While for everyone else the mood seemed locked with tension, it was entirely different for Itachi. To him it just seemed like a regular Sunday night with him being back home with his family watching the football game. Fly eagles Fly! With his team suiting up for the big game.
Itachi hummed a tune from back home. "We're not gonna take it. Noo we ain't gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore!!!" Ah yes, a true Sunday night classic.
Hmm this is quite the crowd we got here, Itachi in a really unlike himself move put his hand above his eyes as he looked across the crowd gathered for this. Man they were not kidding we they said everyone would show up.
There were a couple of reasons Itachi called an Agni Kai and why as soon as he got back home. 1 given the last Agni Kai where his father won his mother in a tournament. Lucky guy. Yes, I know a bit sexist but hey that's the Uchiha for yah. Anyways in this era I'd probably have to do the same and fight about 30 Uchiha males for the position, even though they know he's probably going to win in the end. I'm sure one of those cocky bastards would have challenged me for it in the end.
'Geez, I wished they'd at least put up that milf for the prize to at least get my blood pumpin for that snooze of a fight.' As Itachi snuck a peak at the Miss that owns the weapon store on fifth street.
'Tsunade be damned!' He thought.
With this he'd just win the position and be done with it. 2 He needed to take command and organize, eliminate all factions not his own and cut all ties with Konoha. 3 he's lazy, I'm not much of a schemer and really there's no point. In this world whoever has the biggest stick wins in the end anyways. All the fourth great shinobi war showed me is no one wanted to fight Naruto and Sasuke and to a less part Konoha.
Yeah, he could play politics with the old timers sure, but they're going to die in like 8 years anyways. The Uchiha could have just waited for the old timers to croak and would have inherited the position as soon as the Konoha Crush Arc ended if not when Pain attacked.
But given the racism the old generation has for his clan theirs also a chance an Uchiha would never get a chance at the position until Sarada is in her 30s.
Itachi continued to look at the faces of his clansmen that gathered here.
I bet a lot of them think that I stand no chance even if I was the youngest prodigy to progress through ranks. Yes Itachi is the pride of the clan they said and here I am at the age of 13 challenging for the position of clan head. It sounds crazy but it has to be done. Fugaku is too hesitant to do anything meaningful. Not to mention I'm running out of time. As tomorrow Hiruzen/ Danzo is going to order me to commit the Uchiha Massacre or else they'll attack first and put the Uchiha down themselves.
Many might think I have all the time in the world. If I just simply don't poke the sleeping bear they'll leave me alone and won't do anything. Itachi scoffed at the thought.
'As if that was the case. For example I know too much. They never fully trusted the two of us and wouldn't want the Uchiha to catch on to the fact that they're being so closely watched or that the village would act against them so violently.'
No the moment the nine tailed fox attacked the village the Uchiha's fate was inevitable. Not to mention when they find Shisui's body tomorrow what are they going to do. Rule it as a suicide like Shisui took his own life. They'll just ignore the fact that his body was poisoned, that he has wounds on his body that suggest he was in a fight. Or forget that his eye sockets were missing eyes. Like the idea of a powerful shinobi taking his own life is common. Like sure Kakashi's dad did it but not everyone is like that guy. Not to mention theirs no way someone like Hiruzen didn't inspect the body and not know the truth.
Lets keep in mind the anbu will be the ones to take the bodies and search it. Not the Uchiha police force.
The point I make from this is that Hiruzen didn't launch an investigation, to see that an Auburane did the killing. To see that his powerful Mangekyō Sharingan was missing. Then never placed charges on the person reasonable. And even after an entire clan was wiped out in his village. What did he do? He looked the other way and allowed Danzo to get off scot-free. As deep down he knows that he doesn't really offer Danzo's root anything of value. But keeping Danzo around gives him a scape goat to blame all his terrible deeds on.
If Hashirama or Tobirama were around to see what this guy has done to their clan and village they'd kill him. As he'd never sacrifice his own clan for the village or if the roles were reverse and his son was leading the charge to start a coup, he'd never kill his own son or a large number of his clansmen.
With all this known I have about one day to get the clan in order and moving in the same direction or face annihilation. So what's the plan? Stay and play politics? Fuck no. We leave.
Theres good reason why Itachi didn't do this in the original timeline. For one he's 13. Sure he's a so called fighting genius but what about politics? They don't exactly teach that in the academy. They tell you who your masters are but nothing else. So he had no idea he could have taken a position with the daimyo. If shisui and Itachi said screw it to the anbu and just joined the fire daimyo's royal guard they could have learned all this is nothing but smelly politics and could have gotten the Uchiha brownie points with the guy that cuts all thier checks.
What did Gilbert Arenas say again? Oh yes. I want to know the guy paying me 110 million dollars, why would I talk to bums that only make 5 million trying to coach me and get me to share the ball.
If your nice to the daimyo he's nice to you and to a lesser extent your family. In a matter of 3 years the daimyo would have had the strongest guard squad possible with three Mangekyō Sharingan's guarding him. Heck Itachi could have just married into the family and become the prince of Konoha just like Tsunade is the princess as they would both be cousins to the fire daimyo.
Being royalty like that I'd wish a Danzo would try and talk so boldly to my clan.
Unfortunately he doesn't have time for that plan.
So plan C.
Original Itachi didn't know the current geographical layout and the factions across the world. But I do. I know many different places the new Uchiha village could settle at. Because he's 13. Its easy for him to just kill everyone and be done with it.
Yes I Itachi Uchiha, son of the patriarch will leave Konoha, the place of our ancestors in hopes of a new land. But if I say this as the son of Fugaku how many would follow me and listen. No one that's who. So I need to go a step further, demonstrate my power in front of everyone, then guide them all under my voice.
Mikoto turned away from Fugaku, her feet moving before she even thought about it.
She had to talk to him.
"Itachi," she called, stepping toward him.
Her son stood still, unshaken by the chaos around them. His expression was unreadable, the torchlight casting harsh shadows over his sharp features.
But inside he panicked for a moment.
'Fuck! Who let her come here. This is so not cool, what do I say to her, sorry mom but I need to kill dad because his ideas are going to get all of us killed. Yeah right like that would work. Shit play it cool Itachi.' He thought in his head.
Mikoto quickened her pace, ignoring the murmurs from the gathered clan. When she finally stood before him, she reached out, grasping his hand as if grounding him—as if grounding herself.
"Itachi, this is insane," she whispered urgently, her fingers tightening around his. "You don't have to do this. There are other ways—"our way."
Itachi looked down at where she held him, his fingers twitching in her grasp before he gently pulled away. "This is the way, Mother," he said, voice calm, absolute. "This is for everyone, for the clan."
She shook her head. "No. You are making a mistake."
She couldn't lose him. She couldn't stand by and watch as he walked down a path that could only end in more pain, more suffering.
"Itachi," she pleaded, searching his face for something—anything—to show that he knew this was madness. "This will only divide the clan further. Why are you doing this?"
Itachi didn't answer right away. He looked at her, really looked at her, as if committing her face to memory.
It hurt—to see her like this.
To see the doubt in her eyes, the fear, the disbelief.
To know she thought he was making a mistake.
That she didn't believe in him.
But he couldn't afford to let that pain show.
"This is for the good of the clan," he said finally, his voice even, steady. "If not now, then eventually, I would have been led down this path regardless. I'm simply walking it down sooner."
Mikoto inhaled sharply, her fingers curling into fists at her sides.
"Itachi—"
"You should step back, Mother," he said, cutting her off gently. "The Agni Kai is about to begin."
He turned away from her then, looking back at his father, his challenger.
The moment had come.
The murmurs among the crowd settled as a figure stepped forward, his presence commanding attention.
Setsuna Uchiha, the third elder, stood tall, the torchlight flickering against the deep lines of his aged face. His crimson eyes gleamed, his Sharingan spinning lazily as he surveyed the gathered clan. A full 2,342 clansmen showed up to watch the crowning of the next clan head.
As he was rooting for Itachi in his heart.
Without a doubt this is one of the happiest days of his life. The last time he felt this proud was when he finished watching Itachi's father defeat over 30 young prominent members of the clan, even defeating his own Nephew Shikari in the semi-finals. That day was nothing but bloodshed, carnage, broken noses, ankles. Truly a good day.
He had hoped that this was the young lad that would lead the Uchiha back to glory. That one of their own would finally become the Hokage. But that damn yellow flash had to ruin our momentum. He'd nearly cried himself to sleep, as he even suggested a coup but Fugaku said he wasn't going to kill a good friend for a position. Not to mention Minato accepted Fugaku's proposal to make the Uchiha his special anbu force, meaning many more would rise for years to come.
But then that shit head man died like a stinky bum and all those promises went right in the stool of pigs. Then before that he remembered Lord Madara had just left the village and the village under that cursed man, Tobirama. They suspected the clan and thought we all should be trialed for treason. So he was able to convince 20 other three tomoe users to follow him to take control of the village. But he was easily defeated, but the worst part about it was the humiliation he felt. As the man thought it was beneath him to kill him, so he was imprisoned for 20 years. Making him unable to challenge Kagami for the clan head position.
To add insult to injury the bastard married his wife while he was in jail and made that little shit stain who went on to produce another little turd in Shisui.
Yes the reason he hated Shisui wasn't just his damned beliefs but he was the spitting image of that dick-kicker Kagami.
talk about kicking a man while he's down.
All this stuff he's still bitter about till this day.
But now he felt it.
It was different.
Itachi was different.
He no longer seemed to want to follow in the footsteps of Shisui
He looked at Nakamura, whose head was bowed, shoulders heavy with disgrace. The once-proud elder of the doves had been broken in a single night, his ideals shattered by the cold reality of war and loss.
Setsuna scoffed. "Look at him," he said, his voice loud enough for all to hear. "A man who sought peace when our enemies only ever showed us war. A man who led our brightest youth down a path of weakness, and what did it bring? Shisui Uchiha, our prodigy, our future—dead. And what did peace grant him? Did it shield him from his fate? No. It sent him to his death, blind and unprepared."
The crowd murmured in agreement, the mood shifting, growing heavier, more aggressive.
'Damn.' Itachi raised an eyebrow from the old mans words, he couldn't help but ask if that old man was their to see his body. Like how did he know Shisui ended up being blind and unprepared? Its like he saw it coming?
Setsuna turned to the clan, raising his voice with pride. "But this—this is what we are. Warriors." His voice boomed across the gathering. "Not groveling diplomats, not sheep waiting for the slaughter. We are the Uchiha! The Clan of Flame and Blood! We have always stood tall on the battlefield, our blades carving legends into history! It was we who made the Hidden Leaf what it is! We who waged war against the Senju and stood on equal ground! And we who, under the leadership of Lord Madara, could have ruled this entire land!"
A fierce cheer rose from the hawk faction, emboldened by his words. The air grew thick with chakra, with pride.
Setsuna's eyes swept over them, his voice dropping into something quieter, but no less commanding. "But now? We bicker like children. We are divided, led astray by whispers of peace, by the false Will of Fire that tells us to kneel before those who fear our power." His eyes narrowed. "But tonight, we cast that weakness aside. Tonight, we return to our roots. Two warriors stand before us. Two men of our blood. They do not hide behind words or politics—they will decide their fate with steel, with fire, with the strength that has always defined our people!"
The crowd roared, and then, as if pulled by an invisible force, a wave of red filled the night.
Sharingan.
Dozens upon dozens of crimson eyes spun in unison, a sight both mesmerizing and terrifying. The battlefield was bathed in the glow of their power, the very essence of the Uchiha clan laid bare for all to see.
Setsuna grinned. Yes… This is what it means to be Uchiha.
He turned to the two combatants, his voice ringing with finality.
"Tonight, the Agni Kai shall determine the path our clan will take. Witness, my brothers and sisters, my warriors and remember this night in the annals of our history."
He raised his arm, then let it fall like the blade of an executioner.
"Begin!"