During the Third Shinobi War, several figures from Konoha rose to fame throughout the shinobi world.
Aside from the dazzling "Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato, who later became the Fourth Hokage, there was also the young genius who earned the title of "Shisui of the Body Flicker" during the war—
Uchiha Shisui.
The true leading figure of the current Uchiha clan.
Countless people praised his overwhelming talent.
He was a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, who had once served in the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's guard squad alongside the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Because he was the descendant of an old comrade, Shisui was different from the other Uchiha.
The Third Hokage trusted him deeply.
Shisui was one of the few remaining Uchiha who still genuinely understood the Will of Fire.
In fact, after the Third Shinobi War ended, Shisui had openly supported Minato's succession as Fourth Hokage. He rejected the clan elders' and others' attempts to push him into competing against Minato, willingly returning to the clan and quietly serving within the police force instead.
Then, after Minato's death and the Nine-Tails Incident shifted suspicion toward the Uchiha clan, Shisui once again returned to serving directly under the Hokage.
He understood clearly that his actions would invite misunderstanding and hostility from his own clan.
But for the sake of easing tensions between the village and the Uchiha, Shisui willingly distanced himself from many clan members, silently protecting Konoha's peace from the shadows.
And because of that…
The appearance of Uchiha Itachi had delighted him immensely.
Itachi was one of the rare members of the Uchiha clan who could truly understand him.
Unfortunately, he was still too young to stand on his own.
Shisui placed his hopes in the future.
If both he and Itachi could serve the Hokage together someday, then Konoha would surely remain peaceful forever.
That was why Shisui had always been willing to guide Itachi.
He constantly taught him the meaning and mindset behind the Will of Fire.
He didn't want Itachi to become like the other clan members who only knew how to complain and resent others.
After leaving the Hokage's office and receiving the Third Hokage's response regarding the Uchiha clan's request for promotion quotas, Shisui had intended to return to the clan to observe everyone's reactions.
But before long, he noticed the marked streetlamp.
It was the signal between him and Itachi.
So he followed the trail and arrived here.
After listening to Itachi's explanation, Shisui maintained a calm expression, though inwardly he sighed quietly.
He understood Fugaku very well.
Although Fugaku was the head of the Uchiha clan, he was not truly a radical man.
Yet now he had gone so far as to send his own son into the Anbu as a spy.
That alone proved how immense the pressure on the clan had become—
So immense that even Fugaku had no choice but to resort to such an unwise decision.
"...Itachi, repeat your conversation with your father word for word as accurately as possible."
After understanding the general situation, Shisui frowned slightly before quickly relaxing again when he noticed the rare anxiety in Itachi's expression.
He didn't want to place even more pressure on him.
For eight-year-old Uchiha Itachi, the burden of standing between the village and the clan had come far too early.
Those problems should have been Shisui's responsibility to solve.
Hearing Shisui's calm, steady voice, Itachi nodded and carefully repeated every detail of his conversation with Fugaku from memory.
"I understand."
Shisui nodded afterward before asking:
"But what exactly happened with the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki?"
Itachi then explained his encounter with Naruto after parting ways with Shisui earlier that afternoon, including their brief encounter on the street beforehand.
"He can use shurikenjutsu? And he practiced it himself?"
Shisui blinked in surprise.
As a publicly recognized Konoha Jōnin and, in reality, a shinobi directly under the Hokage, he naturally knew Naruto's situation.
So when he heard Itachi describe Naruto practicing shuriken throws with stones by the riverbank, Shisui couldn't help becoming slightly interested.
Only slightly.
After all, he himself was an Uchiha.
Whether the Third Hokage and the other village elders trusted him or not, they would never allow an Uchiha to become too close to the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
And Shisui himself had no desire to create unnecessary suspicion.
More importantly, the current priority remained the growing conflict between the clan and the village.
Thinking through everything carefully, Shisui finally reached a conclusion.
"Itachi… join the Anbu."
Itachi remained silent, waiting for the rest.
As expected, Shisui continued:
"But I don't want you to become the clan's spy."
"Nor should you blindly follow the village."
"Use your own eyes to see everything clearly."
"Find your own path."
As he spoke, Shisui's pupils suddenly began changing strangely.
A crimson Sharingan slowly bloomed within his eyes.
Three tomoe spun around his pupils before the pattern transformed into a shape resembling a pinwheel—
The Mangekyō Sharingan!
"I used these eyes to find the path I wished to walk."
Shisui stared directly at Itachi.
"Itachi, you are not meant to become my shadow or my extension."
"You must use your own eyes to see your future clearly…"
"And make the decision you truly accept."
Shisui's words instantly cleared the confusion clouding Itachi's heart.
Determination gradually appeared within his gaze, as though he had finally made an important decision.
Time flew by.
Another half year passed in the blink of an eye.
"Looks like this is as far as we can go today."
As Naruto's figure disappeared, Namikaze Minato smiled gently, though a trace of loneliness lingered within his expression.
Unlike Kurama, Minato's existence within Naruto's mental world was fundamentally different.
Although both remained inside Naruto's mental seal, after Kurama shared chakra with him and preserved his chakra construct, Minato could only move within this mental space.
He could not leave.
Could not observe the outside world.
Could not obtain freedom.
In many ways, he was essentially sealed away as well.
Minato didn't know whether this was Kurama's way of taking revenge against himself and Kushina for sealing him long ago.
Yet strangely…
He held very little resentment toward the Nine-Tails.
If anything, Minato actually felt grateful.
As a father, he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities.
The loneliness Naruto endured filled him with guilt.
And as Hokage, after learning of the so-called future from Kurama, Minato understood even more clearly what kind of danger awaited the world.
Any one of the Ōtsutsuki could destroy the entire shinobi world.
And yet there was an entire celestial clan of beings like that?
Minato admitted that when Kurama first told him about the enemies of the future, his cautious and rational nature immediately assumed the fox was speaking nonsense.
But very quickly, he realized—
Kurama had no reason to lie to him.
And once he accepted that everything was true, Minato's mindset began to change.
Originally, he was already dead.
The world of the living should no longer have anything to do with him.
But now, after Kurama had preserved his existence in this unusual manner…
He could no longer think that way.
Saving the world.
Jiraiya-sensei had once said Minato might be the Child of Prophecy.
Later, Minato entrusted that responsibility to the child he shared with Kushina.
It had been both helplessness…
And hope.
Through Kurama's explanations, Minato learned how much Naruto had sacrificed to truly save the world.
He felt proud.
And deeply moved.
Yet despite everything, Naruto's life remained filled with suffering.
Even after becoming the strongest shinobi in the world, life-threatening battles still awaited him.
All of that…
Was his fault.
That was what Namikaze Minato believed now.
He had decided to help Kurama.
To change Naruto's fate.
Using his own power.
"You haven't corrected Naruto's Flying Thunder God formula in a long time. Why?"
Kurama raised his head and looked toward Minato.
"According to your observations, unless a technique or memory receives more than a month of repeated systematic teaching, Naruto will probably forget it completely within three days."
"But during these past three months, you stopped teaching him anything related to the Flying Thunder God."
"Wouldn't that make all your previous effort meaningless?"
"Flying Thunder God…"
Hearing Kurama's question, Minato froze briefly before suppressing his thoughts and returning to his usual smile.
"Naruto has already learned it."
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