The sun was setting in the west. Near the Naka River, the villagers were washing clothes and cooking, just as they always did.
Women were rinsing rice and laundering clothes by the riverside, joking and chatting. Their words were peppered with bawdy jokes that would make one blush; it was, by all accounts, a picture of idyllic, peaceful times.
However, an unidentified object drifting from upstream slowly came into the view of the villagers closest to the water's edge.
A newlywed woman, who had just been talking and laughing with the older sister next door, inadvertently glanced at the object, and her face instantly turned pale.
It was... a headless corpse.
A scream shattered the life that was supposed to be calm.
The actions of the Uchiha Clan were extremely swift. Within half an hour, a large number of Uchiha Police Force members arrived at the scene.
Everyone looked at the corpse that had been salvaged and brought ashore with grim expressions.
From the items the corpse carried, and the kodachi short sword still tightly gripped in his hand even in death, everyone knew exactly who he was.
Uchiha Shisui.
Their Uchiha Clan's "Shisui of the Body Flicker."
They hadn't expected that after he went missing for three days, their next meeting would be separated by the veil of life and death.
"Captain."
"There are massive burn marks from Lightning Release on Shisui's body..."
Uchiha Yashiro furrowed his brow tightly as he looked toward the incredibly gloomy-faced Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku didn't need Yashiro to say it; he could see it for himself.
In the Hidden Leaf, if one were to ask who was skilled in Lightning Release...
There were only two people.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake.
But of these two, one was the former Hokage, and the other was the current Hokage.
"Silence. Before the truth is fully revealed, no one is allowed to speculate wildly."
Uchiha Fugaku stopped his subordinate's dangerous conjecture.
"Collect the body."
Gritting his teeth as he issued the order, Uchiha Fugaku slowly raised his head to look in the direction of the Hokage Residence.
Are you... preparing to make your move?
It was only at this moment that Uchiha Fugaku realized with a start.
Perhaps their Uchiha Clan's secret meetings had been under the Hokage's control all along.
Even more than that, perhaps even the content discussed during the clan meetings was known with crystal clarity.
That night, the Uchiha held another clan meeting.
"Lord Clan Head."
"Rumors have started spreading within the clan."
"They say the true culprit who murdered Shisui is a higher-up of the Hidden Leaf."
Uchiha Shisui's death could not be concealed at all; his body had drifted all the way down the Naka River and was witnessed by countless villagers.
"Who is spreading this?"
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes, looking at the clansman who had spoken.
"It's unclear, but the clansmen are already feeling worried about this."
The clansman shook his head.
As a top-tier powerhouse of the Uchiha Clan, and with his usually approachable personality, Uchiha Shisui was highly acclaimed by his clansmen. It could be said that his death tugged at the heart of every Uchiha.
"Captain!"
"How is this a rumor? This is clearly the fact!"
"We cannot sit and wait for death!"
Someone down below spoke up, suppressing their anger.
This person was Uchiha Tekka. He could be described as the purest of Uchiha clansmen.
With a personality that was arrogant and cold, and as a squad leader in the Uchiha Police Force, he relied entirely on his own whims when enforcing the law on ordinary days.
"Tekka is right. The Hidden Leaf definitely wants to strike first to gain the upper hand."
"We cannot drag this out any longer!"
Others chimed in.
Hearing this, the crowd acknowledged this line of thinking, everyone adding their own word.
Seeing this scene, Uchiha Fugaku felt nothing but a headache. Looking at the people below, he felt as if someone was missing, and asked:
"Where is Itachi?"
As the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan Head, and an Anbu member, Uchiha Itachi was invariably present every time a clan meeting was held.
Yet today, he was nowhere to be seen.
"It seems he took a mission yesterday and left the village."
Someone below recalled, remembering that they seemed to have unintentionally overheard Itachi communicating with others yesterday.
"Is that so..."
Uchiha Fugaku only felt unease in his heart.
"There is no time to overthink it, Clan Head. Missing one Itachi doesn't matter at all."
"The urgent priority now is that we should counterattack immediately!"
"Otherwise, it is very likely we will be defeated one by one by the Hidden Leaf!"
Uchiha Tekka spoke up once again.
In an instant, the crowd within the Naka Shrine became furious. Even Uchiha Fugaku, as the Clan Head, could not suppress it.
He looked at his clansmen before him, their eyes filled with rage, and carefully thought about the significance of this matter.
Although he hesitated in his heart, his thoughts aligned with those of the Uchiha clansmen.
The true culprit who killed Shisui was the Hidden Leaf high command.
It was possibly even one of the two: Hiruzen Sarutobi or Kakashi Hatake.
Otherwise, with Uchiha Shisui's skill, even if he couldn't win, he definitely could have escaped.
He wouldn't have ended up decapitated like this.
The Hidden Leaf, the Uchiha...
Uchiha Fugaku's knuckles turned white from clenching. Looking at the clansmen before him who were basically all urging him to launch a coup, he had made his decision.
Uchiha Shisui's death sent a chill down his spine.
Today it was Shisui...
Then tomorrow...
Will it be me?
I originally didn't want it to be like this...
But you forced me!
"Since it has come to this..."
"Then... let us act."
As Uchiha Fugaku's words fell, the Uchiha elites below instantly looked exhilarated.
"It should have been this way long ago! Lord Clan Head!"
"Only under your command can the Hidden Leaf truly display the glory of our Uchiha!"
"When do we strike?!"
Listening to the words of his subordinates, Uchiha Fugaku's lips moved slightly, his voice hoarse and ruthless.
"Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, the Hidden Leaf will belong to us."
Uchiha Back Mountain
Compared to the heated discussion inside the Naka Shrine, this place was solitary, with only Uchiha Itachi standing alone.
Aided by the flawless moonlight, his scarlet eyes looked at the person approaching from the shadows of the trees ahead.
"It seems you have made your choice."
A man with black hair cascading like a waterfall, wearing a mask, stepped out of the darkness step by step, looking at the Uchiha youth before him.
"As long as you get rid of the Uchiha's hawkish faction, I will join your organization."
Uchiha Itachi's words seemed cold and resolute in the night, causing the 'Uchiha Madara' across from him to seem to let out a sneer.
"It appears you truly love this village."
"It is nothing but a false peace."
Facing the man's sneer, Uchiha Itachi remained unmoved, simply watching him calmly.
"Well, I agree."
The man calling himself Uchiha Madara—Obito Uchiha—chuckled low and ultimately agreed to Uchiha Itachi's terms.
And right at this moment, a strictly black-and-white figure emerged from the ground, causing Uchiha Itachi's eyes to narrow slightly.
Before the other party appeared, he hadn't sensed this guy's existence at all.
"Madara-sama, Uchiha Fugaku has decided the time for the coup."
"It is tomorrow night at eight o'clock."
Hearing the words of that unknown creature, Obito Uchiha looked at Uchiha Itachi before him and said:
"You heard it, right?"
"Tomorrow is the time to act."
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