A little far from the Leaf Village resided a small town, famous for its hot springs and spa. It was a common visiting place for Shinobi who would come here for relaxation after a tiring mission. And that's how its location gave them a special privilege for their business. 17th October wasn't a different day, except the number of visitors had been severely shortened due to the ongoing crisis in the Leaf. Hokage had declared an emergency and the owners of the town wanted nothing but Konoha to revoke that.
Two men took refuge in the same town after facing a fatal defeat. A boy, roughly of age 15, was one of them. He entered the hot spring after six days of palliation. He walked through the hot steam until he reached the edge of the pool. Madoka, already in the spring, opened his eyes upon hearing the enclosing footsteps and gazed at the boy. "Are you going to wear that mask even here? C'mon, I know your face can't be that ugly," Madoka said mockingly. The masked boy didn't say a thing and entered the pool by advancing his right foot and slowly lowering his body into the relaxing water. Madoka showed signs of annoyance for not getting an answer.
"Kid, learn to respect your elders at least. I asked you a question," Madoka said in a demanding tone this time. The masked boy raised his head and said, "I will like to keep my identity hidden unlike somebody here. My ambitions aren't to gain power."
"Then hand over that Madara's eye!" Madoka said in a demanding tone.
"And why should I? First of all, how do you know about this in the first place?"
"I will satisfy your curiosity once you follow my command. Otherwise, you know the hard way."
"Try your hard way and I will destroy the eye myself if I won't be able to defeat you."
Madoka went silent after hearing his words. The masked boy looked at him mystified. "Then let's make a deal," Madoka said. "Let's hear it first," the masked boy replied. "I will help you achieve your ambitions, and after that, you will give me that eye. However, before that, we will have a little chit-chat about our ambitions and how we plan to reach them. A funny move from either side and we know our weak spots," Madoka presented his deal. "Who is this guy? And why is he so obsessed with Madara's Sharingan? And more importantly, how much does he know?" The Masked Uchiha thought before saying, "Fair enough. In the room and I'll show you my face."
Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya the gallant entered the Hokage office and found the Konoha's clan council - leaders of the clans, Shikaku Nara (head of the Nara clan), Hiruzen Sarutobi (head of the Sarutobi clan), Fugaku Uchiha (head of Uchiha clan), Hiashi Hyuga (head of Hyuga clan), Shibi Aburame (head of Aburame clan), Ayato Yamanaka (head of Yamanaka clan), Tsume Inazuka (head of Inazuka clan), and Kushina Uzumaki (as the only member of Uzumaki clan) on a wheelchair. Upon seeing Kushina, Minato asked her reasons to be there as she needed rest more than anything. "To be honest, I was sleeping when I heard the eagle's sound. At that moment, I thought that I needed to be here. I consider myself important for this meeting. I won't be a burden 'ttebane," Kushina said enthusiastically, something that was her style.
Minato smiled after hearing that slang of hers after a long time. He gave a green single for her presence before looking at the elders of the Konoha, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. He then walked toward his chair and placed his hands on the table. He took another glance at everyone before starting the meeting. "I hope none of you is disturbed by a meeting that wasn't scheduled for any specific time. But we all know about the tragedy of the 10th of October and we must give our best to prevent such stains on Konoha in future." Everyone in the room nodded after hearing Minato's words. "So Shikaku, let's hear what you've been able to gather so far," Minato said while pointing his hand toward the leader of the Nara clan. "Well Hokage, it seems the story is much more troublesome than I had thought it would be," Shikaku said gaining everyone's attention in the room.
Madoka and the masked boy were drying them up with the towels. After that, they both went into changing rooms and wore dresses that allowed easy movement of their body. Like they had planned, Madoka along with him went into his room to discuss their plan in depth. They both sat on the floor, with their legs folded, in silence. They both stared into each other's eyes, signifying that they still didn't trust each other. "It went as I planned. Nobody from the Leaf came here despite the security threats they face," the masked boy said trying to start a conversation. "Yeah, nobody would want to humiliate themselves by telling that two men were capable enough to inflict that much damage. They better hide it, even among their own Shinobi," Madoka said mockingly.
"Poor citizens. They will forever be deluded to believe that this was a natural disaster," The Masked boy said trying to joke about it as well. Madoka chuckled before saying, "Why don't we cut the crap and get straight to the point." The Masked boy nodded and placed his hand on the mask. Madoka narrowed his eyes. "There's no way a normal human can heal this fast. Only if my suspicion is correct..." Madoka thought as his heartbeat got faster. The Masked Boy removed his mask and showed his face with an unnatural amount of wrinkles on the left part of his face. "My name is Obito... Obito Uchiha," the masked boy said. Madoka's heart skipped a beat. "His half of the body is structured by Zetsu. That damn Madara," Madoka thought with a weird expression on his face. An expression with which Obito grabbed that Madoka had realized something. "I have a gut feeling that this guy is bad news. And I don't think he will leave me alone without achieving something. The best way is to join hands with him," Obito thought before asking Madoka about that weird facial expressions. Madoka shrugged it off by saying it was his reflex action after attaining important information. Obito did raise an eyebrow after hearing his reply.
"Now tell me about your past," Obito said. Madoka chuckled and replied, "don't be so cocky, Obito. I said I will satisfy your curiosity once I attain that eye." Obito looked at him in annoyance. Without any intel on him, he can't have an upper hand against him. And Madoka surely had more knowledge about Obito. "Fine, then I won't tell you about my past either," Obito said and earned a nod from Madoka. "I have a rough overview of your Past," Madoka thought before saying, "Now tell me about your ambition. My ambition is just to gain power." "I am an important member of the organization called Akatsuki. We're going to gather all of the tailed beasts and create weapons from them to bring world peace," Obito replied. "A distorted view of your original plan. Who are you fooling in Akatsuki?" Madoka thought before continuing, "What a noble cause. I want to join the organization. Can I?"
"Of course, you can. But I know you will part ways after we capture all the tailed beasts. It's fine by me," Obito replied before continuing in his thoughts, "as you will succeed in getting the eye then." Madoka paused for 2 seconds to contemplate his words before nodding to everything he said. "So where is this organization situated?" "Amegakure," Obito replied. Madoka smirked after hearing his reply. "I have a gut feeling that I will find Madara's second eye there," Madoka thought before saying, "So when are we going there?" Obito felt obnoxious about his sudden interest in this new piece of information. But an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan is a big deal. "We've something else to take care of before we can start our journey," Obito said before continuing in his thoughts, "In his last fight with Minato-sensei, he didn't use his Mangekyou Sharingan. Maybe to prevent blindness from taking over his vision. It's an undeniable fact that he won't use his true powers for Akatsuki either." Madoka looked at him with a serious face. He was then welcomed for joining Akatsuki by Obito. He smiled before continuing in his thoughts, "Somebody is the victim of your delusion while you're the victim of Madara's."
Back in the Leaf, Shikaku Nara presented some documents to the Hokage containing all of the intel they were able to gather. Minato took those documents and placed it on the table. "We weren't able to catch much traits about the Masked Uchiha. All we know is that he had some close ties with Madara Uchiha. Or he could be Madara himself. We can't ignore a possibility just because it sounds less plausible," Shikaku said. "It's very hard to tell since his identity, including his face, was well hidden from our eyes," Hiashi said and everyone nodded. "If you don't mind, Hokage, I want to suggest a safety precaution for the Leaf," Danzo said gaining Hokage's and everyone's attention. "Go on, Danzo," Minato said. Danzo moved towards the middle of the room. Others stepped aside to let him do so.
Danzo looked at everyone, especially Fugaku Uchiha. "Members of the Uchiha clan have been involved in dirty games since the foundation of this village," Danzo said earning a hiss from Fugaku Uchiha. Minato narrowed his eyes after hearing his words. "It's time the Uchiha clan must be held accountable for their actions," Danzo said. "What do you mean by that?" Fugaku Uchiha replied riotously. "Oh, am I wrong? Let's see what the majority has to say," Danzo said before gesturing to Fukagu to look at the clan council. Everyone's facial expressions suggested that they found some painful truth in Danzo's speech. Kushina didn't like this one bit. "Oh, I get it," Fugaku whispered in a way that everyone was able to hear it. "Don't show your chauvinism here, Fugaku," Danzo said while looking at the head of the Uchiha clan. Fugaku's frustration was increasing. He was about to protest but Minato slammed his hand on the desk. Everyone looked at him in shock. It was the first time that they had seen Minato so furious. "Minato..." Hiruzen and Kushina whispered.
"At this time when we need unity, why are you so inclined to divide us?" Minato asked angrily. Danzo looked at him unabashedly. "Isn't it obvious? I am a better candidate for the seat of Hokage than Danzo. He can't digest that," Fugaku said and that enraged Danzo. "Close but not quite. I've done nothing but serve the Konoha. Let's have a vote to see how many people here feel safe with you being part of this important meeting," Danzo said in a way that showed no sympathizing movement in his words. In his last sentence, he was clear that he wanted Fugaku's disappearance from this meeting. Everyone looked at them wide-eyed. Thoughts of choosing sides were hollered in everyone's mind. It felt like they were going to vote without the approval of Hokage. Before the situation could escalate, Jiraiya gestured for Minato to interfere. "Silence!" Minato shouted and said after he gained everybody's attention, "We can do this stuff after I revoke the state of emergency. And Danzo, the Uchiha clan played a great role in defeating the Kyuubi. We owe them a special place in Konoha's clan council at least."
Everyone recalled the efforts of the Uchiha clan and stood firm with the Hokage on this. Danzo accepted Hokage's ruling to have a vote after this state of emergency is revoked. Fugaku Uchiha was delighted to hear words based on intellect by the Hokage. Looking back, Minato had shortened his talks when an unidentified Uchiha massacred his 18 disciples. Now since the rebellion of those two Uchiha, Minato had become certain that the Uchiha clan had nothing to do with either of those events. The horrible massacre left good news for the Uchiha clan. At this moment, Fugaku Uchiha was glad that his relations with Minato will be improved once again. "I didn't tell this to anyone, but I once despised the Uchiha clan because deep down I thought that they were behind the killing of my students. But since those maniacs appeared, I can assure everybody that they had no connection to the Leaf or any of the clan," Minato said.
" Or the Uchiha clan may be involved in these hideous crimes. If Fugaku is trying to get Hokage's throne, he will make sure to be on top, even if it requires killing Hokage's disciples," Tsume Inuzuka whispered in a way that only Shibi Aburame and Jiraiya were able to hear. Shibi took it as a possibility right away while Jiraiya just sighed. Tsume's reasoning did make sense to Shibi. "Some of you may find reasons to still believe that, but don't approach your conclusions with mere reasonings. Approach them with evidence instead. Connecting dots is one of the mysteries of the human mind. And it can even do that in pure randomness," Hokage uttered making Shikaku appreciate his awareness of psychology. Shinobis usually aren't interested in sciences. Finally, after a series of havocs, Hokage was able to get them together. And they finally started to discuss ways to expose the two invaders.
Kushina wasn't participating much when Minato said that those two Uchiha had no connection to the Uchiha clan in the Leaf. "Dear, is everything alright?" Minato asked worrying about her health. "Oh yes, it's just... in that cave the Masked Uchiha removed his mask for some seconds to put the beast in his Genjutsu. I saw his face," Kushina replied as her pulse rate intensified. She didn't know if giving this information is safe or not. But she had to do it! It was the purpose of the meeting after all. Everyone's curiosity piqued after her reply. "Did he look like Madara?" Shikaku asked and Kushina shook her head. "He felt familiar. I can't exactly pinpoint who but I met him somewhere," Kushina replied. The revelation of this information was bad news for Fugaku and the Uchiha clan. Minato was wide-eyed as well. While Danzo just smirked and looked at Fugaku. "Let's see how you will survive this, Fugaku."
Back with the Madoka, he was going out with Obito for a walk. They were wandering here and there together discussing how they could build the Akatuski. Obito told him about Pain, Konan, Rinnegan, and their backstory. Madoka was trying to filter out the distorted pieces of stories in his thoughts throughout their talk. "By the way, what is it that you want to take care of?" Madoka asked. "I want to erupt a civil war in Konoha. Take this as my plan B," Obito replied. Madoka stopped in his tracks. He completely turned towards him and asked, "And what if it fails as well? What's your plan C?" "Then my focus will be on the Uchiha clan. They are a double-edged sword," Obito replied deepening his voice at this one. Madoka paused for some seconds before bursting out in laughter. "You're an interesting guy, Obito. I feel glad I joined you," Madoka said making Obito rub the back of his head.
Meanwhile, Minato starred Kushina wide-eyed. Her revelation could only mean that someone from inside was in contact with Madara. But when? How? And where? "Considering he's still young, it's most plausible to suggest that this guy met Madara in the third great Shinibi war," Shikaku said. "But to think Madara can survive this long..." the head of the Yamanaka clan said this time. "It's Madara we're talking about. I am not surprised one bit," Jiraiya said. "It could also be possible that there was a chain of generation and not necessarily Madara himself," Shikaku put forward another dank possibility. One way or the other, it was confirmed, that someone from inside was following Madara's ambitions. "But why would he risk showing his face to Kushina if he wanted to hide his identity?" Hiashi asked.
"The invader must've thought that Kushina will die after he extracts the Kyuubi. But somehow she sruvived," Minato said and earned a nod from everyone in the room. Kushina's survival was a mystery on its own. Pairing it with the fact that the three nurses, in charge for Kushina's delivery, mysteriously dissapered makes this even scarier. "And what about the second enemy?" Jiraiya asked Shikaku. "That's where things become more troublesome. It seems that the second Uchiha wasn't teamed up with the Masked Uchiha at all. He tried to infilterate the village with the nurses. And the nurses tried to convince the guards that he was good guy. The apperance that previous guards and Hokage-sama describes doesn't match with anyone in the Uchiha clan. He was in his 20s and yet we find no records of someone's dissaperance or demise of an Uchiha with that appearance," Shikaku replied.
The horror was an understatement to describe the expressions of faces in the room. Who was this second guy who appeared out of nowhere? Minato had a series of flashbacks after hearing all of this. "It's all coming together now," Minato said gaining everyone's attention. "When I was fighting the Masked Uchiha, I almost killed him. And the Masked Uchiha was ready to accept his fate. Neither I nor he were expecting interference in our fight. The Masked Uchiha was shocked at his arrival as well. I couldn't see his facial expressions but his body language said it all." Everyone was trying to reconcile their ideas to suggest who this second Uchiha was. But everyone's ideas fell apart in front of the mountain of mystery he left behind. "Could he be behind the dissaperence of the nurses as well?" Kushin asked to which Hiruzen replied, "Most probably."
"Well, I am just thinking what his true intentions were if not to destroy the Leaf Village," Tsume said pointing out another missing piece of the puzzle. "Apart from all of this, which Uchiha do you think killed Minato's students, Shikaku?" Koharu asked. "It's hard to tell..." Shikaku was interrupted as Kushina shouted, "It's the second Uchiha!" Everyone looked at her. They wanted to hear her reasons to believe that. "Toneri asked The Masked Uchiha if he was behind that massacre. He clearly said he had no connection to that incident," Kushina said. "It sits well with our evident theory that they both weren't teamed up," Shikaku commented and got everyone thinking about the whole stuff again but deeper this time. Minato felt a rumble of sadness in his body after hearing the name of his student but he ignored it nonetheless. "There's one good possibility I would like everyone to give some heed to," Danzo said. "It's possible that Fugaku kept his identity secret to make this possible. How can we know the Uchiha clan wasn't planning something dirty on our backs?" Already enraged Fugaku was now on the verge of exploding his anger.
Fugaku channeled chakra into his body. Before he could do something Jiraiya interferred and said, "No, it's least likely to be true. I mean it doesn't explain why he interferred if the two Uchiha weren't teamed up. What was the intention of this second Uchiha? It's very hard to tell." Everyone stood with Jiraiya on this but kept Danzo's presumption to be a possibility. Shikaku had said that they couldn't deny a possibility just because it sounded less plausible. "Danzo is sowing the seeds of terror in their hearts. I must do everything in my power to build my relations with the Hokage." Fugaku thought while glaring at Danzo. "In order to understand his true intentions we've to resume the investigation of the case when he killed Minato's students," Homura adviced while looking at the Hokage.
After hearing Homura's suggestion, Hokage immediately opened the drawers of the Hokage table. He picked up several bundles of files and dropped them on the table. He blew their top to remove the dust and scrutinized every one of them until he stumbled across a file that could solve the mystery once and for all. "Here it is," Hokage said as he placed his right hand on its cover. A drop of sweat dropped from his face as he gathered up the courage to recall that accursed day. Kushina looked at her husband worriedly. Jiraiya and Hiruzen looked at him with pity. With the last words of embolden being echoed inside his head, Minato turned over the cover of the file. And there was it! The names and details of the victims of the second Uchiha.
Everyone looked at the wide-eyed Minato. Jiraiya looked at the vibrating eyeballs of his student. He wasn't moving. Kushina's worriedness intensified. Shikaku looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What did you see?" Shikaku thought as he decided to give some time for the Hokage to get control over himself. "What happened, Hokage-same?" Shibi Aburame said out loud being not in control of his worriedness. "It slipped my mind," the blonde Hokage said with no change in his body position. "Itsuki Uchiha was one of the victims. The day this tragedy occurred, he had just returned from his three-day mission. Shikaku, is it just me or there's truly a pattern here?" Minato continued while lifting his head to face Shikaku.
Everyone in the room gasped in shock. This was a major blow to Danzo's suggestion of the Uchiha clan playing dirty on their backs. Because if it turned out to be true then that means those maniacs were against the Konoha and they considered the Uchiha clan to be part of Konoha and not an exception. It worried Danzo. Shikaku, on the other hand, was contemplating how troublesome the meeting had become. "I have a strong feeling that there is a pattern here. This is more troublesome than I thought," Shikaku commented. Even after chasing these traits, his intentions were still a mystery. Why would he target a child? Kushina's and Minato's anger had increased. To think that someone massacred 18 innocent souls for murdering one child, every average human will be disgusted.
Fugaku Uchiha was in deep thoughts. Since he was in the Konoha Military Police, he might've grasped another angle to take into account. He stepped forward and got everyone's attention. Danzo narrowed his eyes once again. "Itsuki Uchiha was a close friend of Shisui Uchiha. They were best friends. Hokage, do you remember that Shisui was attacked by an unidentified Uchiha who allegedly tried to rob him?" Fugaku said. Everyone was shaken up. The second Uchiha was among them for a very long time and yet they didn't have a single record of his existence. Minato poured some water into the glass and sat on his chair. He put aside the jug and held the glass, full of water, in his hand.
"Fugaku and Shikaku, go and interrogate Shisui. Try to get some important information out of him. And Jiraiya," Minato ordered and grabbed Ero Sannin's attention. "Go and ask Daisuke about that Uchiha. Can you do that?" Minato continued. Jiraiya smiled and said, "What do you mean if we can do that? You're the Hokage!" Minato smiled along with Shikaku and Fugaku. "Alright then, you three are dismissed. We will resume this meeting in the evening. I want others to stay here till then. We can discuss different ways to support Konoha in this time." Minato said. "Hai," everybody replied in conjunction. Minato beheld the distancing Fugaku, Jiraiya, and Shikaku while drinking the glass of water. After a while, Minato dismissed Kushina as well.
Daisuke was at the hospital. He was enjoying his break after the constant work of seven hours. He was later accompanied by Kakashi and Might Guy. They both were telling Daisuke about the year he missed in the Leaf. From their mistakes to their accomplishments, from their horrific past to a hopefully bright future, they didn't miss a single thing to talk about. Soon, Jiraiya arrived at the hospital looking for Daisuke. He asked several medic-nins and they guided him towards the cafeteria. He entered the cafeteria and started advancing toward Daisuke.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Jiraiya said. "Oh not at all. What brings the toad sage here though?" Kakashi asked in his usual tone. Jiraiya smiled ear to ear talking to them before saying, "I am here to have a little talk with Daisuke. You got a minute or two?" "Yea, sure. If you both excuse me," Daisuke replied while standing on his feet. Might Guy and Kakashi gave him a fond adieu and Daisuke left the cafeteria with Jiraiya. "What do you think master Jiraiya wanted him for?" Kakashi asked Might Guy. "Don't know don't care. Let's go and refill ourselves with the power of youth!" Might Guy replied while giving a thumbs up and a bright smile. Kakashi looked at him ticklishly. "Uh, I've got some important..." Kakashi didn't get to complete himself as Might Guy yanked him hard and dragged him to the training ground. "What's the point," Kakashi thought while crying inside.
Jiraiya and Daisuke made it to a bench in the hospital. They both sat down next to each other. Daisuke placed his cane stick to his right and asked, "So what's up?" "I want you to tell me about that Uchiha," Jiraiya said. "Huh? Why a sudden interest in him?" Daisuke demanded an explanation as it piqued his curiosity. Jiraiya wasn't allowed to tell him the actual reason and neither did he makes an excuse. "Just take that it's crucial," Jiraiya replied. "Hmm... okay. So, from where do you want me to start?"
"Start from his appearance, if you can that is."
"I don't remember much but he had spikey black hair and a long nose."
"The explanation matches but it's not enough to conclude," Jiraiya thought before continuing, "And why do you think you lost? What were his abilities?" Jiraiya's question made Daisuke think a bit.
"To be honest, those were some strange moves. I didn't understand his trick one bit. I would dodge his attacks but they would still somehow inflict damage on me. I lost miserably back then."
"Bingo," Jiraiya thought. "And what about his Sharingan? What did it look like?"
"A normal Sharingan with three tomoe."
"Damn it. There's no way to confirm if it's him if Daisuke didn't see his Mangekyou Sharingan," Jiraiya thought before pursuing his questioning. "And the last question. Do you think he tried to robe Shisui? Or there was some other reason behind his assault?" The last question made Daisuke think a lot. Jiraiya gave him the time he required until he could come up with an explanation.
"I've been thinking this for a long time now. My answer is no, I don't think he tried to rob him. There was something else going on, something darker and dangerous."
"Gaki, you may even be correct," Jiraiya replied.
"Huh? What?" Daisuke asked in perplexity.
"I will explain it to you some other day. Till then, let's give our best for Konoha's restoration."
Daisuke's face lightened up. "Hai," was everything that came out of his mouth. Jiraiya smiled at his reaction. He felt glad that the conversation went straight to the point. They waved at each other before Jiraiya took off. The toad sage was halfway towards the Hokage tower. He still had an hour so he decided to stop by for his research. His face grew red, out of excitement and lust, and he started jumping from roof to roof. He landed in the spa where he grinned and started peeking into the women's portion.
Meanwhile, Fugaku and Shikaku had finished interrogating Shisui Uchiha and they were moving out of his home. They weren't able to persuade Shisui into telling what happened. They heard stories they already knew, a rober out for robbery. They didn't even know if they should believe that story and look somewhere else or consider it a fabrication and keep persuading Shisui until he tells the truth.
Itachi was walking down the road when he saw his dad with Shikaku outside Shisui's house. He decided to check what was up. While hiding behind a pole he heard Shikaku, "I find no signs of lying. I don't know if we should trust his words though." Fugaku sighed. "Let's head back and ask Hokage for further instructions," Fugaku said in defeat. Shikaku nodded and they started moving toward the Hokage tower. Itachi unveiled himself and looked at them until they disappeared with a turn to the left. "What is going on?" Itachi thought while turning his head towards Shisui's home. They both had become great friends and they both were extremely talented as well. They would often train together as well. Their interest matched and they developed a great bond in the short time. Itachi had taken out Shisui from his depression when Itsuki Uchiha was killed. Shisui had helped Itachi escape the persuasion of Danzo into joining his "Roots." He did so by telling everything to Fugaku and Mikoto, something Itachi feared to do.
Thinking that it might be serious, Itachi decided to meet Shisui and ask what was up. He knocked on the door and was welcomed by Shisui's grandmother. Shisui was living with his grandparents since his biological parents were killed in the Third Great Shinobi war. Shisui's grandparents and Itachi shared their greetings before Itachi went inside to see his best friend. He found him sitting cross-legged in front of the garden, enjoying the view with the saddest facial expression he could muster. Itachi gave his greetings and sat cross-legged next to him. "I saw that my father was here," Itachi said. "Yes, he wanted to ask me about the time I was close to being robbed. They probably wanted to disclose the mystery of the murder of Hokage's students," Shisui replied with a shiver in his last sentence. Itachi looked down in bewilderment. "Why did he connect an attempted robbery with Hokage's students?" Itachi thought ignoring the quaver in Shisui's voice. Itachi looked at him with visible perplexity mapped onto his face but saw his face wet with tears. "Shis...ui?" Itachi said in shock. "I killed Itsuki Uchiha."
Fugaku Uchiha, Shiaku Nara, and Jiraiya the gallant were waiting, outside the Hokage's office, for Minato's call from the inside. They shared their findings and tried to get to a conclusion on their own. Fugaku and Shikaku were now on the verge of declaring that Shisui's story was a fabrication when Jiraiya said that Daisuke's opponent that day had the same characteristics as what Minato and the guards had described, though they weren't enough. "It could be possible that we're just deluding ourselves here. It's possible that the second Uchiha tried to rob him because he had no money, and that there's no possible connection between Shisui and the second Uchiha," Shikaku said. "We can't conclude a damn thing without evidence," Fugaku said in frustration while Jiraiya nodded. Soon, Minato called them inside. They entered the room and saw the faces that wanted to hear their report desperately.
Meanwhile, Itachi was comforting Shisui. He was 3 years younger than him but they never acted as if they had an age gap. They were close to each other like twin siblings. When Shisui had stopped crying, Itachi asked what he meant when he said he killed Itsuki Uchiha. "During the third great Shinobi war, when my parents were out participating in the war, I met a homeless person who went by the name 'Madoka'," Shisui said while Itachi was all ears. Shisui was hesitant to tell him the full story. But he knew that he could only trust Itachi when it came to matters like this. Plus, he wanted someone to hear his pain. He wanted someone to comfort him, to tell him he isn't alone.
Continuing his story, Shisui told Itachi that he helped Madoka for several days. Upon Madoka's request, he kept his identity secret. During those times, Madoka and his bond grew bigger. And with time, they became like siblings. He used to feel secure in his presence. When his parents were martyred, Madoka helped Shisui get over his depression. Madoka had introduced Itsuki, who had lost his parents kn the war as well, to him and if it were not for him then Itsuki and Shisui would never have been good friends. But things started to change. The moment Itsuki became Shisui's best friend, he wanted both to play a deathmatch. He persuaded both to kill each other. They thought Madoka was just kidding, but it was no joke!
Madoka started to torture Shisui and Itsuki and said that he would continue this until one of them kills the other. When Itachi asked the reason behind that horrible act Shisui said, "He said that he wanted to test something out." "But why didn't you ask for help?" Itachi asked. "Itsuki and I both considered him sacred. Our bond had gotten so strong that we felt an obligation to respond to his request of hiding his identity. And that was our worst mistake."
The next part of the story is where Shisui's ultimate regret starts. When Minato started taking care of the orphans, Shisui didn't join him because he had his grandparents. Due to Itsuki being under the direct care of Minato, Madoka shifted his gaze totally towards Shisui Uchiha. He didn't want to toe with the yellow flash of the Leaf in any way possible. Madoka's extreme measure made Shisui do the unforgettable. Murder of the Itsuki Uchiha! And that triggered the massacre of Minato's 18 students. They all had stepped forward to avenge Itsuki after they saw Shisui slit his throat open. But Madoka took care of the rest.
Shisui wasn't mentally stable when he murdered Itsuki Uchiha. Right now, he wanted nothing but to erase the mistake of allowing Madoka to play with him. And the reason Madoka tried to kill Shisui is because he wanted to erase his test subject. And the reason he still didn't tell this to anybody is because people may dispise him after hearing this. Plus, he made a deal with Madoka when he was on the verge of killing Daisuke. Daisuke had prepared a way for Shisui to escape while making himself a bait. Instead of running away, Shisui sealed a deal with Madoka that he would keep his identity secret if he let Daisuke go. Otherwise, he could escape and tell the truth to the yellow flash of the Leaf. Madoka sealed the deal and left him to his devices right there. The next day, he brought Konoha military police and rescued the fainted Daisuke.
Shisui was close to Itachi because despite his age gap, he was able to show him the colours friendship can bring in one's life. Before Itachi, Shisui hated making friends. It was expected after the Madoka's incident. There was something in Itachi that made Shisui remember Itsuki. When Shisui looked inside Itachi, he tried to find Itsuki. It was a bitter truth that Itsuki wasn't there, but his dream was! The dream of protecting Konoha no matter what! "And I am going to pursue his dream, his aim, and a path that gave meaning to his life," Shisui said in between the panting of his weeping. Itachi hugged him tightly and said, "Let's follow that dream together! For our family and for Itsuki!" Itachi said making Shisui smile. "Thank you, Itachi!"
Minato was looking outside from the giant glass. With the approaching night, Konoha was getting aglow from the man-made lights. Their meeting was coming to an end. They had failed to complete the puzzle, but they had enough information to maintain their defence. Enemy could attack them from any direction and they had to be prepared everytime and everywhere. Minato turned around to face the elders and the clan council. He gave a smile and said, "thank you for staying this late. You all are dismissed." The participants bowed and started to move outside. Among them, Madoka's apperance was now famous with the phrase, "The mystery of the second Uchiha." Will they ever be able to unveil this mystery? Only time can tell.
I will be focussing on Naruto's life from the next chapter; Seeds of the Neglect. I wanted to develop Madoka's and Daisuke's characters because they are going to play a major role ahead. Stay tuned!