Itachi Uchiha received the Hokage's order and immediately headed to the Hokage's office.
His heart was filled with excitement. Had the Third Hokage successfully persuaded Shisui?
If so, Ryōsuke would be controlled, becoming loyal to the village and the Third Hokage. He would no longer cause trouble, and peace would be achieved for both the village and the clan.
Thus, he rushed to the Hokage's office at his fastest speed, pushed open the door, and asked immediately.
"Third Hokage, have you successfully persuaded Shisui?"
"Did he agree to make a move against Uchiha Ryōsuke?"
His eyes held an urgent gaze; this was a major matter concerning the village.
The Third Hokage, however, spoke slowly.
"I did not succeed in persuading him. On the contrary, he threatened me to abdicate."
Thinking of this, Hiruzen felt pain in his heart. He was angry that his own Anbu member actually wanted him to step down. It was truly humiliating, especially coming from someone he had always valued so highly.
Itachi's expression changed the moment he heard these words.
"Lord Hokage, how is that possible?"
"How could Shisui dare to speak such disrespectful words? Hasn't he always been loyal to Lord Hokage?"
This was completely beyond his understanding.
Although Shisui did not agree to use the Mangekyō Sharingan to cast Kotoamatsukami on Uchiha Ryōsuke, he hadn't resisted the Third Hokage to this extent.
Wouldn't such behavior be even more radical than Uchiha Ryōsuke?
Although Uchiha Ryōsuke did not take the Third Hokage seriously at all, acting tyrannically in the village and leaving the Third Hokage with absolutely no authority, Shisui's words were directly forcing the Third Hokage to step down. This was treason.
Itachi simply could not believe it.
The Third Hokage spoke with regret.
"I also find it hard to believe that these are words Shisui would say, but this is what he told me personally. Perhaps he was influenced by that Uchiha Ryōsuke."
"Since he said such things, I could only kill him with my own hands."
"Itachi, do you blame me?"
When Itachi Uchiha heard this sentence, it was as if he had been struck by a heavy blow to the head; he felt dizzy.
What did the Third Hokage say?
He actually killed Shisui.
His heart was instantly filled with grief and indignation.
How could it be like this? Shisui had always treated him like a younger brother.
Now he was actually dead, and he had died at the hands of the Hokage.
How could such a thing happen? He could hardly conceal the sorrow and shock in his heart.
He had only wanted to persuade Shisui to correct his thinking and protect the village.
Immediately, his eyes opened directly into the three-tomoe state, which then slowly transformed into the shape of a triangular pinwheel.
The Third Hokage saw Itachi's brand-new Sharingan, the pupils shaped like a triangular pinwheel.
He was greatly alarmed in his heart. Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan?
The Uchiha clan was truly full of talent. Now that Itachi had awakened such eyes, did he intend to make a move against him?
He became even more vigilant.
The possibility was high, after all, Itachi and Shisui had a very good relationship. But he was already prepared.
Around the Hokage's office, Hiruzen had long since arranged for many loyal Anbu to lie in ambush.
As long as Itachi dared to make a move, the Anbu hiding in the surroundings would immediately strike to kill him.
Making a move here, Itachi had no chance whatsoever.
However, unless it was absolutely necessary, the Third Hokage did not want to fight. After all, he still needed to rely on Itachi to manipulate Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan in order to control Uchiha Ryōsuke.
Seeing Itachi remain motionless, the Third Hokage spoke first.
"Itachi, do you also wish to move against me? Shisui was so rebellious; I had no other choice."
"If I were to die, the Leaf Village would no longer be the Leaf Village, but would instead become a puppet of the Uchiha clan. I was forced to do this. I hope you can understand my difficulties."
It took a good while for Itachi to recover.
There was not much resentment in his heart toward the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage had always treated Shisui well. If Shisui had done something so treasonous, then this ending was what he deserved.
Compared to the Third Hokage, he hated Uchiha Ryōsuke even more. If that person hadn't influenced Shisui's thinking, how could Shisui have turned out like this?
He put away his sorrow and spoke with a cold expression.
"Lord Hokage, I do not hate you. All of this is Uchiha Ryōsuke's fault. It was he who influenced Shisui."
"This is also Shisui's own fault. He did not maintain his original intention but was fooled by Uchiha Ryōsuke."
Hearing Itachi's words, the Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief.
He marveled inwardly that Itachi had such high ideological awareness, actually able to pin the blame for this matter on Uchiha Ryōsuke.
This also fit his interests.
It would provide an excuse when assigning tasks to the other party later.
But right now, he was more concerned about what special pupil techniques those eyes possessed.
Would they be as heaven-defying as Shisui's technique?
He asked directly.
"Itachi, it is best that you can understand. Although I am not to blame for this matter, I also feel sorrow for Shisui. Later, I will bury him properly, alongside the past heroes of the Leaf."
"Itachi, I just didn't expect that you would also awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Have you awakened any special pupil techniques?"
Hearing the Hokage's words, Itachi felt his own eyes; his pupil power had indeed increased significantly.
A strange piece of information even appeared in his brain, letting him know the special pupil technique contained within his eyes.
Sure enough, it had evolved from the three-tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Was the key to opening the Mangekyō Sharingan that one had to be overly possessed by grief to awaken it?
Thinking back to when his classmate Tenma was killed by the masked man, causing him to evolve from two-tomoe to three-tomoe, he couldn't help but feel even more grief and indignation.
What a tragic clan. Did the upgrade of their clan's Sharingan require the death of someone they cared about?
His care for Shisui was undoubtedly greater than for Tenma, which was why he had awakened such a powerful Mangekyō Sharingan.