10 Chapter 7: The Uchiha Duo

Arriving at the ninja academy, Lalika, and Yakumo went to class after Yakumo brushed Lalika's hair. They had a boring lesson that didn't really contain much interest, and once it was over Lalika began paying more attention to the surroundings to see, the Uchiha clan members, and kept them in mind for what she was going to do later.

This day wasn't that different from the other ones and Lalika spent it in much of the same manner, there weren't any remarkable things going on in any of her lessons, and neither were there people worth noting. What she did was use her genjutsu to slowly but surely, get into the minds of every Uchiha she could come across to leave a subliminal trust in her, before letting it fade away, like some short video that would play subconsciously for a while in their mind then disappear without them noticing. This wasn't hard to do as they were for the most part Genin rank or lower, with a few exceptions at Chunin rank, but nothing beyond that when it came to the students from the Uchiha clan.

The parents on the other hand had a broader spectrum, going from Genin to Jonin rank, but none of the parents that came were higher than that, so there were major inconveniences in dealing with them either.

From then on, it became a daily routine to indoctrinate as many Uchiha as possible into viewing Lalika in great regard, using light genjutsu and a bit of talk, similar to how she had gotten used to doing to her sister and mother.

In time, that trust and admiration, she was accumulating, allowed her to gather more about the situation and how there was as she had expected a small faction of Uchiha who had no interest in rebelling, but aside from that, not much could be acquired through this means that she wasn't already at least aware of anyway.

-Later-

Things began to finally move along when the Anbu, she had sent in was back with some more knowledge. It took some time to get things done since being under the control of Lalika made it hard to do anything faster, since that could have brought attention and resulted in them, being found out. So for the past few months, the Anbu puppet moved as normally as it could, not too discreetly nor too overtly either, and this gave some results.

"Master, I have discovered that the Hokage and the elders have decided to allow Uchiha Shisui to put the Uchiha clan under his powerful genjutsu. From what I could gather the operation hasn't been fully approved yet, but they plan to do so next month. Though it seems Elder Danzo is opposed to the idea. Apparently, the plan was accelerated due to the mysterious disappearance of an Uchiha a few months ago, which only increased the tension between the leaf and the Uchiha, forcing Lord Third's hand." The Anbu reported.

This report was followed by a more extensive explanation of all the information gathered.

(So, they are aware and have the same idea as me... With that knowledge, I should be able to turn things my way. First things first, I need to find this Shisui guy and get a grasp of him, then I need to instead use his abilities to sway the Uchiha to be under my command above all. Now... This Danzo guy... He's opposed to the idea... Normally I would assume he is trying to solve things pacifistically, but that's already Hiruzen's thing, so if that was it things would be different, so this leaves me with the more brutal option... He wants to kill the Uchiha, and two reasons come to mind, one he's afraid of them because of the Sharingan, and two, he hates the Uchiha for some reason... Whatever the case, I've heard that he's much more extreme than Hiruzen so I'll have to pay attention to him.) Lalika thought to herself as she got the information she needed.

That was followed by Lalika using her information to look for Shisui, who she found with the young man from the day of her rescue. He had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair, black eyes and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turns upwards at each end. While his outfit was the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-colored outfit along with a tantō strapped to the the right side of the back of his shoulder.

(Image Here)

Right then, Lalika walked to them with a smile on her face.

"... Itachi, is that a friend of yours?" Shisui asked.

"She's Lalika, one of the Kurama clan incident survivors, not really someone I personally know..." Itachi responded.

"I guess I don't need any introductions, but getting right to the point, how much would you be willing to give to save both the Uchiha and the hidden leaf?" Lalika didn't explain or try to ease her presence, jumping right into it.

"What are you talking about?" Shisui played clueless, while both he and Itachi already had their hands on kunai ready to attack at any moment.

"Nothing much, I'm just saying, think about it, wouldn't it be the best outcome for you, to have the Uchiha live in the village in harmony with the other clans, without having to kill anyone?" Lalika continued not bothered by their reaction.

"I don't know how you got ahold of that piece of information, but that is classified hidden leaf intel, and as such, I bid you to surrender before you regret it." Shisui dropped the clueless act and gave a final warning.

*Clang!*

Shisui parried as Itachi tried to attack him with his kunai, and he immediately activated his 3 tomoe Sharingan as he began trying to undo the genjutsu on Itachi, but it was pointless.

"What do you want from us?!" Shisui inquired being careful to not lose sight of Itachi or Lalika for even an instant.

"You know, those eyes of yours, they are very useful, and if you put them under me, I'll definitely give you the perfect reality where the Uchiha live. After all, you wouldn't want Itachi losing himself, now would you?" Lalika put a kunai on Itachi's neck and began pressing it closer without actually harming him.

"You... Let go of him or I'll make sure no one can get these eyes." Shisui threatened as he got another kunai and both pointed at his eyes.

"Oh really? Why don't you just use your genjutsu on me? Wouldn't that be easier? I mean, your friend and your whole clan are at risk here." Lalika didn't really seem to care and was instead urging him to use them.

"It seems you have already made your mind, but could you at least answer me? Why? Why are you doing this if my eyes are not your priority?" Not letting go and still as ready to eliminate his own eyes, Shisui questioned.

"Very simple, I want more than just your eyes, that's why I'm telling you. Take my hand and I'll give you the future you dream of." Lalika was just as relaxed.

"Hahaha... That sounds like a Devil's deal..." Shisui commented.

"Does it really matter if it's a Devil or not if the deal is met?" Lalika posed a question.

"And how would that be achieved?" Shisui was skeptical.

"The same way I'm doing this." Lalika stated as two other Shisuis, come from behind him to grab his arms before he could move, then the kunais in his hand began to melt.

"Oh... You've had me this entire time... You're an odd person, but I understand, I can't win this fight, and so long as the hidden leaf thrives, I'm willing to surrender." As Shisui acknowledged his defeat, he woke up with Sasuke beside him as on the other side of the campfire they would usually hang around, was Lalika smiling ominously at them.

Both he and Itachi had just been had before they could do anything and they realized how outmatched they were.

"Oh nice, both of you are now free to serve me. Don't worry, I won't destroy the hidden leaf or the Uchiha, and actually want them to prosper under me. You'll be in great hands." Lalika said making both Uchiha feel chills in their spines.