As soon as he entered the Uchiha district, Itachi rushed home. He had to stop his father before the coup began.
As long as he still had a choice, he wanted to protect his family.
His chest was filled with a wave of joy, especially after seeing that person.
Shisui—he might still be alive.
Everything that had been falling apart might still have a chance to turn around.
Ever since he became a double agent for both the village and the Uchiha clan, Itachi had lived in the dark, never finding peace.
But now, in these final moments, a glimmer of hope had suddenly appeared.
Even if he still had responsibilities to carry, he wanted to hold on to that small bit of hope as tightly as he could.
He hadn’t forgotten his deal with Uchiha Madara—but that was something he arranged in secret.
He chose to keep that from Hatake Satoru, and luckily, it hadn’t come up earlier. Just handling everything tonight with the two of them was already pushing the limit.
After convincing his father, he would go face Uchiha Madara himself.......................................
That was all he could do.
Hatake Satoru watched as Itachi’s figure quickly disappeared, then fixed his mask back onto his face.
He looked around, then dragged a nearby stone table over to the front gate of the Uchiha compound and brought a chair along too.
He casually sat down in the chair and looked over at Shisui.
"So? Don’t you feel like one of those guys who says, ’This road is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, pay the toll’?"
Hatake Satoru even struck a cool pose under his chin and raised his eyebrows at Shisui.
Shisui stared at his face but could only guess from the slight movement of the mask that he might’ve raised an eyebrow.
And that whole line? It left Shisui totally confused.
Hatake Satoru always said weird stuff at lightning speed, like he had his own rhythm.
Honestly, the guy seemed born to be a rapper.
Even though Shisui didn’t really get what he was saying, he’d mastered the art of playing along.
He nodded at Hatake Satoru and said,
"Not bad. Kinda cool."
Hatake Satoru’s smile got even wider, and he casually pointed toward a spot inside the compound.
He had gotten pretty good at using the Six Eyes to scout out enemies.
Even though the range wasn’t big enough to cover the entire Uchiha compound,
he only needed to stir up a bit of chaos—once some of the Root guys jumped in, the others would follow.
"Alright! Go for it, Shisui!"
"Give them the same energy they used chasing after you!"
Shisui chuckled and vanished in a blink.
Within minutes, loud explosions echoed from the direction Hatake Satoru had pointed at.
Thick smoke started rising inside the Uchiha compound.
Clearly, the fight had already broken out.
Hatake Satoru rested his chin in his hand, staring at the curtains on both sides, each marked with the Uchiha fan symbol. The breeze gently swayed them.
"Please stop the coup. There are other ways to fix this."
In front of everyone, Itachi knelt down before Fugaku, his expression firm.
"No matter what, please don’t leave the compound!"
The whole room went silent, like even the air had frozen.
Fugaku paused for a moment. Itachi had never really supported the coup.
But before he was fully confident, Itachi had never openly spoken out against it either.
Now, just before the coup begins, he suddenly stands up and objects? That’s not like him at all.
Unless—he really had found a way to solve everything.
Fugaku trusted Itachi. If Itachi truly believed in this path, maybe it could actually work.
Still, with how things were, he couldn’t make it too obvious.
Itachi’s status and reputation in the clan were complicated.
All eyes in the room were locked on Fugaku and Itachi. It wasn’t just about the clan—it felt like they were watching a family drama too.
Every move Fugaku made could sway people’s opinions.
The clan had already lost trust in Itachi, and even if it was just for show, Fugaku—as the clan head—had to make people believe in him.
With a loud smack, a handprint appeared on Itachi’s face.
Fugaku’s hand trembled slightly as he shouted harshly,
"Why did you come back here?!"
All those watching eyes were locked on the father and son up ahead, with a faint look of mockery in them.
Whispers that couldn’t be made out clearly buzzed around them like flies.
Itachi had long realized that the clan was already rotten beyond saving.
He also understood better than anyone how hard things were for his father, the clan leader. Even when his father didn’t want to act, the clan kept watching, forcing him to make a move.
Itachi lowered his eyes without lifting his head.
"Please don’t go out."
"No matter what, please don’t leave the house tonight."
Everything Itachi did only made the radicals in the clan more on edge.
"Ever since Shisui died, I knew we couldn’t trust him!"
"If you won’t act, then we’ll go instead!"
The radicals sitting below, hungry for war, instantly shouted in anger.
Right as the shouting grew louder, a series of loud explosions suddenly echoed from outside.
The smell of gunpowder spread through the air, and the radicals immediately jumped up, convinced this was another betrayal by Itachi and his group.
In a flash, they all rushed outside.
Fugaku and Mikoto were left behind to keep an eye on Itachi, to stop him from warning the village.
Only women, children, and a few non-radicals stayed inside the house.
Under the bright lights, no one said a word, all quietly hoping this night would pass quickly.
Once outside, the group split into two teams. A small group went to check out the explosion.
The rest headed straight for the main gate of the compound.
But as the large group reached the gate, they saw a strange man sitting there wearing a mask.
Under the pale moonlight, he sat casually at the Uchiha gate.
As if he alone planned to stop them all.
They had expected Itachi might bring some enemies, but not just a single person.
The man was tall and skinny, looking like he was only sixteen or seventeen years old.
The crowd fell silent in an instant, as if someone had hit a pause button.
The stone table seemed to split the inside from the outside completely.
Hatake Satoru met their eyes for a second, then tilted his head slightly in a playful way and spoke with a cheerful tone.
"Whoa—so many people. I didn’t know the Uchiha had this many members."
"But didn’t I say before, one-on-seven shouldn’t come outside?"
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