0 - 6 Years After

Operation Red Eye approved by council. Stipulations revised: Sasuke Uchiha designated as sole survivor. Orders in place to apprehend one Sasuke Uchiha and one Itachi Uchiha without injury. Orders in place to apprehend 2 - 3 additional persons if possible.

See notes RE: Jiraiya. Situation appears stable at moment; surveillance to be conducted to ensure cooperation.

—

All units in place. Operation Red Eye to commence at 1800 hours.

—

Operation Red Eye: success. Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha detained without incident. One Mikoto Uchiha and one Shisui Uchiha apprehended.

Current locations: Sasuke Uchiha at scene; Itachi Uchiha transferred to NE outpost; Mikoto Uchiha transferred to outpost AA with minor injuries; Shisui Uchiha transferred to outpost AA with injuries.

ANBU units dispatched to scene at 0100 hours.

—

Sasuke Uchiha transported to NE outpost. Itachi Uchiha agreed to terms, contingent on village conduct towards S.

I. assured that, so long as mission is carried out, S. will be treated well with long term goal of integration back into village (IE Operation Ultimatum).

I. released at 0500 hours.

—

All deceased Sharingan users identified — eyes pending removal. ANBU dismissed from investigation.

Initial contact with Orochimaru: success. Agreement reached.

—

Surveillance increased on Jiraiya.

—

Jiraiya cleared. Briefed on Operation Ultimatum.

—

One Aoi Kuwahara (ANBU) identified as potential insubordinate. Further investigation to be conducted.

—

Operation Ultimatum remains in Stage 1. Sasuke Uchiha — preliminary results of trials promising. Appears to have no memory of Operation Red Eye. Not receptive to suggestion as of yet. Uncertain if will develop over time. Examination revealed S. awakened Sharingan.

First report submitted by Itachi Uchiha: made contact with Akatsuki. I. has been assured S. is alive and being cared for.

—

Aoi Kuwahara (ANBU) eliminated.

—

Transplant possible. Time frame: 7 - 9 mo

Discussion RE: Hashirama's cells.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — trials failing. No memory but not open to suggestion. Unwilling to accept narrative/actively denying it. Itachi Uchiha notified of development. Alternative measures to be considered.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Itachi Uchiha recalled. Escorted to NE outpost at 0100 hours. Contact with Sasuke Uchiha went smoothly — S. seemed to respond well to jutsu. I. released at 0215 hours.

—

Sasuke Uchiha has accepted narrative. S. moved to outpost Y. Stage 2 of Operation Ultimatum to commence.

—

Itachi Uchiha fully integrated into Akatsuki. Detailed reports forthcoming. Sasuke Uchiha permitted to continue studies.

—

Itachi Uchiha — see attached report. Preliminary findings suggest Akatsuki gathering Bijuu. Purpose remains unknown. Nine Tails not actively targeted at moment. Jiraiya dispatched to verify.

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — jutsu still in place. Temperament — volatile. Unclear if natural tendency or symptom of jutsu/treatment.

—

See attached report.

—

Operation Ultimatum: See attached report.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — jutsu still in place. See instructor comment on S.'s behavior. Concerning trend. Itachi Uchiha not to be notified.

—

Transplant: successful.

Hashirama's cells obtained. Shisui Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha to be transported to outpost NL. Operation Interlude to commence at 0800 hours.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha— progressing as hoped. Sharingan weak. Temperament remains questionable.

—

Itachi Uchiha — report submitted. Akatsuki targeting Five Tails. I. assured Sasuke Uchiha is safe.

—

Operation Interlude: early results promising. Shisui Uchiha — vitals stable. Mikoto Uchiha — vitals weak, but stable.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — see attached report.

—

Operation Ultimatum: See instructor comments RE: Sasuke Uchiha — exhibiting increased volatility.

—

See attached report RE: Sasuke Uchiha lookalike. Units dispatched to Land of Earth to investigate further.

—

Preliminary findings encouraging RE: Sasuke Uchiha lookalike. Units given green light to seize subject.

—

Subject successfully detained. Transported to outpost AE. Trials to commence in morning.

Itachi Uchiha: see submitted report. Five Tails captured by Akatsuki. I. assured that Sasuke Uchiha remains safe. I. requested further proof — request denied.

Operation Ultimatum: investigation started into one Kakashi Hatake. Will be instituted as S.'s instructor upon successful completion for purposes of training S.'s Sharingan.

—

Subject sedated and medication administered. Impressionability will be measured when subject awakens.

—

Subject responding well to trials. Cosmetic surgery to be scheduled later in week.

Operation Interlude: Mikoto Uchiha in critical condition. Exhibiting severe symptoms in response to treatment.

—

Operation Interlude: Mikoto Uchiha stable. Situation under review.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — skillset progressing adequately.

Surgery on subject successful. Presentation is convincing.

—

See attached report. Subject experiencing significant mental distress. Medication administered.

—

Subject sedated. Dosage of medication under review.

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — adequate progress being made. See instructor comments: S. believed to be at or approaching genin level.

—

Report submitted by Itachi Uchiha.

—

Subject awake and stable. Behavioral training to begin.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — see instructor comments regarding temperament.

—

Operation Interlude: Shisui Uchiha — results exceeding expectations. Exhibiting mild physical symptoms.

—

Subject deemed adequately prepared. Operation Prodigy given green light. Necessary preparations to be made RE: Academy class. Instructor to be dismissed and replaced.

Operation Ultimatum: revised. Sasuke Uchiha not to be brought back to village at any point. S. will be kept at outpost Y until Sharingan fully matures. S. will then be eliminated and S.'s Sharingan will be extracted. Itachi Uchiha not to be notified of status change — I. to receive no information RE: Sasuke Uchiha at outpost Y. Subject to be denoted as 'Sasuke Uchiha' in all future updates.

—

Jiraiya dismissed from Operation Ultimatum (rev.). Will be briefed on Operation Prodigy.

Itachi Uchiha: report received. I. informed of plan to bring 'Sasuke Uchiha' back into village.

—

Operation Prodigy: subject integration successful. See Jiraiya's report.

—

Kakashi Hatake partially cleared. Subject placed on genin Team 7 with one Sakura Haruno and one Naruto Uzumaki. Units dispatched for 24/7 surveillance.

—

See subject report RE: Kakashi Hatake.

—

Surveillance notes indicate Kakashi Hatake responding as hoped to subject's presence. K. will be called in later this week.

—

Kakashi Hatake fully cleared. Partially briefed on Operation Ultimatum & Operation Prodigy — told Itachi Uchiha poses ongoing threat to Sasuke Uchiha. Stressed to K. that S. has no knowledge of Operation Prodigy. K. escorted to outpost Y to make initial contact with S.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Kakashi Hatake instituted as Sasuke Uchiha's permanent instructor. All others dismissed.

—

Operation Interlude: Shisui Uchiha exhibiting moderate symptoms. Dosage under review.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Kakashi Hatake — see attached report.

—

See attached report.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Kakashi Hatake — requested additional hours at outpost Y. Request accepted.

—

Operation Ultimatum: See attached report. Sasuke Uchiha's control over Sharingan improving.

—

Team 7 assigned mission outside of village. Time frame: 3 - 4 days. Units dispatched to assure Naruto Uzumaki's safety.

—

Team 7 mission completed successfully. Kakashi Hatake to return to outpost Y at 0900 hours tomorrow.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Kakashi Hatake — see report. Sasuke Uchiha exhibiting sudden unsatisfactory progress, no clear cause. Direct observation to be conducted to assess situation.

Operation Interlude: Shisui Uchiha — fully recovered. Mikoto Uchiha remains stable with some physical symptoms.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha — direct observation increased to 24/7. S. exhibiting concerning symptoms, including inability to focus, slowed reaction time, reluctance to eat, reluctance to sleep. Unclear if jutsu still in place.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Kakashi Hatake dispatched to outpost Y to examine Sasuke Uchiha with Sharingan to determine if jutsu has eroded. S. collapsed in middle of evaluation. K. reported clear dissolution of chakra in S. beforehand. Jutsu suspected to have come undone.

—

Operation Ultimatum: See attached report RE: Sasuke Uchiha. S. appears to have stabilized and appears to have no memory of past days. Unclear if jutsu still in place given Kakashi Hatake's previous report — S. has made no indication to the contrary. Training to continue as scheduled.

—

Team 7 assigned mission outside of village. Units dispatched to assure Naruto Uzumaki's safety.

Operation Ultimatum: units deployed to observe Sasuke Uchiha at outpost Y.

—

Team 7 mission completed successfully.

Operation Ultimatum: see surveillance notes RE: Sasuke Uchiha.

—

Operation Ultimatum: see attached report.

—

Operation Interlude: see attached report.

—

See attached report.

—

Operation Ultimatum: Sasuke Uchiha exhibiting concerning behavior. Surveillance increased.

—

Operation Ultimatum: see notes RE: Sasuke Uchiha.

—

Operation Ultimatum: terminated. Jutsu confirmed to have eroded. Sasuke Uchiha determined to pose immediate threat to village. S. to be eliminated. Operation Prodigy to continue.

—

Sasuke Uchiha no longer in custody. One Orochimaru reported to have acquired S.

Operation Prodigy: terminated. Subject to be eliminated. Unit to be briefed on how to carry out mission. Will attack subject in front of genin team — need to make it seem as if subject could have survived and made it to Orochimaru. Subject's body to be properly disposed of afterwards.

—

Operation Prodigy: subject attacked, body not retrieved. Reports suggest one Kabuto Yakushi acquired subject and fled scene. Assumed subject is under custody of one Orochimaru.

Jiraiya rebriefed on Operation Ultimatum (term.) and Ultimatum Prodigy (term.)

Kakashi Hatake partially briefed — told S. escaped from outpost Y and sought out O.

—

Attempted contact with Orochimaru: unsuccessful.

—

Attempted contact with Orochimaru: unsuccessful. See report.

—

Meeting set up with Itachi Uchiha. I. will be notified of current development RE: Sasuke Uchiha. Will not be told of planned elimination of S. or of subject.

Decision pending RE: Mikoto Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. I. may be notified of village's custody of M. and Sh. to ensure continued cooperation.

—

Orochimaru confirmed to be in possession of both Sasuke Uchiha and subject.

Itachi Uchiha did not appear at meeting. See Jiraiya's attached report: I. determined to have left Akatsuki. Unclear how much I. knows about situation — report suggests I. knows S. is no longer under village supervision, but may not be aware of revised Operation Ultimatum (term.) or Operation Prodigy (term.).

Decision still pending RE: Mikoto Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. I. may be notified of village's custody of M. and Sh. to ensure continued cooperation.

—

See attached report. Itachi Uchiha reported to be in Land of Sound. Units unable to make contact with I.

Operation Interlude: see attached notes.

—

Units unable to make contact with Itachi Uchiha.

See Jiraiya's attached report: concerns deemed to be unfounded.

Operation Interlude: Shisui Uchiha cooperating. Units ordered to cease all trials on Mikoto Uchiha.

—

See attached report. Sasuke Uchiha observed with Orochimaru. No sign of subject.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha.

—

See attached report. Units unable to make contact with Itachi Uchiha.

—

See attached report.

—

Reported that Itachi Uchiha has begun to assemble a following. Situation being monitored closely. No immediate threat apparent.

Operation Interlude: see examination notes RE: Shisui Uchiha.

—

Itachi Uchiha's group becoming larger. See attached report: members mostly consist of rogue shinobi. Units still attempting to contact I. with no success.

—

Land of Lightning expressed concern RE: Itachi Uchiha. Raikage assured I. is being monitored and poses no immediate threat.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha.

Operation Interlude: test results continue to be positive RE: Shisui Uchiha.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha.

—

Land of Lightning expressed further concern RE: Itachi Uchiha. Land of Sand expressed concern RE: Itachi Uchiha.

Council meeting called to discuss necessary course of action.

—

Decision reached: Itachi Uchiha NOT to be informed of Mikoto Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. Determined to be too dangerous. I. will continue to be monitored — all units given green light to eliminate I. if given opportunity.

Notice released RE: Itachi Uchiha to all Kage — no military action to be taken. See Jiraiya's attached report: assumed group will naturally dissolve within 4 - 7 mos. Small operations targeting members encouraged.

—

Mission failed RE: Itachi Uchiha.

—

Mission failed RE: Itachi Uchiha.

Operation Interlude: see attached report.

—

Land of Earth and Land of Lightning both expressed concern RE: Itachi Uchiha. Meeting with Tsuchikage and Raikage scheduled.

—

Mission failed RE: Itachi Uchiha.

—

See report RE: meeting with Tsuchikage and Raikage. Size of Itachi Uchiha's group becoming worrisome — able to divert most assassination attempts. Both Kage assured dissolution of group is imminent.

—

Sasuke Uchiha no longer with Orochimaru. Current location unknown.

Itachi Uchiha moving east with group. Intended destination unknown.

—

See attached inquiry into one Naruto Uzumaki.

—

See attached report.

—

See attached report RE: Orochimaru.

—

See report on Naruto Uzumaki.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.

—

See attached report RE: Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha. Jiraiya dispatched to locate S.

—

See surveillance notes. Jiraiya planning to leave village with one Naruto Uzumaki, as expected. Units ordered to stand down. Kakashi Hatake dispatched to follow.

—

Operation Interlude: see attached report.

—

See attached report.

• • •

Six Years After

Danzo had been confident in the original plan. Jiraiya's cooperation wasn't guaranteed, but he knew that it wouldn't be particularly difficult to convince the Sannin to take credit for the reports. Jiraiya was a smart man, but he had a tendency to become far too attached to people, a weakness that Danzo had no qualms about exploiting — one mention of Naruto Uzumaki and there was little concern about Jiraiya rebelling. Danzo had assigned a surveillance unit to watch Jiraiya just in case, but he wasn't worried, not really. Not even when the man had stormed into his office demanding to know what Danzo was planning. Because Jiraiya wasn't a threat, not when Danzo had Naruto in his possession. All Jiraiya needed was a small reminder here and there, and he would fall right back into place.

Itachi, of course, had been a wholly different sort of wildcard. His potential defiance, while more likely than Jiraiya's, was of little concern, however. Had the boy refused, Danzo would have merely had him killed, still pinning the massacre on him regardless. It was cruel, perhaps, but necessary. He would have decided on what to do with Sasuke afterwards, though he leaned towards believing that he would have had the boy killed as well. The memory trials had been far more trouble than they were worth; he had barely wanted to put up with them for the sake of keeping Itachi pleased. Had Itachi not offered to step in, there was a chance Danzo would haveabandoned the project entirely; it's why he had accepted Itachi's help so easily.

He hadn't believed Itachi would try anything untoward — he could tell that the boy was scared, downright terrifiedof doing anything that could possibly lead to his brother getting hurt. Itachi's suggestion of performing the jutsu had seemed in line with that thought process; the child had likely sensed that Danzo was growing tired of dealing with his brother and, in an effort to keep Sasuke safe, had volunteered to solve Danzo's problem for him. It had been a welcome solution, the jutsu appearing to erase the boy's memory of the massacre within minutes so that Danzo could replace it with whatever he wished. It seemed perfect. Even too perfect. And, looking back, he supposed that it had been. Because, evidently, Danzo had misunderstood the technique entirely: it didn't eraseSasuke's memory so much as simply block a portion of it off. But he only realized that once it was too late. In the meantime, he was left with an obstinate Uchiha who seemed intent on ignoring orders.

Sasuke Uchiha posed a problem, that much was obvious. The original idea had been to train the boy and ensure his loyalty to Konoha, at which point he would be brought back into the village. Itachi would be happy, Danzo would be happy, and everything would be absolutely fine. Itachi would eventually be killed, surely, and Sasuke would have no knowledge of what had happened to his clan. The Uchiha massacre would be an unfortunate blip in the history of the village, a passing footnote in a textbook, perhaps: the madman that slaughtered his clan, and his brother the sole survivor.

But Sasuke had turned out to be far more unruly than Danzo had planned. While he had no conscious knowledge of his family's demise, he was hardly proving to be a patriot for Konoha. He was reportedly indifferent towards the village, not particularly caring about anything concerning it. Additionally, he had proven to be excessively disobedient, going out of his way to defy his instructor's orders in favor of doing what he wished. All Sasuke cared about was training and growing stronger, two things that became meaningless to Danzo if he could not guarantee that the boy intended to use his talents for the sake of the village.

And that, for Danzo, was an issue.

Had he been a normal child, Danzo wouldn't have been overly concerned. He would have merely barred Sasuke from any covert operations, likely stopping the boy from progressing beyond the jonin level. But, given that the child was already involved in a covert operation, Danzo couldn't exactly take that route. He needed him loyal, and Sasuke was proving to be anything but. If anything, the child was becoming quite the liability. And Danzo did not deal kindly with liabilities.

Of course, he couldn't deal with Sasuke, not really, not when Itachi's cooperation relied heavily on Sasuke's treatment. He'd been trying to get a spy into the Akatsuki for years, after all, and, now that he had one, he sorely didn't want to compromise his position. So he spent his time toying with a few different ideas, ways that he could rid himself of the boy without ruining his agreement with Itachi. The rashest involved eliminating Sasuke outright and simply not informing Itachi — Itachi, after all, was relying on Danzo for information regarding his brother. If Danzo didn't tell him that his brother had been killed, Itachi would, in theory, be none the wiser.

But that, of course, was a risk. A huge risk. Sasuke Uchiha was meant to be brought back into the village, which meant that people would need to see him and interact with him. Dead boys could interact with no one, and Danzo hardly wanted the real Sasuke interacting with anyone. He could surely postpone Sasuke's return to the village for a few years but, eventually, Itachi would grow impatient. The truth could then be revealed all too easily. So he abandoned that plan, instead starting to believe that he could introduce Sasuke back into the village for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, before having him 'accidentally' killed. But then Itachi would have no reason to work under Danzo, not unless Danzo wanted to reveal Operation Interlude to the boy. And he truly, sincerely wanted to do no such thing — it was information he couldn't risk divulging, his trump card amongst trump cards. And so Danzo would still be out of luck.

Which is why the idea of a doppelgänger, really, just seemed perfect.

The doppelgänger solution hadn't been planned, exactly. A Root unit had been tasked out to the Land of Earth and come across a boy who they swore looked exactly like one Sasuke Uchiha. He was some child from a town in the middle of nowhere — few people would miss him, surely. And so Danzo dispatched a unit to watch the boy and extract him when possible. And the beginnings of a plan began to form in his mind.

He could look back now and say that it had been quite a ridiculous idea. Replacing a child? It was ludicrous, the ramblings of a madman. Perhaps that meant he wasmad. He didn't feel mad, if he was being honest, but he supposed few mad people ever truly did. All he knew was that Sasuke Uchiha posed a particular problem, and a fake Sasuke Uchiha would provide quite a well rounded solution.

He counted himself lucky that the massacre had occurred when Sasuke was fairly young — children could change significantly over the span of a few years. Easy enough to slip a practical clone in Sasuke's place. So the idea, overall, was simple: Sasuke Uchiha would remain at the outpost where Danzo could wait for his Sharingan to mature, at which point he would then have it extracted for his own use. He'd bring in Kakashi to try and speed up the process, hoping that the man would be able to impart some of the knowledge he'd gained about his own Sharingan to Sasuke. In the meantime, the doppelgänger would be brought back into the village, serving as 'Sasuke Uchiha' for all correspondence with Itachi. Danzo could then dispose of the real Sasuke Uchiha whenever he wished and use the fake one for as long as he was comfortable. A mad plan? Possibly. But he preferred to think of it as ingenious.

Of course, then he met the doppelgänger. And the plan seemed a bit less appealing, since he would be lying if he said he was impressed when he laid eyes on the child. The boy did, admittedly, look vaguely like Sasuke Uchiha, but he was hardly the clone Danzo had been expecting. But Danzo had already laid out his plans so carefully, the enticement of it rooting deep into his brain, so he went forward with it nonetheless, chewing on possible surgical corrections to improve the child's appearance.

It went relatively smoothly, all things considered. And Operation Prodigy commenced.

He took Jiraiya off Operation Ultimatum. Jiraiya was loyal, but he knew the man had limits. And Danzo couldn't help but feel that having him on both Operation Prodigy and Operation Ultimatum would place him firmly beyond them. So he had Jiraiya reporting on the fake Sasuke while Kakashi watched the real one. And Danzo felt completely in control. So much so that he wasn't even particularly bothered when Sasuke (the realSasuke) seemed to experience a mental break of sorts.

Unbeknownst to him, Itachi's jutsu had come undone — how and to what extent, he wasn't sure, but Sasuke Uchiha had turned into a time bomb. And once Danzo realized it, he wasted little time in trying to dispose of the boy. Losing the opportunity to gain another fully matured Sharingan was a shame, but it was nothing Danzo wouldn't be able to do without. He had plenty of Sharingan lying in the lab, and Operation Interlude was still ongoing. It wasn't worth keeping Sasuke around for an extra pair of eyes, not given his current status. And, in all honesty, Danzo had been relieved at the prospect of finally getting rid of Sasuke. The boy had always been hard to deal with; Danzo much preferred the idea of only having to manage the doppelgänger from that point forward.

But then Orochimaru intervened. And Danzo, for the first time, started to become worried.

Word would surely spread of Orochimaru's acquirement of Sasuke Uchiha, which would put Danzo in a very precarious position given that 'Sasuke Uchiha' was also, supposedly, in the Hidden Leaf Village at the same time. So, he had planned to eliminate the doppelgänger immediately. He would make it seem as if the boy had been attacked by enemy shinobi, only to then have been procured by Orochimaru. The doppelgänger, of course, would in all actuality be dead while the real Sasuke remained with Orochimaru. Not as seamless a transition from two boys to one as Danzo would have liked, but he figured that, given the circumstances, it would suffice.

Until, of course, Orochimaru managed to retrieve the doppelgänger as well.

Danzo had spent the entire day in his office. He wasn't sure what Orochimaru was planning, but he knew the snake had all the power in the world to crush Danzo completely. The pieces were all there: Sasuke and his memory, the doppelgänger, and, surely, Itachi, because Itachi had already proven that he would do whatever he had to for Sasuke.

Danzo tried to make contact with Orochimaru, figuring that he could possibly negotiate with the Sannin. Orochimaru apparently had little interest in that, however, seeing as he rebuked every attempt Danzo made to reach him. And so Danzo was at a loss.

He rebriefed Jiraiya on the operations. He didn't tell him everything, just the key points, the things that he needed to know in order to gather information about the situation. Kakashi, meanwhile, was simply told that Sasuke had abandoned the village for Orochimaru. Kakashi had accepted the narrative easily enough; Danzo did, however, worry about how Itachi would react to the situation. He planned to blame Orochimaru entirely, to tell Itachi that the snake had the boy attacked outside of the village and abducted him. But, regardless of how the situation supposedly came about, Itachi had little reason to continue operating under Danzo's orders without Sasuke under his thumb. And so Danzo considered, briefly, telling Itachi about his mother and cousin. It would surely keep him cooperative, but Danzo wasn't sure whether Itachi was worth revealing that information. Sasuke, after all, had been a tool Danzo was wielding; Mikoto and Shisui, meanwhile, were the key to his future.

Few people knew about Operation Interlude. Danzo was not typically one for experiments, but he had wanted the option to study a few Uchiha members in depth, preferably while still alive, and so he used the cover of the Uchiha incident to acquire them. The fact that the two Uchihas Root managed to apprehend were Mikoto and Shisui was just a coincidence, really. He hadn't purposefully tried to acquire two people close to the Uchiha brothers — it's simply how the night played out. At the beginning, he had been quite thrilled about it. Mikoto was a fine acquisition, as she was relatively young and healthy, but Shisui was superb. Never had he thought he would have the chance to analyze one of the most talented members of the Uchiha clan, let alone Shisui the Teleporter. And how great would it be if he could figure out a way to use that talent for the village, if he could weaponize the boy as he had wanted to weaponize Sasuke? And, in this case, he wouldn't even need to concern himself with how anyone would react to his treatment of Shisui. He could do whatever he wanted with the boy.

He'd thought of the original idea when he first reached out to Orochimaru, inquiring about the possibility of transplanting the Sharingan into his own body. It would require Hashirama's cells, Orochimaru had explained. But it was doable. A simple transplant, really. And that got Danzo thinking.

What if Hashirama's cells were transplanted directly into an Uchiha?

Mikoto didn't respond particularly well to the treatment. Her body was considerably weakened by the introduction of Hashirama's cells, but she remained stable, all the same. Over time, maybe, she would acclimate to it, but Danzo wasn't holding out much hope.

Shisui, on the other hand, was flourishing.

Danzo wasn't sure of the exact science behind it, but Hashirama's cells had strengthened Shisui so completely, so absolutely, that Danzo was, quite frankly, blown away. Shisui had experienced some physical symptoms at first, a mild weakening of his system, but he was adjusting. His chakra pathways had increased significantly, and he was healing from his injuries far more quickly. The crimson of his Sharingan had also changed, the eyes' color first deepening to an abnormal violet, then a murky brown, and finally a bright, unnatural orange. He could leave it activated for weeks now, the kekkei genkai hardly even draining his chakra reserves. It was a stronger iteration of the Sharingan, that much was clear. Which led Danzo to start considering another question.

How precisely could Shisui's Sharingan control the Bijuu?

It was already known that the Sharingan could be used to control a tailed beast — it's how the Nine Tails attack had happened in the first place. But it was a loose control at best, the user only appearing to be able to unleash the beast and give it a very general target. But could one, in theory, sharpen that control? Could a Sharingan be developed that allowed the user to exert complete and total control over the Bijuu? Possibly even when the beast was still sealed within a person?

It would be revolutionary, if possible. Every village having a tailed beast served as a sort of deterrent against war — a sort of mutually assured destruction. But if Danzo could control a beast, especially while still within a Jinchuriki, he could make Konoha a superpower within the continent, expanding its control far beyond its current borders. Danzo could rule the world if he wanted, any army standing against him destroyed with a simple command. Operation Interlude would be the beginning, the very start of the Hidden Leaf's domination over the shinobi world.

So, no, Danzo did not want to reveal any of that to Itachi. He could not use Mikoto and Shisui the same way he had used Sasuke. As far as everyone was concerned, the two Uchihas had been eliminated with the rest of the clan. End of story. Which meant he had to accept the fact that he no longer had Itachi.

He supposed it was fine. The Akatsuki, regardless of what they were planning, would hardly be an issue if Danzo could perfect Shisui's Sharingan. Really, nothingwould be an issue for Danzo if he could perfect Shisui's Sharingan. The full truth of everything he'd ever done could be revealed, and no one would be able to stand against him for it if he perfected this Sharingan. Orochimaru would not be a concern, Sasuke and the doppelgänger would not be a concern, Itachi would not be a concern — Danzo would be practically invincible.

And so he got to work.

Shisui became rather cooperative after Danzo promised to cease his experimentation on Mikoto. The woman wouldn't be released — she couldn't be released, Shisui could surely understand that — but she would be transferred to a different outpost, one with more agreeable accommodations. All Shisui would have to do was allow him to examine his Sharingan directly, making as many tweaks and changes to it as he wished.

Shisui had been hesitant, but he'd agreed eventually. Danzo hadn't completely understood the Uchiha's resistance to the idea — it was really in Shisui's best interest to accept. After all, Danzo was trying to give him the most powerful Sharingan the world had ever seen. And Danzo wasn't even doing it under the guise of stealing the eyes for himself once it was all said and done — he doubted his own body could sustain that sort of power. So they would, technically, be Shisui's weapon to wield. Not that he ever intended to allow the boy free reign with his newfound capabilities. He would never be a normal shinobi again — he could never be a normal shinobi again. Shisui Uchiha would be locked away, thoroughly restrained and only called upon when Danzo needed his eyes. A somber existence, but certainly better than death, Danzo thought.

Shisui's Sharingan wasn't perfect yet, but it was coming close. The kekkei genkai had become mildly malformed, almost to the point where it wasn't immediately recognizable as a Sharingan. It looked terribly abnormal. But it was certainly extraordinarily.

Now he just needed to see to what extent it could control a tailed beast.

He started watching Naruto more closely, trying to figure out the best way to go about his test. Getting Naruto into the same room as Shisui would be tricky, since Jiraiya seemed to have caught wind of the fact that Danzo had started looking at Naruto. The Sannin was like an attack dog when it came to the boy — Danzo wouldn't be able to get Naruto anywhere near Shisui without risking Jiraiya discovering him as well.

And so Danzo made another plan.

It involved putting on a bit of a show, admittedly, since he wasn't directly concerned with the Uchiha brothers at all, really. Itachi's band of rogue shinobi were bound to kill each other off after a short while, and Sasuke was lost to the world, probably lying dead somewhere in the Land of Sound. Perhaps Orochimaru even killed him and, in an effort to deflect Itachi's wrath, had made it seem as if the boy disappeared. But regardless of what fate had befallen the young Uchiha, Danzo could certainly pretend that he believed Sasuke was still alive, traveling somewhere, perhaps trying to get in contact with his brother. And he could pretend that this fact concerned him greatly, so much so that he needed to dispatch his top intelligence officer to find the boy.

Jiraiya, surely, wouldn't want to leave the village, not when he was well aware that Danzo was watching Naruto. And so Jiraiya would find a way to take the boy with him, and Danzo would let him. He wouldn't even send out a unit to keep track of them — he'd merely send the boy's own sensei along to keep an eye on him. For Naruto's safety, he'd say. The boy has the Nine Tails, after all.

And so the three would embark on their covert operation, traipsing around the continent for a dead boy. And once they came back empty handed, having found no new information on the matter, Danzo would have the opportunity to debrief them all individually, as was typical with covert operations. Those meetings could take hours — long enough for Danzo to sedate Naruto and bring him to the outpost Shisui was being kept in. He'd tamper down Shisui's chakra with a few seals to ensure the boy didn't somehow unleash the Nine Tails completely, but he'd allow the boy to probe Naruto's mind a bit, see how much control he felt he could exert over the Nine Tails. And if his Sharingan was as powerful as Danzo suspected, he should be able to exercise somecontrol over the beast, even while it was inside Naruto. Danzo would then return Naruto to the Hokage tower, wake the boy up, and no one would be the wiser to what had occurred.

Was it the plan of a madman? Possibly. But Jiraiya, Itachi, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shisui, Naruto — they were merely pieces, just as all shinobi were. It was their purpose to be manipulated by the Kage, placed ever so carefully so that they could best serve their village. It was a matter of seeing the bigger picture, of realizing that life was not as simple as many tried to make it seem. A Hokage needed to understand that, to submit to the contest of politics without worrying about the moral corruption that might result. It was all just a game, a series of moves and countermoves.

And Danzo intended to win.