The Third Hokage felt helpless hearing Shisui's words.
That fellow Ryōsuke really did a number on things.
He had intentionally allowed the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to suffer hardships. That way, when he treated Naruto well himself, he would appear unique and leave a good impression in Naruto's heart.
Unfortunately, Ryōsuke had disrupted everything. Now, there was no way for that plan to succeed.
He looked at Shisui and said, "Although there was a cause for it, isn't this behavior simply showing no respect for me?"
"And that is putting it lightly. Such behavior shows no respect for the village's higher-ups. If this continues, the village will never know peace."
"I heard from Itachi Uchiha that you have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and even possess that unique dōjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. Perhaps you could modify Ryōsuke's thoughts and make him serve the village. Would you be willing to do that?"
"This would be good for the village, and good for the Uchiha Clan."
Shisui frowned upon hearing these words.
He hadn't expected Itachi to tell the Third Hokage about this. Sure enough, the Hokage was asking him to use that technique to control Ryōsuke Uchiha.
How could Itachi tell the Third Hokage about such a thing? Now, he was in a difficult position.
Although Ryōsuke was a bit overbearing, everything he did had a reason.
Just like the previous Cloud Village incident; he simply wasn't willing to sacrifice Leaf Village ninjas to appease the instigators from the Cloud Village.
Killing Danzō was also because Danzō had dared to harm Uchiha clansmen to plunder their Kekkei Genkai. He heard Danzō had even transplanted them onto his own arm; death was indeed what he deserved.
regarding the matter of the Fourth Hokage's son this time, Shisui also believed Ryōsuke was not in the wrong.
He looked at the Third Hokage.
"Please forgive me, but I cannot accept that."
The Third Hokage felt a sudden wave of disappointment.
"Shisui, why do you refuse? Do you also want the Uchiha Clan to stand at the apex of the village and turn it into the Uchiha's village? Do you want to strip everyone else of their voice?"
"Is that kind of peace really peace? Where everyone is merely too afraid of the Uchiha Clan's military force to speak up?"
"Such a village cannot last long. Even if it could be maintained, it would definitely not be the true Leaf Village."
Shisui, however, did not agree with the Third Hokage's words. It was true that Ryōsuke Uchiha's combat power was top-tier.
No one in the village could resist him. But based on Shisui's observations, Ryōsuke had no intention of turning the Leaf Village into an Uchiha dictatorship. This was evident from the moment he distributed the authority of the Military Police Force.
Previously, the Military Police Force was entirely managed by the Uchiha Clan. Now, however, two-thirds of the districts had been handed over, which was equivalent to handing over two-thirds of their power.
"Lord Hokage, I cannot agree with your perspective."
"The Leaf Village will absolutely not become a one-man rule under the Uchiha Clan."
"Furthermore, I hope that you, the Third Hokage, will step down. I will also withdraw from the Anbu. The Uchiha Clan will surely be able to lead the village to greater prosperity."
Through this conversation with the Third Hokage, Shisui realized that the Hokage held many misunderstandings about the Uchiha Clan.
In the future, there would inevitably be a major conflict with the Uchiha.
With Ryōsuke Uchiha's rise, the clan was already unstoppable within the Leaf Village. Moreover, under Ryōsuke's leadership, the village would become more peaceful.
He had no reason to use Kotoamatsukami on Ryōsuke Uchiha.
At the same time, he didn't want to see the Third Hokage engage in a firefight with the family. The Third Hokage had no chance of winning; the outcome would likely be his death.
Naturally, Shisui met with Ryōsuke Uchiha within the clan and found that Ryōsuke was becoming stronger and stronger.
In the beginning, Ryōsuke had been very wary of him upon meeting, likely sensing that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But now, it didn't seem to matter. Shisui could vaguely sense that Ryōsuke wasn't worried about him at all.
What did this imply?
It implied that the other party might no longer fear his Kotoamatsukami.
The Third Hokage, hearing Shisui's words, looked completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Shisui to actually persuade him to abdicate.
How could Shisui say such a thing?
It seemed he really had been influenced by the extreme ideology of those people in the clan and had gone down a path of no return.
In that case, he couldn't be blamed. He was being forced into this.
A smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"Shisui, what you say makes sense. I will consider it carefully."
As he spoke, he slowly approached Shisui, soon reaching striking distance.
Shisui was a little surprised. Had the Third Hokage actually thought it through?
A look of joy appeared on his face.
"I didn't expect Lord Hokage to have such awareness. If you can step down, my Uchiha Clan will definitely lead the Leaf to develop even more prosperously."
The Third Hokage sneered in his heart.
The Uchiha leading the Leaf Village to prosperity? That was not something he wanted to see.
The distance was close enough.
Suddenly, his right hand shot out from his Hokage robes, clutching a kunai and thrusting it straight into Shisui's heart.
Shisui looked at the kunai in his chest with disbelief.
"Why?"
He had never imagined that the Third Hokage would make a move on him.
The Third Hokage had always treated him like his own child, and he had treated the Hokage like a father.
A look of sorrow appeared on the Third Hokage's face.
"You actually ask why?"
"Why did you refuse to do as I said? You actually wanted me to step down for your Uchiha Clan. You deserve to die."
He pushed the kunai in his hand deeper with more force.
Blood flowed from the corner of Shisui's mouth. His body went limp. He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to covet that position so much that he would even kill him for it.
The previous facade was all just to deceive him, to find an opportunity to strike.
His eyes gradually lost their light, and he fell to the ground.
The Third Hokage put away his sorrowful mood. Although he was sad that Shisui was dead, what followed was excitement.
"Shisui, go peacefully. I will take your eyes. I will make them play a great role in my hands."
While rejoicing, the Third Hokage plotted his next steps.
Undoubtedly, he would use these eyes to control Ryōsuke Uchiha.
He would make him submit infinitely to himself, claiming that powerful strength for his own use. With such a loyal subordinate, he would become the greatest Hokage in history.
Thinking of this, his heart felt incredibly carefree.
Everything the village had lost would be seized back.
As for Shisui's body, he spoke with high spirits.
"Shisui, the village will not forget all the contributions you have made."
"Once my plan is complete, I will definitely hold a grand funeral for you and bury you alongside the predecessor martyrs."
Then, he called over a few trusted Anbu to take good care of Shisui's corpse. Once he had controlled Ryōsuke Uchiha, he could give Shisui a proper burial.
Next was the issue of how to utilize these eyes.
This operation had to be foolproof. If it failed, he didn't dare to imagine what kind of things the crazed Ryōsuke Uchiha would do.
Failure might mean he would lose everything, so he had to be cautious.
As an outsider to the clan, if he tried to transplant the Sharingan like Danzō and then activate Kotoamatsukami, there was a possibility of failure.
He pondered the method of using these eyes.
For the current plan, he thought of Itachi Uchiha. Perhaps Itachi Uchiha's body would be more suitable to control these eyes than his own.
Itachi Uchiha was a genius in his own right, so he might really be able to cast it successfully.
Thinking of this, he still hesitated slightly at the bottom of his heart. Shisui and Itachi Uchiha had a very good relationship; would Itachi be willing to serve him?
It was possible he would be unwilling, so the Hokage had to prepare in advance, just as he had when dealing with Shisui.
One way was to trust in Itachi's ideological awareness. On the other hand, he had to be ready. If Itachi, after learning the cause of Shisui's death, refused to obey him or even wanted to report it to the clan, then the Third Hokage could only eliminate him.
With such high awareness, Itachi surely wouldn't blame him, right?
Having thought it through, he immediately sent Anbu to invite Itachi Uchiha over.