Mastermind of the Akatsuki

A week later, news of Shisui's disappearance spread quickly, causing a huge uproar within the Uchiha clan, even prompting the holding of a clan meeting to discuss the matter.

Though Shisui had never gotten along with the more radical Uchiha ninjas and leaned toward a more moderate stance, no one doubted his strength. Shisui possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, capable of unleashing the legendary Susanoo, and could fight tail beasts head-on.

Such a powerful figure couldn't just disappear without a significant reason—there was clearly a conspiracy at play.

During the search, the Uchiha soon discovered a suicide note in Shisui's home. The note stated that Shisui was filled with despair over the current state of the clan and the village.

It seemed that Shisui didn't know whether to stand with the village or the clan. Under the overwhelming pressure, he had lost his will to live and chose to end his life.

However, senior Uchiha ninjas like Fugaku didn't believe the contents of the note. They knew Shisui couldn't be that weak. The holder of the Mangekyō Sharingan would never die in such a trivial manner.

Shisui must have been attacked by someone, and, most probably, his Mangekyō Sharingan taken before his death.

Most believed the attackers were likely Konoha's high-ranking officials, led by the Third Hokage, as no one else had the power to challenge Shisui Uchiha.

However, some ninjas pointed suspicion toward Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi was just as much of a genius as Shisui. Moreover, they had a close relationship. If Itachi had intended to steal Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan and launch a surprise attack, his chances of success were certainly high.

The key reason for suspicion was Itachi's refusal to hand over the list of Anbu members, which had already marked him as a traitor in the eyes of the clan. Itachi was now seen as a dog of the Hokage faction.

But regardless, with the death of the Uchiha clan's strongest member, Shisui, their coup plans had effectively been halted. Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Uchiha would be no match for the Hokage faction.

Still, the Uchiha upper ninjas believed that the clan would eventually find another opportunity for a coup—if not this time, then the next.

Itachi, however, felt unjustly blamed by his clan and grew even more disdainful of their foolishness.

He was not involved in Shisui's disappearance, and certainly hadn't forged the suicide note. According to intelligence from the ninja crows, Shisui had fought a major battle outside the village before disappearing. The attackers could have been either Masked Man or someone else, perhaps even Konoha's higher-ups.

Regardless, Shisui had used his life to delay the clan's coup and buy time to prevent the family and village from falling into conflict. However, it was clear that the next attempt at a coup would be even more intense.

As time passed, news of Shisui's disappearance spread throughout the entire Konoha village. Many anti-Uchiha ninjas were relieved at the death of Shisui, the Mangekyō Sharingan holder, as it would greatly weaken the Uchiha's strength.

Most, however, felt sorrow for his death. After all, Shisui was a Konoha ninja, and the existence of his Mangekyō Sharingan had kept other enemy villages at bay.

Now, with Shisui's death, Konoha's ability to counter the tailed beasts was severely diminished, and the other villages might soon take action. The peace Konoha had enjoyed for so many years might be at risk once again.

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Shisui, however, did not care about the rumors circulating in the village. He was far more interested in seeing how Konoha would evaluate his death.

During his week at the Root base, he had learned how to impersonate the leader of Root. This was aided by his ability to keenly observe things with the Mangekyō Sharingan, as well as Danzo's own assistance. If Danzo hadn't made Root into a one-man operation, Shisui's risk of exposure would have been much higher.

Just as Shisui was reflecting on the past week's events, a knock came at his door, bearing news of a summons from the Hokage's office.

The summons from the Third Hokage caused a change in Shisui's expression.

He wasn't sure if he could deceive the Third Hokage and the two advisors, but as he had already decided to become Danzo, he would inevitably have to face these high-ranking Konoha officials one day.

After sneering in disdain at the Third Hokage, Shisui set off for the Hokage building.

Seeing Shisui's obvious disdain for the Third Hokage, the Root ninjas did not show much reaction. Their leader, Danzo, had always spoken ill of the Third Hokage, and no matter how outrageous Danzo's actions were, the Third Hokage would always forgive him.

Soon enough, Shisui found himself in the Hokage's office, where the Third Hokage was glaring at him with a face full of displeasure.

Shisui couldn't help but wonder: Was the Third Hokage doubting his identity, or was this just how the Third Hokage treated Danzo?

Before he could think much further, the Third Hokage spoke up: "Danzo, have you heard about Shisui's disappearance?"

Shisui feigned confusion, beginning to play his role as Danzo:

"Shisui's disappearance? When did that happen? I've been at the base for the past few days, not really paying attention to the Uchiha."

The Third Hokage snorted coldly and got straight to the point, "You can't possibly claim you don't know. That afternoon when Shisui used his Mangekyō Sharingan, he disappeared for an entire afternoon. After that, he completely vanished. Clearly, it was you who did something to him. Driven by your greed for the Mangekyō Sharingan, you finally made a move against Shisui. Don't forget, Shisui was one of the few Uchihas who was loyal to the village!"

If Shisui had heard these words from the Third Hokage before, he would have undoubtedly felt touched. The Third Hokage had always been trying to ease tensions between the Uchiha and the village, even reprimanding the higher-ups to achieve this.

But after taking Danzo's place as the head of Root, Shisui knew things weren't as simple as they appeared.

The Third Hokage harbored no real goodwill toward the Uchiha, and by tacitly approving of Danzo's actions, he had sent a clear signal with his secret divulging of "Kotoamatsukami." The Third Hokage was wary of the powers of Kotoamatsukami, but he didn't want to ruin his own prestigious image.

Was such a ninja truly fit to remain in the position of Hokage?

Shisui had serious doubts.

After a long pause, Shisui began weaving a lie, "Yes, I admit I took action against Shisui, but everything I did was for the village. Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was a serious threat to us, and I had no choice but to take him out. Unfortunately, Shisui was stronger than I expected, and in the end, I failed to capture him, and he managed to escape."

"You really did take action against Shisui..." the Third Hokage said with a fluctuating expression, his voice laced with suspicion. "But Kotoamatsukami must still be with you, right? Shisui was not the type to just commit suicide."

Shisui, now showing a somewhat displeased expression, responded, "Do you really think I have the strength to deal with Shisui? If I had truly captured him, I would have already sent someone to take action against the Uchiha."

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Sorry for not uploading for the whole week. I will be uploading few more chapters.