Buzz—!
The drone of insects was deafening. A swarm covered the sky, closing in on Shisui from all directions like suffocating clouds of smoke. Simultaneously, a deluge of kunai and shuriken rained down, sealing off every possible angle of evasion.
This was Danzō's method.
Shisui of the Body Flicker?
Then he would use the crudest method available: a direct, complete, and overwhelming blockade. Danzō didn't care about the shame of using numbers against one; he had deployed nearly his entire Root squad for this moment.
Encirclement. A dead end.
But…
'I cannot fall here!'
Shisui fought back the searing pain in his eyes. Blood streamed from the empty socket, masking half his face in crimson.
'I must… I must get this information back to the Hokage!'
In his remaining Mangekyō Sharingan, pupil power gathered violently. Just as the lethal net of attacks threatened to shred him apart—with absolutely nowhere left to retreat—a brilliant green chakra exploded outward.
A colossal, spectral avatar formed entirely of green chakra rose up, encasing him. In a split second, the ribcage and armor formed, and the chest plate swung open. Countless green chakra arrows erupted from the center of the construct, scattering outward with blinding speed.
Shisui didn't dare to linger. His heart was filled with hesitation and terror. He didn't know if this was Danzō's rogue ambition or an assassination silently sanctioned by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
At this moment, his mind held only one thought:
Run!
He could not let Danzō take the other eye!
BOOM!
The barrage of chakra arrows decimated the incoming swarm of insects and deflected the metal storm of shuriken and kunai. Nearby structures collapsed, kicking up a thick veil of dust.
Danzō's face twisted in astonishment as he stared up at the towering spectral entity.
'Unbelievable! This power…'
Uchiha Shisui…
'It is fortunate that he is a fool!'
Danzō's gaze turned grave, his resolve to kill Shisui solidifying into absolute certainty. He immediately wove hand signs, inhaling deeply until his chest expanded.
The wind pressure spiked, distorting the very air.
Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!
A compressed sphere of high-pressure wind exploded from his mouth, roaring as it tore through the ground, slamming directly into Shisui's Susanoo.
However, before the Vacuum Great Sphere could even make full impact, Shisui reached his limit. The strain of using the Mangekyō with only one eye, combined with his poisoned state, was too much. The green giant crumbled and faded into nothingness.
Gasping for air, Shisui turned and fled toward the river.
"Kill the ANBU traitor, Uchiha Shisui!" Danzō commanded coldly.
As he issued the order, he carefully sealed the stolen eye. His chakra flared again, and he spat a rapid succession of wind bullets to harry the retreating Uchiha.
Shisui's silhouette flickered, weaving between afterimages to dodge the onslaught. He was mere meters from the riverbank when—
Clang!
Several figures materialized behind him, their tantō blades slashing down. Simultaneously, Danzō appeared from the front to cut off his path.
A four-sided kill box.
In that instant, Shisui's heart turned to ash. A suffocating despair began to rise.
But just then, the river exploded.
The water surged upward, transforming into a monstrous tidal wave that swept over the bank, smashing the Root agents' formation to pieces. Immediately following the wave, high-pressure water projectiles shot out from the torrent with terrifying velocity.
A few Root ninja with superior reflexes managed to dodge, but many were too slow. The water bullets punched through them mercilessly.
"Who is it?!"
Danzō's eyes widened in disbelief. Instinctively, he moved to peel back the bandages on his right eye, only to remember he had already expended its power earlier.
In the next second, the roaring current swallowed the Root agents on the bank—and Shisui along with them.
Danzō furiously wove signs.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Though it was a standard C-rank technique with no extraordinary killing power, the gale force blast was enough to scatter the chaotic water, revealing a glimpse of what lay beneath.
For a split second, Danzō saw it: a strange, fluid entity—a human shape seemingly fused with the river itself—wrapping around Shisui and vanishing into the depths of the current.
In the blink of an eye, the mysterious figure dissolved, leaving no trace.
When the tide finally receded…
Seven or eight battered Root agents dragged themselves out of the mud.
"What happened?" Danzō's voice was frigid. "Did you see the enemy clearly?"
"No… no, sir. The opponent seemed to be… fused with the water…"
"The enemy's speed was blinding. I couldn't see a thing!"
"I just saw something sweep Shisui away…"
The Root agents dared not speculate; they only reported the fragments of chaos they had witnessed.
Danzō's expression was ugly.
'Fusion with water… immense speed… highly compressed Water Style projectiles…'
'The Hozuki Clan?'
'Or is someone disguising themselves as a Kirigakure ninja to confuse the situation?'
The situation, which Danzō had believed to be firmly in his grasp, had instantly spiraled into chaos due to this unknown interloper. This was far harder to accept than if Shisui had simply escaped on his own merits.
He inhaled deeply, forcing his emotions into a state of icy calm.
'At the very least…'
'The primary objective was achieved.'
Kotoamatsukami!
As he weighed the pros and cons, a figure flickered into existence from the distance, landing on a high vantage point to survey the scene.
The arrival spoke with a cold, professional tone: "Lord Hokage requests your presence."
"Understood."
Shisui's counterattack had been too decisive, his power exceeding expectations. The commotion caused was too large to hide. If the Hokage's ANBU hadn't noticed this level of destruction, they would be criminally incompetent.
Thus, Danzō was not surprised. His face remained indifferent, and he felt no regret.
If anything, he only regretted not achieving a complete victory and allowing one eye to escape.
Such a dangerous weapon should be controlled by the Village.
No.
It should be controlled by him. And it certainly should not fall into the hands of a third party!
'But now…'
'Who was that person?'
He closed his eye for a moment, then opened it, his voice low and dangerous.
"Let's go."
The Naka River surged, its current swift and turbulent.
Downstream, at a secluded bank, the water splashed violently as a figure dragged Shisui ashore.
The rescuer was cloaked in black robes, their face hidden behind a mask, completely obscuring their identity.
Shisui collapsed onto the ground, coughing violently. One hand clutched his bleeding eye socket, but through sheer will, he forced himself to stay conscious.
"You… Who are you?"
Beneath the stranger's black robes, chakra flowed in a bizarre, unnatural rhythm.
'A Shadow Clone?'
But in his current state, poisoned and exhausted, Shisui couldn't even defeat a Shadow Clone.
More importantly, the enemy's main body was surely hiding in the shadows!
"Does it matter?"
Masahiko chuckled lightly, looking down at the weakened Uchiha.
"Are you still debating whether this was Danzō's independent action or the Hokage's tacit permission? How tragic, Uchiha Shisui. Even at this step… you still harbor illusions."
Shisui opened his mouth to speak but fell into silence.
Before this, he had held onto a sliver of hope. But now, that hope was truly dead.
This rescuer was not one of the Hokage's men.
The Hokage had promised to support him. Yet, when Danzō struck, the one who extended a hand was not the Hokage's ANBU, but a mysterious, unidentified stranger.
'And that Water Style…'
Shisui carefully scrutinized the disguised Masahiko, his voice hoarse. "Are you one of Orochimaru's subordinates? Or… the Hidden Mist?"
"Neither."
Masahiko shook his head.
He gazed out at the flowing river, his voice detached. "The old rules are too boring. I am simply an awakened soul who grew tired of the rot."
He paused, his gaze seeming to penetrate the eyeholes of his mask, fixing on Shisui's tightly shut, bleeding right eye.
"Most people are stupid."
"There are those in Konoha who need the populace to believe the Uchiha is a threat. Even if you sever your own arms and gouge out your eyes to prove your loyalty, they will still put you to death."
"In such a world, weakness and compromise do not yield peace. They only yield regret."
Masahiko's tone was calm, devoid of righteous indignation. He was merely stating a fact.
If this had happened earlier, Shisui would have scoffed, assuming this was just a recruitment pitch from some rebel organization.
But now…
He had to admit, the stranger's words held a terrifying logic.
"So, are you going to give up? Shisui-kun, if that is the case, you might as well give that eye to me. In my hands, it would at least be put to good use… certainly better than leaving it to fools."
"You!!"
Shisui's eye snapped open in shock. He felt as though his innermost thoughts lay bare before this man, stripped of all secrecy.
A creeping fear began to take root in his heart.
The robed figure simply stood there, staring at him through the mask—cold, emotionless. It was as if he were looking at…
An inanimate object.
Trembling, Shisui asked, "What is it that you actually want?"
"Shisui-kun, you've finally asked a valuable question."