Shisui collapsed almost immediately onto the floor, his sword was stabbed into the floor and he fell onto his knees. He was tired, spent and in pain from protecting the Daimyo from the assassination attempt.
"Daimyo-sama… are you alright?" Shisui asked from the floor.
The Daimyo coughed up some blood but nodded, "I think so… but who was that…? Was that really… him?"
Shisui looked at the Daimyo and then at the still burning head pinned to the floor… and then sighed deeply.
"I think not your majesty. Madara Uchiha was killed by the first Hokage in the battle at the Valley of the End. This must've been a stand in. Someone crazy enough to take on his name just to terrorise the Uchiha."
Shisui stood up and slowly walked up to the Daimyo and helped him up.
"We should get you to the royal medic your highness. Other matters can be discussed later."
The Daimyo nodded, after all he too was in pain, feeling like his internals were rearranged when he was knocked away earlier.
***
"What about the Uchiha? Do you want me to send someone to them?" Choza asked Shikaku.
Shikaku shook his head, "I contacted Fugaku in secret by sending in a few of my clan's civilians disguised as drunken troublemakers for them to be arrested."
"And? What did you find?"
"The Uchiha haven't been blessed with misfortune like we have been by Danzo. So it is obvious that Danzo aims for us to collude with the Uchiha and pin the blame of treason on both of us."
Choza frowned as did Inoichi. "So we won't be contacting the Uchiha any further then?" Inoichi asked for both of them.
But Shikaku shook his head, "Yes… I have already contacted Fugaku using the arrested clan members… but Fugaku cannot help us in any way… they do not possess the Hyuga's unique gentle fist to crush the bugs within our children's bodies… and they also do not possess the means to rid a person of the influence of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to help the Hyuga help us…"
"Any chance they're lying?" Choza asked with a little worry. "Perhaps they were branded with the cursed tongue eradication seal too and they just don't trust us enough to let it get out that they can get rid of its influence?"
Shikaku shook his head, "Fugaku isn't the type to scheme in secret. While he didn't offer us a way out of the cursed tongue eradication seal, he did promise us that he would help turn the tides against Danzo if and when we decide to act against him. He said that they would handle the frontlines if that's what it took to get rid of Danzo."
"Ain't that just them asking us to be part of their rebellion?"
Shikaku nodded and sighed, "While that is true… it is exactly why they are trustworthy. Regardless of if they have been branded with the cursed tongue eradication seal or if their children have been cursed with the Jubakuchu their hatred for Danzo burns deeper than the rest of us since Danzo has been behind all the changes that have made their lives worse over the years."
"And what of Kakashi then?" Choza asked softly.
"I've already summoned him to this place… he should be arriving at any moment now." Shikaku said while looking out the window towards the bright moon hidden behind the clouds in the sky.
Tok Tok Tok…
"Enter." Shikaku's voice rang out in the silent room as the door in front of the trio of clan leaders slid open and revealed a strangely dressed man.
The man stepped into the room and released his transformation jutsu to reveal the half masked Kakashi.
"Shikaku-sama… you requested my presence?"
"No need for pretenses between us Kakashi… please sit… have some tea…"
Kakashi sat down in front of the three clan heads and had some green herbal tea he was served by Shikaku before placing his cup down on the saucer and looking straight into Shikaku's eyes.
"I have a few questions for you if you don't mind me asking." Shikaku spoke softly.
Kakashi nodded, indicating for Shikaku to go ahead.
"Kakashi… how did you break out of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal that Danzo placed on you while you were in ROOT and warn the Third Hokage of the assassination attempt planned on him by Danzo?"
Kakashi fell silent for a few seconds. His fist clenched at his sides before he took a deep breath in and exhaled. "Any particular reason you're asking me about this Shikaku-sama?"
Shikaku fell silent and looked at Choza and Inoichi, and when both nodded he looked at Kakashi and began explaining the situation to him.
"Danzo has planted the Jubakuchu, an insect that releases poison upon its death in our children's bodies. The Hyuga's gentle fist is necessary to kill those bugs without harming our children… but the Hyuga's children have been branded with the cursed tongue eradication seal… so…"
"You wish to break the seal so that the Hyuga can freely save your children?" Kakashi completed.
Shikaku's eyes hardened with resolve and he nodded firmly, "Yes, that's it."
Kakashi's eyes closed for a second thinking about Haruto and Naruto, two lives that depended on his actions, but when he opened his eyes, they were filled with resolve for action.
"I was not planted with the seal during my time in ROOT. Danzo simply manipulated the darkness in my heart at that moment to turn me against the Third Hokage."
Shikaku's eyes widened and his body fell a little limp in sorrow.
"So there's no way to break the seal?" Choza asked, angry that the solution was in their grasp but they couldn't do anything about it.
Inoichi was the only calm person in the room, so he interrupted and spoke quickly, "You seem to have something else to say to us… Kakashi?"
Kakashi nodded, "In fact I was also relieved of this meeting when I heard your invitation for it."
"You wanted to meet me too? Why?"
Kakashi mulled on his words a little before he spoke in barely above a whisper, afraid that someone eavesdropping would hear them, "When I was in ROOT…" Kakashi paused for a second before continuing, "...I stole the entire Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal from Danzo's office."
Shikaku's eyes widened.
Kakashi continued, "If you could get the seal to someone like Jiraya-sama or Tsunade-sama… the seal could be cracked and we could all be saved…"
There was only a pin drop silence in the room for a second before Shikaku gulped, "I can make sure the message reaches princess Tsundae and Jiraya the gallant, do you have several copies of the seals?"
Kakashi nodded and handed over a scroll to Shikaku, "Inside there are ten copies of the entire seal of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal… the yellow scrolls are faulty copies with some changes so that they can be used as distractions while you send off the real thing. If you need more just tell me, I can redraw it from memory."
With that Kakashi left.
Shikaku immediately got up and sent for someone on the outside.
After a while, when another shinobi arrived, Shikaku quickly explained the mission to him.
"Remember… keep this mission a secret… no matter what happens, your letter must not fall into the hands of the enemy."
"Yes, Shikaku-sama… I will make sure that the letter reaches Tsunade-sama without any delay."
The clan Jonin stood up from his kneeling posture and bowed deeply to Shikaku and the other two clan heads in the room before taking his leave.
"Is it alright to send off the message with just one Jonin, Shikaku?" Choza Akimichi asked with a soft frown on his face.
Shikaku sighed. He looked at Inoichi and then at Choza and explained himself.
"The larger the entourage we send, the easier it'll be for Danzo to spot them… Shikamori is a trustworthy shinobi… he'll complete his mission no matter what. And the rest of the Jounin we've sent out to distract Danzo should do their job well as well."
***
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