Mastermind of the Akatsuki

Upon hearing 'Danzo' speak those words, the Third Hokage's face turned red with anger.

"Who told you to act against the Uchiha?" he said, his voice filled with dissatisfaction. "Do you realize that your actions could easily incite a civil war in the village…?"

If Shisui really is dead, then it's a tragedy, but what if he isn't? If he survived and became a rogue ninja with the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could become yet another formidable enemy of Konoha—perhaps even more troublesome than Orochimaru.

It seemed that the Third Hokage understood the implications of what was happening, so Danzo spoke again, "Don't worry. Shisui is gravely wounded. He's probably already dead, lying somewhere in the Death Forest. Once Shisui is dealt with, we can move forward with our actions against the Uchiha. As for Lord Tobirama…"

The Third Hokage's expression turned sour as he glared at Danzo.

"Stop mentioning Tobirama-sama to me. If Tobirama-sama were still alive, he would have dealt with the Uchiha in his own way. He would never resort to violence against the Uchiha, who were once his comrades."

After a moment of silence, the Third Hokage glanced out the window and muttered softly, "I'll keep quiet about your actions against Shisui, but if the Uchiha do start a coup, I'm leaving the situation to you."

Despite his disapproval of Danzo's unauthorized actions, the Third Hokage didn't punish him.

While Danzo's interference with Shisui may have been unwarranted, it did solve the problem Shisui posed. The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan had made the Hokage cautious and anxious these past few days, fearing that Shisui would use his abilities to manipulate his mind.

However, the news of Danzo attacking Shisui must never leak out. If it did, the Hokage faction would find themselves in a vulnerable position. At present, the Hokage still needed Danzo, his trusted right hand, to do the dirty work for him.

The truth was, there were few ninjas left who would willingly take on the darkness for the village.

"I know how to handle this. You don't need to teach me," the Third Hokage snapped.

Hearing this, Danzo's expression changed slightly. Imitating Danzo's tone, Shisui coldly scoffed before storming out of the Hokage's office.

Walking through the dark alley, Shisui's face was a mixture of emotions.

His meeting with the Third Hokage had gone smoothly, and he hadn't exposed himself. This undoubtedly proved his talent in using Transformation Jutsu, enough to deceive even a ninja master like the Third Hokage.

But the Third Hokage's words about Danzo left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Third Hokage was well aware of Danzo's nature but had always turned a blind eye to his actions, even when they had a direct impact on the village.

In the past, when Danzo suppressed the Uchiha, the Third Hokage had played the role of the good guy, stepping in to defuse tensions and speak out for the Uchiha, giving hope to the pacifist faction while allowing the more aggressive faction to tear itself apart.

It's clear now that the Third Hokage is no longer just a wise leader of the village. His true nature was far more calculating than Shisui had ever imagined.

But all of that was in the past. Now that he had taken Danzo's place as the leader of Root, he could use his new position to weaken the Hokage faction.

In fact, one day, he might even run for Hokage himself.

A slight smile curled at the corner of Shisui's lips as he thought about this.

---

A few minutes later, Shisui returned to the Root base.

As he was about to interrogate Danzo using Genjutsu, Shisui heard a knock at the door of the secret room.

Locking Danzo back up, Shisui walked to his office. He called out, "Come in," and was greeted by a familiar masked figure.

This figure was none other than his close friend, Itachi Uchiha.

Just as Shisui was about to reveal his true identity to Itachi, and the two would work together to use Danzo's position to save the Uchiha clan, he remembered Byakuya's warning.

Apart from Byakuya, he couldn't reveal his identity to anyone else—including Itachi.

Calming his emotions, Shisui recalled how Danzo had interacted with Itachi in the past. He asked, "Itachi, did you come with some new information?"

Itachi observed Shisui closely. He felt something was different about the 'Danzo' in front of him.

This Danzo seemed somewhat proud, as if something good had just happened.

At that moment, Itachi felt a sense of unease in his heart. His expression turned grim as he continued to observe 'Danzo'.

These past few days, Itachi had been investigating Shisui's death. He didn't believe that Shisui would choose to commit suicide out of despair. He was sure that Shisui had been attacked by another ninja, which explained his disappearance.

Among all the suspects, Danzo was the most likely.

If he weren't worried about the village, Itachi would have taken action against Danzo right away and killed this scheming old man on the spot.

Taking a deep breath, Itachi turned to Danzo and asked, "Danzo-sama, what do you think about Shisui's disappearance?"

Danzo's expression was somewhat awkward, as he didn't have much of an opinion on Shisui's disappearance.

However, he also wanted to see where he stood in Itachi's eyes, so he replied, "Shisui is a naïve ninja, even with the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan. But every Uchiha who awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan tends to become twisted in personality. Who knows, one day, he might turn against the village. Do you have any idea where he went? Where did he disappear to?"

Upon hearing this, Itachi fell silent for a moment. Then, as if he had made a decision, he said, "Danzo-sama, I don't know Shisui's whereabouts. However, his disappearance has caused the more radical factions within the clan to quiet down. They probably won't be planning a coup anymore…"

"That's not certain. The Uchiha will never give up on becoming Hokage. You must continue to monitor the Uchiha clan and send me intelligence," Danzo replied.

Itachi remained silent for a while before saying, "Danzo-sama, the Uchiha…"

Danzo interrupted Itachi, walked up to him, and asked directly, "Itachi, are you standing with the village, or are you with the Uchiha? Do you really think your clan will give up on becoming Hokage?"

Itachi was stunned by the question and gave a vague reply, "I will do my best to prevent a conflict between the clan and the village. I won't let the village fall into civil war."

Upon hearing Itachi's response, Danzo furrowed his brows.

Itachi's avoidance of the real issue was very clever, but Danzo wanted to know Itachi's true thoughts. He was somewhat afraid that Itachi might abandon the village and side with the Uchiha.

From Itachi's attitude toward his clan, it seemed very likely that he was leaning toward supporting the village.

If Danzo were to expose his true identity now, Itachi might even take action against him. The reason was simple—his actions had already been a betrayal to the village.

With this thought, Danzo sighed softly.

He would continue to probe Itachi and test his true intentions. If Itachi really did side with the village, the former best friend might turn into an enemy.