Danzo looked at the boy standing in front of him, and thought there was not enough darkness in him. Not compared with another ninja of the same clan, Itachi.
“I hear there is a meeting at Nakano Shrine tomorrow?”
“Given that you live in the darkness of the village, it’s no surprise you would know that. But even with that in mind, I have to admit part of me is dumbfounded that even this clan secret is known.”
“It is a reality of this village.”
“So you’re saying you were just letting us go for the time being?”
“You are indeed wise, Uchiha Shisui.” Danzo said the name of the ninja standing before him. “I have a question for such a wise ninja.”
“I don’t have a lot of time, so keep it short.”
“Yes, it would be unpleasant if you missed your chance to attack Fugaku, after all.”
A crease cut across the space between Shisui’s brows. “Even that …”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I did not hear it from Hiruzen’s mouth. And it goes without saying Itachi did not leak it. One of my men looked into it.”
A line of sweat rolled down the forehead of the wise youth.
“I can’t say that controlling Fugaku with your visual jutsu and bringing the plan for a coup d’état to a halt is a particularly good idea.” Danzo put a hand to his chin as he stared at the young ninja. “The majority of the clan is already leaning toward the coup. Flipping the ringleader Fugaku at this stage, you’re just spitting into the ocean.”
“I won’t know unless I tr—”
“I have made it through two great wars, and I am telling you, your plan will most certainly fail.” Danzo’s severity closed Shisui’s mouth. “Even if you succeed in controlling Fugaku with visual jutsu, proposing a halt to action at the meeting today, and managing to pull off this stopgap, nothing will change. The radical faction will only think Fugaku’s change of heart is because he has become cowardly in his old age. They will quickly pick a new leader, and move to put the plan into action. Listen to me, Shisui.” He put his will into his left eye, and shot a look at the wide-eyed younger man. “The head can always be replaced.”
“Don’t talk like it’s all done already!” Shisui’s simple rage looked to Danzo like nothing more than a tantrum.
“That Mangekyo sharingan. I would be able to use it more effectively.”
“Wha—” Shisui tried to jump back, and get some distance between them.
But.
In that moment, he realized that he couldn’t move his legs.
“Insects are such interesting creatures,” Danzo said, taking a step forward. “When a human being is bitten by a mosquito, the pain is nothing. Not even the sensation of being bitten, once the itching is gone.” He took another step closer to Shisui. “But the poison of a scorpion, or a spider, can bring even an enormous beast to death at times.”
“Wh-what did you do?”
Without responding, Danzo took another step. “If there were an insect which bit like a mosquito, but had the poison of a scorpion in its bite, it would be irresistible.”
Abruptly, the world behind Shisui shimmered, and a man appeared. He was wearing a white tiger mask.
Trembling, Shisui turned his face slowly, and looked at the man over his shoulder. Ignoring this, Danzo directed his words toward Tiger Mask.
“What are you calling yourself now?”
“I go by Sugaru.”
“Oh, that’s right.” A few more decisive steps, and Danzo was within arm’s reach of Shisui. “This man is from the Aburame clan. Given how wise you are, now that I’ve told you that, you need no further explanation, hm?”
“Ngh!” Shisui gritted his teeth, trying to move somehow. His strong figure was so pitiable, Danzo’s lips naturally twisted into the form of a smile.
“Relax. It is not a poison that will kill you right away. You will live just long enough for both of your eyes to be plucked out.” Danzo was already close enough that all he had to do was lift up his hand, and he would be touching Shisui’s face. “They’re fresher plucked out while you’re still alive, and they adapt faster, too.”
“Danzo … What are you …”
“I’m doing this,” Danzo said, as he reached out his left hand.
His index and middle fingers reached up, along with his thumb, and touched Shisui’s right eye. He pushed back the upper eyelid with his index and middle fingers, and the lower one with his thumb, gradually revealing the slick, shining eyeball. Without a moment’s hesitation, he stabbed his fingers into the eye socket. He felt the warmth of the orb on the palm of his hand.
I finally have the Mangekyo sharingan. Delight danced in Danzo’s heart.
“And one more,” he murmured. And then, he had no sooner wondered if Shisui’s remaining eye was shining faintly, than it suddenly disappeared from before him.
“Body Flicker,” Sugaru muttered.
“Hurry! After him!” Danzo roared, and Sugaru leapt into action. The auras of his subordinates on standby around them also disappeared. “We cannot allow him to live.”
In the end, it was Itachi who would realize Danzo’s long-held ambition. Shisui was nothing more than an obstacle. If he hadn’t had the Mangekyo sharingan, an item beyond his station, Danzo wouldn’t have bothered to get directly involved.
“Kill him. Make sure you kill him.” Danzo’s voice could not reach the subordinates disappearing into the darkness. But even so, he couldn’t help but give the order.
Regardless of the outcome, Shisui would come here.
Standing on the cliff as promised, Itachi waited alone for the arrival of his friend. The sun had started to sink to the west, and night would press in on him there soon enough. Only a little longer before the meeting started. Most likely, right around that time, Shisui was controlling his father’s thoughts with the power of the Mangekyo sharingan. The meeting would be at least two hours, even if it ran short. He had time. And during that time, Itachi intended to think about what they were going to do from then on.
While they did share the desire to prevent a coup d’état by the clan for the sake of peace in the village, Itachi had always left concrete action to his friend. Shisui had gotten permission from the third Hokage, investigated the movements of the clan on his own, and thought up the current plan. All of it had been Shisui’s work. Itachi had done nothing.
Shisui had said the real fight would start after Fugaku was turned against the coup. And it was unlikely that the hot-blooded younger members of the clan would abruptly turn around just because of his father’s change of heart. The result of Shisui’s action that night would probably be some hesitation, and the postponement of the time for action. But the radicals would regroup and find another path; they would have their coup.
What could they do once they brought his father down? This was the most important thing if they were going to realize their shared ambition. Itachi couldn’t leave everything to Shisui anymore. He had to think long and hard himself. And then, for the first time, he might be on equal footing with Shisui at last.
“Ngh!” Sensing an aura behind him, Itachi whirled around. “Shisui?” he said, stunned. It was too early for his friend to be there.
“Sorry, Itachi.” Blood had spilled down from the closed lids of Shisui’s right eye, and dried on his cheek. He walked past Itachi on unsteady feet to stand on the edge of the cliff.
It was obvious that something bad had happened, and his friend had come to tell him. Itachi simply stayed silent, and waited.
“I failed.”
“What happened to your eye?”
Shisui didn’t answer, but stared out beyond the cliff, silently.
Itachi calmed his impatient heart, desperate to hear his friend’s story.
“I couldn’t even make contact with Lord Fugaku,” Shisui said, finally. “The meeting’s probably starting right about now. They’ll probably decide on the key parts of the coup at the meeting today. Our plan failed.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s over.” My friend’s spirit is broken … “Who got you?”
“Danzo.”
Itachi’s heart began to pound fiercely. In the back of his mind, the face of that treacherous man sprang to life.
“One of his subordinates uses insects, right?” Shisui said.
“Was he wearing a white tiger mask?”
“He dosed me with a poison. There’s no saving me.”
Sugaru. He was an Aburame. They used insects.
“Itachi.” Shisui’s voice was shockingly weak. His friend looked small standing before him, smaller than he had at any other time. Shisui had always run on ahead of Itachi, he had fought alongside him for the sake of the clan, he was basically his older brother, and now the air of death coiled and clung to his back. “It … doesn’t look like there’s any way now to stop the Uchiha coup. If Konohagakure starts fighting itself, other countries will definitely attack … it’ll be war.”