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“Shisui, can we stop and talk?” Itachi asked, trying to catch his breath as Shisui prepared to attack again.
“Itachi, what do you want to talk about?” Shisui’s gaze flickered, and the Susanoo he commanded paused its assault.
Seeing Shisui halt, Itachi felt a small measure of relief. It seems Shin Uzumaki doesn’t have complete control over him.
“Shisui, attacking Konoha like this… it’s not what you truly want, is it?”
“You’re wrong, Itachi. This is what I want. Whatever my past beliefs were, now I fight only for the Uchiha Clan.” Shisui’s tone was resolute, making it clear to Itachi that persuasion was futile.
Itachi didn’t understand. What had happened to Shisui after being reanimated by Shin Uzumaki? His thinking had changed so drastically, almost as if his mind had been altered.
Wait… Altered mind?
In an instant, Itachi thought of a way to deal with the reanimated Shisui.
“Shisui, it seems I must use the power you left behind… against you.”
Itachi bit his finger, quickly forming hand seals for a summoning jutsu. He summoned a crow.
One of the crow’s eyes held Shisui Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan, identical to the one the reanimated Shisui possessed.
“<Kotoamatsukami!>”
Itachi activated Kotoamatsukami, altering the reanimated Shisui’s will, returning him to his former self, free from Shin’s influence.
Actually, it wasn’t quite freeing him from Shin’s control, because Shin hadn’t been controlling Shisui directly. Shin had merely reflected Shisui’s own Kotoamatsukami back at him, altering his will. Now, Itachi had changed it back.
Shisui deactivated his [Susanoo] and offered Itachi a faint smile.
“Thank you, Itachi.”
Itachi shook his head slightly, glancing at the few remaining Uchiha clansmen. By now, they had all fallen to the Konoha ninja.
“Shisui, what are your plans now?” Itachi asked Shisui.
“Me? I no longer belong to this world.” Shisui looked wistfully at Konoha. He was already dead; he wouldn’t cling to life in this reanimated state.
“But first, I need to seek revenge against Shin Uzumaki.” Shisui’s gaze hardened as he thought of Shin.
He had caused immense damage to Konoha; nearly a hundred Konoha ninja had died by his hand. Shisui felt his actions were unforgivable.
To lessen his guilt, Shisui decided to seek out the true culprit, Shin Uzumaki, for revenge.
Whether he could win or not, Shisui didn’t consider. All he sought now was peace of mind, atonement for his actions.
He had already died once; how much worse could failure be?
Itachi said nothing more. He took one last look at Shisui, then drew a kunai and threw it towards Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.
Without waiting for the outcome, Itachi used the Body Flicker Technique and swiftly left Konoha.
Originally, Itachi had planned to see Sasuke one last time. In the original story, after the massacre, Itachi brutally tortured Sasuke, planting the seeds of hatred within him.
But now, Itachi had no chance. The Uchiha Clan was destroyed. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha ninja were here. If he lingered any longer, he would never gain the Akatsuki’s trust.
In truth, Itachi knew he was already distrusted. He would have to find a way to regain their trust later.
———
Hiruzen Sarutobi caught the kunai Itachi had thrown. Attached was a note. Hiruzen discreetly put it away, planning to read it later.
Shisui glanced at Hiruzen and Danzō one last time, then his figure vanished into the darkness. He was going to find Shin Uzumaki.
“To think Itachi would break the Edo Tensei control like that.”
Shin knew Kotoamatsukami could break it, but he hadn’t anticipated Itachi using this method.
Itachi truly is clever.
However, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Itachi’s crow would likely be unusable for the next ten years.
“Everything’s over. I should leave too.” Obito Uchiha used Kamui and departed.
“Looks like there’s no reason for me to stay in Konoha either.”
Shin’s gaze followed the direction Shisui had disappeared. Might as well deal with Shisui.
Though Shin was far away, his hearing was exceptional. He had heard Shisui vowing revenge. Shin wouldn’t allow someone seeking vengeance against him to remain “alive.”
———
Hiruzen Sarutobi directed the Konoha ninja to clean up the battlefield, then secretly opened the note Itachi had given him.
The note requested that the Uchiha massacre not be publicly attributed to a clan rebellion, preserving the Uchiha name.
Itachi Uchiha declared he would bear the full blame for the massacre and asked Hiruzen to take care of Sasuke.
He even threatened Hiruzen: if anything happened to Sasuke, Itachi would leak Konoha’s confidential information.
Having served as an Anbu captain, Itachi knew many of Konoha’s secrets.
However, even without the threat, Hiruzen wouldn’t harm Sasuke Uchiha. One surviving Uchiha was insignificant.
Besides, Sasuke’s existence served as leverage to control Itachi.
———
The curtain fell. Compared to the original story where Itachi, under Danzō’s orders and with Obito’s help, easily wiped out the Uchiha clan, this time Konoha itself suffered significant losses.
Hiruzen had to handle the aftermath carefully. Otherwise, the repercussions could trigger another Shinobi World War—something Hiruzen desperately wanted to avoid.
Fortunately, the Third Shinobi World War had ended not long ago. The major villages were still recovering and wouldn’t easily launch another large-scale conflict.
If this had happened at a different time, the other villages would definitely have seized the opportunity to attack the weakened Konoha.
Hiruzen sighed. The blame for the Anbu casualties would fall entirely on Itachi Uchiha. Hiruzen believed Itachi would willingly shoulder this burden.
“Tomorrow, announce Itachi Uchiha’s defection. Elevate him to S-rank Missing-nin status.”
Hiruzen instructed the Anbu ninja behind him.
For Hiruzen, this was the best way to handle the situation. By blaming Itachi, the pressure on himself would be lessened considerably.
However, Hiruzen decided he needed to have a serious talk with Danzō about the Shisui Uchiha matter, and also warn Danzō not to cause further trouble.
Knowing Danzō—If Hiruzen didn’t warn him this time—Danzō would definitely stir up more problems behind the scenes.
For instance, regarding the Anbu casualties this time, if Danzō decided to make an issue of it, even Hiruzen would find it incredibly troublesome to deal with.
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