In a damp limestone cave somewhere in the Land of Rain...
Drip... drip...
Droplets of water hit the stone with a crisp sound.
At that moment, two massive pitcher plant leaves slowly rose from the ground. Between them, a strange face—half white, half black—emerged.
A masked man sitting in the cave cast a sideways glance and casually asked, "Is that you, Zetsu? What's the situation?"
The eerie man named Zetsu, still half-buried in the earth, replied, "They've begun peace talks. Completely different from what you predicted."
The masked man fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why did the Hidden Cloud slow their offensive?"
At the start of the assault, Hidden Cloud's momentum was unstoppable. They nearly broke through Konoha's front-line defenses. Everyone observing the conflict, including the masked man, thought the Cloud would press forward and quickly close in on the Hidden Leaf Village.
But to everyone's surprise, the Cloud suddenly pulled back, turning a clear situation into a puzzling one.
Zetsu shook his head. "I don't know either."
Monitoring every battlefield within the Land of Fire was already exhausting for Zetsu. Anything happening beyond its borders was beyond his capacity.
The masked man grew irritated. "They're wasting a golden opportunity!"
Zetsu thought for a moment. "Maybe something happened in their rear lines. A few weeks before their retreat, their deployment grew erratic. The Two-Tails' Jinchuriki even left the front lines and rushed back."
The masked man waved dismissively. "Forget it."
He had no interest in digging deeper. To him, whether it was the Leaf or the Cloud, they were all just pawns to be used. If they were mere playthings, there was no need to expect too much from them.
Zetsu asked bluntly, "So what's our next move?"
The masked man grinned. "This latest conflict proves the village no longer trusts the Uchiha. We should start with them and break down the village from within."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Find me a suitable Uchiha." He paused, his voice growing darker. "I need a useful pawn—someone who can inflame tensions between the Uchiha and the village."
---
Hidden Leaf Village – Uchiha Clan District
Knock knock knock...
A flurry of urgent knocking echoed from outside the courtyard.
Shisui had only just returned home and, though exhausted, dragged himself to the door. Opening it, he was greeted by a small, familiar figure.
"Shisui-nii, you're finally back!" Itachi exclaimed with joy.
The Uchiha clan had known about Shisui's secret mission.
Many among them even believed the Third Hokage was using the mission as an excuse to get rid of their clan's most talented young shinobi. Itachi had been extremely worried.
Shisui smiled as he led Itachi inside.
After settling down, Shisui briefly described Team Eleven's mission. "Don't worry. With Hyuga Kagami-senpai in our team, nothing too dangerous will happen."
Having heard how Team Eleven wreaked havoc deep within the Land of Lightning, Itachi's curiosity was piqued. "So Hidden Cloud slowed their attack because of you guys?"
Even within Konoha, people found the Cloud's sudden retreat puzzling. Speculations and testing theories didn't stop until the Third Hokage confirmed that something had indeed gone wrong in the Cloud's rear. Only then did he launch a counterattack, driving them out of the Land of Fire.
Shisui nodded with a smile.
He recalled the Third Hokage's stunned face after reading Team Eleven's report, and the memory filled him with satisfaction.
There was no doubt. After gathering all intel, Team Eleven concluded that their disruptive actions in the Cloud's rear lines had forced the enemy to slow their offensive—buying precious time for the Leaf.
After chatting a while, Itachi suddenly said seriously, "Shisui-nii, look!"
He activated his Sharingan. Two tomoe slowly appeared in his eyes.
Shisui beamed. "You awakened it?!"
Itachi nodded. "Last week, on the battlefield."
"You went to the battlefield?"
"I've already graduated early."
Just then, a figure dropped into Shisui's courtyard.
"Shisui, the clan leader is holding a meeting at the main house. You're the last one we're waiting on!"
Shisui's smile faded instantly, replaced by a stern expression.
Upon arriving at the main house, he scanned the room.
Clan leader Uchiha Fugaku sat at the center, arms crossed. Surrounding him were elite shinobi from the Uchiha Police Force—more than a dozen jonin.
Shisui's heart sank.
Even the clan's regular special jonin weren't invited to this meeting. He had a strong feeling he knew what was about to be discussed.
"Clan Leader."
He greeted respectfully and quietly sat in a corner.
Fugaku gave him a brief glance and nodded.
With Shisui present, the clan meeting officially began.
Soon, one elite jonin from the police force reported, "Captain, I've received confirmed reports. The village lost over thirty jonin in this conflict. Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, Inuzuka... all suffered fatalities. The number of fallen chunin and genin is even greater."
As he continued, his emotions grew heated. "And despite such heavy losses, the Third agreed to peace talks! Many in the village are furious. This is our opportunity!"
Another elite jonin spoke calmly, "Word is, the Hokage's ANBU have also suffered major casualties. The Third's direct power has been further weakened."
As he finished, everyone in the room turned to look at Shisui.
Currently, Shisui was the only Uchiha in ANBU. If they wanted real intel from within the ANBU, he was their only source.
Feeling both annoyed and helpless under their stares, Shisui casually replied, "Not much that I know for sure... maybe three ANBU squads were lost."
The Uchiha in the room became visibly excited.
One stood and said to Fugaku, "Captain, it's time. The Hokage seat should have always belonged to the Uchiha!"
"Yes! Let's act now, Captain!"
The atmosphere grew heated as more Uchiha stood up.
Fugaku remained seated, arms still crossed.
He swept his eyes across the room before fixing his gaze on Shisui.
"Shisui, what's your opinion?"
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