Disclaimer: This is a fan-made story. All rights of Naruto go to Masashi Kishimoto.
Division
Shisui sighed as he watched the woods in front of him from where he was stationed. He was worried about what was going on back home, and the mission he was on didn't help to distract him.
The only action that had happened so far during the mission was an encounter with a unit of Kirigakure shinobi around half an hour ago. With his genjutsu, he had easily dispatched two of the Kiri shinobi before they had retreated; it seemed his reputation had even reached into the civil war of Kirigakure no Sato.
As he kept watch over his part of the woods, Shisui's thoughts began to drift back towards the events going on in Konoha.
Despite his and Itachi's efforts, the Uchiha rebellion didn't seem like it was slowing down anytime soon. All of the core members of the clan were in agreement to the plan, which led to many of the younger members of the clan throw their support as well. With only some of the mothers assisting them in their efforts to stop the coup, Shisui knew it would take a miracle to be able to emerge from this situation unscathed.
'The younger generation seemed to be following the older generation's opinion though,' Shisui thought to himself. 'If we could convince the clan head and clan elders that it would be wiser to back off and cancel the coup, the younger shinobi would most likely follow. But how would we go about doing that?'
Beginning to move through the forest, going through his rounds, Shisui continued pondering on his dilemma while keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. 'Words alone wouldn't get the job done. Hokage-sama has been trying to stop Fugaku-sama, but so far it hasn't seemed to be working.'
The Hokage had been trying to negotiate with the clan head and its elders ever since he had found out about the distrust the Uchiha clan members felt towards the village. The Sandaime had been helping him with the diplomatic tensions, since he supported keeping the peace within the village. Danzō Shimura, on the other hand, was for making an example of the Uchiha clan to the rest of the village, only leaving enough members so that they didn't lose the clan completely. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado both sat somewhere in the middle on the issue, wanting to punish the clan but not massacre its members.
Reaching the end of his segment of the woods, Shisui paused for a moment as a possibility popped into his head. 'Would genjutsu work? Normal Sharingan genjutsu wouldn't; they're too experienced to fall for something like that. The only option that could work would be that technique, but is it worth the risk that comes with it?'
After he checked the area out and confirmed that his segment of the forest was cleared, he turned around and began to head back towards the outpost. 'Kotoamatsukami, a genjutsu unique to my Mangekyō Sharingan, as far as I'm aware. Its ability to subtly control another person far outweighs that of the normal Sharingan, not to mention it doesn't need eye contact for it to take effect. The only downside of this technique is the long cooldown the eyes need each time it's used; the more power used the longer the time in between uses will be. If I use this it will definitely change Fugaku-sama's mind and stop the coup, but at the same time if word gets out of what I've done, the clansmen would support the rebellion more than ever.'
Shaking his head at the thought, Shisui murmured to himself, "No, it needs to be done. If I don't, who knows what will happen?"
Finishing his patrol, Shisui nodded towards one of his teammates, who waved back as they switched guard positions with each other. Returning back to the outpost where his team made camp, Shisui's determination held strong as he decided on his course of action for the coming days.
(One week later)
It was around midday when Shisui arrived back at Konoha. Another jōnin team had come to relieve them the day before, so he and his team had stayed one final night at the outpost before returning to the village the following day.
As the team approached the front gates of Konoha, Shisui could see that the gates were currently wide open, while the two gate guards were sitting in a booth to their left inside the walls of the village. The booth was located on the left side of the gate, and the two chūnin sitting inside were at attention, seemingly on the lookout for anything suspicious.
One of the two chūnin saw the team as they approached the front gate, and waved them over to where they were located. The other gate guard, noticing his associate's actions, moved to grab the checklist in preparation to sign them in.
As the team entered through the gates, the first chūnin called out, "Halt! State your name and business here in Konohagakure no Sato."
Stopping, Shisui turned to face the gate guard and said, "Jōnin Shisui Uchiha and team returning from border patrol between Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni."
While the second gate guard began going through the papers, one of Shisui's teammates asked, "So who are you two? I don't think I've ever seen you out here before."
"I'm Kotetsu Hagane, and my partner here is Izumo Kamizuki. This is our first time being assigned to gate mission duty. No more chasing Tora for us!" The first guard replied. Hearing their names, Shisui dimly remembered that they had been promoted recently for their service in the field, though a small part of him wondered if it was to take pity on them after seeing them chase the Daimyo's wife's cat for several years.
"Yeah, I'm just glad our skills are finally being put towards the greater good of Konoha." Izumo said.
Another member of his team sniggered at the comment. "Wait until they found out that gate duty is basically the D-rank missions for chūnins." The rest of the group tried to hide their laughter, imagining the expressions on the two new chūnins' faces of when they finally learned what it was really like being a gate guard.
Finally finding the sheet noting their departure, Izumo made a couple of marks on the sheet of paper, before turning back towards the group and said, "Yes, your team is cleared for entry Shisui-san. Please make your way to the Hokage tower for debriefing."
"Thank you Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san. Enjoy the rest of your day." Shisui replied good-naturedly, before taking off towards the Hokage tower. After giving their own regards to the two chūnin, the rest of the team followed.
As they ran across the rooftops, the team quickly made their way towards the Hokage tower. They passed overhead the heads of many villagers and children alike; some noticing them, others ignoring the quick shinobi.
Shisui jumped back down into the streets once he reached the Hokage tower, and quickly walked through the entrance. The lobby was a busy workplace, with people moving around each other, usually carrying packages or stacks of paper with them. Navigating through the mass of workers, Shisui made his way to the front desk, where a secretary was sitting. The secretary directed him towards the Hokage's office, where he made his way to with his team following right behind him.
As they made their way towards the Hokage's office's entrance, Shisui watched as an old man with bandages over one eye and a brace around his arm on the same side walk out of the office. A second old man and an old woman followed the crippled elder out the door. Recognizing the people standing before him, Shisui and his team gave a short bow in the elders' direction as they slowly walked past, the cane in the bandaged man's good hand making a quiet thump every time it met the ground.
Entering the Hokage's office, the team saw both the Third and Fourth Hokages quietly talking to one another. Coughing into his sleeve to get their attention, Shisui said, "Team Shisui reporting in from border patrol, Hokage-sama, Sandaime-sama."
"Ah yes," the Sandaime spoke, "Your team was assigned to our border with Mizu no Kuni, correct?"
"Hai. My team and I left for the border a week ago. We patrolled the border, until another team arrived yesterday to replace us. We then left in the morning and returned back to Konoha." Shisui reported.
"Did anything of note happen while you were out there?" Minato asked.
"No, Hokage-sama. Other than a few small skirmishes between us and some Kiri shinobi, the border was relatively quiet. We are unsure as to whether or not they were members of the bloodline rebels." Shisui answered.
"Thank you Shisui-san. Could you please stay with us for a moment longer? The rest of you are dismissed; be sure to hand in your reports within three days please." The Hokage said.
"Hai Hokage-sama," the rest of Team Shisui saluted before leaving the room, with some of the members taking a quick glance back at their captain, wondering what they could possibly need to talk about.
A couple moments after the door closed, as they heard the sounds of footsteps walking away and the sound of voices getting quieter, Shisui turned back towards the two kages. "So what did you want to talk to me about, Hokage-sama?"
A sigh escaped from Minato's lips. "Let's move this conversation to another room. It would be best if we had everyone in one place before we continued any further."
Not knowing what else to do, Shisui waited until both Minato and Hiruzen got up and left the room, before following them through the halls of the Hokage into what appeared to be a medium-sized meeting room. It was there that the three elders he had seen before were quietly speaking to each other. What they were speaking about, he would never know.
The elders noticed almost immediately when the two kages and the Uchiha entered the room. Without a word, they moved to take their own seats at a table on the opposite end of the room. Minato and Hiruzen walked over to sit down at the table as well, leaving Shisui to stand alone in front of the senior members as they took their seats.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Shisui, kneeling down on one knee in front of his superiors, finally asked.
Ignoring Shisui for a moment, Minato called out, "Weasel." An ANBU member appeared next to Shisui, and kneeled beside him. "Please take off your mask."
Looking the face of Itachi Uchiha, who seemed just as confused as he was, Shisui turned to look back at the Hokage, searching for an answer on his facial expression.
"ANBU, please leave us alone for now," Minato said to seemingly no one. After sensing several signatures leaving the vicinity, he continued, "We would like for you to give us an update on the Uchiha coup d'état, Itachi. Since Shisui wasn't in the village this past week, he's here to get updated on the situation."
Itachi nodded. "The majority of the Uchiha clan is still in support of the rebellion, Hokage-sama. While the clan doesn't seem to have made any moves against Konoha yet, many of the younger population who are aware of the coup have started to act more aggressively against the villagers and fellow shinobi."
"Unfortunately, our efforts have not borne any fruit," Hiruzen stated. "Whatever we have tried to offer in order to appease them, the Uchiha clan leaders have not accepted."
"At the rate this is going, the clan may be ready to act as soon as next week," Itachi added helpfully. "If something is to be done, it needs to be done quickly."
"I'm telling you, Minato, the only way we can solve the problem now is by making an example of the Uchiha clan," Danzō said. "Show the rest of the clans that it is Konoha who is in charge, and that dissent will not be tolerated."
"I have to agree with Danzō, Hokage-sama," Homura said. "At the rate this is going, we won't be able to reach a settlement before some bloodshed happens."
"Enough!" Hiruzen shouted. "We should not be talking about such things in front of these two." All the people there could see the flurry of emotions flashing across both Itachi's and Shisui's faces as they silently listened to their deliberations.
"Maybe so," Minato sighed, "But it still doesn't help what we are going to do to try and resolve this situation."
"I've been stirring over an idea, but it may or may not work," Shisui spoke up, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room. "The real problem that needs to be dealt with are the clan elders and the clan head, Fugaku Uchiha. Because they are leading the movement, the rest of the clan defers to them. If we are able to convince them to stop, then the rest of the clan should follow."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Koharu, another one of the elders, snorted.
Shisui closed his eyes for a moment, before reopening them to have his Sharingan eyes staring back at the four people at the table. Knowing that his next words would decide the course of their actions, he knew he would have to choose them carefully.
Everyone else in the room was shocked when Shisui's Sharingan morphed from the standard three tomoe into a four-pointed pinwheel in both eyes. "The Mangekyō Sharingan," Hiruzen uttered in disbelief, shocked to see what he had only heard about in the past. His sensei, the Nidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju, had told him about the Mangekyō Sharingan once before, and that only a small number of Uchihas had ever managed to evolve their eyes past the standard three tomoe, one of them being the other founder of Konoha, Madara Uchiha.
"Yes, Sandaime-sama. With my Mangekyō Sharingan, I have developed a powerful genjutsu technique that is considered to be of the highest caliber. This technique, which I learned is called Kotoamatsukami, grants the user the ability to subtly manipulate anyone within my eyesight, and can add or erase memories accordingly to his or her mind."
"I believe if I use this technique on the Uchiha clan leaders, I would be able to at least buy you some more time to come up with a proposition. Best case scenario, Fugaku-sama and the elders will back down, and talks of a coup will end. Worst case scenario," Here Shisui winced a little, "The Uchiha clan will find out what I tried to do and will act against Konoha immediately. Not to mention I will be cast out of the clan."
"If it's for the good of Konoha, then it will be a small price to pay," Danzō said, receiving mild glares from Shisui and Itachi, as well as a stern look from Hiruzen. "While this plan does have some merit to it, there are too many risks that come with it as well. Better to kill off the majority of the clan, so that no loose ends will be left behind."
"If we go ahead with your plan Danzō, then Konoha will be severely weakened from the loss of one of our major clans. This plan lets us retain the strength of the Uchiha clan, as well as prevents the loss of life here in the village," Hiruzen criticized.
Shisui looked towards Minato, who had his head lowered slightly, deep in thought. Raising his head, Minato ordered, "Shisui, if you would, buy us as much time as you possibly can. We'll come up with a resolution quickly. Itachi, return to your post. Make sure no one else finds out what we have discussed here today. You are dismissed; the rest of us have another thing we need to discuss."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shisui and Itachi both said, before they both left the room. Neither of them noticed the conspiring look on Danzō's face as they walked away.
The Academy students were all outside for their lunch break. Many of them were sitting and talking with their own little clichés, with the largest group being all of the clan heirs roughly sitting together. In fact, the only civilian born student with them was Sakura, but that was because she had been invited over by Ino.
While many of the kids within the group were busy eating and chatting amongst one another, one member was staring off into the distance, his bento left opened but untouched in front of him.
Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze sat slightly away from his group of friends, gathering his own thoughts but being dimly aware of the conversation being spoken beside him. What was going through his mind, one might ask. Well, being a ninja-in-training, Naruto paid more attention to his surroundings than civilians, and as such was accustomed to picking out quick movement in his peripheral vision.
Just a couple of minutes ago he had seen out the corner of his eye several ninjas moving quickly across the rooftops. Despite not being able to identify who they were, Naruto knew that his sensei was supposed to return sometime today, and therefore inferred who had just arrived back in the village.
A soft shake on his shoulders shook him out of his thoughts. "Naru-nii," Menma said. "Why aren't you eating your food?"
"Sorry Menma-otouto," Naruto had a faint smile on his face. "I was thinking about something else."
"About what?" Menma asked.
"Training," was the simple answer given to the younger Uzumaki-Namikaze son.
Menma pouted at the response. "Naru-nii, that's all you ever think about. You should stop and come play with us one of these days."
'He's right,' Naruto realized. 'I've been so focused on getting stronger so I could protect them that I ended up spending less time with my siblings.'
"You're right." Naruto spoke, startling Menma with his sudden statement. "I haven't been spending much time with you, Natsumi-chan and Naomi-chan lately. Tell you what, today I'll join you guys in whatever you're doing after the Academy lets us out, okay?"
"Really?" Menma had stars shining in his eyes, the prospect of spending more time with his nii-chan extremely appealing to him.
"Yes. Shisui-sensei is returning from his mission today, so I don't think he will mind if I show up a bit later today, especially if he hears that I'm spending that time with my little otouto." Naruto said.
"Yay!" Menma cheered. "By the way, we're going to go to Ichiraku Ramen after school today."
"Do you go there every day after school?" Naruto asked. While ramen was an extremely delicious dish to eat, Naruto knew that it usually didn't have enough nutrients to sustain a young, growing child.
"Not every day. I wish we did though; kaa-chan only lets us come a few days a week," Menma whined.
"That's good of her," Naruto replied, a slight smirk on his face. "Eating ramen all the time isn't healthy for you, no matter how good it is."
"Not you too, Naru-nii!" Menma wailed dramatically, fake collapsing on the ground as though he was in distress.
"Doesn't mean that it's not true, Menma-otouto." Naruto said. Picking up his bento, Naruto took out a piece of food and began to eat it. "Come on, Menma-otouto. If you don't eat now, then you won't be able to go to Ichiraku Ramen later."
"Hey!" Menma argued. "You're not my mother!" Naruto simply chuckled good-naturedly at his brother's behavior.
It was good that they were showing a positive connection with each other right now, as external events would cause this to be the last time they would get to spend a significant amount of time with each other in many years.
Shisui crouched down on a branch as he overlooked the market area of the Uchiha clan district, watching as the civilian members and some shinobi members of the clan mingled with each other within the marketplace. As he searched among the crowd for his target, his mind thought back to what happened after their discussion.
After leaving the meeting room, Shisui and Itachi had split up, Shisui to the Uchiha district, and Itachi back to his ANBU duties. Despite not being happy with this decision, Itachi had grudgingly agreed that it would be more suspicious if both of them had gone when only Shisui was needed to carry out his task. Not to mention Itachi's ANBU teammates would have noticed that he hadn't returned after his meeting with the Hokage and his advisors.
Now, he was searching for the clan head or one of the clan elders, so he could complete his self-imposed task, and to hopefully help prevent the coup from even taking place.
As he watched over the marketplace, Shisui noticed a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye. Jumping backwards to another branch, he saw four kunai hit the branch he had been standing on from two different directions, both coming from the general direction of his clan district.
Seeing more movement in his surroundings, Shisui started jumping between branches as shuriken began flying through the air seemingly from all directions. He began heading towards a clearing where he knew the terrain and would be able to draw them out of the trees.
As he moved, Shisui risked a moment to glance back and try to see exactly who he was up against. To his surprise, he saw two cloaked figures pursuing him, both with blank ANBU-styled masks on. In the edge of his vision, he could make out several more figures running on both sides in the forest.
'ANBU? Why are they attacking me? Shouldn't they know that they aren't allowed to patrol near any clan district?' Shisui thought, perplexed by the identity of his attackers. Not dwelling on the matter, he concentrated on dodging the few shuriken that came his way as he drew closer and closer to his destination.
Landing in the middle of the clearing, Shisui turned to face his would-be attackers. He saw five distinct figures land at the edge of the clearing, though they didn't try to enter out into the open.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking a fellow Konoha shinobi?" Shisui ordered. Though he didn't expect them to give him an answer, it would at least give him a moment to catch his breath and come up with a form of action against them.
The ANBU remained motionless, opting to stay in a standoff against the lone Uchiha. It wasn't until the sound of footsteps breaking the silence that brought the attention of both sides to the newcomer.
The newcomer was an all-too familiar bandaged, cane wielding old man to Shisui. The brace around his right arm was nowhere to be found, something that Shisui took note of. His presence spoke volumes at what was happening at the moment. "Danzō-sama… I guess your presence here means that these ANBU here are members of the Foundation, am I correct?"
"Shisui Uchiha," Danzō spoke slowly, "The strongest member of the Uchiha clan today. It's a shame you didn't join me before. I promise I'll take good care of your eyes though. Fūton: Shinkūgyoku!" His hands went through several quick hand-seals before several dozen small wind spheres exploded from his mouth, fanning towards Shisui in a wave of bullets.
"Shunshin no Jutsu." Shisui quickly flickered out of the wave of wind spheres spheres before reappearing next to Danzō. His tantō drawn, flickering with the flames of Katon chakra running through the blade, Shisui swung down at the elder, who had pulled a kunai out from the sleeve of his kimono and rose the short weapon to block. The kunai, flowing with Fūton chakra, caused a small explosion as the two different elements mixed through the collision of the blades.
Shisui disappeared once more, his Shunshin no Jutsu leaving little to no trace of his presence. Danzō quickly moved as well, utilizing his own Shunshin in an attempt to keep up with the speedy Uchiha. The Root shinobi could only watch as small explosions broke out across the clearing as they watched their leader go up against the proclaimed strongest Uchiha.
The two shinobi reappeared once more on opposite sides of the clearing. Both of the sported some damage on their clothes; Shisui had a couple of cuts along his sleeves and a rip along the edge of one side of his pants, while Danzō sported several burn marks on his robe.
"Why?" Shisui asked, panting heavily as he paused to catch his breath. "Don't you want to resolve this conflict like the rest of us? Why are you going against the Hokage's orders?"
"Minato is too naïve." Danzō replied. "He and Hiruzen are too caught up in the light that they are unable to do what's necessary when the situation calls for it. It falls to me to ensure that the darkness is upheld in this world. After all, light cannot exist without darkness."
"You're not even giving the plan a chance to work! How can you say that when you have no idea what the final outcome would be?"
"Very easily," Danzō said, going through some hand seals that Shisui, to his growing horror, recognized. "Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku!"
Unlike his last attack, which was a wave of wind bullets over a wide area, this particular technique merged the Fūton chakra Danzō gathered in his lungs and fired a single large wind sphere straight at Shisui.
Looking at the Fūton jutsu flying right at him, Shisui's Sharingan flashed as he quickly went through his own set of hand seals to counter. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Expelling a large fireball at the incoming wind sphere, the mixture of fire and wind caused a massive explosion to engulf a majority of the field. Gripping his tantō once more, Shisui jumped straight into the ash cloud, hoping to surprise the aged veteran with an unorthodox tactic.
To his chagrin, Shisui found the clearing empty when he emerged from the other side of the ash cloud. 'He definitely deserves his reputation,' Shisui begrudgingly admitted to himself.
His Sharingan spinning, Shisui kept his guard up as he looked for where the Konoha elder would show up. Despite seeming to be an old man, Danzō was a battle-worn veteran who was not to be taken lightly in any situation.
The slight movement of wind that accompanied the chakra enhanced kunai was the only warning he got before dashing out of the way. Despite this, the kunai was still able to inflict a medium-sized cut on Shisui's arm as it flew past and through a tree trunk on the other side of the clearing before disappearing. Turning towards the direction of the thrown kunai, Shisui spotted Danzō crouching in the shadow of a large tree, one arm extended in a throwing position. He flashed a small smirk at the elder, though that quickly disappeared when he noticed a Sharingan where the bandages on the elder's face used to cover.
During the time that he had slipped away, Danzō had taken the opportunity to unveil the secret Sharingan eye he kept hidden in his covered right eye socket to help aid him in this fight. He also went to make sure that the bandages wrapped around his right arm hadn't fallen off yet; with the metal brace off, these bandages were much more liable to sustaining damage in the battle.
Leveling a stone cold gaze at the elder, Shisui said, "Enough is enough. I'll end this now." Making eye-contact with Danzō, whose own Sharingan stared resolutely back at him, Shisui muttered, "Genjutsu: Sharingan."
(Genjutsu World)
Shisui watched as he and Danzō stood alone in an empty field, void of all life except for the two of them. His Sharingan spun lazily as he stared at the elder's own red eye.
Stretching out a hand, several shuriken instantly materialized in Shisui's hands before he threw them with practiced ease. Across from him, he could see Danzō bring out a kunai to deflect the incoming shuriken.
It became a battle of wills between the two genjutsu users, each trying to assert their influence over the other. As attacks continued to be thrown at one another, it soon became clear that Shisui had the clear advantage. While Danzō's experience and his Sharingan helped him keep up with the Uchiha, in the end that was all he could do to fight against his mental prowess.
Having drawn a sword in the middle of the fight, Shisui was using it easily to deflect any weapons or attacks that Danzō was throwing his way. As he used one arm to swing the sword around, he raised his other hand forward and waved it around; tree roots rose up around the elder and bound him securely in place.
Danzō's face furrowed slightly, as wind blades materialized around him in an attempt to cut himself free, though he was only partially successfully.
Swinging his sword down several times, Shisui shot several wind strikes of his own at the immobile ex-ANBU, who could do nothing as he was forced to take the hits. The wind strikes cut through the tree roots with ease, and several gashes opened up on Danzō's body. The elder's own wind blades dissipated as he lost his concentration from the sudden pain of his ethereal wounds.
Approaching the elder, he watched Danzō sink to the ground, covered in blood. Standing in front of his kneeling form, Shisui simply said, "It was your mistake to pick a genjutsu fight with me," and brought his sword down.
In the real world, the two battling shinobi stood facing each other, neither moving an inch from where they were. A Genjutsu fight, after all, is a fight between wills and mental strength.
The Root shinobi were tense as they watched the two unmoving shinobi. Recognizing a genjutsu fight, they didn't dare trying to interfere, lest they get caught in the middle of the mental warfare.
Suddenly, they watched as Danzō sunk to his knees, bringing his left bandaged hand to cover his Sharingan and planting his right hand firmly on the ground to support himself, all while panting heavily from the strain.
Shisui, on the other hand, barely looked winded at all. While Danzō dropped, he had merely stumbled a little as he regained his sense of balance. Focusing in the downed elder, who sending an angry scowl in his direction, Shisui sent his own glare back at him. Bringing his tantō up as he pushed off the ground, rocketing straight towards Danzō, Shisui thought to himself, 'No matter what happens, Danzō needs to be put down. His presence will only bring the Uchiha clan closer to ruin.'
Even though the Root ANBU reacted immediately the moment they saw their leader collapse to the ground, they didn't stand a chance at competing with the Uchiha in speed. They could only watch as Shisui appeared instantly in front of Danzō, his tantō up and flowing with Katon chakra, as he slashed through the elder. From the angle he came at, his sword wasn't able to reach completely across the man's body, only going through about three quarters of the body. But since the sword sliced through the upper chest of the man, through one lung and half of the other as well as everything on the right side of his body and in between, it was safe to assume that his blow would be a fatal one. Nobody noticed that a small smirk appeared on Danzō's face as he came crashing to the floor.
As Shisui came to a stop, he turned around to both confirm that Danzō was indeed dead and to make sure that the Root shinobi that were watching wouldn't try to catch him off guard, only to freeze in shock. The Root ANBU were similarly stopped in place, all five of them staring at where Danzō's body was—or where it used to be. The elder's body was fading away in front of their eyes, leaving no trace of his body.
'What? My body can't move?' Shisui panicked, having tried to move the moment Danzō's body completely disappeared. He could only watch helplessly as Danzō rematerialized in front of him, noticeably missing a giant slash through his upper body, with his left arm stretched forward to pluck out his right eye.
"Agggghhhh!" Shisui screamed in pain as Danzō's fingers sunk into his eye socket, grasping the eye before sharply ripping it out. With a firm grasp on the eye, Danzō quickly jumped back to get some space from Shisui, who had fallen to one knee in pain, his right hand oozing with blood as it covered his empty eye socket, his left hand on the ground for support, and his left Sharingan spinning in a menacing manner at the elder.
"One eye has been acquired," Danzō said, mostly to himself. "Give up, Shisui-san. You can't win." This was directed at the angry Uchiha, who hadn't moved from his position.
"How… how did you escape? I was sure I had you dead." Shisui asked. He had closed his right eye socket in an attempt to help stop the flow of blood as he tried to figure out a solution to his problem. He was skilled enough to recognize that he had lost the momentum he had, and knew that if he didn't do something soon, he was most likely going to die.
"It figures you wouldn't know about the Izanagi," Danzō replied, seeing no harm in telling the wounded Uchiha in what would most likely be his last moments. At the same time, he motioned with his right hand to his Root ANBU to cut off any escape the Uchiha might be planning.
"The Izanagi is a forbidden kinjutsu of the Uchiha clan that I obtained after many long years of hard work. At the cost of permanent blindness in one Sharingan eye, the user can rewrite reality in whatever form they wish. For example, if I activate this technique moments before I die…"
"Then you could escape your own death." Shisui finished. Gritting his teeth, his thoughts turned towards an important point that Danzō had made in his explanation. "Then your Sharingan…"
"A small price to pay, but the prize is well worth the effort." Danzō started to take small but deliberate steps towards the young jōnin, increasing the tension in the air. "Please give up, Shisui-san. You have lost this battle."
Before he could walk any further, he heard the cry, "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" Quickly jumping backwards, Danzō watched as a hail of small fireballs rained down upon the clearing, forcing him and his Root agents to scatter in order to avoid the fireballs. Noticeably, they all landed around Shisui, and when the technique finally stopped, Danzō could see a Weasel-masked ANBU land next to Shisui.
Weasel grabbed one of Shisui's arms and slung the man over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Once Shisui was slung over his back, Weasel quickly let go to perform some quick hand signs before unleashing a Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu in the Foundation members' general direction. The moment the massive fireball left his mask, he immediately grabbed hold of both of Shisui's arms before turning around and running off into the forest.
"Go after them and make sure to kill Shisui!" Danzō barked at his subordinates, who immediately began moving to follow in pursuit of the ANBU member. "Be sure not to damage his remaining eye, and bring it back to me!" He called after them.
As he turned around to head back to the village with his first prize, he saw that one of his Root had stayed behind, standing at attention. "What of the other ANBU?" He asked in a monotone voice.
"Try not to kill him," Danzō said. "It would cause too many problems if he were to die now. However, if there's no other choice, be sure to do it discreetly."
The Root member nodded before turning to run after his teammates. Watching the last member go, Danzō relaxed a little before turning to head back to the village, intent on replacing the blinded Sharingan with the one he had taken from Shisui.
Jumping through the trees, Weasel quickly ran through a mental list of his possible courses of action. With Shisui injured and conscious across one of his shoulders, the first priority should be to get him to the nearest medic. Unfortunately for him, he had took off in a random direction the moment he secured his friend, so they weren't headed towards any medical structures.
"Itachi?" Shisui slowly asked as they sped through the trees. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, so I decided to come and assist you. I'm glad that I did, since it seemed like you were in a real bind back there." Itachi replied.
"Itachi… the plan has been compromised. Danzō won't stop until I'm dead, since he wasn't able to kill me back there. One of us have to make it back alive, and you're still uninjured."
Confused, Itachi asked, "Why was he attacking you though? I thought he wanted the Uchiha rebellion to be quelled as well."
"He didn't agree with how we were going to do it. Itachi, you have to warn the Hokage: Danzō had a Sharingan underneath the bandages on his head, and he tried to steal my Mangekyō Sharingan just now. He'll definitely try to take yours as well if you stay."
Itachi was shocked. "Is that why your eye is bleeding?"
"Yeah," Shisui grunted out as a new wave of pain hit him. "He managed to take one before you got here, and I have no doubt he'll try to take the other one as well."
Itachi began to ask another question, but abruptly stopped as three kunai flew past him and hit the trees in front of them. Wrapped with explosive tags, the moment the kunai hit the trees they exploded, causing a cloud of smoke erupt in from of the two Uchiha. Unable to stop their momentum, Itachi was forced to carry them through the smoke, effectively blinding the two of them.
Due to the smoke, Itachi was unable to see one of the Root shinobi head straight towards them and kicked them down towards the ground. Hurtling out of the smoke cloud, Itachi and Shisui landed painfully in the middle of a small, open area close to the edge of the woods.
Hitting the ground, Itachi laid there stunned for a moment, during which another Root ANBU quickly approached them, his tantō out and swinging in a decapitating motion.
Quickly withdrawing his own katana from his ANBU uniform, Itachi brought it up in a block, which managed to hold its own as the enemy's tantō connected. Immediately being pushed back, Itachi dug his heels into the ground in order to counter the force pushing against him, halting them in place. Out of the side of his eyes, Itachi's Sharingan picked up two other Root agents dropping down on either side and rushing him. His senses also noticed two chakra signatures going
Despite being able to see them coming at him, Itachi was forced to hold his ground and do nothing as the two enemy shinobi charged at him, one with his tantō out, the other holding a kunai in a reverse grip. The Root ninja locking swords with him was also avoiding his gaze, leaving him unable to cast any genjutsu without sustaining serious injury to himself. Despite Itachi's natural prowess, he was still only 13 years old, and as such had not yet learned how to cast powerful genjutsu without the use of his Sharingan.
Being forced into a corner, Itachi was left in a tight situation. He could either stay there defending Shisui, who was down on the ground behind him, and hope an opening that he could take advantage of appeared when the two approaching shinobi made their moves; he could try to cast a jutsu in the several seconds he had, though that would require him to let go of his katana with at least one hand, thereby lessening the force he was pushing against the first Root agent; or he could jump back and gain some breathing room from the three enemy shinobi, though that would leave Shisui in between him and them, which was what he was trying to avoid.
The Root ANBU made the decision for Itachi, jumping backwards as soon as he felt his two allies were within striking distance. Momentarily disoriented by sudden lack of resistance, Itachi was only able to bring his guard up to defend against one of his attackers. His katana clashing with the second tantō-wielding ANBU, Itachi could do nothing as the kunai-wielding ANBU's foot crashed against his abdomen, sending him flying across the clearing. Luckily for him, neither his katana nor the tantō did any damage to him as the two swords disengaged.
Unfortunately, this action left Shisui wide open, which the Root ANBU took full advantage of. The moment Itachi was sent flying, the first ANBU reversed his movement and sprinted back towards the fray. Reaching Shisui, who was pushing himself up to face the upcoming threat, the ANBU delivered his own kick against Shisui's abdomen, sending him further away from Itachi.
The Root ANBU regrouped in the middle of the area in between of the two Uchiha. The two missing ANBU joined the original three there, having looped around the sides in case Itachi had tried to make an escape before. While one of the ANBU turned to face Itachi in case he tried to interfere with their mission, the other four Root turned towards Shisui. "Throw explosive tags at him, and aim away from his face!" One of the Root members ordered the others.
The four Root agents threw around a dozen explosive tags at Shisui, who had managed to support himself onto one of his knees. Itachi, who was unable to do anything without attempting to go through the group of ANBU, could only watch as the kunai exploded around his friend. Confident that Shisui had been dealt with, three of the ANBU turned around to deal with Itachi, while the other two went to secure the objective for their leader.
A startled gasp from one of the Root ANBU soon drew everyone's attention as their eyes turned to look at the source of the noise. They all stared in shock as the smoke that remained from the explosive tags were emanating a strange green glow. Hands tightening on their equipment, the Root shinobi tensed as they waited for the smoke cloud to disperse. During this time, Itachi took the chance to sneak off and circle around to the right, both to get a better vantage point on the Root shinobi and to try and see what had happened to Shisui.
To Itachi's amazement and the Root ANBUs' horror, the smoke revealed a greenish tinted skeletal skull and ribcage formed around Shisui, who had managed to stand onto his two feet, though his right eye was still closed shut with drying blood still leaking from the eyelids.
"Susanoo." Shisui uttered quietly. The power of the technique could be felt just by hearing the name. As they watched in disbelief, a set of armor had already begun materializing along the ribcage, improving the technique's defensive power and giving it a more complete feel.
Realizing that Shisui would only get stronger if they didn't stop him now, three of the Root shinobi immediately charged ahead, while the other two started going through various hand signs in order to provide support for their comrades.
During that time, a green drill had formed in the right hand of the armored figure, which appeared to be the main weapon as the armor finished forming. As Shisui raised his own right arm in front of him, the armored titan around him mimicked his actions, lifting its drill hand and pointing it towards the rushing Root ninja.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo." Shisui intoned. The green drill began glowing intensely as chakra was channeled into it, before it released a flurry of chakra needles at the enemy. Needless to say, the Root shinobi who were charging forward had no time to react as the needles pierced their bodies, sending them face first into the ground. The shinobi standing further back were able to get out of the way as they had more time to react to the incoming needles, which zipped harmlessly past them before dissipating harmlessly into the distance.
One of the two remaining Root operatives immediately turned to flee the scene, which the other noticed. Knowing that if they weren't able to complete the mission their immediate objective would be to report back to base, the second shinobi drew his tantō in a defiant stand to buy time for his comrade to get away. As he turned to face the green juggernaut, he felt the heat of a fireball whisk past his back, along with the startled cry of his comrade. Frantically moving to try and get a clear view of the two attackers, the ANBU could do nothing as he heard a cry of "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" before a second fireball impacted his body.
Seeing the final two Root shinobi go down, Shisui sagged in relief as he sunk to the ground, his Susanoo devolving and dissipating from around him. Itachi, who had fired the second fireball from the treetops within which he was hiding, quickly dropped to the ground and ran to where Shisui had fallen. Ignoring the bodies of the ANBU on the ground, Itachi guided Shisui over to one of the trees in the small clearing, where he rested them against a tree trunk.
"Itachi," Shisui murmured as Itachi began checking over what wounds Shisui had sustained in the previous fights. "Danzō won't stop coming after me until I'm dead, especially since I survived his attack."
"Don't worry about it Shisui. Just rest for now, we can deal with this later," Itachi replied.
"No Itachi, this has become a bigger issue now. If we don't do something now, the entire clan might be faced with their destruction sooner." Shisui retorted.
Shaken by the thought, Itachi softly asked, "What do you propose we do then Shisui?"
Shisui sighed. "The only idea I have isn't good, but it will be able to buy us some time." Seeing Itachi's inquisitive look, he elaborated, "Take my left eye, and go back to the clan compound. Danzō wants me dead now, and this'll satisfy him and keep my other eye safe with you."
Itachi recoiled, shocked that Shisui would suggest such a plan. "But if you do that, then you'll die for sure. I can't do this all by myself."
"You're strong, Itachi," Shisui said, startling Itachi by the sudden acknowledgement of his strength, as his hand began to reach up towards his left eye. "If there's anyone who would be able to bring our clan together, it's you."
A resounding smack could be heard throughout the forest. Shisui stared in shock as his hand fell to the side, being slapped in the face by Itachi. A stern but sad look could be seen on Itachi's face, as unshed tears shone from his eyes.
"No Shisui, you can't just leave this all to me. What about the rest of the clan? Your death will cause them to revolt much sooner, and I don't think I'll be able to hold them back just by myself." Shisui lowered his head, quickly realizing what the consequences to his actions could be.
Seeing that his words were working, Itachi pressed on with his reasoning. "And what about Naruto-kun? How am I supposed to tell him that you killed yourself when he doesn't even know the reasoning behind it? All he'll think is that he caused you to commit suicide."
"Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I can do everything by myself Shisui. I'm still young, and I have no doubt that I will need your help in the upcoming future." Itachi finished, looking down to the ground as he admitted his flaw.
Itachi held his breath, unsure of whether or not Shisui would be swayed. "Alright Itachi, I'm okay now," Shisui suddenly said, "Sorry for trying to get out of the situation. Let's head back."
Itachi smiled, happy that his friend would be there to help him, before a thought struck his mind. "Shisui, one other thing." Getting a questioning look from Shisui, Itachi continued, "Recently, I've been approached by a strange man. He wore an orange spiral-designed mask and dark armored clothing, and he had the Sharingan."
"What?" Shisui was startled. Apart from Kakashi Hatake, he had never heard of anyone else outside the clan possessing their famed dōjutsu.
"That's not all, he claimed to be Madara Uchiha. I don't know whether he's telling the truth or not, but the man is extremely dangerous." Itachi said.
"We shouldn't take his word that he is who he claims," Shisui interjected. "It's possible that he is simply using Madara's name to further his own goals. Madara Uchiha is infamous around the Elemental Nations, and claiming to be on par with him means either he's a fool or he has considerable power at his disposal."
"Right, well this Madara offered to help me deal with our clan's coup d'état. His suggested plan aligns with Danzō's in that he would help kill the members of our clan, but in return I would have to help him achieve his goals." Itachi finished.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't trust him, seeing that we have no idea who he is. And if he claims to be able to assist in wiping out the entire Uchiha clan, he's definitely someone we need to watch." Shisui voiced.
"I agree completely." Itachi replied. "I just wanted you to know so that you could help keep an eye out for that man and what his end goals may be. A wild card isn't something we need to deal with right now."
"Okay, but why didn't you tell me sooner then?" Shisui questioned as Itachi helped him get off the ground and started walking back towards the village, ignoring the dead Root shinobi lying on the ground around them.
"This encounter happened right before you left for your mission." Itachi deadpanned. "You left so quickly that I wasn't able to tell you beforehand."
"Oh," Shisui stayed silent for a second. "That seemed like it happened so long ago."
Fūton: Shinkūgyoku - Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere
Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku - Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere
Genjutsu: Sharingan - Illusion Technique - Copy Eye Wheel
Izanagi - Izanagi
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu - Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique
Kotoamatsukami - Distinguished Heavenly Gods
Shunshin no Jutsu - Body Flicker Technique
Susanoo - He with the ability to help by all means
Susanoo: Tsukumo - He with the ability to help by all means: Ninety-Nine
Hello there. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my fanfic. It really means alot to me.
We've passed both the 100 favorites and the 100 follows marks! I'm honored to see that at least 100 of you amazing readers have enjoyed my story enough to leave a favorite/follow on this story.
Sorry that this update took so long to write though. I wanted to get the entire event into one chapter, but due to how long it was taking me to write it, I decided to split it up into two chapters. The next update should conclude this sort-of arc. I hope that the fighting scenes, while kind of short, are to your liking. Although I may have been too descriptive in some scenes, I've always disliked being kept in the dark on how things work. Hopefully this won't take away too much from the story.
Also sorry that this chapter is kinda Shisui-centric. I wanted the story to have Shisui's background established in this chapter, but I didn't quite realize how much that ended up being until I was almost done.
After rereading the first few chapters, I realized that what I had written may not have worked out so well as I had hoped it to be. Eventually, I will revise the chapters, but I will most likely just replace the chapter I am revising. This will be done on my own time, however, as I would like to get farther along with the story before I begin any minor-ish revisions.
One such thing is the Kotoamatsukami I gave the masked man (we all know who he is, but for the sake of the story, I'll keep him described that way for now). While according to canon, Kotoamatsukami is unique to Shisui, I felt that the regular Sharingan was too weak to be able to control other people such as Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage. When I first started writing this story, I thought by giving this technique to the masked man, it could help explain how his genjutsu is so potent. I would like your opinions as to whether or not this characteristic takes away from the plot or not.
One of the viewers asked whether a Naruto/Yakumo pairing would be considered in this story. I'm sorry to say that this pairing won't be happening here. Not only would it not follow the plot that I've laid out, but I also don't think I know enough about Yakumo to portray her properly.
If any of you have any ideas as to how I can improve my story, whether it be content I have already written or stuff to do in the future, I would be more than happy to receive those comments in either the reviews and/or a PM. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again in the next chapter.