The night.
Before a temple stood two Buddhist statues, the one on the left a benevolent Bodhisattva, the one on the right a ferocious Asura, seemingly symbolizing the sides of light and darkness.
"Lord Danzo, the gathering is about to begin, I..."
Though he didn't know why he had to say it, Shisui patiently recited the lines.
"Danzo," with narrowed eyes, said coldly, "Do you really think controlling Fugaku with Kotoamatsukami will quell the Uchiha rebellion?"
Even though Shisui knew these were just lines, his heart trembled fiercely.
"Do you think the villagers' suspicion will disappear because of it?"
Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan appeared, and he hastily said, "I understand, but if we just spend more time, the Uchiha will surely be able to integrate with the village..."
"And..."
"Danzo" interrupted Shisui, his exposed single eye sharpening, "Someone as suspicious as me won't easily change their opinion of you Uchiha!"
"At that time... will you use Kotoamatsukami to control me as well?!"
Shisui's pupils shrank. He wanted to explain something, but the figure of "Danzo" in front of him suddenly enlarged, and a hand in a white sleeve reached for his eye.
With no time to say anything more, Shisui's eyes flashed red. He forcefully grabbed the hand "Danzo" extended towards his eye and said faintly,
"It's just a normal genjutsu, it will self-resolve after some time."
"Lord Danzo, I'll just..."
As Shisui turned around, a fist landed on his stomach, nearly making him vomit the bento he had eaten with Itachi at noon!
Teacher Lin Yu is serious!
With no time for Shisui to think, another punch struck his jaw, sending him flying. A hand suddenly lunged for his right eye.
*Thwack!*
"Your eye, I've taken it!"
"Danzo" unraveled his bandages, and a scarlet Sharingan met Shisui's gaze. No wonder he could resist his genjutsu; the opponent actually had a Sharingan too!
"Danzo" placed the eyeball he held into nutrient solution. His Sharingan was not like the trash eyes of Danzo in the original story, which required Izanagi to escape genjutsu.
Shisui cautiously watched "Danzo" put his eyeball into the nutrient solution before sighing in relief. Be gentle, don't break it!
"Your other eye, I'll take that one too!"
*Boom boom boom!*
Dozens of figures landed around "Danzo." These were all ANBU members who had used Shadow Clones and the Transformation Jutsu.
"Damn it!"
Shisui clutched his right eye and quickly dashed towards the nearby woods. He had to escape this place and tell his brother Itachi everything!
Teacher Lin Yu's hits were truly brutal! It hurt so much!
"Chase!"
Lin Yu dispelled the Transformation Jutsu and returned to his original form. Everything he had done was merely to build emotional tension, so that Shisui could deceive Itachi's eyes.
After all, Itachi wasn't stupid. Without a genuine script and situation, he would see through it in an instant.
"Now, it all depends on you, Shisui!"
"Oh, right! Almost forgot there's a little audience member too!"
Lin Yu's lips curled slightly, and his figure vanished from before the temple.
...
Somewhere by the Naka River, Itachi was leaning against a large rock, waiting for Shisui as agreed.
"Brother Shisui, nothing bad should happen, right?" Itachi suddenly felt a pang of worry. After all, Danzo was notoriously ruthless, and with Brother Shisui's temperament, he definitely couldn't compete with him!
*Swish swish swish!*
A few leaves drifted down in front of Itachi. "Is that Brother Shisui?"
"Follow me!"
A figure flashed by in the trees. Itachi's expression immediately turned serious, and he leaped onto the treetops, disappearing into the woods.
In the forest, Shisui endured the pain in his body, trying his best not to let his brother Itachi see him grimacing.
Teacher Lin Yu was too vicious!
What kind of Shadow Clones were those?!
They could actually use Wood Style ninjutsu! He was beaten so badly that he had activated Susanoo with one eye, his chakra depleted by more than half, his body exhausted as if he had been beaten by a dozen big guys!
Shisui felt weary. He thought about the irreconcilable conflict between the clan and the village, which was worsening by the day.
Shisui suddenly realized that after the clan leader learned that he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, his radicalism had intensified. Did this mean that if he died, the clan's rebellion would be postponed?
Just as Shisui was thinking this, the two arrived at the edge of a cliff, one after the other, with the swift Naka River flowing below.
"Brother Shisui, what exactly happened?"
Itachi gazed at Shisui's back, his unease growing. Something had definitely happened!
"My right eye... was taken by Danzo."
Shisui's hoarse voice came, making Itachi's heart tighten. He blurted out, "How could this happen? Where is Lord Hokage? Let's go find Lord Hokage!"
"Itachi!"
Itachi's figure froze. He looked at Shisui, who was slowly turning around. The glaring bloodstain on his right eye sent a tremor through his heart, and his three-tomoe Sharingan involuntarily activated.
"Itachi, Danzo cannot be trusted. I suspect he will come for my left eye next."
Shisui looked at Itachi with a gentle expression, saying softly, "Now, the only person I can trust is you, Itachi! I will give you my left eye, which contains the Kotoamatsukami pupil technique."
When he said "left eye," Shisui's hand still trembled. This was him gouging out his own eye!
"Brother Shisui, you..."
Before Itachi could finish, Shisui steeled himself. A bloodline flowed from beneath his left eye, and he extended his palm towards Itachi.
"Itachi, protect the village, and the name of the Uchiha!"
At this moment, Itachi couldn't believe what he was seeing was real. Everything had been fine this morning, how could it be like this tonight!
"Brother Shisui, we can still ask Teacher Lin Yu for help. He's so powerful, we..."
Shisui shook his head and said, "Teacher Lin Yu, though powerful, is only one person, just an upper ninja in the village. He cannot influence the decisions of the higher-ups."
Shisui kept trying to convince himself. Minato Namikaze wasn't one of them, the Hokage wasn't from their organization...
Itachi was a bit bewildered. He trembled as he took Shisui's eye, but thinking of the pressure Brother Shisui was under, the conflict between the clan and the village, his reason told him Brother Shisui was right.
If they offended the Konoha higher-ups, the conflict between the clan and the village would never be resolved.
Although Itachi was angry, he forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation. There had to be a way!
"Brother Shisui, then what about you in the future..."
Shisui walked towards the edge of the cliff and slowly said, "If I, as an elite of the clan, die, perhaps the clan's rebellion can be postponed, giving you, Itachi, more time to resolve the conflict."
Itachi's pupils constricted, and he rushed forward, "No! There must be another way, Brother Shisui, you don't need to..."
Shisui's move completely shattered Itachi's composure. He had no time to think about the loopholes.
Itachi wanted to grab Shisui, but it was too late. Shisui spread his hands, his face bearing two blood streaks, but his demeanor was incredibly serene.
"Brother Itachi, don't stop me."
"If you... still consider me a friend."
Shisui's figure slowly plunged into the Naka River before Itachi's eyes, disappearing from sight.
With Shisui's severely injured body and barely any chakra left, survival was impossible, especially since Shisui had a death wish.
Itachi couldn't understand why such earth-shattering changes had occurred in such a short time. One moment and the next were like two different worlds.
But none of that mattered anymore. His Brother Shisui was dead!
Itachi closed his eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"SHISUI!!!"
In the dark night, a crimson glow slowly bloomed...
Danzo! You must die!
...
In Konoha Village, Danzo, having caught a rare few large fish, waved goodbye to Hiruzen Sarutobi. He still had to rush to his base outside the village.
"Achoo! Who's talking about me?!"
"Hmph! Damn Hiruzen, just because he caught a few more fish than you, he's badmouthing me behind my back!"
He, Danzo, was a busy man! He wouldn't go fishing with him next time!