Kurama nodded.
"Of course. Isn't that just a mark used to track individuals?"
Naruto complained with disgust.
"Can you remove it? They already understood everything. From such a far distance from the Hokage Rock, he still noticed us. That Shisui is really a pervert."
Kurama snorted.
"You were the one acting stupid and got noticed. That's why he paid attention. Otherwise, they wouldn't have discovered anything."
"Look at the Third Hokage. That old man didn't even find it strange."
Naruto waved his hand.
"Forget it. You can't do it anyway. That's Mangekyō! And we don't even know if he has one pair or three."
Kurama snorted coldly inside his body.
"Hmph. The only ones who could control me were Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. And the Hashirama cells inside you suppress my chakra."
"If an ordinary Mangekyō wants to control me, that's just a dream."
Naruto added:
"You're only half now…"
Kurama growled.
"You stubborn brat!"
After returning to his place, the Nine-Tails told Naruto that the malicious gaze watching them had disappeared.
An ANBU returned to the Hokage and knelt before Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Report, Lord Hokage. Nothing unusual about Naruto. It seems to be just a prank."
Hiruzen nodded.
After all, he was just a child under seven years old. After being robbed for the first time, he probably just wanted attention.
"Uchiha Sasuke… is he really such a genius?"
Hiruzen muttered, then frowned again.
"What is Uchiha Shisui's trump card? They say he can resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."
Then he asked the ANBU:
"What about Uchiha Itachi?"
"He has always performed well. We haven't noticed anything unusual."
A smile appeared on Hiruzen's face.
"My teacher was right. The more emotionless an Uchiha seems, the stronger their hatred becomes once they gain love."
Spending money to help awaken Uchiha Itachi's eyes had been the right decision.
Uchiha Shisui had inherited the Will of Fire from his teacher, and he was still close to that ideal.
Hiruzen waved his hand.
"Go. Continue the surveillance."
"Should we send more people to watch Uchiha Shisui?"
Hiruzen shook his head.
"No. He will notice it. He definitely will."
On the other side, Shisui met his friend Uchiha Itachi.
Originally, Itachi was going to take his little brother to the training ground.
When he saw Shisui at the door, he turned to the boy and smiled.
"Sorry, Sasuke. Someone suddenly came to see me."
Sasuke puffed his cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"Why?! You said you would train with me after I beat Naruto in the test!"
Itachi smiled and crouched down, waving to Sasuke.
Sasuke immediately ran over happily, thinking his brother would train with him.
But the moment he got close, a pain hit his head.
"Sorry, Sasuke."
As soon as the words fell, Uchiha Itachi disappeared.
"Unacceptable!" Sasuke looked depressed. "You tricked me again!"
At the top of a rocky waterfall near the Uchiha district,
"We used to play here," Shisui said with a smile.
"When did you return?"
"After driving away the people from Kiri."
Itachi walked over and asked,
"What's the matter?"
Shisui hesitated for a moment before speaking seriously.
"I want to know what you really think. How serious is Fugaku?"
Itachi was surprised.
"Serious about what?"
"A coup."
Itachi's face darkened.
"The Uchiha's dissatisfaction with the village is growing. If the village keeps things the same, the Uchiha may reach their limit."
"Three years ago, my father saved the Hyuga clan. That eased the conflict between the village ninjas and the Uchiha, but it also increased the Uchiha's arrogance."
"Since the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha's leadership has completely distrusted us. ANBU have been watching the Uchiha district day and night."
"Even after I became an ANBU captain, they still sent two people to monitor me."
"My father said I should cooperate from both inside and outside and carry out a political coup with minimal bloodshed."
Shisui nodded and asked again,
"If the village changes, will the Uchiha change?"
Itachi shook his head.
"But if the Uchiha don't change, the village won't change either. As long as both sides keep distrusting each other, the situation will only get worse."
Shisui nodded.
"Indeed… one side must take the first step."
He seemed to make a decision.
"I want to remove this suspicion."
Itachi looked surprised.
"You think that's possible?"
Shisui laughed.
"I don't know. But I have to try. If the Uchiha start a coup, it will only bring tragedy to both sides."
Sadness appeared on Itachi's face.
"I'm also against a coup. But if you want to stop it, you'll have to use unconventional methods."
Shisui didn't know that Itachi had already been influenced by Danzo, who constantly insisted that the conflict could only end if one side completely disappeared.
In Shisui's view,
Using Kotoamatsukami to control one side and guide change could completely resolve the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
This time he came to consult Itachi, hoping that based on Itachi's opinion as a double agent, he could decide whether to change Konoha's leadership or the Uchiha clan.
But he didn't know that after the death of his former teammates, Itachi's hatred toward his father and the Uchiha clan had grown stronger.
At that moment, after hearing Itachi's answer, Shisui made a firm decision in his heart.
"I understand. But you must not act rashly. Some people in Konoha already suspect you, and they asked me to watch you."
Those words plunged Uchiha Itachi into complete darkness…