Mastermind of the Akatsuki

Before agreeing to Danzo's conditions, Itachi went through a difficult decision-making process. After careful consideration, he ultimately made the seemingly absurd choice.

From the moment his father took him to the battlefield at Iwagakure in the Fourth Great Ninja War when he was just four years old, Itachi began thinking like the Hokage. He abandoned immature impulsiveness and embraced absolute rationality and calm.

Given the current power balance between the Uchiha and the village, even with all the preparations in the world, the Uchiha clan had no hope of defeating the village leadership.

In a recent high-level meeting, his father had proposed a ridiculous plan. Fugaku intended to capture the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and use the power of the Nine-Tails to force the Hokage faction to yield. His parents had never considered how chaotic releasing the Nine-Tails would be.

Even if they succeeded in taking the Hokage position, they would still be unable to defend against external threats.

Though Danzo was sinister and cunning, he had considered the village's well-being. His plan to use Itachi to eliminate Uchiha ninjas would minimize the damage to the village and prevent civil war at the lowest cost.

However, this approach was too cruel for the Uchiha clan.

But if the Uchiha did start a coup, the consequences would be far worse. Not only would the Uchiha clan be branded as traitors, losing centuries of honor, but the village would also suffer immense losses.

The most crucial aspect was that Danzo offered an irresistible deal: as long as Itachi killed all the Uchiha ninjas and defected from the village, taking all the blame on himself, Danzo would spare the children who had not yet become ninjas.

This included Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke.

With this arrangement, the Uchiha clan could slowly repopulate and eventually reintegrate into the village after a few decades.

As for the rest of the clan, those who harbored thoughts of rebellion had to be prepared to face death.

When Itachi gave his response, Shisui felt deeply disappointed.

He had hoped that Itachi, upon receiving such an absurd order, would lash out at him, but Itachi remained far too calm—so calm that it disappointed him.

Sighing internally, Shisui spoke without expression, "I believe in your strength. On that day, I will be there in front of you. If you cannot eliminate the Uchiha ninjas, I will take care of it for you. However, this matter cannot be done in my name. You will have to speak with the Third Hokage."

Itachi nodded and replied, "If it comes to that, I will personally visit the Hokage office. There is no need to trouble you any further, Danzo-sama."

With that, Itachi turned and left the Root base.

Once Itachi had gone, Byakuya appeared in front of Shisui, speaking in a quiet tone, "Shisui, I didn't expect that the Uchiha you personally trained, Itachi, would be so ruthless. When you ordered him to eliminate the Uchiha ninjas, he agreed without hesitation. However, my plan to test Itachi worked well. Itachi truly revealed his true thoughts. He has no loyalty to the Uchiha clan."

Shisui fell silent, unwilling to speak. His eyes kept flickering as he processed his disappointment.

When testing Itachi earlier, he had hoped that, if Itachi attacked him, he could reveal his true identity and offer to cooperate with him.

Unfortunately, Itachi didn't make any move, which made Shisui deeply disappointed.

The bond of friendship between them was now effectively broken.

Byakuya observed Shisui's reaction, showing no particular emotion. Itachi's actions now were exactly what he had done in the original timeline.

For Itachi, the village was more important than the clan, and his younger brother was more important than the village.

So, when faced with Danzo's threat, Itachi chose to exterminate his clan to protect his brother. However, Itachi had never truly considered whether Sasuke would accept his plan.

These matters were of no concern to Byakuya.

Whether Shisui revealed his identity or continued to conceal it, Byakuya could maximize his gains. After all, whether Itachi became Shisui's subordinate or joined Tobi's faction, he would still be under Byakuya's control.

---

After leaving the Root base, Itachi made his way to the vicinity of the Naka Shrine under the cover of night.

He checked his surroundings for any Uchiha clan members before calling out into the empty space, "Come out, Masked Man. I need your help…"

Tobi, who had been nearby, heard this and calmly appeared in front of Itachi. He gazed at Itachi with interest, asking, "Itachi, what made you decide you need my help today? Have you stopped doubting my identity? Or have you finally decided to leave the stinking pit of Konoha and join me as my subordinate?"

Itachi maintained a stoic expression and replied, "If you agree to my conditions, I will join your organization and become your subordinate. But I don't know if you have the capability to meet my request."

Tobi laughed as if hearing a joke, then said, "There aren't many things in the ninja world that can stump me. Go ahead, tell me what you need."

Itachi took a deep breath and stated, "I want you to help me eliminate all the Uchiha in the Police Force building. Can you do that?"

Tobi's expression shifted slightly, revealing a hint of skepticism.

Is Itachi losing his mind? Why would he want help to eliminate Uchiha? Isn't he from the same clan as them?

After a brief pause, Tobi asked, "Does this include your parents?"

Itachi shook his head. "I'll handle my parents personally. I only need you to deal with the Uchiha in the Police Force building."

Seeing Tobi remain silent, Itachi probed, "Is it a no or yes? Or is it that you don't want to harm your former clan?"

Tobi snorted coldly, then said, "Fine. I agree to your conditions. The Uchiha of Konoha don't mean much to me anyway. I'm just surprised at your resolve."

For Tobi, whether the Uchiha of Konoha lived or died was irrelevant.

In the end, everyone in the ninja world would live in the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi, where dead loved ones and friends would be resurrected.

Compared to the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi, the real world was nothing but a nightmare.

Itachi no longer cared for his Uchiha clan, so Tobi felt no reason to care either. If he did, all the ninjas he had cared for were already long dead.

Once Tobi agreed to his terms, Itachi didn't linger.

Eliminating all the Uchiha ninjas wouldn't be an easy task. He needed to track the movements of every Uchiha member to ensure no one escaped.

After Itachi left, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and spoke to Tobi, "Tobi, are you really going to help Itachi exterminate the Uchiha clan? That's your family, and it's Madara's family as well."

Tobi glanced at Black Zetsu without expression and replied, "Black Zetsu, you should know by now. Madara and I stopped caring about the clan long ago. In our eyes, the entire ninja world is what matters. Clansmen and such are like some dust on the village, needed to be cleaned."