Having already rushed to the Uchiha compound, Shisui felt an inexplicable, restless unease, as if something incredibly important had suddenly vanished.
The moment she witnessed the scene taking place within the compound, her pupils contracted violently.
There was no time to think.
Her crimson Sharingan surged to life, staring fixedly at the corpses of several slain Uchiha Jonin.
“Stop…
right there!!!”
Incapable of suppressing her towering rage, Shisui flickered behind the masked man.
Relying on a kunai she had picked up, she ran it straight through the back of the masked man just as he was about to strike again.
“…”
Looking down at his pierced chest, the masked man was filled with utter disbelief.
Turning his head back to look at Shisui, he grew even more bewildered.
*Wait, aren’t you supposed to be dead?!*
But the searing pain in his chest left him with no luxury to ponder.
He hurriedly used his intangibility to pull away and create distance.
“Damn it…”
Cursing under his breath, the masked man fled the scene without a second thought.
This was the legendary Kotoamatsukami, after all; if he fell under Shisui’s control, he would be completely finished.
“Are you all right?”
Shisui hurriedly pulled up the injured Uchiha Jonin to ask what had happened.
Upon learning that the Anbu and Root were attempting to exterminate the entire clan, her uncontainable rage exploded completely.
“Go gather the rest of the clansmen quickly.
Leave the remaining enemies to me.”
Shisui clenched her fists tightly, directing the Jonin to protect the civilians while she…
was going to settle a score with Konoha.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Shisui flickered continuously throughout the Uchiha compound, taking the lives of several Anbu and Root operatives with every single movement.
Looking at the innocent children who had been murdered in their sleep, Shisui’s heart filled with even greater agony and guilt, all of which she channeled entirely into her momentum.
Clutching his chest, the masked man observed secretly from the shadows.
*What on earth is going on?
Shisui, who was supposed to be dead, suddenly appeared, and where is Itachi?!*
Meanwhile, Itachi silently dressed herself again.
After tonight, she would likely never have another opportunity to meet with Yasuka.
She only hoped…
that Yasuka could take good care of Satsuki in the future.
Recalling what Satsuki had once said to her, a faint sliver of anticipation arose within Itachi’s heart.
If Satsuki and Yasuka ended up together, perhaps…
that wouldn’t be so bad either?
“You really are a bastard…”
Yasuka lay on the tatami mat.
Everything had transpired far too quickly; he hadn’t even been able to use the Snake Talisman before being caught in a grand performance orchestrated entirely by Itachi herself.
Though he truly hated to admit that he had been solo-killed by an eighteen-year-old girl, still…
“I’m sorry.”
Itachi knew that saying anything now was entirely meaningless.
She had to return; once she finished her task, she would exterminate the clan and defect from Konoha.
Itachi’s movements were somewhat sluggish.
Even for a ninja, being in this current physical state would inevitably cause a severe impact.
Biting her lip, she rushed back to the Uchiha compound, only to freeze in her tracks at the sudden manifestation of a giant Susanoo.
She would absolutely never forget it—this was Shisui’s Susanoo.
But hadn’t Shisui already left Konoha?
Her eyes were even currently in Itachi’s possession.
Without time for deeper thought, Itachi hurriedly rushed toward the location of the Susanoo.
At this very moment, Shisui was cradling a slain Uchiha child, carefully wiping the blood from her little face.
*One second!
If only I had been a single second faster!
I could have saved this child.*
*Why…
can’t Konoha give the Uchiha even a single path to survival?
No, to be precise…
Danzo.*
Shisui’s killing intent had materialized to the point where her green Susanoo was tinged with a streak of blood-red.
Catching sight of the arriving Itachi, Shisui gently set the child down.
She had never once imagined that Itachi would participate in exterminating the clan, assuming instead that her friend had rushed over to help.
“I’m sorry, Itachi.
I…
honestly didn’t want to take action, but I was wrong.
Blindly yielding does not bring peace.
Look after everyone for me.
I am going to…
settle a final score with Danzo.”
Shisui patted Itachi’s shoulder.
The heavy scent of blood permeating the air prevented her from smelling the rich scent of Yasuka lingering all over her best friend.
“…”
Itachi’s body trembled uncontrollably.
She feared Shisui’s eyes almost out of pure instinct.
What exactly had happened to allow Shisui to not only recover her eyes, but also…
Shisui moved incredibly fast, charging straight into the Hokage Building.
The remaining Anbu guards were completely stunned upon seeing her.
*Isn’t this person supposed to be dead?*
“Danzo, you old dog!
Get the hell out here.”
Shisui was genuinely furious today.
Her Susanoo ruthlessly crushed anyone who dared to approach.
Even Danzo was utterly bewildered; hadn’t the masked man stated that Shisui was dead?
But at this point, he had no time for deep reflection.
He could only curse the inherently evil Uchiha for deceiving him as he drew a kunai and charged at Shisui.
He was instantly swatted away by a single backhand from the Susanoo, crashing heavily into a distant building.
With just that single strike, Danzo’s body was shattered into pieces, visibly on the verge of death.
“Hmph!
You inherently evil Uchiha brat, do not think the old man fears you!
Even if we must perish together, I will—”
Just as the weakened Danzo decided to drag Shisui down to the grave with him, he suddenly felt his body stiffen completely.
“I will not kill you.
I will make you stay alive—alive for the sake of the Uchiha and Konoha.”
Shisui unleashed her Kotoamatsukami for the very first time, her immense spiritual power rapidly rewriting Danzo’s psyche.
Death was far too easy a punishment for Danzo.
She wanted him to witness with his own eyes how she would lift a member of the Uchiha clan into the position of Hokage!
To witness the very seat he had coveted day and night, yet could never obtain, be occupied by the people he loathed the most—this was the ultimate humiliation for Danzo.
The last remaining shred of his true consciousness allowed Danzo to realize what was happening, but once Kotoamatsukami was unleashed, there was no cure.
He could only watch helplessly as his own thoughts were overwritten bit by bit, eventually transforming him into an entirely new Danzo.
Meanwhile, his original consciousness was sealed away, forced to spectate from a helpless first-person perspective.
Seeing Danzo’s gaze turn entirely vacant, Shisui turned and departed without looking back, returning to the clan compound.
Fugaku, the clan head, personally welcomed Shisui, voluntarily offering to abdicate his position to the far more powerful Shisui.
“Me, become the clan head?…”
Shisui’s instinct was to refuse.
She was perfectly satisfied with her current life.
But the thought of the innocent Uchiha children who had been murdered, combined with the expectant gazes of her clansmen, made her pause.
After a long silence, Shisui finally nodded in agreement.
She would take charge for a few years, and once Itachi matured, she would hand the position over to her.
With that thought in mind, Shisui shouldered the responsibilities of the clan head, organizing her people to clean up the aftermath before leading a faction of the clan’s top powerhouses to launch a political ultimatum.
“Itachi, I leave this place to you.”
Shisui truly viewed Itachi as her own younger sister, even planning out her future path for her.
In the future, Shisui would remain at Yasuka’s house to serve as a nuclear deterrent, while Itachi would lead the Uchiha’s development as clan head.
Both sides would have a bright future.
“…”
Itachi no longer knew what she could possibly say, staring blankly as Shisui departed.
Shisui’s objective was clear: locate the Third Hokage and force a political concession.
Even though he had been placed under house arrest by Danzo, Hiruzen still knew exactly what had transpired outside.
Seeing Shisui appear once more, tears couldn’t help but well up in his eyes.
The fact that Shisui was alive meant that Danzo…
was already dead.
“Shisui…
Konoha has failed your clan.” Hiruzen was the first to express his guilt and remorse, but Shisui didn’t buy into it at all.
She forced the Third Hokage to agree to a long list of conditions—all of which were things Yasuka had previously discussed with Itachi, and she had remembered them all.
Though she was simple-minded and didn’t fully comprehend the politics, she knew they were beneficial to the Uchiha.
The physically and mentally exhausted Third Hokage no longer possessed the energy to bargain.
After he agreed to everything in one fell swoop, this farce finally came to an end.
Shisui had been busy for practically the entire night.
Once the clan had stabilized, she turned down all manners of invitations from the others, preparing to head back to Yasuka’s medical clinic.
She had been gone for the entire night; she wondered if Yasuka would be worried about her?