Although Itachi didn't know what future Fugaku had seen, he could sense from his father's demeanor that it must have been a very uplifting future.
Fugaku glanced at Danzō, who had been opposing him for years, and couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret.
His life was coming to an end, but ultimately, he hadn't been able to revitalize the clan or personally eliminate Danzō, the clan's enemy.
Turning to look at Itachi beside him, Fugaku's face was starting to turn pale.
"Itachi, you've never disappointed me."
"I'm leaving your mother and brother in your care. You will be an indispensable pillar of the clan in the future!"
Gathering his last bit of strength, Fugaku raised his hand and tightly grasped Itachi's arm, smiling as he uttered the last words of his life to Itachi.
"You're truly my son!"
Looking at Fugaku, who was slowly closing his eyes, Itachi's expression seemed very calm. He didn't show any signs of great emotion.
But his clenched fists and the blood oozing from between his fingers showed that Itachi's heart wasn't as calm as he appeared.
"You're truly my son!"
This was probably the most frequent phrase Fugaku had said to Itachi. From a young age, Itachi, with his extraordinary talent, always excelled in everything he did. Every time, Fugaku would express his heartfelt pride by praising Itachi with this phrase.
But starting today, this phrase would become a thing of the past for Itachi! From now on, Itachi could only hear his father's praise in his memories.
As Fugaku and Itachi were settling their affairs, Danzō and Shisui fell into a confrontation.
"Danzō-sama, what did you mean just now?"
Shisui, having dodged Danzō's attempt to steal his eyes thanks to Fugaku's warning, questioned Danzō.
Danzō said coldly, "A bloodline as evil as the Uchiha clan shouldn't exist in this world."
"You're just a pawn with some value. Giving up your eyes would be a final contribution to Konoha."
As he spoke, Danzō attacked Shisui again.
Itachi had already arrived at the scene. He needed to kill Shisui as quickly as possible and take his Sharingan before dealing with Itachi slowly.
If Shisui recovered some of his strength and escaped, he wouldn't have another chance to get his hands on "Kotoamatsukami."
"What! Does the Third Hokage also think the same way?"
Hearing Danzō's words, Shisui was shocked. He couldn't help but think of his direct superior, the Third Hokage.
In Shisui's understanding, the Uchiha clan was being destroyed because they were a threat to the stability of Konoha Village. The real target was the radical faction within the Uchiha clan who wanted to stage a coup.
The other Uchiha clan members were just collateral damage. They had to be sacrificed to ensure the stability of Konoha.
However, Danzō's actions and words, and tonight's operation, were more like a conspiracy against the Uchiha bloodline. The real purpose seemed not to be for Konoha's peace, but to completely eliminate the Uchiha clan.
"Of course, the Third Hokage and I are of the same mind!"
Danzō casually answered Shisui's question while intensifying his attack. It didn't matter whether the Third Hokage shared his thoughts. Shisui had to die now.
Shisui, who was already at his wit's end, was quickly injured in several more places under Danzō's fierce onslaught.
Trapped in a desperate situation, Shisui couldn't accept dying without knowing the truth. He had to find the Third Hokage and get answers. At this time, the only thing that could allow him to defeat Danzō was his ultimate move, "Kotoamatsukami."
Overextending his dojutsu power, Shisui activated his Mangekyō Sharingan again, looking at Danzō's left eye, which wasn't covered by bandages.
"Kotoamatsukami!"
However, to Shisui's surprise, his "Kotoamatsukami" didn't activate successfully. Instead, he was stabbed in the left shoulder by Danzō's katana and fell to the ground on his back.
Danzō stepped on Shisui's right hand with his left foot. He pressed down on the katana, driving the blade deeper into the ground through Shisui's left shoulder. He looked down at Shisui from above.
"You actually severed his optic nerve!"
Noticing Danzō's unfocused left eye, Shisui's voice was filled with surprise and deep resentment.
He had completely lost his ability to resist, and he wouldn't have another chance to get answers to his doubts.
He chuckled miserably and said, "So, you've been using my abilities all along. And the so-called 'stability of the village' was just an excuse for me to personally eliminate my clan!"
"If I had known, I would have rather died directly at the hands of the clan leader. At least then, I would have thought I was fighting for Konoha!"
Danzō sneered, "You're just a remnant of the Uchiha clan. Your death is the greatest contribution you can make to Konoha."
"And your 'Kotoamatsukami,' I'll gladly accept it!"
As he spoke, Danzō's hand produced a kunai, which he quickly thrust towards Shisui's throat. It was obvious that he planned to kill Shisui first and then take his Sharingan.
Shisui stared blankly at the night sky, with two lines of tears flowing down his cheeks.
For an idealist like Shisui, death wasn't scary at all. What was scary was the collapse of the dream he had been pursuing in front of his eyes.
"Perhaps death is a kind of liberation."
At this time, Shisui was completely heartbroken, waiting for the arrival of his final moments.
"Amaterasu!"
However, at this critical moment, Itachi's cold voice rang out.
For Itachi, whether he killed Shisui in the end or not, Shisui's Sharingan absolutely couldn't fall into Danzō's hands.
Hearing this voice, Danzō instinctively felt a strong sense of danger, forcing him to immediately abandon his attempt to kill Shisui and quickly dodge to the side. This reaction saved his own life.
Danzō at this time wasn't the Danzō of many years later, who had lost his sense of danger.
In the original story, Danzō had transplanted a large number of Sharingan into his body, using them as consumables for "Izanagi."
"Izanagi," although incredibly powerful, allowed Danzō to constantly change the outcome of events that were unfavorable to him, rendering fatal attacks launched by enemies against him ineffective.
But because this ability was too powerful, it made Danzō obsessed with his own strength and lost his sense of danger.
In the final battle between Danzō and Sasuke, Danzō had completely lost the keen perception that a ninja of his level should have. He almost used "Izanagi" as a Substitution Technique, being killed by Sasuke several times.
But Danzō at this time hadn't obtained the ability of "Izanagi." Therefore, he still retained the sense of danger he had from fighting on the battlefield.
Temporarily regaining his vision, Danzō first looked back at the trees burning with black flames behind him. Then, he turned his head and saw the pattern in Itachi's eyes, which was different from the normal three-tomoe Sharingan. He felt a sense of unease.
"Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan!"
____________________
for more advance chapters visit my p@treon
[email protected]/kane45
Casual Reader - 15 Advance Chapters
Intermediate Reader - 30 Advance Chapters
Expert Reader - 60 Advance Chapters