In the forest below the Nanhe River, Shisui sat on a rock, completely drenched, with Lin Yu giving him a thumbs-up from across him.
"Well done! I almost thought you wanted to die."
"Teacher Lin Yu, can we stop joking now?"
Shisui glared at Lin Yu, annoyed at his teacher's terrible idea that forced him to lie to his dearest brother, Itachi.
Shisui couldn't even imagine what expression he should put on when facing Itachi later.
"Did it succeed?" Shisui asked cautiously.
If Itachi hadn't awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, then his eye sockets would have been gouged out for nothing.
"Relax, don't you have confidence in yourself? Or does Itachi not hold a very important place in your heart?"
"Impossible! Itachi is the closest person to me!"
Shisui regretted saying that as soon as it left his mouth. Although he couldn't see, he felt that Teacher Lin Yu must be smiling at this moment!
"Alright, no more jokes. Let's get your eyes fitted."
Shisui intended to lie down, but Lin Yu stopped him. Then, a slap landed on his face. A stinging sensation spread through his right eye socket, followed by a fleeting green chakra. Shisui tried to open his eyes.
Damn it!
Who fits eyeballs like this! It hurts so much!
Shisui complained inwardly. This was too careless!
Shisui attempted to activate his Sharingan and, finding it not much different from his original, breathed a sigh of relief. He had sighed more today than in the entire previous year. He swore he would never easily agree to Teacher Lin Yu's requests again.
That guy was a cheat!
"Okay, hurry up and get your left eye, or it might expire and go bad!"
Expiring? What the hell!
Do eyeballs even expire?!
Lin Yu continued, "After fitting it, remember to have Itachi check it for you, lest it get infected by bacteria!"
How dare you say that!
Shisui wasted no more time and quickly leaped upwards. Retrieving the eye was simple, but how he would explain it to Itachi later...
That was another difficult problem!
Seeing Shisui leave, Lin Yu rubbed his small hands together expectantly. It was time to awaken the little guy's eyes!
...
On the cliff, Itachi leaned against a rock with vacant eyes, his expression exceedingly cold. The two bloodstains on his face were starkly clear.
He had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he had also lost his best friend, Uchiha Shisui.
Perhaps "friend" was not quite the right word; Itachi and Shisui were like brothers, more akin than blood brothers!
Now that Shisui was dead, Itachi did not show overwhelming grief. He buried all his emotions deep within his heart.
He was determined to inherit Shisui's dying wish: to protect the village and uphold the honor of the Uchiha clan!
He would carry Shisui's eyes and, together with him... Wait? Brother Shisui?
As Itachi wrestled with his inner turmoil, his vision suddenly blurred, and then Shisui's figure appeared before him.
Itachi rubbed his eyes. Had he fallen victim to a genjutsu? Who possessed such power to trap him, Uchiha Itachi, in a genjutsu?!
"Brother Itachi, I'm back. Please return my eye!"
Shisui hesitantly extended his hand toward Itachi. At this moment, Shisui was a little afraid to look at Itachi, having done the most embarrassing thing twice tonight.
"Eye?"
Itachi seemed to recall something, and quickly looked at Shisui's right eye. Then, the Mangekyo Sharingan reappeared, and killing intent filled the air.
"You are Danzo!"
"Uh... I'm not!"
Seeing that Itachi had jumped to a wild conclusion, Shisui quickly explained, "Brother Itachi, it's not what you think. I am truly Shisui!"
Itachi's killing intent just now was genuine. If the person before him was truly Danzo, and they were in the remote Nanhe River, deserted and devoid of people, Itachi would have certainly killed him!
"How can you prove it?"
Shisui thought for a moment, and his Sharingan gradually transformed into a pinwheel pattern. A green Susano'o arm materialized in the air.
"This should prove my identity, right?"
"You really are Brother Shisui!"
Itachi rushed forward immediately, his eyes filled with excitement and joy. Shisui was not dead!
There was no time to ask anything else. Itachi had just experienced profound sorrow and now saw Shisui "resurrected." Itachi no longer cared about anything else. As long as Brother Shisui was alive, nothing else mattered!
"Brother Itachi, quickly! My left eye is about to expire!"
Shisui said this without a hint of a blush, as if he hadn't been the one mocking the idea of expiration just moments ago.
*Plop!*
Shisui pressed the eye back into its socket. However, lacking medical ninjutsu, the connection of nerves and blood vessels would take some time.
But thanks to the Yang Release within his body, his vision quickly returned to normal.
"Brother Itachi, help me see if there's any difference from before."
Itachi leaned closer, observing Shisui's eye, examining every detail.
Shisui also widened his eyes, staring at Itachi. He noticed that Itachi also had two bloodstains on his face and felt a pang in his heart.
Brother Itachi must have been in great pain just now!
Thinking of this, Shisui's gaze softened even further.
Itachi also saw the two bloodstains on Shisui's face, traces left by gouging out and implanting the eye. What could have caused Brother Shisui to treat himself this way?
The Sharingan was the most important thing for them, the Uchiha ninjas. Brother Shisui had simply gouged his out!
Itachi thought of his awakened Mangekyo and understood. Brother Shisui had done it for him!
Itachi was deeply moved, and his gaze became increasingly gentle.
As the two looked at each other, in mere tens of seconds, Shisui and Itachi felt as if several seasons had passed.
"Brother Itachi!"
"Brother Shisui!"
They spoke simultaneously, then smiled at each other. Shisui sighed, "Brother Itachi, I'm sorry. I won't do this again."
"I understand, Brother Shisui. You did it for my own good."
Itachi said, "Brother Shisui, please don't despair anymore. I don't want to lose you again!"
Shisui's expression froze, "Brother Itachi, I promise you, I will always be by your side."
"We will be together forever! Witnessing the harmonious coexistence of the Uchiha and the village!"
"Yes!"
Itachi nodded emphatically. "I will also protect the village and the Uchiha's honor alongside Brother Shisui!"
The two embraced, and all distance between them vanished!
In the distance, on an extremely hidden treetop, two figures, one large and one small, were peeking.
One, a young boy in a blue short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha fan symbol on his back, was initially full of displeasure. He had been tricked out by this red-haired monster late at night.
But seeing his brother Itachi was also there, he reluctantly stayed.
Sasuke was initially uninterested, but as Shisui appeared, he became increasingly "excited" and "engrossed."
Finally, as Shisui and Itachi wept with joy, Sasuke also shed "happy" tears.
Why! Why did they bring him to watch his brother's "date" late at night!
Although Sasuke couldn't hear their conversation, he could infer some things from their expressions.
Childhood trauma +1.
Sasuke thought it would end there, but the next moment, their embrace, and Itachi's "happy" expression, completely broke Sasuke.
No!!!
At such a young age, he had to bear pressure far beyond his years.
Sasuke's head throbbed, and he fainted.
However, before he lost consciousness, a single black tomoe quietly appeared in his eyes, and as Sasuke fainted, it reverted back to black pupils.
...
And just as Sasuke fainted, new developments occurred on the cliff.
"So, Brother Shisui, all of this was just an act?"
"Uh... something like that... yes."
Seeing Itachi's somewhat disturbed expression, Shisui quickly took two steps back, widening the distance between them.
Brother Itachi looked a little terrifying right now!