Uchiha Clan, Shisui's home.
Itachi opened a box of three colored Dango dumplings and poured some hot green tea into the Yunomi (Japanese teacups) both for himself and Shisui.
Shisui thanked Itachi and after taking a sip he asked, "So Itachi, I take it that you are the person responsible for keeping watch on me?"
Itachi nodded, "Yes, Otou-sama is clearly suspicious of you and assigned me the task of monitoring you until the doubts are clarified."
Shisui can't help but sigh, undoubtedly even after he did not pose any resistance, Uchiha Fugaku was still doubtful of him.
Itachi asked, "Shisui-san, what kind of person Kuroto-san is?"
Shisui raised an eyebrow and questioned, "Why the sudden interest?"
Itachi thought a little and said, "I have only ever met Kuroto-san twice and from what I see, he is not a simple person, and from what you have told me, Kuroto-San clearly surpasses you in terms of strength and yet there is not much known about him.
This is rather strange, he seems to be too mysterious."
Shisui considered Itachi's words and said, "I guess you are not wrong, and to be honest even I, myself don't understand him much, about his ideals, and goals, I am not very clear about them.
However, I have come to understand that Kuroto-san is not…. Um, how should I refer to it… not partial I suppose?
In my opinion, Kuroto-san might be the only one who can save the Uchiha Clan."
Itachi was stunned, such high evaluation clearly dictates just how much Shisui trusts Hyuga Kuroto and he can't help but want to know, "Why?"
"Hahaha, I don't actually understand this myself, think of it as a gut feeling!" – Shisui said with an awkward laugh.
Itachi sighed, this wasn't what he expected to hear.
"Well, I know I am being incredibly vague, but I do feel that if he becomes the Hokage, Uchiha might have a bright future, and the reason for my belief is because Kuroto-san is not judging the Uchiha Clan based on the preconceived notions of both the sides, so maybe, just maybe, he can help Uchiha Clan truly become part of Konoha."
Shisui's words were again deeply taken by Itachi.
As Itachi has been growing up he has started to realize the root cause of the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Village.
The strength of the Uchiha Clan is very obvious once the Shinobi reaches the level of Special Jonin and above.
As long as the Sharingan of the Uchiha Shinobi has developed to a fully matured state, the strength of Uchiha Shinobi will mostly be higher than the shinobi of other clans of the same rank.
This is almost inevitable.
With strong power, the people of the clan will naturally seek corresponding political status.
When they were suppressed by the Senju Clan, the Uchiha were barely able to accept because of Uchiha Madara's actions, but as the years passed, the Senju Clan withered, Uzumaki Clan annihilated and Hyuga Clan declined, the Uchiha Clan could no longer accept how they were being treated.
In the current Shinobi world, no clan is strong enough to match the strength of the Uchiha Clan.
But the very same Uchiha Clan, who is also the co-founder of Konohagakure has no right to participate in the decision-making body of the Village.
Not to mention the position of Hokage, even the Advisory Elder Board has no face representing the Uchiha Clan. This obviously dissatisfies the Uchiha Clan.
And finally, they are being treated unfairly, forced to relocate to the edge of Konoha, being kept under 24x7 monitoring!
Let alone Uchiha Clan, nobody can bear such discrimination!
They have almost given up on obtaining what they deserve through normal ways.
And this is what is prompting the Uchiha Clan to plan out a Coup.
There are only two ways to solve this problem.
Either the village gives the Uchiha Clan what they deserve as the Co-founder of Konoha, or the two sides fight each other.
Anyone with discerning eyes can judge that the current Hokage faction can not deter the Uchiha Clan and yet they are unwilling to treat the Uchiha Clan fairly.
In this way, the conflict seems inevitable.
The more Hokage faction guards against the Uchiha Clan, the more Uchiha Clan will develop the idea of Coup, and the more Uchiha Clan will develop the idea of Coup, the more Hokage faction will reject the Uchiha Clan.
In this way, a never-ending cycle has developed.
Before Shisui could not find a solution to this loop and could only helplessly watch the sides fight each other like water and fire.
But it's different now.
…
After failing to meet Shisui, Kuroto walked out of the village.
Shisui may have taken a temporary leave, but the task assigned to Team-11 was not suspended by Sandaime-sama, therefore, the three members, Dog, Monkey, and Eagle still need to continue with the task.
Not long after he left the village, a black crow landed on Kuroto's shoulder.
Kuroto raised his hand to let the crew land on it and took out the small letter that was passed to him by the crow.
Unfolding the letter, Kuroto read the content and learned about what transpired since Shisui returned to the Clan.
Kuroto quirked his eyebrow when he read the part that Itachi has been tasked with monitoring him during the house arrest but other than that there is nothing to worry about for now.
He understood what the 'for now' part implied.
The situation has yet to reach the worst stage and can be salvaged if Kuroto plays his cards wisely, but he also understands that Shimura Danzo wouldn't be sitting in silence for much longer so he has to speed up the stimulation test.
With that understood, Kuroto destroyed the paper and went on his way.
…
Another month passed.
Konoha's hunting operation against underground forces in the Land of Fire and the surrounding nations did not stop and even extended to some of the smaller countries.
The continuous and non-stop raids led Konoha to discover the hidden lairs of so many illegal organizations as a result of which a whole lot of black and stolen money, goods, and weapons were seized.
The number of shinobi participating in the tasks kept increasing every day, and not to mention other clans, Hyuga Clan alone had several dozens of shinobi participating in this operation.
And even with all the effort put in, there was still no progress when it comes to the matter of Amatsukami.
No amount of effort yielded any useful intelligence, and this has started to make a lot of people impatient.
…
Kuroto's Dungeon Prison.
Kuroto stood before Uchiha Hideki whose current state was just a few steps away from death.
It's not that Kuroto has any interest in torturing people, but he is not disgusted by it either. If necessary Kuroto is more than willing to do it, but if it is up to him, he would rather try to avoid it, however, if he wants Mangekyou Sharingan out of Uchiha Brother then it is necessary to carry out these tests.
"Ugh…" – At this time, Hideki regained his consciousness and could barely open his eyes. His throat was sore because of not drinking water for quite some time.
Kuroto had made sure that the Uchiha Brothers only received the minimum amount of food and water necessary for them to stay alive, and not even a drop more.
Hideki noticed Yama standing before him and tried to word out something but could only make out some incoherent words.
Kuroto who was wearing his Yama disguise said indifferently, "I guess it's time when I finish this!"
Hideki had a relieved smile and said, "You are finally going to kill me? Come on, do it, I have long grown impatient!"
Yama ignored Hideki's words and clapped his hand.
Clap…
Followed by the clap, the wooden puppet dragged another person who was crucified to a metal cross.
As Hideki saw the wounded person his relieved expression changed, "R-Ryota!?"
Yama nodded, "Yes, that's him!"
Hideki shouted at the top of his lungs, "HOW DARE YOU TREAT HIM LIKE THIS?!"
Hideki saw his brother for the first time after so many days and his anger couldn't be controlled realizing the state he was in.
Yama held Ryota by his hair and said, "I am tired of keeping you brothers alive, today I will put him out of misery."
Hideki exclaimed, "You… W-what are you doing?"
Taking out a Kunai, Yama pressed it against Ryota's throat and said with a chuckle, "Why ask? Don't you already know it?"
Hideki shouted in panic, "Do-don't… don't kill him!"
However, Yama did not care about Hideki's shouting and lunged the kunai forward cutting the frontal part of Ryota's neck.
Puff…
Instantly, blood gushed out and splashed on Hideki's face.
Hideki's Sharingan activated with the three tomoe spinning rapidly…
.
.
Read up to Chapter - 448 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations