Obito And Zetsu

There was no other choice.  

Just like with Konoha's White Fang in the past.

No matter how tolerant or great this "strongest Hokage of all time" was,  

he could never allow anything beyond the Hokage's control to exist in Konoha.

This was a matter of principle.  

He bore the weight of the entire village on his shoulders.

If Uchiha Shisui ever harbored malicious intent,  

and turned him, the Hokage, into a puppet, the damage to Konoha would be far worse than even the Nine-Tails.

As the Third Hokage was lost in thought, an Anbu agent urgently knocked on the door.

"Lord Third, something terrible has happened."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's lips curled slightly. Even from behind the door, he could sense the urgency in the agent's voice.  

It seemed Danzo had succeeded.

"Come in."

Hiruzen felt a hint of joy in his heart, but outwardly remained calm, signaling the Anbu to speak.

Creak. The office door opened.  

The Anbu ninja quickly entered, kneeling in the center of the room, fist pressed to the ground, head slightly lowered, waiting for the Hokage to speak.

"What happened?" Hiruzen asked, pretending not to know.

The Anbu took a deep breath and reported the intelligence gathered on the Uchiha clan's territory. "Lord Hokage, Uchiha Shisui... is dead."

Hearing this, a subtle flash of joy crossed the depths of Hiruzen's eyes.

But he feigned shock, quickly rising to his feet with wide eyes, asking with deep anguish, "What?! Shisui is dead? How did this happen?"

"According to reports, Uchiha Shisui has indeed passed. An Anbu agent tasked with surveillance saw Shisui's body."

"They say it was suicide, and he left a note, but the cause of death is still under investigation."

The Anbu, sensing the Third Hokage's concern for his subordinates, organized his thoughts before continuing.

"However..."  

The Anbu suddenly added, "It appears that Shisui's eyes were gouged out, and someone saw that he was summoned by Danzo's Root ninjas earlier today."

"Danzo..." Upon hearing the name, Hiruzen's clouded, aging eyes sharpened immediately.  

It seemed his old companion had made quite the haul.

But he'd still need to knock Danzo down a peg, just to keep him in check.

Meanwhile...

In the Land of Water, at the Village Hidden in the Mist,  

Uchiha Obito was controlling the Fourth Mizukage, methodically implementing the "Bloody Mist" policy, eliminating ninja with bloodline abilities.

It was to comfort Rin's spirit in the afterlife.

As Obito was pondering his next move, the combined form of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu emerged from the ground.

In a raspy voice, Black Zetsu spoke, "Obito, something big has happened in Konoha."

"How many times have I told you to call me Lord Madara?" Obito's brow furrowed beneath his mask, his voice cold.

"Yes, Lord Madara," Black Zetsu replied respectfully on the surface, but secretly looked down on him.

Whether it was Obito or Madara Uchiha, in the end, they were both just pawns to revive his mother.

Hearing this, Obito's tone softened slightly. "Speak, what happened?"

White Zetsu quickly answered, "The Uchiha clan's strongest genjutsu user, Uchiha Shisui, has died."

"Uchiha Shisui is dead?" Obito was stunned. "When?"

Since the Fourth Hokage's death, who was the one person Obito feared most in Konoha?  

Sarutobi Hiruzen?  

Danzo?  

Uchiha Fugaku?

No, none of them. In the face of his Kamui, they were all like paper tigers.

It was Uchiha Shisui.  

The reason was simple: Shisui had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, and his abilities were bizarrely powerful.  

Even with his own Mangekyou, Obito had always avoided direct contact with him.

How could such a powerful individual die?

"Yesterday. The Uchiha clan is holding the funeral right now," Black Zetsu responded in a voice so raspy it was grating, like dry leaves rustling in the wind.

White Zetsu added, "They say it was suicide."

"You actually believe that nonsense?" Obito said, his tone irritated.

Black Zetsu continued, "Uchiha Shisui did commit suicide. The Uchiha clan is on the brink of a coup, and to prevent a civil war in Konoha, Shisui sacrificed himself to demoralize and weaken his clan."

"Before he died, it seems he tried to use his Mangekyou Sharingan to control Uchiha Fugaku and stop the coup.  

But he failed. Danzo ambushed him and took his right eye."

"Hmph, naive fool. A man with that level of power and skill, falling to Danzo in the end? Ridiculous." Obito sneered, his words dripping with disdain. "So Danzo has Shisui's eyes now?"

"No, it seems Danzo didn't get his hands on the Sharingan."

"According to the intel gathered from my spore clone in Root, not only did Danzo fail to take Shisui's right eye, but in the moment he tried, a mysterious figure appeared and severed Danzo's left arm, taking the eye."

Black Zetsu pieced together the information he had gathered through White Zetsu's clone.

White Zetsu added gleefully, "Danzo suspects it was you."

"A mysterious figure? Interesting. It seems Konoha is not as simple as it appears." Obito mused. "And what about the left eye?"

"We don't know. But..." Black Zetsu paused for a moment before continuing, "The first person to discover Shisui's body was Uchiha Itachi."

"Itachi was Shisui's close friend. After Shisui's death, Itachi awakened his own Mangekyou Sharingan. I suspect Shisui's left eye is now in his possession."

"Itachi, huh?" Obito frowned. "Another troublesome individual."

"Madara, what do you plan to do?" Black Zetsu asked.

"The Uchiha coup may have been thwarted this time, but it's only a matter of time before it happens again. Once I finish things here, I'll head to Konoha and find a way to recruit Itachi into the Akatsuki," Obito said. "Any Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan has the qualifications to join. They'll be useful in capturing the Tailed Beasts."

"And while you're at it, figure out who took Shisui's right eye. To steal from Danzo in Konoha—it must either be someone with space-time ninjutsu or someone on the inside."

"I understand." Black Zetsu replied respectfully before slowly sinking back into the ground, disappearing from sight.

The next day, the news of Uchiha Shisui's death, the Uchiha clan's most powerful genjutsu user and master of the Body Flicker Technique, spread like wildfire.  

With the loss of their most powerful Mangekyou wielder, the Uchiha clan was deeply shaken.  

Morale plummeted, and even the hawkish elders withdrew, no longer pushing for a coup.

Konoha once again entered a period of brief peace.  

Of course, this was merely the calm before the storm.