At this moment, Shisui Uchiha was darting through the forest at high speed.
But unlike before, his movements no longer carried the brilliance worthy of the name Shisui of the Body Flicker.
His left hand pressed tightly against his eye socket, yet it could not stop the blood flowing endlessly through his fingers.
The searing pain, the blurred vision, the fear and confusion rising from the depths of his heart—
All of it was rapidly draining his stamina and judgment.
Why?
No, that question no longer needed an answer.
From the ruthless way Danzo Shimura had stolen his eye, it was obvious this had been planned for a long time.
What Shisui truly couldn't understand was this—
The moment Danzo approached, he had already cast a genjutsu to control him.
Yet in the very next instant, his eye had still been taken.
What happened in between?
When had it happened?
How?
But… none of that mattered now.
The important thing was this:
Danzo had never trusted him from the beginning simply because he was an Uchiha.
Whether Danzo stole his eye to weaken the Uchiha clan or for some other purpose no longer mattered.
They had already lost their minds.
What should he do?
I'm going to die.
That thought surfaced immediately within Shisui's heart.
His instinct for survival screamed at him to flee Konoha immediately and escape to the ends of the earth.
Losing one eye was a grave injury, but not fatal.
But if he stayed in Konoha… if he continued involving himself with them…
Then he truly would die.
Yet the very next moment, another thought crushed that instinct for survival.
If I don't stop them now, war between the Uchiha clan and the village will become inevitable.
And Konoha will never know peace again.
"Whoosh!"
As if to confirm his fears, two shuriken carrying explosive tags shot toward him from behind at vicious angles.
Shisui twisted in midair, slipping perfectly between the first shuriken while grabbing the second one in a single motion before hurling it back behind him.
BOOM!
The shuriken struck one of the pursuers directly.
The explosion drowned out a scream as Shisui continued sprinting forward without even turning his head.
It seemed he had finally adapted slightly to the pain.
Shisui removed his hand from the blood-soaked eye socket while his remaining hand rapidly formed seals despite the twitching expression on his face.
Chakra surged through his body.
But in the very next instant—
A black shadow burst out from the smoke of the explosion and slammed directly into Shisui, pinning him to the ground.
"Cut the tendons in his arms and legs first. Don't let him resist!"
One of the pursuers shouted urgently.
Yet before they could act—
Poof!
Smoke erupted from Shisui's body.
The figure beneath them transformed into nothing more than a log.
"Substitution Jutsu?! When did he—"
The Root shinobi's expression changed drastically.
Before he could even raise his head to search for Shisui—
A chain of explosions suddenly erupted all around them.
Explosive tags!
Several Root members who had lowered their guard during the chase were instantly swallowed by the blasts.
"He used the explosions to block pursuit while erasing his tracks at the same time… all within a single instant?"
"What a terrifying man."
Among ninjutsu, the Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Transformation Jutsu were collectively known as the Three Basic Techniques.
Ordinarily, such fundamental techniques were considered crude tricks before powerful shinobi.
Yet Shisui had trained those basic arts to an unimaginable level.
Not a single Root operative had seen through his Substitution Jutsu.
The Root members exchanged grim looks.
No matter who it was, everyone present had been shocked by the speed of Shisui's judgment and reaction.
But the mission still had to continue.
"Split up and search separately!"
"Signal the others the moment you find him!"
"Seal off every route leading to the Hokage's office and the Uchiha district!"
"Even if we lose him temporarily, it doesn't matter! Those are the only places he can go!"
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Elsewhere, hidden in the darkness, Shisui gasped heavily for breath.
As an elite shinobi, he had already adapted somewhat to the pain of losing an eye.
But the true problem was the overwhelming drain on both his stamina and mental focus.
And even more fatal than that—
He had no intention of leaving.
"I can't stay here… and I can't wait…"
Looking toward the dim sky, several faces flashed through Shisui's mind.
People he could trust.
People who should have appeared by now.
But in the end, his thoughts settled on a young face carrying maturity far beyond its age.
Itachi Uchiha.
The boy with whom he had made a promise.
Shisui slowly touched his remaining eye.
Now that he had calmed down slightly, he finally understood Danzo's true objective.
"Kotoamatsukami…"
"Heh… to think I'd forget something as simple as the crime of possessing treasure…"
Shisui laughed bitterly at himself.
But the next instant, his expression changed sharply.
His figure vanished from the spot.
"Found him! He's here!"
A summoned beast capable of tracking the scent of blood appeared where Shisui had been hiding moments earlier.
The pursuing shinobi instantly noticed the fresh blood on the ground and realized he had only just escaped.
Signals were sent immediately to notify the others as the pursuers charged after him once more.
The hunt would continue—
Unseen by anyone within Konoha.
"Whoosh!"
The instant a shuriken flew out—
Three more followed behind it, striking the first shuriken repeatedly and changing its trajectory three times in succession before sending it curving directly back toward Itachi Uchiha himself.
Catching the returning shuriken casually, Itachi stopped practicing and stared blankly at the weapon in his hand.
Today was the day of his promise with Shisui.
Would he choose the village—
Or the clan?
He still hadn't found an answer.
That was why he had come to the training grounds.
Then—
"Hm?"
Itachi looked upward.
A black crow circled above him.
But something was wrong with it.
Half its body and one wing looked torn apart and ragged.
And the instant Itachi noticed it—
The crow vanished.
The confusion on Itachi's face instantly transformed into panic.
That was Shisui's—
He immediately left the training grounds.
"It ends here, Shisui Uchiha."
At this moment, Shisui had already been surrounded by Root operatives.
His body could no longer support another escape from these enemies, each of whom possessed strength no weaker than a jonin.
And more importantly—
He could not allow these people to trace him to the meeting place he had arranged with Itachi.
If they discovered Itachi…
At that thought, Shisui's face darkened completely.
The enemy clearly had no intention of giving him any more time to stall.
Nearly a dozen shinobi attacked simultaneously!
Shisui pushed his remaining Sharingan to its limit.
Within his vision, he saw three enemies charging toward him in a triangular formation.
Behind them, five others were already weaving hand seals.
Two more had prepared shuriken to suppress him from a distance.
There would be no escape this time.
No room to dodge.
No path to retreat.
Then—
He would face them head-on!
BOOM!
The charging Root operatives were blasted backward.
Behind them, the others stared in utter horror at the towering figure rising from the earth.
Even the shinobi in the middle of forming hand seals froze in shock.
A gigantic green skeletal warrior enveloped Shisui's body like a divine being descending upon the battlefield.
The eerie green light seemed to mock the pitiful strength of these Root elites.
"Susanoo!"
Shisui's expression twisted with madness as he unleashed, for the very first time before the world—
The true power of his Mangekyō Sharingan!
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