Hokage: Ryo's Path

After the meeting ended, Fugaku and his son both left the area in different directions.

It was clear to both of them that the decision of tonight was to bring irreparable consequences to Konoha. Itachi however was still confused, not knowing what to do.

His father looked at his back as he went away and sighed, and then began to look for those who opppsed the coup d’état.

Late at night, Itachi wandered alone in the village, thinking about his next step. All of a sudden, he felt that someone was behind him.

However, when he turned around, he found nothing.

He was sure that he wasn’t just imagining. There was someone behind him, but he was hiding himself in a very special way.

Thinking of this, Itachi opened activated his Mangekyo. Unfortunately, he still didn’t find anything.

When in the Kamui space, Obito never expected that he would be discovered. The two were in two different dimensions, and he was using his Spiritual Power to perceive Itachi’s actions. Still, he was sensed, which made him even more interested in this confrontation.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no one behind him, Itachi muttered: “Is this some Genjutsu?” On the surface, he relaxed and carried on walking. However, he was still cautious.

Pretending to wander aimlessly, he went into the Forest of Death. Originally, he was planning to find Lain to have her support. Unfortunately, he found that she had returned home.

Now, he was in the middle of nowhere, and Obito no longer had any reason to hide. Therefore, he left the Kamui space and stood behind Itachi.

In the face of his sudden emergence, Itachi remained very calm. Without hesitation, he sealed his hand and spit out a few small fireballs at Obito.

Obito watched these small attacks, and was surprised: “Single-Handed Seal?” Obviously, he was just impressed; not afraid. The fireballs went straight through him.

When seeing that, Itachi frowned. He activated his Mangekyo and looked at the Masked man’s eyes. What he did not expect was that he would not use Tsukuyomi on him!

“So, you’ve awakened your Mangekyo at the mere age of 12! Fascinating!”

“Who are you? What brings you to Konoha? Why are you following me?” Itachi asked directly, not caring about what Obito was saying.

“Oh my descendants are not too fun! Well, how about I let you guess who I am?”

‘Having such a strange ability, ignoring the barriers around Konoha, and even ignoring my own Mangekyo… Could it be him? No! Could it be anyone other than him?’ Itachi thought, and then subconsciously took a few steps back saying: “Are you really Uchiha Madara? But aren’t you supposed to have died in the Valley of the End? How come?”

“Huh! The world thought that I’ve died back then, but here I am, standing in front of you!”

“What’s your purpose behind coming to Konoha?”

“Purpose? Of course I’m here for the show! To watch the destruction of the Uchiha who once betrayed me, and the devastation of Konoha. While I’m at it, I’m also checking if I could come out with anything from this rotten village.”

For a fraction of a second, Itachi was filled with rage, thinking that this was a madman. However, he then understood, with the power this man had, what he said could be done indeed.”

“Do you really gate the Uchiha so much?”

“After so many years, hatred is a word that lost its meaning, but those who have betrayed me must die!”

“If so, if I help you eliminate the Uchiha clan, could you spare the village?” Now that he encountered “Madara”, Itachi made this decision.

“Oh? Would you like to help me?” Obito looked at Itachi with interest.

“Well, as long as you spare the rest of Konoha.” Itachi’s voice was very dull, and no emotion could be perceived through it. Obito stared at him slyly, and then smiled under the mask and said: “Good! Since my lovely descendant is willing to help, I will wait and see what you do!” After finishing his words, Obito disappeared.

Itachi was stunned, and then muttered in cold sweat: “He has Time-Space Ninjutsu? It seems like he might even surpass Ryo sama!”

With his decision made, Itachi ran straight to Sakumo.

Unlike the Uchiha, the Hatake clan did not have such a strong defense, and Itachi easily managed to sneak in.

However, as soon as he approached Sakumo’s place, he was immediately discovered by the White Fang and his son, Kakashi.

Sakumo was afraid of waking up his wife and he cautiously got up. As for Kakashi, he didn’t worry so much, pulling his blade and running to courtyard.

Without his mask on, the one approaching was immediately recognized as Itachi.

“Yo! This is no appropriate time for a visit, Itachi!” Although he did recognize his subordinate, Kakashi didn’t let Itachi through.

“Captain, I need to deliver some information to Sakumo sama. Can you help me?”

“It’s too late and…” Kakashi was about to reject his request when he heard: “Let him come in!”

Kakashi sighed, and then yawned as he led Itachi into the living room.

“Get out now, Kakashi.”

Kakashi nodded and turned away, and Sakumo asked Itachi: “Is there anything?”

Itachi hesitated for a moment, and then skipped the matter of Madara and mentioned that the Uchiha were planning for a coup d’état.

What surprised him was that Sakumo didn’t look surprised at all.

“Sakumo sama, have you already known?”

Sakumo nodded with a smile, so Itachi continued to ask: “Sakumo sama, is the village ready to start a civil war with the Uchiha?”

“You’ve been in the Anbu for a good while now. It should be clear to you that the village will not let such a thing even happen.”

“I know the rules of the village, Sakumo san. However, if I’m willing to help you deal with the Uchiha clan, can you… let Sasuke live?”

Sakumo heard this and shook his head. Itachi was shaken by this, thinking that Sakumo did not approve his request, and the young man’s eyes dimmed for an instant, just to brighten up when hearing Sakumo’s next words: “Itachi, you don’t have to worry. I know that not all the Uchiha are against the village. We’ve decided to only eliminate the members who have intentions of starting a coup d’état.”

“Really?” Itachi seemed to regain life.

“Of course. All those having nothing to do with the coup d’état will not be harmed.”

Itachi breathed a sigh of relief and then said: “Hokage sama, please give me the duty of dealing with the Uchiha. I don’t want the survivors to hold any grudges against anyone else.”

Sakumo was surprised by Itachi’s resolve, and then he thought: ‘It seems like everything is indeed going as Ryo and Fugaku have planned.’

Thinking about this, Sakumo did not hesitate to agree with this request.

After the two discussed the details of the operation, Itachi left the Hatake’s district.

At the same time, Fugaku summoned all those who opposed the coup, along with all children with the exception of his two sons.

Looking at the few hundred Uchiha in front of him, he sighed and then broke an Ice Scalpel that Ryo gave him.

“Ryo, these are all the ones who remained. Please!”