shisui also started to persuade Uchiha Itachi.
He didn't know why Uchiha Yamikage took Itachi so seriously and was even harsher with him than with himself.
However, this plan couldn't go wrong, so they could only do what Yami said.
"Alright!"
Uchiha Itachi looked at Shisui seriously, then nodded.
He then took off the ANBU tanto and ninja tool pouch from his back, and placed them on the ground.
Then he signaled Yami to start sealing his chakra.