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04—Moon and Death—Last Days of Shisui, the Teleporter.
Life and death mean nothing when the shards of glass reflect blood upon the moon. To that being made from glass and blood, what did it think when it committed such sins. Shattered glass laid upon the floor, and death followed.
{01— Shisui Uchiha}
Two shinobi of the Leaf faced each other in the training ground. There was a small stream nearby with white pebbles, along with logs full of shuriken stuck to it. This was a place of combat and training alike, and these two were not simple shinobi. No, they were ANBU, one of the highest levels of shinobi there was in the Leaf. These were highly skilled warriors that committed to accomplishing every single mission, with a level of professionalism that was not to be discredited by anyone.
One was a senior to the other. However both had achieved the ranking of ANBU Captains at a young age. One was 17, the other was 13. They were from the same clan and their bloodline was reflected upon their eyes. Three tomoe and a red iris, mirrored by the opponent as well. This duo had often trained everything together and achieved such an understanding of their powers early on in life due to their selflessness and transparency in training.
Shisui and Itachi faced each other in another bout, one of many. They were the best illusion users in the whole village, fooling their enemies with their eyes.
However, to train such a branch of techniques, one must have a target where they can train their illusions upon.
So, both Shisui and Itachi used each other as training dummies for their illusions, and why they were so experienced in destroying enemies with that branch of shinobi arts so young in their life. Along with that, using shadow clones as a target dummy was also a great way to train. Illusions were still often dangerous, since the most horrifying ones can cause mental damage and injure the psyche of their target if not careful.
"Here I come."
Shisui announced his charge, because Itachi often was lacking when it came to pure speed, Shisui was the greatest user of the teleport skill, and with that his enemies were often not aware of their death, until they noticed a deep gash in their neck. Which was why Shishui often trained Itachi in his reflexes, and that made Itachi a dangerous opponent, since his sharingan eyes could record everything in the battlefield, and now his body was becoming strong enough that he could follow up with a counterattack. Itachi was a composed fighter, and his deceptive strength was something enemies didn't consider. For that, Shisui thought that Itachi was the strongest Uchiha other than him, or the clan leader Fugaku.
At the end of the bout, Shisui came out slightly ahead, while Itachi fell on the floor, tired as he was. The ground was littered with flames, along with many craters and even more weapons strewn about.
"How's that! I've got more wins than you now!" Shisui pointed at himself and gloated. "Well, if you hadn't had your mind elsewhere, then this might have turned out differently." Both joined their fingers in the friendship seal. Shisui let him up.
"Nii-sama, Shisui-san."
Kaguya arrived, scaring both older Uchiha. She wore an intricate Yukata that was too cumbersome to wear for a ninja, with intricate black and gold designs. However, she approached as if walking on nothing. Her footwork was superb, even for ninjas who were supposed to be the cream of the crop of the ANBU. She brought in their lunch, most likely a ploy by her mother to get closer to Itachi in these trying times. Itachi was often furious with both their parents, they were knowingly using Kaguya's innocence to trap Itachi and for him to be loyal to the clan instead of the Leaf. Shisui was often torn on how to deal with the tiny young Uchiha princess, she had already graduated from the academy, and was on her way to becoming Chūnin at a record pace. Of course, Fugaku was very emphatic in her successes, and pushed her further.
However, there was a big point of contention. Kaguya was unorthodox. She had no Jonin master, and often took missions with a partner of her own. She was in the Genin reserves because the Jonin of the village were too preoccupied with missions. Since she was in the reserves, she picked up missions at her own pace, and she could choose Genin partners of the reserves to go with her. And the second shinobi to follow her on missions was the famed sacrifice of the Nine-Tails. Yes, Fugaku was massively furious with Kaguya for selecting Naruto Uzumaki, the scum of the Leaf to do missions with. However, Kaguya was ethereal, and avoided any orders from her father.
It was hard to order her around, when she really did not even seem to register their presences. Sometimes, Shisui felt that Kaguya looked at him as if he was nothing, that really hurt. That really hurt to see such a young girl with such a detached worldview.
This duo doing missions was something that quickly surprised the Hokage and the elders of the Uchiha clan. Every single mission that she and Naruto went alone turned into something more. C-rank missions often became B-ranked, and even some became A-ranked missions. Kaguya has been in the Genin business for over 6 months now. And her record was nothing short of impressive. So much so that the Uchiha elders wanted Kaguya to take the Chūnin exam that was coming up. Shisui has been an ANBU since he was young, so he was one of the ones assigned to protect Naruto for the first three years of his life. It was a harsh job, and often boring. Shisui had no fond memories of those hateful days, the life that Naruto led since young was full of toxicity that Shisui and other ANBU could not deal with. When the boy finally got to live alone, the protection was not needed any longer.
Shisui felt for the boy, but being even close to that level of venom was something that neither Itachi or Shisui could handle, the life of a Jinchuuriki was pure hell.
I don't know how she can handle it. She chose him to be her teammate in missions, how can she handle all that on a daily basis?
Shisui was in deep thought, so when he was kicked in the shin, he did not expect it. A quick kick to the shin, and a small push of the palm made him crash to his butt. Itachi looked at him, with a raised eyebrow, Itachi was on the ground eating his bento. Meanwhile Kaguya was above Shisui, being the one to drop him. Her features were shadowed by the bright sun.
"..."
Kaguya silently handed off his lunch. She must have been angry that she was kept waiting while he was too busy with his thoughts. Shisui was somewhat embarrassing. She really was like a ghost when she wanted to. His leg did not hurt, but the fact that she was able to drop him on his butt so quickly did sting, even though he was not with his guard up at that point.
And like a ghost she left, probably to pick up another mission with her partner, Naruto.
"I guess she is ahead of you by one point." Itachi silently joked at his blunder.
Shisui could only guffaw at his own shortcomings, who thought the princess of the Uchiha clan could be so silent, she was the most beautiful little doll up close. However, her attitude left many of the family, who wanted a warmer princess to complain silently. Some of these days, the princess of the Uchiha clan was even colder than her own father.
"Look at what we got here. Shisui, Itachi." A man aged twenty-six with similar raven features arrived in a very bad mood, he was Tomio Uchiha. He was one of the Uchiha Policemen and was frequently assigned to be the princess's bodyguard when she wandered about the village. He probably secretly followed Kaguya here and wanted to give the two youngsters of the clan a piece of his mind or something like that, Shisui was about to sigh as the tirade would start again.
"What do you want, Tomio-senpai?" Itachi asked, as the two were now eating their fill from the bento box that Kaguya had graciously delivered. Shisui ate a piece of fried pork, and it was so heavenly, crunchy and with a sweet flavor. It was so good that he almost ignored the same gibberish that the clan was spouting these days. Itachi was silent as he ate, but his star-stricken eyes made sure to announce that he loved his little sister's food. No matter how cold she was, her food was of the gods, there was no doubt. Her husband in the future would be a happy guy no doubt. Though, her frosty demeanor would put off most people. Many kunoichi in the village practiced the ice queen persona to be taken seriously, however they were just acts, Kaguya was that cold for real.
"You guys have been skipping the clan meetings way too much." Tomio had activated his Sharingan. In return, two pairs of eyes shone brilliantly red as well. Three Uchiha in this field were with their sharingan activated. Shisui, Itachi and Tomio. "Fugaku-sama has warned you guys. You are valued members of the clan after all, don't disappoint us because of a change in priorities, we must discuss the future of our clan in a safe manner. After all, the Uchiha clan has many enemies who wish to see them fail." Tomio said his piece.
Tomio was a boy who participated early into the third war. He was a Genin in the tense years leading up to the massive conflict. Small skirmishes due to the loss of power by the five great nations led to prolonged conflict. The second was considered to be the most devastating, and some critics say that the anger of that war spilled into the next, or that the second war never really ended. Despite that, the third war turned into an unprecedented war of attrition, tormenting nations with the massive loss of life and shortages. In that scenario, Tomio had survived, when many of his age did not, he was a rarity that survived twelve years of war.
Itachi and Shisui considered themselves to be the strongest Uchiha, barring Fugaku, but the overwhelming gap in experience made them wary of those who did survive the war. Because to survive in that environment, you needed to make horrible decisions. Tomio was someone who upheld the clan's ideals, and thought that Konoha did wrong by their clan, and they are suffering for it. It was a sentiment shared by most of the older generation. Which was why talks about a coup were growing inside of the clan's walls. The younger generation, and the kids who just made Genin did not know of it, but most of the adults were aware of the clan's traitorous goals.
As for Itachi and Shisui, they were asked to participate since they were the most talented warriors of the Uchiha after all. Itachi being the clan heir and Shisui being the grandson of Kagami Uchiha. However, they were also ANBU who knew of the village's power, and also the meaning of what it represented. To try and crumble all that would be calling for more war to their doorstep. The Uchiha clan was too ambitious and arrogant to think that their warriors could stave away another war.
Fugaku was powerful, but he was no Minato Namikaze, he could not win a war by himself. Shisui was a ninja who emulated what Minato could do as a ninja, he never really was good with sealing, only the journeyman stuff was comprehensible, and that information told him he would never be able to replicate the Flying God. However, that was not to say Shisui was slow. He wanted to become the fastest ninja with teleportation.
Shisui entered the war as a mint-green kid five years into the conflict. His main stages of battle were against Cloud in the Land of Frost and against Mist in the Land of Tea. Two years later, Shisui was considered to be an S-rank ninja who destroyed the two battlefields, no matter which mission he was assigned to. Being considered an S-rank Ninja when he was just 10 wasn't easy. He was NOT at that level back then. The enemies just put that arbitrary bounty on him because of his effectiveness at executing strategies. Back then he could barely beat Jonin in a straight-up fight, so he cheated a lot back then, doing everything to survive and cause the highest possible amount of damage.
He was not strong back then, he was just thrust into a precarious position, even his best friend had died in the war, making Shisui feel despair back then. Shisui could say that he grew into the position of an S-rank ninja after that. Still, he thought Itachi would surpass him soon enough, he was growing way too fast for comfort these days.
"By Tomio-san's tone, it seems it did not go well." Itachi and Shisui met at the waterfall, leading up to the valley where the river flowed below.
"I'm very sorry. I did everything I could but the only thing I could accomplish was to delay the plan. This is a coup-d'état by our entire clan. We always knew it wouldn't be easy to dissuade them."
"Their will to make this happen is much stronger than we anticipated. That said, delaying the plan was a great effort."
"And how about you? You said you were going to try and find some dissent and gather support against the coop inside the clan."
"That hasn't been going well, Kagami Uchiha's name doesn't carry much weight these days it seems. Most of the people I talked to thought that he was betrayed by the students of the Second, that my grandfather's efforts meant nothing, in the end, to the village." Shisui closed his fist.
Itachi looked down, and had a hopeless look. He was so silent that you couldn't really read him well, but he was still thirteen-years-old. Shisui spent most of his life with Itachi and knew that he was just an awkward boy that was too much of a pacifist. Shisui didn't intend on returning to those days of war either, so they had to succeed no matter what. Still, Itachi was somewhat pitiful with that look.
"Oh, come on. Don't give me that look. I am the greatest shinobi since Kagami, and we also have you, the most talented Uchiha of the clan. There's nothing we can't accomplish when we're together. Don't worry about it too much Itachi, your little sister will make fun of you." Sushi pressed his hand to support Itachi in moments like these. Somehow, Itachi always woken up the feelings of a big brother in Shisui, he had to act like a cool older brother in front of him.
"Kaguya, make fun of me?" Itachi looked down and made a silent laugh. The unreasonableness of that situation was too much, not even in an illusion would Kaguya actually make an effort to insult somebody. She was silent and preferred to use actions rather than words. Which is why she acted violently against Sasuke who had her pinned down, and the fact that she kicked Shisui in the shin, that was her way of conveying her frustration at someone else. Instead of words, she chose action—violence, as an answer.
Seeing Itachi this awkward made Shisui realize that he had to stop the coup. Shisui closed his eyes, and touched his eyelid in a pensive mood.
{02—Shisui Uchiha}
It was not Itachi, or any other that was the one who revealed the coup to the village's leaders. It was Shisui, being part of the village longer than Itachi was, he was the one who first noticed the signs of the Uchiha's rebellious sparks. Being a guy in a family of three, and with his father now dead, Shisui was dependent on the village to support his family. Even with the fame of Shisui the Teleporter, it was hard for him to earn some recognition or even some compensation from the clan itself, since he was from a fringe family after all.
Shisui could not deny that he felt a bit of resentment towards the clan for not recognizing the descendants of Kagami Uchiha for their worth, but perhaps his father losing his legs in the second war made their family decline in prestige in the clan's hierarchy. A disabled retired ninja is worthless in the eyes of the clan leaders after all. Shisui being a genius at warfare was only given a passing glance until he was old enough and strong enough that his power could even challenge the leader Fugaku. It was a matter of pride to be sure, the clan never held a match, fearing that even with all his power, Fugaku would lose to a guy barely at 18 years of age.
Shusui sighed as he kneeled to an empty room. Soon it would be filled with geriatric old men and women that led the village's decisions. Honestly, sometimes he wished he was in that seat, or at least, he hoped that Minato Namikaze was. The 4th reign was short however the shinobi all rejoiced when the blond hero became their leader. Hiruzen did not participate in the war, and Orochimaru only ordered people to die in meaningless battles, Minato was the frontline hero of that war, he was the man that had your back, and he was the guy who went with you to battle, losses and wins, you were there, and he was there. Many shinobi were more loyal to him than a desk worker like Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Of course, the shinobi warriors knew that Hiruzen had done massive work in the first war, but that was almost four decades back. Hiruzen had always been the one behind the table sending people to their demise, and many felt that he was disillusioned, or far removed from the problems that shinobi faced. For many, Hiruzen was considered to be nothing more than another feudal lord, while Minato was their chance to make real changes in the village. If Minato had been there, there would be no need for this hesitation, and not doing anything. For that, Shisui could see why the Uchiha clan disliked the leadership of the village, and Shisui could see why things should change. However, the way that the Uchiha clan wanted was wrong, and it would only cause the wrecking of all the good the village had brought them all. It was necessary to distinguish the leaders who loathed the Uchiha clan, and the village the clan helped build.
It was just a matter of time before these old timers croaked, Sushi couldn't understand why the clan was so willing to take things by force.
Finally, after half-an-hour of waiting and kneeling ,the old geriatric four entered the room. Hiruzen, Danzo, and Shisui could barely remember what the other two were called. Hiruzuen was their leader, the Shadow of the Land of Fire, while Danzo was an elder who preached about the roots of the great tree, and that underground work was as much of importance to the village as the bright diplomatic work it did. The two were touted as two sides of the same coin, and perhaps they were. Hiruzen with the grandfatherly persona, and Danzo with the harsh attitude, the good cop bad cop routine that the Uchiha, ANBU, and TI branches often used, was also used at the highest level of governance in the village.
"What is the situation, Shisui?" The Third's voice was old and plagued with side-effects by the years of smoking.
"As it still stands, the coup is still in motion."
"I understand."
Danzo finally opened his squinting eyes to look at his comrade. "Hiruzen, what's your plan of action now? We cannot let this proceed, for the good of the village, there must be some form of intervention." The old hawk was deceptive with his clean words. He did not outright state his wishes, but intelligent ears might pick up on his meaning. "If we remain stagnant in this issue, then the problem will become too large for us to resolve in a safe manner."
"I am in talks with the clan, I think I can resolve this issue with Fugaku very soon."
"—"
There was a pregnant pause. Shisui kept his head down, but was slightly peeved at the Third. Shisui had given this information since a year ago, and there was almost no action taken to mitigate the problem. The talks with the clan led to no concessions on either end, and there was a shortage of plans or actions by the village's side. Ineffective, Shisui wanted the 'legendary professor' to actually come up with a plan and not sit there. Why did he, and Itachi have to make all decisions, and everything?
Weren't the four geriatrict old men and women there supposed to be the wise leaders of the Leaf?
Not one of them offered a solution. All those years of experience to just stand there and not come up with anything other than 'talks.' Appeasement only worked if you listened to the grievances and actually made an effort.
"— Look, as the head of the village, there must be a time for action, there is no time to take this issue lightly, we must make an effort to solve this, sooner rather than later. Now is the time for decision, not inaction." Danzo smoothly criticized the Third, however those words did not calm Shisui's anxiety one bit, because he knew what kind of man Danzo was, his plans were never good-hearted.
No plans, no action from the leaders. Then Shisui would need to come up with one of his own.
"Before making any decision, can I voice my plan?"
Hiruzen faced him, and with a kind face urged him forward. Shisui mentally sighed for what was coming next.
"I'll use my Kotoamatsukami on the clan head. With my eyes, I can delay the coup and then sooth over the resentment of the clan. If I do this, then you'll have much more room to work on the deep-seated issues. With this bought time, I hope you can mend the relationship of the village with the clan."
Shisui knew that without Fugaku the coup would lose steam fast, the coup was banking on the power of Wicked Eye Fugaku, and Shisui the Teleporter to destroy the opposition to the power. However, without Fugaku, there would be no strong voice. This would buy much needed time, decades even. This could be the opportunity the village needed to mend the relationship with the clan.
Hiruzen sighed. Danzo closed his eyes.
Hiruzen thought well. "Do you understand what you are saying? Mind controlling your best friend's father, and the leader of your clan is the highest betrayal. If discovered, you'll be branded as a sinful shinobi who used his own power against his family."
Hiruzen was not against the idea, he just wanted the youngster to know that his reckless plan would endanger his honor for the rest of his life. Shisui was one of the greatest soldiers in the village at the time, his prowess could perhaps surpass even his own students, Shisui was shaping up to be a great Hokage contender, along with Itachi as well. It was harsh to endanger him in a mission like this. If this did not work, Hiruzen shuddered, maybe the Uchiha would lynch the Teleporter in their own clan compound as a punishment for betrayal. Not only that, it would stoke the fires even more. If this plan failed there would be no more mitigation, and it would really start a civil war.
"You're thinking as well as I am, Fugaku also possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan, what assurances we have that the Kotoamatsukami works o n him/ If it doesn't. then we're as good as in a civil war." Danzo said with a silent shake of his head.
"This is no issue, my powers work even on a person with the Mangekyō, I tested it against my father. He also possessed the eyes before he died. He was also a Genjutsu master, the son of Kagami Uchiha, he knew the ins-and-outs of illusions better than Fugaku-sama ever could. Sometimes he knew more than even me, and yet he could not break the illusion I cast upon him, and when I cast at him, he was spinning his eyes with every single bit of power he had. My illusion is unbreakable, it is the most powerful illusion in the entire world, that I have no doubt." Shisui ws desperate to break any hesitation, he knew that Fugaku could not protect himself from this illusion, no matter how much he tried. The only worry was getting to cast the illusion, but Shisui was talented in stealth and infiltration, catching Fugaku in a vulnerable position was not difficult.
"Please, I want to protect the clan, and the village, there's no need for violence, I can end it all with only one illusion. Please, Lord Third!"
Hiruzen sighed, his old age showing in his receding hairline, and the many black spots in his face. He picked up his pipe and drew a puff of smoke. Danzo stayed silent, while the other two leaders discussed with Hiruzen.
"Do what you must, Shisui Uchiha, this mission is classified as S-rank, cast the illusion on the Uchiha clan leader, do so and it will buy us an incredible amount of time to mend the relationship between the clan and the village. However, if the mission becomes impossible, please retreat before you become a target of your clan. If the worst comes to pass, don't sacrifice your life, there are many avenues left."
Danzo lifted his cane, and said one thing before he left. "No there are not, Hiruzen."
The Third Hokage sighed.
{01—Kaguya Uchiha}
She thought about different methods of fighting and she chose a very flashy one for her main persona, a very princess-y way of fighting that was very characteristic and marking, that once you passed through her battlefields you could definitely state that the one responsible was that Uchiha princess from the Leaf. However, when she wanted to do things incognito, she chose a method of full violence and simple combat.
She used a sage-infused transformation to fool even the Byakugan to its nature of who was behind it, there was no chakra usage, only using the environmental energy to power the transformation. It was a warrior of 6'4" in height, very lanky and tall, he wore a red and black cloth to mask his identity, without any single piece of skin shown, it was like looking at a Persian desert warrior from a fantasy series. It had a saber as well, far from the pretty Japanese yukata princess motif. The male-looking warrior was intimidating and it was what she used this time.
Kaguya looked coldly at she saw the effects of the Izanagi with her own eyes. She saw how Shisui, the superior warrior, was fooled so easily by that. It was a shame to see that, but in the world of shinobi it doesn't matter if you're the strongest. As long as you're more deceptive, you can always get the win. Danzo quickly pulled out Shisui's eye, after using the advantage of his presence disappearing because of the Izanagi technique. If that wasn't the case, then there was no way that Shisui would be taken advantage of by such a weak man. Shisui was struck right in the liver, a liver shot that pulverized the organ almost, then his eye was removed.
Meanwhile, Danzo's 'Root' surrounded Shisui. The scenery was rocky, and it was near a temple of fire, one of many scattered across the land. This one had the Uzumaki motif, it was a similar temple such as this where Naruto was born, they were outside, as the sun closed in the sky, drawing a deep red. Kaguya lowered her face as Shisui expertly escaped them even after such a deathly blow had been given to his liver. Danzo was a weak man but effective in his blows, after all he always aimed for the best spots to disable, or kill an opponent.
"Shisui does not understand the stakes needed to save the village, the darkness and these roots are necessary to maintain a healthy and bright tree, as roots we must suck up all the nutrients from the surrounding lands, and use everything to nourish the great tree. If Shisui won't follow our plan, then he's become an issue, his eyes are dangerous and are best kept within my care, go."
Half of his men jumped in pursuit of the bleeding Shisui, with that blow, the teleporter would be a lot slower than
As always, lying with his words, and using great words, and a twisted sense of logic to justify his own greed. Kaguya coldly stared and arrived like the silent wind. The sky was even redder as the Persian warrior entered the scene, with the saber by the side. And then to show off, the warrior drew a big spear to his left. Two weapons of murder.
"…Who are you?"
"—"
The warrior threw his spear, making Danzo shift to the side, however he did not understand why, but he was confronted with a very big sword that was swiping to his arm, the arm that held the eye. The Root shinobi around him were surprised that he moved so fast, and the spear that passed by Danzo was in the warrior's hands again, as if they never left. The scene was too confusing for words, and yet the arm of Danzo flew in the air, gored by the saber.
Danzo grit his teeth in pain. "Root, get the arm, get the eye!" Danzo realized at the instant there was competition for the eye, there was no way that Danzo would allow a foreign shinobi to get the eye.
The root ninja jumped to the air to catch the arm that was floating with arches of blood in the air, the red warrior used his spear and threw it in the air, the spear became many as it tried to skewer those that jumped in the air.
The more experienced ones saw the spears that multiplied heading up from below, ready to impale them as they approached the loose arm. Danzo prepared his attack. So the enemy knows weapon shadow clones, or a similar technique. The more experienced roots were able to react accordingly and substitute themselves out of harm's way, however those who were too slow were stabbed by the spears raining from below. Heads, stomach and legs were stabbed repeatedly. The bodies were launched twenty meters up in the air due to how fast the red warrior had launched the spear.
Danzo released many kunai, infused with invisible wind, the red warrior just deflected them, almost as if the wind chakra did not even exist. Danzo then launched many of his shuriken, they were launched like saws that would even cut through metal. Danzo used the chance to jump and grab his missing arm, however when he opened his own hand, he saw there was nothing there.
The red warrior just picked up one of his spears as he dodged the shuriken with ease, deflecting one to one of the Roots. As a counterattack, the Root shinobi launched an earth technique at Kaguya. Spikes were drawn from the ground, earth spikes that were such a deadly tool, however the warrior just evaded right to the spot where the technique would not hit, water waves, incineration, and even lighting techniques were used against the red warrior, but Kaguya just moved to the tune of techniques, stepping to the right spot at the right time.
A spear was such an un-shinobi-like weapon, and it made her laugh at their incredulity. Spears and bows were for peasants, spears and bows were for armies of the Feudal Lords, swords were for the fancy and disliked samurai, cool ninja used kunai and shuriken stars. The red warrior was a scavenger, his fighting style was pure violence and using everything to kill the opponent.
So as a violent brute, she rushed towards Danzo, as he tried evading, however he could not as the red warrior just bodied him, yes the tall warrior just used his entire weight to throw the geriatric man to the floor. Of course with a spear in his hand, the body blow wasn't such a nice thing, since it inflicted a very large wound on the geriatrcit old man's stomach. The sight of him bleeding and his ribs exposed as the bottom side of his lung spilled out from the hole was something that Kaguya could nod to as being satisfying. Sometimes the sight of a perfect good cut was oddly satisfying, it made her feel like her training at accuracy was worth it.
Danzo stared at her, and then his body dissapeared. Izanagi again, many Uchiha had died in the third war, sent to suicide missions for this reason, Uchiha were used as a stock of lives for him. A wave of an invisible blade swung, a normal shinobi would not even see the vacuum blade approaching from the back and their body would be sliced. However, the warrior just sliced his saber at an angle, breaking the weapon, and deflecting the attack just enough, as the next weapon was a spear thrown at the ground.
Danzo just had to kill this unknown element no matter what, this warrior possessed the eyes that he so dearly wanted. The root all rushed with their techniques, while Danzo launched invisible bullets of air, then, to counter it all, the red warrior just jumped in the air, and threw his spear like a javelin, multiplying it again, and striking the ground below. However, this time the spears were infused with a chakra nature, fire. The metal hit the ground, and it formed waves of fire that moved in a circle, the ninja caught below were incinerated, and the saber in Kaguya's hands grew red hot.
Danzo looked over as he used another Izanagi to counter the kill, and threw a great wave of wind to blow the fire off. However, he did not see the red warrior riding the wind, and delivering a metal strike to the sternum with a piping hot sword, it was like seeing the videos of water thrown into lava, the body just exploded where the hot iron touched, it was quite fascinating. Of course, the saber also broke in half.
Danzo again used Izanagi, and crumbled to the floor, the rocky field around them was in flames, and the root ninja were either impaled by spears, or caught fire by the constant waves. Danzo did not understand how, but the spears stuck to the ground still made waves of flames around them, so even standing close would make you catch fire. The spears were danger zones, and his ninja suffered greatly for it. Kaguya coldly replicated what game raid bosses did, after all stupid people would run into fire, so zones where there was certain death was a great way to kill opponents, just like a raid boss used his skills to dimimish the playing field, so too did she use her fire nature to concoct such a technique.
"Is this the power of the roots you're so proud of?" The highly modified voice asked, disappointment coloring the warrior's voice.
"What—?"
"If the shadows are so weak, then I have to ask, does the shadow support the light's existence, or the other way around?"
Danzo grit his teeth, his philosophy was quite simple, he thought that the shadows of the great tree were necessary, that without it the tree would fall and wither away. However, no he was presented with the opposite, that the great tree was so great that it allowed the existence of the shadows, that no matter what stupidity the roots committed, the leaves would still grow bright. Danzo could not allow that challenge to go, however the red warrior just vanished with a fire teleportation. Leaving only embers in his wake, and spears that were multiplied and stuck to craters. On a field of impaled and immolated men, Danzo remained defeated.
Danzo looked around, no matter where he looked, there was no sign of Shisui's eye that he stole. He sacrificed so much and lost everything. Who was that? Did a ninja infiltrate the Leaf and get information on my plans, is it a Sand ninja? Danzo colored his expectations by the armor the assailant wore. Danzo looked to his arm, he had wasted five Izanagi uses in this fight, and with it five eyes. Thankfully he had a surplus of eyes from the third war by his side. He needed to contact some underground contacts to put up an international bounty, it would cost some favors, but by the end of the year he would know the identity of the red warrior, no matter what.
{02—Kaguya Uchiha}
Shisui rested as the dusk ended and the night arrived, the waterfall they so trained, the cliffs overlooking it was one of the best places that he could think of. He was fighting many shinobi from the root, people from various clans just abducted and used as shinobi tools for their master Danzo, this was not supposed to happen, but these missing people were just kids, and they were all abducted during the wars the village incurred, trained in underground facilities that the Leaf could not reach How many hidden places ad Danzo gotten, not only from the famous families of Konoha but from all over the Land of Fire, this was all so he could build his own personal army. Shisui had defeated many of them to come here, and he fought an especially annoying pair of a Yamanaka and an Aburame, he almost lost against them but came up on top. His teleporting and the short sword he used were very deadly.
"If internal warfare breaks out in the Leaf, the neighboring countries will invade, Danzo's actions are wrong, and it will all lead to the downfall of the village. You know of my eye, the Mangekyō, something you don't pose yet, my technique allows me to cast an unblockable illusion that implants false memories and conviction upon my target, making it a soft form of absolute control over their lives. I was planning on using it on your father."
Itachi was a bit taken aback that his best friend was about to use that on his own father, but then again, Itachi was never really close. Itachi hated the expectations of the clan and Fugaku's demands made sure that Itachi never really grew a specific fondness for his father. Still, Fugaku was part of his life, to think that Shisui would think of such a conclusion.
It brought Itachi to think deeply about this whole situation and how bad the plans of the Uchiha were really becoming. If nothing was to be done, then there were few solutions left, and Itachi did not like this at all.
"Danzo stole my right eye, he didn't trust what I was trying to do. He'll come for my left eye soon enough, before he gets it, I want to give it to you." Shisui grasped his critical wound, his liver was still busted, and it was his will that moved his body to this point, he really felt faint. To think he would be caught so off-guard after defeating Danzo, he didn't even believe that Danzo had Sharingan, nor that he knew the usage of Izanagi, a very forbidden technique only known to few of the Uchiha through time.
Reality was altered, and a fully invisible, unnoticeable enemy had given him a critical wound and stolen his eye in one fell swoop. Not a single of Shisui's senses could notice the elder as he shifted through reality with Izanagi, it was impossible.
Izanagi was a technique to save your life at the cost of your eyes. Who would think to use something like that in an offensive manner?
Shisui rested as he extracted his eyes, bleeding from both of them as he became completely blind.
"Shisui." Itachi was awkward as he stayed silent, still unsure on what to do. But this was the end. Shisui smiled, Itachi was always that awkward genius who's too goodhearted and swayed by ideals.
"Here you go, Itachi, you need to protect this eye no matter what. You're really the only one that I can trust."
Shisui was about to give his eye, and then abscond his body so that no one could find him or his remains.
However, once again Shisui's pride took a blow when a massive spear crossed the clearing, without the vaunted Sharingan sight. A spear was thrown, and Shisui's arm was removed.
The prideful Uchiha were mostly nothing without their eyes, they relied too much on their blood and did not develop their other sensory abilities.
As expected, his sight was robbed and he could not evade the spear that landed right on his arm, the blade ripped off the arm by the elbow, the spear tip drew a straight line through the ground and hit the rock underneath, making it a line of destruction as his arm flew to the air. Itachi was smart so he immediately jumped and went for the arm, his Sharingan spinning as he went to the air to catch it.
A big mistake, the red warrior waited for that and a massive hail of spears were thrown towards the air where Itachi should have been, however it was just a shadow clone, the smart ninja were already replaced and waiting. The warrior arrived and picked up the arm in a battlefield of speakers stuck to the ground. Another eye for Kaguya, huzzah.
Shisui arrived blinded as he was and put his lighting and fire on his blade, he wished to strike her down. However once again, the unorthodox violence of the red assailant was enough to surprise even Shisui as the man elbowed him from behind, the sword was about to reach the man's midsection, but the elbow was slightly faster.
Shisui teleported to the front, many were surprised at his speed. However, Shisui found a thick boot heading for his face, while the sword was going to the man's chest. Shisui grit his teeth and took the blow, his jaw blew out from his own face, however he sacrificed his body to make a killing blow. Regardless, when he screamed as he bled out from his arm and face, he sensed that the red man wasn't there, Itachi had expertly thrown kunai right at the warrior's blind spot and they were on the groud, but the man was gone.
The red warrior was behind.
A spear was aimed at Shisui's back by the tall warrior.
However, a fireball was what saved Shisui's life for a bit longer, Itachi had thrown fireballs and shuriken in the middle. The power was sure enough that it would blow a metal wall back.
To counter it, the warrior drew a saber and cut the fireball in half, while expertly deflecting the three shuriken, while letting the other shuriken that would not hit him pass harmlessly by. One transformed into Itachi and he lunged with a short sword, however the warrior elbowed the hilt of Itachi's blade, and then with the same hand grabbed the ANBU captain and threw him over her shoulder. Itachi hit the ground hard, the warrior again aimed the spear, this time at the felled Itachi.
Itachi tried to use his strongest Genjutsu, but there was no effect on the warrior, as the falling blade grew closer. It was so fast that Itachi hadn't finished the replacement technique. Itachi thought he deceived the warrior by hiding himself in one of the flaming shuriken but it was not to be.
Itachi kicked himself for not reaching Shisui fast enough for him to dodge having an arm blown from his body, but it wasn't. Could he perform the Izanagi to save himself, in exchange for one of his eyes?
However, he could not perform the signs while the spear tip approached his skull.
Itachi did not die, blood dripped like a small stream to his hair, painting it red. Itachi looked up above, and saw a body, and a spear going through it, it was Shisui's body protecting him.
"… —" Shisui spilled blood and his laugh was horrible for a blown mouth, it was more like a gurgling sound. Shisui grabbed the spear with all he had, and tried smiling, blinded, with his liver blown out, his jaw and tongue destroyed, his lung pierced and his arm completely cut, making him quite a dead body already. But he still had the strength to protect Itachi, the one he considered to be a little brother to him.
It all went wrong, Shisui grit his destroyed teeth as he felt the brokenness pierce his blown out gums. Geez, how strong was that kick, he only saw a few ninja with enough physical strength to do that. Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade when in battle. When he thought about it, the 4th Hokage was also deceptively strong as well. But, in his life, he never saw a shinobi using spears, they were weapons used for peasants in wars between the Feudal Lords. To multiply them, and to throw them so hard that the ground feels like putty, how strong can someone be—
Shisui slumped on the spear handle as the red warrior thrust the spear to the ground, trying to skewer the 13-year-old Uchiha below, but Shisui's body was enough to deflect a little bit, rock debris were like bullets as they targeted Itachi, but they only hit crows as they formed from the replacement.
Itachi was behind the red warrior. The 6'4" lanky warrior turned around, his features obscured by cloth armor similar to Persian warriors of fantasy-land.
"Thanks, Shisui, you protected me, even though I—" Itachi frowned his face as silent tears came out of his eyes.
The red warrior lifted the spear off the dusty and broken ground, with Shisui's small body still speared like meat on it, and then rested the spear on the shoulder. However, with the body slightly inclined and sliding to the tip of the spear made such a grotesque sight that anyone seeing the unnatural position of a human skewer would puke at the sight. A human body should have not been put into such a degrading and humiliating position.
With the face blocked by cloth, the warrior's expression seemed unfazed at the sight of the ellipses forming, and the Mangekyō Sharingan making its first appearance in her brother's eyes. The hatred of the Uchiha was definitely strong at this moment, where someone Itachi considered to be an older brother was murdered protecting him, and his body used in such a degrading way to show off the brutality of the situation. Shisui's body, impaled by the spear, bled copious amounts, staining the man's cloth armor.
Itachi's eye bled, as it activated Tsukuyomi, Kaguya mentally scoffed, the red warrior not once used her sight, her eyes were always looking below, and she used her other senses, as well as Senjutsu to see. She was deeply worried about Shisui using his Kotoamatsukami on her before she stole it, but the training was not too necessary it seemed.
It was amazing to see how strong someone becomes when filled with natural energy, it was like being a superhuman amongst mortals. A perfect sage such as her was able to match these S-rank Shinobi so easily, and simply. Of course her transformed body also matched the adult disposition and endurance of these fights.
When the eight-year-old faced the thirteen-year-old, the Tsukuyomi had no effect as Itachi finally cried in rage, his first showing of deep emotions other than his crying face from before. The stress of the situation was getting to him, and Kaguya only stayed still, without eye contact, the Tsukuyomi was useless, proven by the fact that in the show, Kakashi was affected, but Kurenai and Asuma weren't, because they did not stare at the eyes. She drew that from the show to use against Itachi. The Teleporter and her brother were fast, but the natural energy around her was used to accurately map the movements. The teleporting behind thingy she did was something very simple. She either sent a clone, or herself, transformed as a spear, in the field of spears, the enemies quickly lose sight of what's dangerous in a field of spears.
"Amaterasu." With no choice, the despair and the anger at the situation activated the other ability of his eye.
The flames travelled towards the red warrior, but then even a more terrible sight occurred. The red warrior slowly put the spear in front, with Shisui's body on it, the body and spear caught the black flames, and Itachi had to watch as his own flames consumed his dead friend, burned at the skewer like some street food, used up and humiliated like this.
Itachi fell to the ground as his eyes bled.
When the black flames started burning the handle, Kaguya dropped the spear and let the body of Shisui burn to completion.
"To think you'd burn your own friend—" The red warrior teleported out of the clearing with that whisper. Leaving Itachi to stew on the Uchiha's hatred.
Kaguya would laugh all the way to the bank with the two eyes she acquired, but she did not laugh and the banks here were medieval at best.
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