"Master Deputy Clan Leader, we just found Shisui’s suicide note in his ho!"
"Uchiha Inahori and the others have gone straight to the clan leader’s house to confront Uchiha Itachi."
Uchiha Hikaru took the suicide note handed to him by Uchiha Inahori.
"I can no longer endure these endless missions. If this continues, the Uchiha will perish sooner or later. I can no longer betray the shinobi path I hold in my heart."
As he read Shisui’s final words, Uchiha Hikaru felt a wave of regret. They had gone on a few missions together—not close friends, but there was still mutual respect. At least Shisui had always kept his clan in mind.
Unlike Itachi, who handed over all the clan’s secrets to Konoha’s top brass in the na of the village.
They had to use the ti after Shisui’s death to shift the current situation. He hoped Fugaku and the others hadn’t forgotten the warning he gave them last night.
He pocketed the suicide note.
"Let’s go to Fugaku’s house. We need to find Itachi imdiately."
"Yes!"
—
"Shisui committed suicide last night at the Naka River. Where were you?"
"I already told you—I was on an ANBU mission."
"You better be," Uchiha #4 scoffed.
He turned away, flanked by two others, preparing to leave.
Itachi raised his head and stared at the three Uchiha standing at his door.
"Just say it. You think I killed him, don’t you?"
Uchiha #4 turned back, his Sharingan spinning with three tomoe.
"That’s right, brat."
"If you’ve betrayed this clan, don’t expect forgiveness from any of us."
Shisui’s dying words echoed in Itachi’s mind. The accusations from Uchiha #4 and the others only fueled the fire inside him.
With a swift motion, Itachi launched forward and sent all three crashing to the ground.
Boom! Bang! Bang!
He looked down coldly at them, eyes smoldering.
"A clan that does nothing but talk."
"You think you’re so righteous."
"You have no idea what I’m truly capable of."
"That’s why you’re lying in the dirt."
He was about to strike again when Fugaku appeared at the edge of the street, rushing over.
"Stop! Itachi, what the hell are you—"
Whoosh—bang!
A kunai flew from Itachi’s hand, embedding itself into the mural nearby. The wall cracked, and the painted Uchiha fan shattered into fragnts.
"I’ve lost all hope in this arrogant, suffocating clan."
"Hey! Itachi, you’re the clan leader’s son—how can you say sothing like that?"
Uchiha Hikaru dropped down from the rooftop, landing opposite Itachi. Others followed close behind, helping the three downed Uchiha to their feet.
Fugaku stood aside, silent.
I don’t know what Hikaru plans to do next. After last night’s clan eting, it’s clear he doesn’t even bother telling how to play along with his sches. I just hope Itachi doesn’t get dragged down.
I silently prayed for my son...
"Uchiha Hikaru, this isn’t your place to interfere."
Itachi knew of Hikaru—known as a prodigy within the clan, second only to himself and Shisui. Hikaru had also awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at a young age.
But Itachi hadn’t attended the clan eting the night before. He didn’t yet know that Hikaru had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—and had been appointed as the deputy clan leader.
Hikaru smiled and shook his head, looking calmly at the defiant figure before him.
"I’m the deputy clan leader now. Think I qualify to interfere?"
Itachi frowned and looked to his father for confirmation. When Fugaku nodded solemnly, Itachi had no rebuttal. Hikaru was right. He had the authority.
Seeing Itachi fall silent, Hikaru paused, pretending to ponder sothing.
"Itachi. Co to the Naka River tonight. You and Fugaku both."
With that, Hikaru turned and left with the others.
Itachi watched them go, then turned to Fugaku.
"Father... why did Hikaru suddenly beco deputy clan leader?"
Fugaku told him everything—how the clan eting had gone, Hikaru’s proposal, and the resulting decision. Watching the shock on Itachi’s face, he wasn’t sure if anything else needed to be said.
But considering Hikaru’s plan, he thought: Forgive , son. There are so things I can only tell you tonight. I didn’t an to keep them from you.
Maybe it was Hikaru’s influence, or maybe sothing else... but Fugaku’s thoughts had begun to shift—just slightly. What the future held, he couldn’t say.
—
Later that night, under the crescent moon, Hikaru arrived early at the Naka River cliff. He sat quietly, watching the waterfall, thinking through his plan.
After all, Itachi was still a devoted son in the original tiline.
In Hikaru’s eyes, Itachi had lived a tragically miserable life. A boy who loved sweets, but carried the weight of the world.
He’d seen war as a child. Forced to grow up too fast.
Misunderstandings with his father only deepened, shutting Itachi off from the world.
Only when he t Shisui did he open up again—his idealism, his Hokage-like vision... they hoped to change the village and the clan together.
But after Shisui jumped to his death before Itachi’s eyes, his emotional foundation shattered. The clash with Fugaku and his idealism pushed him closer to the Third Hokage and Danzo.
After awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi beca increasingly unstable. And in that warped ntal state, the Third Hokage and Danzo took advantage—convincing him to annihilate his own clan, sparing only his younger brother, Sasuke.
But now—right now—Itachi hadn’t yet reported anything to Hiruzen or Danzo. He could still be saved.
If Hikaru could break through Itachi’s ntal walls tonight, he could seize that blade—and wield it for the clan.
Two chakra signatures approached swiftly through the forest. Hikaru didn’t look back as they arrived.
"Sit."
Itachi and Fugaku sat down on either side of him.
The roaring waterfall stirred sothing in Itachi—mories of Shisui’s suicide.
Fugaku had been mulling over Hikaru’s words at the clan eting ever since. If the family truly had no future, then perhaps Hikaru really did have a path forward. If peace between the clan and the village was possible, Fugaku would gladly sheath his blade.
"What thod do you intend to use, Hikaru, to save the Uchiha from this dead end?"
Itachi spoke first, wanting to understand.
Hikaru furrowed his brows and turned to him.
"Itachi, before we get to that, you need to recognize your own mistakes."
"My... mistakes?" Itachi looked confused and turned to his father.
Fugaku kept his gaze on the waterfall, silently reminding himself to follow Hikaru’s lead. This was their best hope. He had to trust Hikaru.
Hikaru rubbed his forehead, sighing internally. I shouldn’t have expected too much from Fugaku. Looks like I have to handle this myself.
"Let ask you a few questions, Itachi."
"Why did the Uchiha and Senju form Konoha?"
"What’s your surna?"
"Who raised you?"
"What were Shisui’s last words to you?"
The questions ca rapid-fire. Itachi thought most of them were pointless—aside from the first—but he pushed down his doubts and answered.
"The Uchiha and Senju founded Konoha for peace."
"My surna is Uchiha. I was raised by my parents."
"Shisui told ... to protect the village and then the na of the Uchiha clan."
Hikaru shook his head repeatedly. Still, at least Itachi rembered who raised him. That was sothing. And with Hikaru’s skill in persuasion, there was a real chance he could pull Itachi back from the edge—undo Danzo and Hiruzen’s brainwashing.
Fugaku, too, only now realized what Shisui’s sacrifice had ant. He had thought it was to ease tensions between the village and the clan—but instead, the conflict had only deepened.
"Itachi, you’re wrong. The Uchiha and Senju didn’t form Konoha for peace. They ford it to protect their own people."
"And you misinterpreted Shisui’s final ssage."
"’Protect the village and the na of the Uchiha clan.’"
"That’s the real aning."
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