Chapter 46

Uchiha Itachi moved quickly. He discreetly bypassed the Uchiha clan's night sentinels in the darkness, taking roughly ten minutes to reach a cliff on the riverbank.

He didn't want to attract the attention of his clan, especially with the current atmosphere within the clan being so oppressive and peculiar.

And this cliff was the secret base he and Shisui shared, a place where Uchiha Itachi could speak his mind and vent his true feelings.

Looking up, he saw a silhouette sitting cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, silently watching the river flow by. Seeing this figure, Uchiha Itachi's face involuntarily broke into a small smile.

"Shisui!" Itachi's face lit up with a joyous grin, and then he leaped towards Shisui's position.

"You're here, Itachi." Shisui also cracked a smile, subsequently standing up casually from the cliff's edge.

The cliff was incredibly high, standing on the edge could easily induce dizziness.

Yet Shisui seemed unaffected by all this, as if the towering cliff did not exist at all.

Shortly, Uchiha Itachi arrived by his side, but almost instantly, a hint of curiosity emerged on Itachi's face.

He looked Shisui up and down. He had the distinct feeling that his older brother seemed slightly different.

The last time they met, although Shisui maintained a smile, one could sense a weariness and repression in his brow.

But today was different. Shisui was still brimming with smiles, yet this smile was genuine, devoid of the previous helplessness and repression.

Such a change piqued Uchiha Itachi's curiosity, and in the end, he couldn't help but ask, "Shisui, you seem very happy today. What happened?"

"You could say that, it's rather good news," Shisui nodded. Although he was somewhat moved by Itachi's keen response, he had no intention of hiding anything.

He was indeed very happy now, as the changes within the clan truly filled him with joy.

A recent conversation with Kaito had informed him that they were now only one step away from truly changing the clan.

Although he wasn't particularly interested in the position of deputy clan leader, he knew it was a position that could genuinely help Kaito.

A position that could provide a clearer perspective on the clan's changes, hence he didn't refuse at all.

As for supervising Kaito, he thought it was utterly unnecessary.

Kaito was so rational, and his power was so strong, he didn't think that Kaito could lead the Uchiha astray.

He felt that what he needed to do was to help Kaito, to assist him and together witness the changes within the clan, and between the village.

However, as he looked at Uchiha Itachi in front of him, Shisui suddenly felt a headache coming on, as he suddenly remembered Kaito telling him that some things should not be explained too explicitly.

Although Shisui didn't quite understand why Kaito had this request, he also didn't understand why Kaito was somewhat distrustful of Itachi.

But since Shisui had promised Kaito, he naturally would follow through, even if the person he was facing was Uchiha Itachi.

"What news?"

Uchiha Itachi felt very strange because Shisui's face had changed a bit when he mentioned good news, which made him quietly take note in his mind.

"Well..."

Suddenly, Shisui didn't know how to explain and begin speaking. He needed to organize his words properly, but his actions made Uchiha Itachi feel even more uneasy.

After a long time, Shisui finally let out a faint sigh. He roughly knew what he wanted to say.

"It's like this. There might have been some changes within the clan. Both the elders of clan and Takechi, realize that what they did before might have been wrong.

So, the clan has started to discard the previous voices, preparing to unify everyone's will. This way..."

"Unify the will? Unify what? What are they going to do?"

Before Shisui could finish his words, Uchiha Itachi interrupted him directly, and his face now looked somewhat wrong.

For Uchiha Itachi, this news was indeed astonishing and bewildering.

The incessant debates between the two factions in the clan, how could he possibly not know?

And as someone who longed for the clan and the village to live in peace, he could not imagine in any way that people on his side would unify their will with the bloods.

After unifying their will, could those who longed for peace still coexist peacefully with the village?

Could they still persist in their ideals under such circumstances?

Would they inevitably change under the influence of the bloods, leading the entire clan to fall into extremism?

These were things Uchiha Itachi could not and dared not imagine, especially when it came to Shisui, this man he regarded as his brother!

From his appearance, he seemed to feel very good about such things, which was truly incomprehensible to Uchiha Itachi.

Initially, it was Shisui who told him that the clan needed to trust and rely on the village, and the clan needed to reintegrate into the village in order for everyone to improve.

Uchiha Itachi had always kept this belief in his heart, only when he thought about issues, he would put himself in the position of the Hokage to view everything.

And once he viewed the Uchiha from the perspective of the village, he found the Uchiha to be a factor of instability for the village.

He had pondered why things turned out this way, but the conclusion he always came to was 'the clan is not content with the status quo, the clan always maintains unrealistic illusions'.

This made him yearn even more for the clan to settle down. Only if they settled down, his younger brother could have a better growth environment in Konoha, and Konoha would also become more stable.

But now, a single sentence from Shisui made his heart chill. He didn't know why things had turned out this way, but he truly could not accept it.

"Itachi, don't rush, listen to me first."

Shisui couldn't help but frown at Itachi's reaction, he didn't know what Itachi was thinking, and he had no idea how much Itachi really resisted such changes.

He only thought Itachi was unable to accept it because he initially heard these things that contradicted his inner convictions. Therefore, he sighed and spoke slowly.

"Actually, the direction we've been striving for has always been wrong, yes, I'm saying it's wrong!

We desire peace, we desire to achieve peace with the village through our own efforts, thus allowing us to integrate into the village as a whole.

But we've never considered one question: whether the village will actually let us integrate.

And this question has already been answered in our constant compromises, concessions, and efforts - and the answer is, they won't!

The Third Hokage is the disciple of the Second Hokage, and the changes in the Uchiha clan began with the Second Hokage.

The Third Hokage inherited the will of the Second, and not only him, but also those staff members feel the same way; some things really aren't easy to change.

During my time in the Anbu, I secretly browsed through some files, and I can tell you that everything I'm saying is true.

Itachi, you've been intelligent since you were a kid, so tell me, under such circumstances, how are we to survive?"

//

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