Uchiha Clan's Coup (8)

Itachi had decided to side with the Uchiha, but he still didn't want war. Now, even if he were to help the Uchiha succeed in the coup or help the Hokage stop the Uchiha Clan's coup, both outcomes would have devastating effects for Konoha. Both sides had already lost many ninjas from their forces; helping either would only weaken Konoha as a whole, and Itachi did not want that. Even though he now knew that it was the Village that forced the Uchiha to even consider revolt, he still thought of the Village as a whole, not just the Uchiha Clan or the Hokage and village authorities.

The Will of Fire still resonated in his mind, affirming that the village was one big family and prioritizing the village as a whole. "Shi-san, I think we should stop them first," Itachi expressed, "Before they both destroy each other and Konoha suffers as a result." Shisui hearing this murmured, "If I think about it, this would be better if they just stopped their conflict, but this would be difficult to make the Uchiha Clansmen agree." Then he looked at Itachi, feigning a sigh, and said, "Alright, let's first stop their conflict, but how do you plan to do that?"

Itachi nodded, then looked at Homura and Koharu, who were still under Genjutsu. "They would be useful there," Itachi explained. "We can use them as hostages against the Hokage, then I will persuade father myself." Shisui narrowed his eyes at Itachi, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. "Aren't you the same person who didn't even want to take them here because it felt like kidnapping and disrespect to the village's authority?" Itachi grew slightly awkward, and Shisui chuckled lightly. "Well, there's no need for using them as hostages," Shisui said. "We can just have them stop the Hokage verbally while we ourselves try to stop the Uchiha Clan."

Itachi nodded, agreeing with Shisui. They then moved towards the Sarutobi Clan, while Shisui, before departing, created a Shadow Clone and sent it elsewhere. Once they reached the Sarutobi Clan compound from the backside, they saw that the situation was about to become dire for the Uchiha side. Fugaku had shouted to his forces to retreat and began creating Yasaka Magatama, while Hiruzen shouted orders to stop him. To divert the attention of both sides, Shisui once again activated Susanoo, taking Itachi inside it as well.

Hiruzen sighed in relief upon seeing them, mostly because it appeared they were siding with him. Fugaku, who was about to use Yasaka Magatama, stopped and also sighed in relief upon seeing them inside the green giant Susanoo. He ceased his action and deactivated his Susanoo; this was the first time he had ever used his Mangekyō for so long, and the toll on his body, chakra, and vision was much higher than he had initially expected. Seeing this, Hiruzen and others on his side were confused as to why Fugaku had suddenly deactivated Susanoo.

Hiruzen also had his summon transform back into its real appearance; Enma, standing beside Hiruzen, was also confused as to why the situation had changed so much once these two appeared. "Looks like Father has run out of chakra," Itachi said, observing his father, his expressions shifting to worry and apology. "I too am about to run out of chakra, that's why I only used the second form," Shisui said and thought inwardly, 'Well, more than vision, Mangekyō consumes chakra. While my current reserves are good, that still doesn't make my use of Mangekyō easier. Looks like I need to think of a solution for chakra also.'

Still, the main problem with Mangekyō is vision, since chakra, with rest, can be recovered, but not vision. However, during use, chakra reserves deplete rapidly. "Hiruzen, stop all this immediately!" Koharu shouted from behind Shisui's Susanoo. Everyone was stunned upon seeing that behind the green giant were Elder Homura and Koharu with their clan ninja forces. But the way she shouted did not sound like she was there to support Hiruzen. "Homura, Koharu, what are you saying?" Hiruzen retorted, asking with a grim expression. "Aren't you seeing that we are against the Uchihas? They launched a coup against the village."

But Hiruzen's words alone could not change their mindset, which was manipulated by Genjutsu. Shisui had purposely positioned them behind his Susanoo and away from the forces ahead. Otherwise, there was a chance that some sensor ninja might discover that both elders were under the effect of Genjutsu, as Shisui only used simple Genjutsu to manipulate them, not Kotoamatsukami. Not to mention, among the Anbu was Kakashi, in his Anbu black uniform and mask, who might have already uncovered his left eye, the Sharingan, from beneath his mask.

Shisui wanted no risks here; he simply wanted to end this situation then and there. With the immense chakra of Susanoo, detecting that the elders chakra was disrupted by Genjutsu would be difficult, even more so with the distance they stood. Itachi then give a nod to Shisui, ready to play his part in preventing the current situation from escalating further. He exited Susanoo and swiftly moved towards Fugaku and the Uchiha Clansmen. Itachi apologized to his father for becoming a double agent for the Hokage against the Uchiha, but also stated that he had no regrets about this because he did it for Konoha.

From a distance, Hiruzen and the two elders could only speak in loud voices, ensuring everyone heard their conversation properly and clearly. As Shisui had initially instructed these two to directly speak about putting a stop to the current situation, and even accuse Hiruzen if needed, they did the same. They accused Hiruzen of being the cause of the Uchiha's coup against the village. This, without a doubt, stunned everyone present—the Anbu, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza, as well as the Sarutobi Clansmen.

While Fugaku was still enraged and determined to at least finish off Hiruzen, hearing Itachi's plea and the tide turning against Hiruzen because of Koharu and Homura's allegations regarding the situation, he chose to end the conflict for now. The accusations against him enraged Hiruzen at his former teammates. He guessed that something wasn't right, but currently, he wasn't in a position to retaliate. Even the Uchiha, under Fugaku's order, ceased their attacks. Hiruzen had no choice; he couldn't simply charge against them now.

While others were stunned, the only person who quickly recovered from this shock was the pineapple-headed Shikaku Nara. But rather than thinking more information about the situation, he chose to focus on the injured and dead from both sides and ordered the Anbu to take them all to the Hospital and have the injured treated by medical ninjas. "But should we even need to take the Uchihas to the hospital as well?" one Anbu asked Shikaku. Shikaku sighed in response and said, "Until the situation isn't completely understood, we can't accuse the Uchiha, so take all of them to the Hospital."

Once the Anbu followed orders, Shikaku sighed heavily. "Phew, I am getting a feeling that the next few days are going to be very troublesome." The situation began to dead down, what was just minutes ago on the verge of escalating even more was now completely settled. Hiruzen was confused and angry; he couldn't understand how and why the Uchiha Clan suddenly launched a coup, when just today he had told Shisui to use his Mangekyō on Fugaku to stop the Uchiha's coup plans.

But he couldn't do anything for now; he could only grit his teeth, since the village advisors and his former teammates were against him. Even as Hokage, his position and power weren't the same as other Kage; his power had been diluted a long time ago, from him distributed to Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, whose words also mattered to Hiruzen. With everything going as Shisui desired, he deactivated his Susanoo and quietly ordered Homura and Koharu. "Both of you, directly go to your residence and don't come out until tomorrow, no matter who it is; you will not come out of your room. Now, fuck off."

Homura and Koharu, with blank expressions, nodded. Shisui, for now, could not lift the Genjutsu on them, and keeping them under Genjutsu also required secrecy. Otherwise, if someone else discovered it, the situation would escalate once again, this time putting the Uchiha Clan at a severe disadvantage. Then he would have no other choice but to flee the village, and who knew if Obito would personally come with an offer to join Akatsuki. 'Well, joining Akatsuki wouldn't be bad, but only if I have no other choice.' Shisui considered.

While the bloodshed wouldn't allow everyone to sleep peacefully tonight, especially those who believed in Hiruzen and had a good impression of him, they still wouldn't believe that the Uchiha coup happened because of Hiruzen. But these words came directly from two elders' mouths. They had no choice but to wait now, since everyone knew that truth would be revealed tomorrow. For now, the situation was halted, but it definitely wasn't over yet. But for Shisui, it was over now, since tomorrow he would have those two reveal the Hokage's and their hard work for Konoha for the last few decades.

Perhaps it would only be him who would have a satisfying sleep tonight, since his biggest headache, Danzo, was taken care of, and his shadow clone, which he had sent somewhere before coming to the Sarutobi Clan, would soon provide him complete information on Konoha's forbidden Jutsu. While thinking of the current conflict, he mused that it would be the best time to get his hands on the Scroll of Seals, which contained the village's forbidden Jutsu. He didn't even need to take the Scroll of Seals with him; his Sharingan was enough, which could save every detail of each Jutsu in his mind.

'My main target is Edo Tensei, while others like Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and Flying Raijin, if it's still there, would just be a bonus for me,' Shisui contemplated. 'But would Edo Tensei still be there, or for that, I need to visit Orochimaru sometime later?'

Once Danzo was taken care of, his mind was steady. He thought of how to solve the problem of Mangekyō Sharingan blindness limitation. While he didn't think of how he could use Edo Tensei for that, but he knew the Scroll of Seals contained very powerful jutsus, which he thought were a must-learn for him. For now, he particularly wanted Edo Tensei for using it on Danzo as a sacrifice. Once Danzo was used as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei, he would never even be able to come back even as Edo Tensei.

This was because the body sacrificed for Edo Tensei was permanently altered and consumed by the summoned soul, and that sacrificed person could never be used as a summon for Edo Tensei again. 'That would completely close the chapter of Danzo once and for all,' Shisui thought, satisfied. 'But for now, I want a good night's sleep.' The Uchiha Clansmen would definitely be discussing the matter once again, but he didn't want to become a part of that. For him, all current pressing matters were solved, and he finally could have a good night's sleep in the world of Naruto on his first day of transmigration.

-- To Be Continued --