[The one who rescued Uchiha Shisui from Danzo's "Root" operatives… was Uchiha Itachi.]
[Itachi looked at Shisui with worry. Shisui's right eye was tightly shut, but it couldn't hide the hollow emptiness of the socket where his eye had been.]
["Why are you here?"]
["I had a bad feeling, so I ended my mission early to come find you."]
["I see."]
Shisui smiled, helpless.
Itachi's dark eyes held no visible anger. Instead, they looked as though they'd been swallowed by something even deeper than night.
Another dusk fell. Two boys who truly understood one another stood side by side, yet neither said a word.
The projection remained silent for a long time.
In any other circumstance, a silence like this would be the perfect opportunity for the watching crowd—civilians and nobles alike—to whisper among themselves.
But the emotions of the two boys trying to change everything weighed heavily on everyone watching. The sorrow and helplessness in the air left no one willing to speak.
They hadn't done anything wrong.
They had tried so hard.
Two geniuses. Two young shinobi with dreams and convictions…
After the initial wave of grief, countless people found themselves directing their anger toward that despicable elder of Konoha.
The pacing of the projection was deliberate.
First, they learned that Uchiha Shisui had planned to use Kotoamatsukami to manipulate Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, to abandon the coup and lead the Uchiha in taking the first step toward reconciliation.
At that point, opinions had been divided.
Some felt the plan was bold—but perhaps the most effective option.
Others thought Shisui was too naïve. How could the prejudice buried deep in human nature simply disappear?
Back then, few had noticed how off Danzo's words truly were.
After all, protecting the village was the highest principle for Konoha's leadership. Removing potential threats in advance didn't seem unreasonable.
But once they saw Danzo's greed laid bare, even people from other villages were stunned.
Even the 'Bloody Mist' of the past had followed its own brutal rules of survival of the fittest.
What Danzo did was something else entirely.
He had somehow obtained the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan long ago. Yet while wielding that power, he continued to suppress them again and again. It was hard to stomach.
An elder from one village sighed. "Seizing resources has always been common practice in the shinobi world. But as a leader, stealing power from the younger generation… that's hard to accept."
The shinobi nearby nodded in agreement.
As Danzo's teacher, Senju Tobirama was furious.
Having already guessed that Danzo had committed far more unforgivable acts, Tobirama felt a rage so volatile it was as if his own Tandem Paper Bombs were detonating inside him.
If Danzo hadn't hidden himself so thoroughly, the Second Hokage would have shown him just how fast Flying Thunder God really was.
Tobirama pressed a hand against the wall beside him and extended his senses again. Still no trace of Danzo's chakra.
"Hmph. Multiple layers of sealing, huh…"
Based on what he knew of Danzo, the man wouldn't run far. He was almost certainly somewhere inside Konoha, using the Uzumaki clan's multilayered sealing techniques to block chakra detection.
…
Tobirama's guess was exactly right.
At this very moment, Danzo was hiding in the deepest level of Root.
He received outside intelligence through surveillance mechanisms monitoring Konoha, avoiding chakra usage to escape detection.
When he learned that his persecution of Shisui and his possession of Sharingan had been exposed to all of Konoha, Danzo clenched his teeth so hard he cracked one of his molars.
"Damn it… you bastard! Who is it?! Who's behind these projection?!"
He roared in fury.
The Root operatives around him had followed him for years. It was the first time they had seen Lord Danzo so enraged.
Yet these shinobi, trained to erase their human emotions, simply knelt on one knee. Their faces were cold—no fear, no anticipation.
Like corpses waiting for the next order. If the mission succeeded, they would move on to the next. If it failed, they would erase all traces of their existence on the spot.
This was Root's creed—absolute suppression of self.
What Danzo didn't know was that, based on everything revealed so far, the part that infuriated Senju Tobirama the most wasn't just the persecution of Uchiha Shisui, nor the pressure Danzo applied in his teacher's name to accelerate the Uchiha coup.
It was the way he trained Root.
Among all the dirty methods uncovered so far, that was what enraged the Second Hokage beyond measure.
Danzo's actions had completely overturned the original ideals with which Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama founded Konoha. It turned the very village that broke the cycle of the Warring States into a near joke.
As Danzo's teacher, Tobirama—who had entrusted him and the others with protecting Konoha before his death—felt he had no face to show his foolish older brother, who had given so much for the village.
Of course, if his big brother were here, Danzo might experience the terror of the God of Shinobi before he ever faced the terror of lightning-fast techniques.
He could guarantee one thing: Shimura Danzo would never forget it, not even in his next life.
…
Elsewhere.
Uchiha Mikoto watched the projection with worry, her gaze fixed on her overly gentle eldest son.
"Itachi…"
Her soft voice carried a mother's boundless concern and hope.
[As dusk gave way to night beneath the rising moon,]
[Shisui finally spoke, telling Itachi everything. "It was Root. This eye of mine… Danzo took it."]
["…"]
Watching the memory again in Tanzaku Town, Itachi remembered how he hadn't felt anger back then.
He had been in too much pain to feel anything at all.
[Shisui said, "I'm sorry. It's a shame… but it seems there's no way to stop the Uchiha coup now."]
["…"] Itachi stood behind him, silent from beginning to end.
[Shisui looked down at the rushing river below the cliff. "If civil war breaks out between Konoha and the Uchiha clan, other countries will rally their villages and attack while Konoha is divided."]
["And once that happens, war will be inevitable."]
He was right.
Anyone present with even a bit of status or foresight understood—
Internal chaos in Konoha would inevitably attract the attention of other nations.
How many forces across the shinobi world would seize the chance to suppress Konoha—or even carve up the Land of Fire?
Yet if other nations invaded, Konoha would have no choice but to fight back with everything it had.
Hatred would breed hatred. The flames of war would only spread further.
Villages might form temporary alliances, agreeing to take down Konoha first and divide the spoils afterward.
But even before the war ended, mutual distrust could easily spark multi-sided conflict.
And when that happened—
The Fourth Great Ninja War would arrive ahead of time.