Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident in his own brainwashing—er, “charismatic influence”—and believed that Shisui would never betray him, one could never be too careful.
What if Shisui’s actions over all these years had been a calculated act?
If things went south, he, the “Strongest Hokage in History,” could end up having his will rewritten by Kotoamatsukami, becoming nothing more than a puppet for the Uchiha clan.
That was a prospect he could not tolerate.
But he was the Hokage; he had to remain bathed in the light.
Even if he couldn’t tolerate a threat, he could never choose to act against his own subordinate directly.
Such dark work had to be done by Danzo.
Thinking of this, he called an ANBU operative over: “Go, notify Danzo.
Tell him to come see me at this time tomorrow; tell him I want to discuss how to handle the Uchiha clan.
Also, go bring Itachi to me.” Sarutobi knew full well that Danzo coveted the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.
If Danzo were to learn of the abilities of Shisui’s Mangekyō, he would undoubtedly make a move to seize them without needing any hint.
But that wasn’t a sufficient insurance policy; there was no guarantee it would successfully eliminate Shisui.
He planned to have Itachi act as the final fail-safe.
If Shisui were sensible enough to survive Danzo, he would undoubtedly commit suicide to apologize to Konoha, thereby extinguishing the Uchiha clan’s edge and power for the time being and terminating the coup.
Doing this would kill two birds with one stone.
…
At Uchiha Izumi’s home, Chiya slowly opened his eyes and retracted his sensory perception.
The results were exactly as he had predicted: Uchiha Shisui had foolishly run to the Third Hokage to spill the secrets of his Mangekyō ability, thereby inviting his own doom.
Tomorrow was the day of the Uchiha clan festival.
Chiya vaguely remembered that the Uchiha family, feeling increasingly dissatisfied with Konoha, planned to use this occasion to discuss their coup.
Little did they know that they had already been betrayed by two “traitors” within the family.
In the end, the whole affair would fizzle out following Shisui’s suicide.
Thinking of this, Chiya couldn’t help but sigh: “What a truly pathetic clan.” Within, there were “filial” sons like Itachi and naive fools like Shisui; without, there were delusional teenagers like Obito.
Even the clan head was a weak, wavering man.
It would be difficult for them not to perish.
Just then, Izumi’s voice interrupted his thoughts: “Chiya, dinner is ready.” “Oh, coming,” Chiya replied, rising and heading toward the table.
…
The next day, Chiya channeled his art into Sage Mode, monitoring the chakra signatures of both Shisui and Danzo at all times.
By dusk, after dropping Izumi off at her home, he sensed that the two chakra signatures had finally converged.
He immediately donned his disguise and pursued them to a remote, abandoned relic of the Senju clan in a corner of Konoha.
The process went exactly as in the original story: Hiruzen Sarutobi had summoned Danzo after learning of Shisui’s Mangekyō abilities.
In front of Shisui, he had revealed the nature of Kotoamatsukami and Shisui’s plan to control Fugaku, promising that he would improve the Uchiha clan’s status afterward.
The consequences were predictable: Danzo had set his sights on Shisui’s eyes.
Before Shisui could head to the clan festival, Danzo had summoned him here, setting an ambush to execute his plan to seize the eyes.
Honestly, Chiya didn’t hate a well-intentioned person like Shisui.
At the very least, he was much easier to deal with than hypocrites like Hiruzen or venomous snakes like Danzo.
If Chiya had been willing to intervene, it would not have been difficult to save him.
But their worldviews were diametrically opposed.
Anyone who had watched Naruto knew that Shisui was a die-hard supporter and worshipper of the “Will of Fire.” Even to his dying breath, he still believed in the Konoha high command.
Although Chiya possessed the Zanpakutō Kyōka Suigetsu and could guarantee that he could bypass genjutsu like Tsukuyomi by controlling the enemy’s five senses—or even break them directly with the immense spiritual and physical energy provided by his cultivation—the Eye of Kotoamatsukami was different.
It was dangerous because it could turn anyone the caster saw into a puppet.
If Chiya ever stood in opposition to Konoha in the future, Shisui would surely be the first to step out against him.
He wasn’t afraid of a one-in-a-million chance, but he didn’t want to take the risk.
An ability of such “bug-level” power either had to disappear or be in his own hands.
That was the superior choice.
He didn’t want to spend his life constantly releasing Kyōka Suigetsu to guard against Uchiha Shisui, living in constant fear.
“As long as Shisui lives, I will not sleep easy…” Thinking this, Chiya’s eyes, hidden beneath his black robes, coldly watched the two men, Danzo and Shisui, chatting in front of him.
“Is there something you need, Lord Danzo?
The clan meeting is about to start,” Shisui asked Danzo, confused.
“If you move against Fugaku Uchiha to reorganize the clan, but the village doesn’t change how it treats the Uchiha, what will you do?” With his right eye covered in bandages and his left eye half-squinted, Danzo didn’t strike immediately, choosing instead to probe Shisui’s intent.
The result, unsurprisingly, disappointed him and only solidified his resolve to seize the Kotoamatsukami.
“The Hokage has promised me that there will be changes,” Shisui said firmly.
“Even if you persuade the Third Hokage, the village’s suspicion of the Uchiha will not disappear.” Mentioning the Third Hokage triggered a flash of disdain in Danzo’s eyes.
He suddenly opened his eye wide, and as he looked at Shisui again, it was filled with greed and desire.
Out of trust for Konoha, Shisui did not perceive the danger closing in on him, maintaining his naive ideals.
“I understand.
In time, I will…” He wanted to say more, but Danzo cut him off.
“That is exactly the point.
Someone as suspicious as me wouldn’t change their mind so easily.
What will you do then?” Danzo lowered his head slightly, his face obscured by shadows.
The Sharingan hidden beneath the bandages on his right eye was ready for action, entering the state of Izanagi.
“But…
Lord Danzo…” Shisui tried to continue, only to be interrupted by Danzo again.
“Will you use Kotoamatsukami on me then, too?” As he spoke, Danzo slowly raised his head, his face contorted with malice.
He threw aside his crutch, grabbed with his left hand, and lunged fiercely at Uchiha Shisui’s eyes.
“Hand over those Sharingan eyes to me.” Shisui was shocked, but being a genius of the Uchiha clan, he wasn’t naive enough to let himself be slaughtered.
He grabbed Danzo’s left hand and activated a genjutsu, freezing him in place.
“This is just a basic genjutsu; it will be broken soon.” Shisui slowly lowered Danzo’s hand, a look of profound disappointment in his eyes, and turned to leave.
But before he had taken a few steps, Danzo, who had just been under the genjutsu, suddenly appeared before him.
He threw a punch into Shisui’s abdomen and dug his left hand into his right eye socket.
A thin, long line of blood sprayed into the air as the move was completed cleanly, all in one fluid motion.
Shisui gasped in pain, covering his empty right eye socket, and leaped backward to put distance between himself and Danzo.