Uchiha and Kotoamatsukami

"Danzo, why did you call us here? I’m still busy preparing logistical military supplies."

Utatane Koharu asked. She was swamped with work, yet Root under Danzo had summoned her. By the time she arrived, Mitokado Homura and Sarutobi Hiruzen were already waiting for her.

The matter of going to war against the Rain Country had basically been confirmed. Aside from the slight unpleasantness with that young Elder from the Hyuga Clan during the Ninja Clan meeting, there should not have been anything requiring all four of them to gather and discuss it.

"Root recently uncovered evidence concerning a rebellion by the Uchiha Clan, so I called you here to discuss it."

Danzo spoke calmly, then took out two kunai and two shuriken and placed them on the table.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly as he asked, "Danzo, what is the meaning of this?"

What could two kunai and shuriken prove?

"One of these kunai and shuriken was obtained by Root from a member of the Uchiha Clan. The other is a standard-issue Konoha kunai and shuriken."

As Danzo spoke, he picked up the two kunai and struck them together. The Uchiha kunai snapped the standard-issue Konoha one in half, while suffering only a nearly invisible nick.

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura could not help asking, "What a tough kunai. Danzo, are all the Uchiha Clan’s kunai like this?"

Kunai were weapons Ninja used in close-quarters combat, and aside from short swords, they were the most commonly used weapons. A durable kunai offered an enormous advantage in close combat. If two people clashed and one person’s kunai suddenly broke, that person would be in grave danger.

With his weapon shattered and no time to cast ninjutsu, trying to fight the enemy’s kunai with his fists would be no different from courting death.

After making a guess, Mitokado Homura said, "Danzo, do you want to obtain a supply of these kunai from the Uchiha Clan? Isn’t it a little late for that?"

What an idiot!

"Let me finish."

Danzo cursed inwardly, then continued coldly, "The Uchiha Clan has replaced nearly all its weapons with kunai and shuriken of this same quality. I had Root investigate their source and discovered that these weapons were supplied by the Muchuan Trading Company."

As he spoke, Danzo showed the other three the hidden trading company emblem on the kunai. Beneath the strap wrapped around its handle was the Muchuan Trading Company’s mark.

Utatane Koharu narrowed her eyes slightly as she recalled, "Muchuan Trading Company… I remember that this company generally operates along the border between the River Country and the Land of Fire…"

"That’s right. However, the Muchuan Trading Company’s greatest backing is the Yasunori Trading Company. Muchuan’s steel, transportation, and everything else all operate under Yasunori’s banner. It is basically one of their puppets."

Danzo revealed all the intelligence Root had uncovered. Upon hearing it, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other two all furrowed their brows.

The Yasunori Trading Company was renowned throughout the Ninja World. With the influence of a single family trading company, it had merged with Sunagakure and directly established a federal nation with military-political integration.

Now, the Uchiha Clan had suddenly switched to weapons produced by the Yasunori Trading Company. This was truly a sensitive matter.

After taking a drag from his pipe, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "Danzo, when did this happen?"

"That is something I should be asking you, Hiruzen." Danzo replied in a less-than-pleasant tone. "There are two members of the Uchiha Clan in the Anbu, yet neither of them noticed something this important?"

Danzo’s retort left Sarutobi Hiruzen somewhat speechless. At the same time, he grumbled inwardly about how Shisui and Itachi could have been so negligent.

Perhaps, in Uchiha Itachi and Shisui Uchiha’s eyes, changing weapons was not a major matter. Their own weapons were supplied by the Anbu, and they had never fought members of their clan, so they naturally had not noticed this.

In the end, Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi had become too disconnected from the Uchiha Clan. They could not find anyone in the clan who shared their ideals, so naturally they did not speak much with their clansmen.

"We must investigate this matter as soon as possible. If the Uchiha Clan is colluding with the Yasunori Trading Company, with large numbers of ninja troops deployed at the front line, should something happen in Konoha…"

Danzo’s tone was somewhat sinister, but the situation he described was precisely what Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others feared.

"Cancel the troop deployment? That would be difficult, and what about Iwa-nin?"

Utatane Koharu shook her head. Both sides were targeting the Rain Country, and Iwa-nin had likely already moved their military supplies to the front line. If Konoha suddenly said it was backing out, even if Iwa-nin had only a little fighting spirit, they would directly attack Konoha.

"Have the Anbu and Root remain behind in the village. As for the missing personnel at the front line, I’ll discuss it with the other Ninja Clans and transfer some other ninja squads."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke. He, too, was worried about the Uchiha Clan.

"Strengthen protection for Kushina and her son. Even at the Ninja Academy, any conversations between Uzumaki Naruto and members of the Uchiha Clan must be recorded by the Anbu."

After saying that, Sarutobi Hiruzen sent someone to summon Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi, intending to question them about the matter.

At the same time, he ordered Root to intensify its surveillance of the Uchiha Clan. Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the most difficult task to Root. He had approved Danzo’s expansion by thirty men, but Root had severely exceeded that number. Including the people Danzo had secretly recruited, Root now likely had nearly one hundred and fifty members.

This was undoubtedly a massive force, one that even the Anbu could not match. If the situation in the village had not been so abnormal, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have allowed Danzo to control such a powerful force.

The expansion of power would inevitably be accompanied by the growth of ambition. Without precautions, Danzo would eventually slip beyond his control.

Not long afterward, Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi were summoned to the Hokage’s Office. Seeing that all the higher-ups had gathered, both of them sensed that something was amiss.

"Shisui, Itachi, there is something I need to ask of you. No one in the entire Anbu is better suited to this task than you two."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, then slowly explained the intelligence Danzo had uncovered to Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi.

"So something like this happened."

After hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s account, Shisui Uchiha’s heart sank slightly. The village had indeed noticed this matter, and the clan had even replaced its kunai and shuriken?

Shisui turned his head slightly to look at Itachi’s expression. Seeing that Itachi also appeared unaware, he thought to himself, Even Itachi, the clan head’s son, did not know that the clan had changed its weapons, yet the Anbu had investigated it so thoroughly.

Were the two of them the only ones being guarded against by their clansmen? Or had they simply been overlooked by accident?

As Shisui Uchiha speculated inwardly, his expression shifted slightly—and Danzo happened to notice it.

"Shisui Uchiha, what are you thinking? Did you remember some crucial intelligence?"

"No, it has nothing to do with intelligence, Lord Danzo." Shisui Uchiha lowered his head slightly and immediately replied, "I was just thinking that, no matter what, I will stop the Uchiha Clan’s rebellion."

"Oh? Why are you so confident? According to Root’s intelligence, at the last Uchiha Clan meeting, as many as seventy percent of the Uchiha Clan called for seizing power by force. Even the head of the Uchiha Clan’s stance was ambiguous. How do you intend to stop it under such circumstances!?"

Danzo pressed aggressively. His words made both Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi lower their heads. Uchiha Itachi in particular felt slightly dissatisfied with his wavering father after hearing Danzo’s words.

If Father, as the clan head, had been more decisive and able to suppress the radical clansmen, perhaps Shisui wouldn’t have had to endure this kind of pressure.

Uchiha Itachi thought to himself.

But Shisui raised his head the very next moment. His eyes had changed; they were no longer Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The patterns in both pupils had become Four-Cornered Windmills, slowly turning.

"This is…"

Whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen or Danzo and the others, all of them were shocked when they saw Shisui’s eyes. Even Uchiha Itachi was the same—it was his first time seeing a Sharingan beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Moreover, Shisui’s Sharingan felt powerful and uncanny to him, entirely different from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan of before.

"This is the Mangekyō Sharingan, another evolution of the Sharingan. My Mangekyō Sharingan contains an Eye Technique called Kotoamatsukami. Kotoamatsukami can forcibly alter a person’s thoughts. It cannot be defended against and is even difficult to detect."

Shisui Uchiha stared unwaveringly at the Konoha Higher-ups and calmly revealed his greatest power. "If the Uchiha Clan insists on rebelling, I will use this Eye Technique to alter the clan head’s will and make him protect Konoha."

Kotoamatsukami!

It possessed the ability to forcibly alter someone’s will and could not be defended against.

After hearing Shisui Uchiha’s words, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s gaze became somewhat profound. Danzo narrowed his eyes, and when he looked at Shisui Uchiha again, his heart was filled with wariness and vigilance.

As for Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and the others, after learning of the Eye Technique Kotoamatsukami, they felt nothing but shock.

The Uchiha Clan actually possessed such a powerful Eye Technique.

"If that is the case, then we can rest easy. Shisui, I’ll leave the task of gathering intelligence on the Uchiha Clan to you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded as he spoke to Shisui Uchiha. Though he wore a smile, his old friend Danzo knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen’s vigilance toward Kotoamatsukami had also risen to its highest level.

An Eye Technique capable of forcibly altering another person’s thoughts, one so difficult to even notice—it was simply too terrifying.

No Curse Mark could compare to such an Eye Technique. If Shisui Uchiha stood with the Radical Faction of the Uchiha Clan, then Konoha would be finished.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I will do my utmost to prevent what is happening with the Uchiha Clan."

Shisui Uchiha readily agreed. He had revealed his final trump card precisely so that the Konoha Higher-ups would entrust the Uchiha Clan matter to him.

With Kotoamatsukami, Shisui Uchiha believed he could change the clan head’s mind and thereby stop the rebellion.

After Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi left, Danzo spoke only after some time had passed.

"Hiruzen, what do you think of Shisui Uchiha’s words?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not answer. He silently took a puff of his pipe, then slowly exhaled the smoke.

"Shisui, your Sharingan just now…"

Uchiha Itachi wanted to ask more about the Mangekyō Sharingan, but Shisui Uchiha interrupted him.

"Itachi, I’ll tell you about these eyes someday. But I hope you never awaken them, because the price is too great."

Shisui Uchiha’s words were full of warning. There were so many Uchiha clansmen, yet pitifully few had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Because the cost of awakening these eyes was far too great. When they gained these eyes, they lost even more.

There’ll be mass updates next Monday and Tuesday—at least fifteen thousand words. One word short, and I’ll cut off one centimeter!

Can I ask for some votes?