Chapter 2 - Shisui's Plan

"This is a disaster," Shisui said.

They were standing on the roof of a building, watching everyone as they left the courtyard where the assembly had taken place. Even with the Konoha Police Force mingled with the crowd, angry comments and snide remarks were loud enough for even them to hear.

Itachi was standing beside his friend, dressed in full ANBU uniform. He was as disconsolate as Shisui, thinking of how miserably they had failed to prevent his father's coup d'état. This had not been supposed to happen, but Hiruzen had asked for more time once, twice… until they had run out of time before they even knew it.

"Any way you look at it, this is bound to end badly," Shisui went on, his brows furrowed in concern. "Your father did not think this through. If we allow this to go on, civil war will tear this village apart and the other nations are sure to take advantage at the first sign of weakness. If we stop it, our clan will be destroyed root and stem and the Uchiha name will be disgraced."

Itachi pushed away his thoughts about Sasuke. However much it pained him, it was clear to him what had to be done. Judging by the tone of his voice, so did Shisui.

"My father must be stopped at all costs."

Shisui nodded, then his eyes went down to the street, where there was some commotion. Two members of the Police Force pushed a man down to the ground.

"What did you say?!" one of the Uchiha shouted at the man.

The man mumbled something inaudible to Itachi and Shisui, but which seemed to inflame the two Police Force even more. One of them pulled out a kunai and was ready to strike when a kunoichi from the ANBU jumped between them and kicked the Uchiha in the chest, sending him tumbling down the street. People hurried to the side of the street to avoid the fight.

"I think we'd better get down there," Shisui said.

Itachi recognized the kunoichi as his fellow ANBU teammate, Akane of the Nara clan, and was quick to agree. They jumped down from the roof and rushed between her and the remaining member of the Police Force. Itachi placed his hand on Akane's just as she was about to form a seal and Shisui grabbed the Uchiha's wrist as he was about to throw a handful of shuriken.

"This is neither the right time nor the place to start a fight, Akira-san," Shisui told the man he was holding.

"She shouldn't have interfered!"

Shisui's grip on the man's wrist tightened ever-so-slightly. "Fugaku-sama will have a word with you tonight," he said. "The Konoha Police is here to protect the people of Konoha, nothing more. Is that understood?"

The Uchiha begrudgingly nodded and Shisui released him. However, he did not fail to notice the angry looks of the people who had witnessed this scene. Aside from the Uchiha, he could not think of a single person who could have been pleased with Fugaku's nomination as Hokage. He looked at Itachi, who nodded and tapped the kunoichi's arm. The three of them then left the street and ran across the rooftops towards the outskirts.

They stopped in a clearing at the edge of the forest bordering the Uchiha district. The sun was going down beyond the treetops and the only sound was the thundering of the waterfall nearby. Itachi removed his ANBU mask and so did the kunoichi. She looked younger than Shisui and older than Itachi, with blue-grey eyes and long, dark hair tied in a high ponytail in the Nara fashion.

"Shisui, this is Akane, from the Nara clan," Itachi said. "She's my teammate." He also quickly gave Shisui a look that said 'she can be trusted', which Shisui found surprising.

"Pleasure to meet you, Shisui-san," the girl said, "although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Likewise," he said, cautiously. There was enough hatred aimed at the Uchiha as it was. If she was someone who could help, as Itachi seemed to indicate, it would do no good to discourage her, but he was not about to trust just anyone. The girl seemed to regard him just as cautiously.

Sharp as always, Itachi was the one to break the ice. "My father's bold move seems to have set everyone on edge."

Shisui sighed and plopped down at the base of a tree. "This happened right under our noses. If neither of us knew about it, it means Fugaku-sama already suspects we are not serving the clan… which puts you and me at risk, Itachi. We'll have to be careful."

"Surely he wouldn't suspect you."

"Your father is a shrewd man," Shisui said with a smile. "I wouldn't be so quick to put it past him. He knows you and I are close."

"Do you plan to stop him, then?"

Akane's question lingered in the air between the three of them for a few moments. Shisui turned his head, his sharingan blazing crimson. She gazed back into it, unafraid. It seemed her trust in Itachi had extended to him, as well.

"Yeah," he said. "That's how it is. Since we failed to prevent this, it's our duty now to stop it before the situation spirals out of control. The only problem is deciding how we are to go about it. My plan before this happened was to use Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku-sama and compel him to negotiate with the village leaders. However, I'm afraid this subtle mind-control genjutsu would not be enough to fix this."

"But you do have something else in mind," she said, taking the cue from his tone.

"Yeah," Shisui said, turning his gaze to Itachi. "Izanami."

Itachi was taken aback. Izanami was a forbidden technique that would render one of the user's eyes blind. It would also give his father a way out, as long as he admitted he had made a mistake in seizing control over Konoha.

"Fugaku-sama is only the tip of the iceberg," Akane said. "What about the rest of your clan?"

Shisui looked grim as he spoke. "They will need to be distracted while I deal with Fugaku-sama. I was hoping we might covertly seek help from the heads of the other clans. We need as many shinobi as we can get to help fight the Konoha Police Force. Most importantly, we need to get the Hyuugas to fight."

"That won't be difficult, but you two should stay out of it," the kunoichi told them. "If the Hyuugas know of your involvement, they may not trust your intentions and refuse to act. I think it's best if I talk to my uncle, Shikaku, about this. He will know what to do."

"It's true, no one in the village would trust an Uchiha now," Shisui said with a bitter smile. "It would be of great help if you would be our liaison."

"Understood. I will speak to my uncle tonight," Akane said before putting on her mask and vanishing in the trees.

"Meanwhile, Itachi, we must give Fugaku-sama no further reason to suspect anything. You and I will do our duty to him as the head of our clan and the leader of this village and obey any order he gives us."

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. For now, it seemed like a sound plan. He did not want to think of the bloodbath that would ensue the confrontation between Konoha's shinobi and the Uchiha clan.

"Itachi…"

He looked up at Shisui and saw the pain and sadness etched on his face.

"There are greater things at stake here. Whether we stop this or not, the Uchiha clan is doomed."

"I understand," Itachi said, his thoughts once more going to his little brother.