After escaping Konoha with her heavily injured body, the masked person clutched her chest and let out a painful, low growl.
Why…
why was Shisui alive?
The last time, she had clearly confirmed that the other party was on the verge of death, yet in the end, things turned out like this.
“Right…
it’s Yasuka again…
Yasuka again!!!”
Suddenly, the roaring stopped abruptly.
The masked person looked at her hands, completely at a loss, before letting out another agonized shriek.
“Well…
here we go again…”
White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were already used to this, leaving the masked person to throw her fit.
As long as it didn’t affect the plan, it didn’t matter.
When dawn replaced the night, Shisui’s mood matched the rising sun.
She had thought about it all night and finally convinced herself to become the head of the Uchiha.
In terms of status and position, she could at least stand on equal footing with the Sannin now.
Moreover, although she was a bit simple-minded, she had still planned out the future.
Itachi still needed time, and with Danzo’s assistance, Itachi would sooner or later become the Fifth or Sixth Hokage.
When that time came, she could naturally step down, hand the clan and the village over to Itachi, and live a peaceful life with Yasuka in Konoha.
Having figured everything out, Shisui felt exceptionally triumphant and proud, wanting nothing more than to rush back quickly.
This time, she was going to confess to Yasuka in the name of the Uchiha clan head.
“…”
Yasuka still hadn’t fully processed everything up until now.
Why on earth would Itachi do such a thing?
But in the end, he could only smile bitterly with emotion.
He ultimately still didn’t understand the Uchiha after all.
Opening the Talisman progress bar once more, the Sheep Talisman had finally broken through 25%, at long last unlocking its first stage.
Sheep Talisman: Astral Projection.
Grants immunity to all spiritual and soul attacks, and allows control over the dreams of others.
The effect was simple, but equally terrifying.
It meant that all genjutsu, as well as the Reaper Death Seal that Orochimaru had mentioned, were completely useless against him.
But…
his offensive methods remained meager, and it even required the condition of entering a dream.
Yasuka sighed.
The Talismans were great in every aspect, but the unlocking conditions were simply too harsh, especially for someone like him who hadn’t watched Naruto at all.
“Yasuka~ I’m back~”
To avoid making Yasuka angry, Shisui deliberately made herself act more obedient, while simultaneously releasing the genjutsu on Yugao.
Because she wanted to talk to Yasuka, Shisui would cast a genjutsu on Yugao whenever she had nothing to do, making Yugao mistakenly believe that she was executing her mission properly.
But things were different now.
She had become the head of the Uchiha clan, and with her Mangekyō combined with the series of conditions she used to pressure the Third Hokage, she…
was no longer that foolish Shisui.
“You’re back…”
Yasuka wasn’t surprised.
Shisui’s strength was virtually unmatched in the current Konoha.
Unless Orochimaru returned, Yasuka truly couldn’t think of any way Shisui could lose.
“Yasuka, I’ve resolved everything, and I…”
Shisui didn’t notice Yasuka’s unusual demeanor, happily sharing how she had thoroughly thrashed Danzo, used Kotoamatsukami to manipulate his mind to give him the ultimate humiliation, and forced the Third Hokage to capitulate.
Now, Shisui had not only secured a position among the higher-ups and lifted the restrictions on the Konoha Military Police Force, but she had even reclaimed the original clan lands that rightfully belonged to the Uchiha.
“You did very well.”
Yasuka didn’t spoil Shisui’s high spirits, smiling as he praised her various accomplishments this time.
“Hehehe…”
Shisui smiled foolishly.
Seeing her remain as pure and simple as always, Yasuka couldn’t help but laugh too.
Compared to Itachi, Shisui was truly simple-minded in an adorable way.
“Where is Itachi?
How is she doing?”
“Itachi!
Yasuka, I intend to have her become the Hokage.
What do you think?”
When Shisui mentioned Itachi, her tone grew even more enthusiastic.
She was firmly set on Itachi becoming the Uchiha’s Hokage.
“…”
Yasuka calmly listened to Shisui’s description.
Although the matter had been successfully resolved, in the end, he still hadn’t stopped Itachi from heading down an extreme path.
However, with Shisui keeping things under control, she probably wouldn’t defect anymore, right?
Because the people involved in this matter had run into a wall, the masked person was stuck in a mire, and Danzo’s mind had been altered by Kotoamatsukami.
Yasuka didn’t bring it up for Shisui’s sake.
Shisui had absolutely no idea that Itachi was also one of the participants in the attempted clan extermination.
With Shisui’s promotion, Itachi was virtually destined to become a future Hokage.
Just as Shisui was preparing to express her feelings, she froze out of sheer embarrassment.
She thought about letting it brew for a few days, but she was dragged back by the Uchiha elders.
For the head of Konoha’s number one noble clan to leave such a massive family unattended and run off here—what kind of decorum was that?
Even if they didn’t object to a marriage alliance between Shisui and Yasuka, the entire clan was currently waiting to rebuild from the ashes, and Shisui simply couldn’t leave.
Even though Shisui wanted to refuse using her authority as clan head, the elders didn’t care about that at all.
It wasn’t as if Shisui could actually kill them, right?
As Shisui wailed in grief and indignation, “I will definitely be back!!!”, Yasuka lost his composure and laughed.
He could only say that she truly lived up to being that fool Shisui…
If she served as the Uchiha clan head, she would probably lead all the other Uchiha astray, wouldn’t she?
As Shisui was pinned down to the position of clan head and spent every day running about, Yasuka’s life returned to tranquility once more.
Itachi ultimately didn’t succeed in defecting; she hadn’t even managed to make a move in time.
In a certain sense, she had indeed been pulled back by Yasuka.
But…
Itachi herself couldn’t bear it.
Facing Shisui’s completely unreserved trust, as well as the mistake she had committed against Yasuka, she was being tormented both physically and mentally every single moment.
Every time she saw Shisui talking animatedly with her about the future of the Uchiha, expressing her desire to entrust the family and the village to her, and blushing with yearning whenever Yasuka was mentioned, Itachi felt as though she had fallen into some sort of inescapable quagmire.
Both women had their own matters to attend to, and Yasuka consequently enjoyed quite a bit of peace and quiet.
Every day, he kept the shop open to treat ninjas, occasionally accompanied Naruko and Haku, went to visit the children at the orphanage, or played with the little young girls who clung to him.
It wasn’t until the approach of the New Year that Naruko grew fed up with the ninja monitoring her.
Thinking of sparring with the person opposite her to test the Flying Raijin she had just learned, she accidentally ended up piercing a hole through the other party’s stomach.
Naruko was instantly stupefied on the spot.
Was this a Jonin?
How could their reactions be so sluggish?
It was almost as if…
they were actively seeking death?
Yasuka rushed to administer emergency treatment to this Jonin at the very first moment.
Looking at her silver-white hair, he recalled that Minato seemed to have a student who looked just like this?
“Kakashi?”
Yasuka looked at the newly recovered silver-haired woman.
If he had to use one word to describe her, it would be ‘melancholy’.
From head to toe, across her entire body, this woman exuded an aura of profound despondency.
Furthermore, the scars on her body were shocking to behold.
There were over a dozen fatal wounds alone; her survival was entirely due to her own sheer resilience.
“…”
The woman remained entirely silent, hanging her head as she stared at her hands, lost in thought.
“What on earth happened to you?”
Yasuka hadn’t expected Kakashi to turn out like this.
In his few scattered impressions, wasn’t Kakashi supposed to be quite cheerful?
Uh…
wait a minute, so Kakashi was actually a silver-haired, well-endowed, mature woman?
Seeing that Kakashi was consistently unwilling to respond, Yasuka simply went to find his source of information, Jiraiya, to ask if he knew what had happened to Kakashi.
“Oh, you mean Kakashi…”
Because of Danzo’s series of reckless actions, Jiraiya was forced to remain in Konoha.
Seeing Yasuka bring up Kakashi, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“Kakashi…
she has a bitter life…”