Mastermind of the Akatsuki

After muttering a few words to himself, Black Zetsu calmed down and said to Byakuya, "The Masked Man's plan is to recruit Itachi Uchiha. There may not be a fundamental conflict between you two, and perhaps you could try cooperating."

To Black Zetsu, both Byakuya and Obito were important pieces on the chessboard.

If any rift appeared between the two of them, it would be a great loss and could easily affect the plan to collect the tailed beasts and resurrect his mother.

"Cooperate with the Masked Man?"

Byakuya's expression darkened before he said, "I've had my eye on the Uchiha long before him. Why should I give up the Uchiha clan to him? Besides, the Masked Man has repeatedly provoked you, Black Zetsu-senpai. I've grown tired of him. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was the one in charge of the Eye of the Moon plan."

Hearing this, Black Zetsu felt a pang of frustration. The conflict between Byakuya and Obito had started as a small matter, but now it was subtly evolving into two opposing factions.

Although both sides aimed to collect the tailed beasts and resurrect the Ten Tails, Byakuya's Akatsuki and Obito's Kirigakure had little interaction, and neither notified the other when acting.

Now, both Byakuya and Obito were vying for control of the Uchiha. This could easily spiral out of control.

Should he advise Byakuya to give up or tell Obito to back off? Neither seemed like a good option.

In front of Obito, Black Zetsu was merely the will of Madara, not the man himself, and had no authority to command Obito. On the other hand, in front of Byakuya, his position was higher than Obito's, but lacking the ability to command Obito would surely make Byakuya question his own authority.

For a moment, Black Zetsu found himself in a dilemma, unsure of how to proceed.

After thinking for a long time, Black Zetsu expressionlessly said, "Whether you cooperate or clash is none of my concern, as long as it doesn't affect the tailed beast collection plan. You are free to act as you wish. I will not interfere."

With that, Black Zetsu burrowed underground and vanished from Byakuya's sight.

Byakuya watched as Black Zetsu left, lost in thought. His coming here to inform Black Zetsu about the Uchiha was to force Black Zetsu to make a choice between him and Obito.

However, Black Zetsu had been avoiding making a choice, which was not a wise approach. It could easily lead to resentment from both sides.

But, if Black Zetsu was truly smart, he wouldn't have kept obsessing over Indra. After all, Ashura was the better candidate for being a hand to mold.

---

Time passed quickly, and several months went by.

With the passing of time, the news of Shisui Uchiha's disappearance gradually faded from people's minds. The villagers only remembered him during the Kumo war and would nostalgically think of the Uchiha who had made great contributions.

Originally, the Uchiha clan's ambitions, suppressed by Shisui's death, began to show signs of revival.

To avoid conflict between the clan and the village, Itachi had been working tirelessly, cursing his foolish clan members in his heart, before arriving at the Root organization's base.

Guided by the Root ninjas, Itachi eventually met Danzo at the training ground.

Seeing Danzo there, Itachi was somewhat surprised. Danzo, now in his sixties, could still adapt to high-intensity training? Or was this just a show of strength, trying to intimidate him?

Sensing Itachi's presence behind him, Danzo wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Itachi, how's the intel I asked you to collect?"

Itachi nodded and respectfully handed over the information.

Danzo glanced at it, and his brows immediately furrowed. The information Itachi provided was flawless, detailing the movements of the Uchiha and lists of materials purchased from outside.

However, the real problem was that Itachi had handed over these truthful pieces of intel to 'Danzo.'

This meant Itachi had already sided with Danzo, hoping to resolve the conflict between the clan and the village through him. With Shisui's tragic fate as a lesson, Itachi shouldn't have made such a foolish decision.

Besides Danzo, Byakuya was also quietly observing Itachi.

Unlike the Itachi from the original timeline, who had witnessed Shisui's tragic death, this Itachi still harbored a sliver of hope. It was this faint hope that prevented Itachi from awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.

However, even without witnessing Shisui's tragic death, Itachi still chose not to trust his clan, and instead, he disclosed all of the Uchiha clan's intel to Danzo, believing that everything was part of his plan.

At this moment, Byakuya suddenly had an interesting thought in his mind. He used a communication device to contact Shisui, "Shisui, I need you to do something…"

After hearing Byakuya's plan, Shisui's heart skipped a beat, but he still agreed to it.

After his observations of Itachi had been going on for months, it was time to test the true thoughts of Itachi. If they continued to delay, Itachi might do something irrational.

After a moment of contemplation, Shisui spoke to Itachi, "Based on the intelligence you provided, it seems like the Uchiha clan is planning another coup, and the mastermind behind this coup is your father, Fugaku Uchiha. So now the question remains. How do you plan to stop this coup? Will you try to control Fugaku like I did, or will you take matters into your own hands and eliminate the ninjas who are planning the coup?"

Itachi's face changed drastically, and he immediately asked, "How do you know about Shisui's situation? Did you do something to him?"

Shisui's 'Danzo' nodded and replied, "That's right, I was the one who made Shisui disappear. The Uchiha clan, from top to bottom, has always harbored thoughts of rebellion. Even if we control Fugaku, we can't stop the Uchiha clan's hostility toward the village. That's why I took out Shisui Uchiha and stopped your coup." Danzo snorted, "The Uchiha and the village are two forces that are doomed to never integrate. I never thought there would be a day when the Uchiha and the village could live in peace."

It was at that moment, a grin appeared on Danzo's lips.

"But, I can give you an opportunity—a chance for a few Uchiha to survive. If you kill all the Uchiha ninjas and defect from the village, taking all the blame upon yourself, I can ensure that the Uchiha children survive."

Upon hearing this, Itachi froze, shocked by Danzo's words. He never expected Danzo to say something like this.

Shisui also hadn't expected this. What he had just said was all planned by Byakuya. He himself would never give such a ridiculous order.

Forcing a Uchiha to exterminate his own clan, simply with the promise of protecting the Uchiha orphans.

Itachi remained silent for a long while before he spoke to Danzo, "Danzo-sama, there are many ninjas in the Uchiha police force whose strength rivals mine. With just my own strength, I fear I won't be able to deal with all of the Uchiha clan's ninjas."