Both paths end the same.
The difference is that one lets him see Itachi for who he really is. In Amane's view, it would almost make more sense if Danzō had taken Shisui's Kotoamatsukami and then used that line on Itachi.
"Probably not."
Shisui's answer drew a quiet sigh from Amane.
"Kotoamatsukami is powerful, but Danzō has not had that Mangekyō long. Wielding it without Uchiha blood is a brutal strain."
"If he forced it, he would leave a seam. I would have noticed."
So Itachi was ready to exterminate his own clan for what he called the greater good.
How bleak.
Amane shook his head. No point chasing maybes. If that was how it stood, they would move as planned.
He patted Shisui's shoulder, and the two slipped away.
…
"The elders, women, and children are ready to relocate. The ones who must show their faces every day have already been swapped for loyal fighters. When the time comes, they will withdraw along the safe route under cover of chaos."
"Even with a light touch, we have stirred Konoha's attention. They are digging."
"As for the rest, we can pass some off as ordinary folk and settle them in nearby villages. But those combat personnel cannot vanish without a trace."
"Three months at most. You must find them a place, or not only does the play we put on for the village fall apart, Itachi will start to smell something strange."
Inside the clan's hidden chamber, Fugaku stood over a spread of maps.
The Uchiha were populous. After the carnage of the Third War, only a few hundred combat hands remained. Elderly and children, though, were plenty. Fugaku had found ways to disperse them through familiar settlements.
The clan had money, a lot of it. As Konoha's police, they were good at fines. With tensions flaring, they had taken their chances and skimmed interest. Buying a few villages was nothing.
The fighters were the hard part. A shinobi is a shinobi. War leaves a cutting scent in the bones. You had to place them with care.
"Three months? Plenty."
Amane spoke around a cigarette.
In his plan, the Uchiha's feigned annihilation was only the first step. When the curtain fell on the last act, the entire shinobi world would be shaken by the name Uchiha. Not just their enemies, even Konoha would bow its head.
It was a grand design, to be built stone by stone. He already knew where the warriors would go. Since they were fighters, he would not waste their gifts.
"Itachi has shut himself in. Danzō's spark burned him deep. He could move at any time."
Shisui swallowed. He did not know how this great drama would open. Regret pooled in him.
If he had not flung himself into the river before Itachi's eyes, would things be different?
Honesty forced the answer. No. Even if he had lived, the words he heard from Danzō and the Hokage made one thing clear. They had set themselves on erasing the clan. He had been only a fuse.
Now these two madmen beside him seemed to be looking forward to that night.
Annihilation? No. The clan head and his son were using Itachi and Konoha as the blade to cut out the unruly rot within Uchiha.
Family matters are the hardest cases. Swing too hard, and your own people brand you a cold monster and rebel. Go too soft, and the parasites climb on your neck.
The line is razor thin.
This way, they would let Itachi's move draw out the unstable ones, and there would be no telltale seam. Those who lived would be grateful to Fugaku and to the boy who set the board.
Only after you die once do you learn how precious breath is, and the hidden mad blood settles.
History held a similar attempt. The man who led it was none other than Uchiha Madara. When the title of Hokage slipped from his hand to Senju Hashirama, Madara saw a truth. Even as cofounder, the other clans would never trust Uchiha. That distrust would grow into calamity.
He tried to take the clan and leave, to stand alone.
No one followed. They were sick of war. With the name of Konoha's founders, staying meant prestige. Even with Madara's pressure, no one left.
Now the scene rhymed, yet the result was different. Amane did not force anyone, and the clan made its exit by the logic of the play.
Sometimes force fails. Madara's failure became Amane's success. Use your head. That is the right way.
Of course, a man must be hard when hardness is due. The retreat was only a pause for deeper breath. With the families out of sight, the fighters could finally cut loose. In the end Konoha would learn the truth.
The Uchiha had never left.
That was the difference between Amane and Madara.
"The masked man's dossier is yours. Shisui, do not fumble it."
Amane blinked at him.
"As long as your intel is solid, stopping him is no problem."
Shisui thumped his chest. Space-time ninjutsu? His Shunshin was not for show.
"Good. Aside from the mask, we still have to slip past the Root net around the compound. Time to make noise."
Amane set his small hand on the table.
"Everyone, break to rebuild. The moment has come."
"Uchiha Revival Plan."
"Begin."