Chapter 45: Waiting

Having Shisui try to persuade Itachi was a decision Yuhara had pondered for a long time. He really didn't like this self-righteous and arrogant guy. Everything Itachi did was based on what he believed was best for Konoha and the Uchiha clan. Even when it came to Sasuke, Itachi never truly considered his feelings and acted on what he thought was right.

Such a personality and actions could only be described as self-righteous and arrogant. Although in the original story, Itachi eventually came to his senses and expressed his remorse to Sasuke, by then the Uchiha clan had been wiped out. Yuhara doubted if his repentance truly mattered. From the perspective of the Uchiha, it was of no use at all, so Yuhara always had a poor opinion of Itachi.

Perhaps it was also because he came from a country with a thousand-year tradition of filial piety. The conflicts between Konoha and the Uchiha weren't insurmountable in Yuhara's view. The Uchiha clan had issues expressing their political demands, but their core ideology was simply the pursuit of fairness. As one of the founding clans of Konoha, they only enjoyed fair and transcendent treatment during the tenure of Senju Hashirama. After Uchiha Madara's departure and Hashirama's death, the Uchiha grew distant from Konoha. They had no chance of becoming Hokage, were feared, and ostracized under Senju Tobirama's influence. This was the greatest harm to the Uchiha who chose to stay.

In such an atmosphere, two extreme ideologies emerged within the Uchiha: one of extreme compromise and one of extreme rigidity. Both aimed to reclaim their legitimate rights, but they probably never imagined someone like Itachi would emerge. Yuhara didn't want to bother with Itachi either. As a child, he tried to approach him for personal gain, but Itachi never paid him any mind. Knowing Itachi's future actions as a time traveler, Yuhara focused on building a good relationship with Shisui instead.

Now that Yuhara was confident he could become the clan leader, he needed capable people to support him. Despite Itachi's problematic personality and mindset, he undeniably had the potential for the Mangekyō Sharingan. Although Yuhara was displeased with Itachi for his future actions, he had to admit those events hadn't happened yet. Given that Yuhara was working to prevent those tragedies, the best approach was to set aside personal feelings and consider the clan's interests. If he could recruit Itachi, it would be beneficial.

"If we can recruit him, great. If not, so be it. Itachi claims to act for Sasuke, but Konoha holds a high place in his heart. Someone like him might not align with us, which is normal," Yuhara thought. He left the task to Shisui, confident in Shisui's dedication and hope for Itachi to join them. Shisui and Itachi were very close, more so than Yuhara and Shisui. Before Yuhara "enlightened" Shisui, Shisui's relationship with Itachi was almost like brothers. Shisui even entrusted his Mangekyō Sharingan to Itachi before his death, and Itachi awakened his own Mangekyō Sharingan because of Shisui's death. Their bond was strong.

Even though Shisui now had new hopes and was walking a new path, their bond remained. Using Shisui to recruit Itachi, Yuhara was curious about the outcome.

"But for now, I should focus on myself. Everything is progressing smoothly, and I have time to handle my affairs. I should study the jutsu I need to learn and see if I can improve my Susanoo. I have abilities that reduce the difficulty of using Susanoo and enhance its power. It would be a waste not to fully utilize these advantages."

Yuhara had many areas to improve, especially in ninjutsu. As a task ninja, he received limited resources without joining any faction. But now, having persuaded both sides, he had access to abundant resources. He could finally study the Great Fire Annihilation jutsu he longed for. He looked forward to the day when he could intimidate the ninja world with a fire release like Uchiha Madara.

"But with the elders and I meeting with the clan members for so many days, Fugaku must have heard the news. I wonder what he's thinking now. Does he sense our hostility?"

Whether Uchiha Fugaku realized their intentions was no longer important. What mattered was that Yuhara had completed the initial consolidation. Regardless of whether Fugaku knew, nothing could change these facts.

"Now, it's just a matter of waiting for the next clan meeting. Then, everything will be completely different..."

As Yuhara quietly awaited the start of the clan meeting, Uchiha Itachi had just returned to the clan after completing a mission. In fact, his return was timely as the clan meeting was about to begin, and he needed to attend to gather more information. Although Shisui would also be there, Itachi wasn't concerned about these details. To him, this was perhaps a method to "better gather comprehensive intelligence."

Upon returning home, Itachi glanced at his younger brother, Sasuke, before once again slipping out of the house. He was heading to a secret meeting place he shared with Shisui. It had been a while since he last saw Shisui. The missions in the ANBU were truly demanding and highly confidential. Even though they were both in the ANBU, they had very little time to meet. Itachi had a lot he wanted to say to Shisui and many issues he wanted to discuss.

To Itachi, Shisui was like an older brother, one who had cared for him from a young age and taught him many valuable lessons.