Silence.
Dead silence.
Staring at the butchered remains of Uchiha Shisui, the elites in the meeting hall couldn't help shivering—cold seeping straight into their bones.
To them, the message was obvious:
Konoha's upper ranks had made their move.
Even Shisui—someone who leaned toward the village—had been slaughtered like livestock.
A public warning.
A brutal show of force.
A "know your place" written in blood.
"Gulp…"
After a long while, an Elite Jōnin swallowed hard and glanced at Fugaku.
"Clan Head… maybe we shouldn't rebel. Not right now."
"Yeah. They're clearly prepared. If we move, we're walking into a trap."
"We can endure a little longer—prepare in secret, wait for the right moment…"
"Shisui died too horribly. The higher-ups are… vicious."
Fear spread like sparks through dry grass.
Even the hardliners—the ones who'd been shouting for action—hesitated.
It wasn't that they'd suddenly become cowards.
It was that the village leadership had stopped following any rules at all.
They killed Shisui without warning… and did it like this.
Fugaku's face was ashen.
His jaw clenched so hard it looked like it might crack.
"Those bastards…"
He swallowed the rage down, forced it into his chest, and carved the debt into his memory.
As for the coup—
it had to be delayed again.
One of their pillars was already gone. If they were going to gamble, they needed far better preparation.
Across the hall, Itachi—freshly awakened Mangekyō still burning in his eyes—stared at the remains and felt something click into place.
So this was Shisui's choice…
To die as proof… to force the clan to hesitate… to soften the collision between the Uchiha and the village.
A twisted, reverent admiration tightened Itachi's chest.
In his mind, Shisui had sacrificed himself for the Will of Fire—for "peace," for "stability."
As for the missing eyes?
Itachi convinced himself Shisui must have destroyed them or hidden them—so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.
The one thing he couldn't understand was why the village would be so merciless—
why they wouldn't even leave Shisui a whole body.
"Enough."
Fugaku finally raised a hand, weary to the bone.
"This meeting is over."
"Yes…"
One by one, the Uchiha filed out, faces dark and complicated.
Out of respect—whatever remained of it—no one touched Shisui's remains.
They left them where they were.
"Wait, Itachi."
Just as Itachi turned to go, Fugaku spoke again. His voice softened, and for a moment the iron-faced clan head sounded like a father.
"Tomorrow morning, walk Sasuke to the academy."
"Then pick him up in the evening."
"We'll eat together—like a family."
"…Okay."
For once, Itachi's expression thawed into the faintest curve.
He'd already made up his mind.
No matter what happened to the clan—
even if he had to pay with everything—
he would protect Sasuke.
What Fugaku and the others didn't know was this:
In the original timeline, Danzō stole one of Shisui's eyes—and that single advantage bought Konoha more time.
But now?
Shisui had been tortured, killed, and stripped clean—and Danzō got nothing.
Which meant one thing:
Danzō's patience was gone.
Completely.
The Uchiha massacre had already entered its countdown.
Uchiha District — Ren's Room
Inside his room, Uchiha Ren sat quietly, looking down at two Mangekyō eyes sealed in a container.
Their remaining chakra was nearly gone.
But the hatred they carried…
was still heavy.
"The curtain's about to rise."
Ren's lips curled.
"Shisui… you died at the perfect time."
"Let your eyes give me the final step."
He breathed in.
"System—use the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Upgrade Card."
Ding. Activation successful.
Before Ren could even blink, the two Mangekyō eyes lifted into the air—drawn by an unseen force—and slid into his sockets.
Warmth flooded his vision, surging and swirling like liquid fire.
"…That feels ridiculously good."
One minute.
Ten.
Half an hour.
Then—
after a full hour—
Ren opened his eyes.
His Eternal Mangekyō had formed.
A clean, sharp pattern: his Mangekyō's design stabilized and deepened, layered with Shisui's shuriken-like geometry—unsettlingly elegant.
Ren narrowed his gaze, testing his sight.
"…Interesting."
"Shisui's genjutsu came with it too."
He could feel it clearly—
two top-tier illusions, now living inside his eyes.
Kotoamatsukami — a silent invasion of the mind, rewriting a target's will without them realizing it.
Kotoamatsukami: Radiance — Ren's evolved variant, a wide-area burst that drags targets into a genjutsu domain and crushes their consciousness; not as "needle-focused" as Tsukuyomi, but broader—and brutally final.
Ren exhaled slowly.
Now he wasn't just strong.
Now he had control.
And Konoha had no idea what was coming.
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