The moment the kunai pierced the tree trunk, a flock of crows cawed and flew toward him.
Sasuke Uchiha, a survivor of the Fourth Shinobi World War, remained utterly still. His left Rinnegan widened slightly.
All Genjutsu were useless against the Rinnegan.
"Dōjutsu?! Who are you?!"
Shisui Uchiha, thinking of his next move, tightened his grip on the kunai and asked again.
The Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke emerged from the shadows of the forest and spoke, "Shisui Uchiha…"
He really had traveled through time!
Sasuke Uchiha, who had just successfully transplanted Hashirama's cells and White Zetsu components, regaining his left arm, stared blankly at the young Uchiha, who had a crow perched on his shoulder and was glaring at him with his Sharingan.
Memories raced through his mind.
That dusk, when his brother had clashed with the clan—it ended only after he roused his enraged brother, who knelt and bowed his head in apology to their father and the rest of the Uchiha clan.
The cause of that conflict? The death of Shisui Uchiha!
But Shisui was alive now. That meant his brother and the clan hadn't reached that point yet!!
According to his brother's memories, Shisui Uchiha had actually died at the hands of Danzō Shimura—his eyes gouged out, poisoned by Root members during the "Incident." Shisui had entrusted everything to his brother before staging his own suicide.
As for the eye he left behind for his brother...
Not long ago, during his battle with Naruto Uzumaki at the Valley of the End, when their chakras had intertwined and they saw each other's memories, Sasuke had learned that the eye had been passed from his brother to Naruto. The purpose was to serve as a final line of defense, to prevent Sasuke from standing on the opposing side of the world.
Suddenly, the words Obito Uchiha had spoken to him while still the Masked Man echoed in his mind—
"Itachi Uchiha valued peace above all else, but more important than peace was the village, and more important than the village was..."
"...you, his younger brother."
Brother...
Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time.
Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time.
I won't evade you or beg for your forgiveness anymore. No matter what choices you make in the future, I will always love you.
Those scenes of despair from his memories surged back once more. Seeing Shisui Uchiha before him, looking about his own age, Sasuke finally realized exactly when he had traveled back to!
—The eve of the Uchiha clan's annihilation!
...
As Sasuke Uchiha from the Fourth Shinobi World War stared at Shisui Uchiha, Shisui also gazed at the unfamiliar man before him.
The man's features bore a slight resemblance to Itachi Uchiha. His right eye was unmistakably a Sharingan, but the left eye was inscrutable to Shisui.
The pale purple eye displayed concentric rings of patterns, with nine magatama scattered within those rings, forming a pattern that far surpassed the Sharingan, even the Mangekyō Sharingan!!
Shisui was certain he hadn't misread it.
It was precisely with that unique eye that the man had suppressed the genjutsu of his own Sharingan.
At a time when tensions between the Uchiha and Konoha were escalating, the sudden appearance of a mysterious Uchiha forced Shisui to heighten his vigilance.
"Though you recognize me, I have never seen you before," Shisui stated. "If it is convenient, may I ask your name?"
Possessing a dōjutsu that surpassed all Mangekyō Sharingan... Could it be...
Madara Uchiha?
But if that legendary ninja were still alive, he would be at least eighty years old. The young Uchiha ninja before him seemed to be about the same age as himself.
Yes, Shisui had confirmed it—this person was definitely a ninja from the Uchiha clan.
It wasn't just because he possessed Sharingan eyes and an even more unique dōjutsu—after all, Kakashi was an exception among non-Uchiha with Sharingan, which wasn't all that surprising.
What truly confirmed Shisui's suspicion was when he used genjutsu to connect to the crow perched behind the man.
Through the crow's eyes, he clearly saw a small fan crest embroidered on the back of the man's grayish-white robes.
That emblem belonged to the Uchiha clan—no one outside the clan would ever sew it onto their clothing.
"Are you Madara Uchiha?"
Seeing no sign of a response, Shisui—though he found it unlikely—could only voice this improbable possibility, waiting for either a denial or acknowledgment.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke snorted coldly. "Who I am is irrelevant. I won't become anyone."
Whether Indra or Madara Uchiha.
He would neither defeat Naruto Uzumaki, nor be defeated by Naruto Uzumaki.
"No communication?" Shisui readied himself for attack.
But Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke clearly had no intention of fighting him.
"The Uchiha and Konoha have reached an irreparable point. If you lack the ability, don't fool yourself into thinking you can serve both sides, Shisui Uchiha. You cannot! Your choices will only leave an even harder problem for others to solve."
Everyone has their own agenda, and Sasuke was no exception.
Seeing how much space Shisui had occupied in his brother's memories and the pain he had caused Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke felt a deep sense of injustice choking his heart.
Shisui frowned. "What exactly do you know?"
"Don't trust Danzō Shimura. At critical moments, don't even trust the Hokage."
"I understand your point," Shisui replied. "But I've already arranged another meeting with Elder Danzō. I have my own methods to bring about change within the Uchiha!"
"Change within the Uchiha?" Sasuke scoffed, his anger rising. "Why not make Konoha change first?! If Konoha could trust the Uchiha more, how could they have driven us to the brink of a coup?!"
How could Shisui possibly explain this?
The individual is smaller than the clan, the clan smaller than the village, the village smaller than the nation—but in the grand scheme of the world, even a nation is insignificant.
Logically, the world doesn't revolve around any single person. Persuading the ninja village to adjust its stance to accommodate the Uchiha is infinitely more difficult than demanding the Uchiha change first.
Seeing Shisui Uchiha disagree with his words, Sasuke Uchiha let out a cold laugh.
"Fine. Go find Danzō Shimura. Soon enough, you'll realize everything you've done is utterly meaningless!"
But this time, he would never let his brother be dragged into this!
Sasuke Uchiha had his own way of doing things.
As he watched the man walk away, Shisui knew he couldn't defeat him. The man seemed uninterested in either the Uchiha or Konoha. Given the state of their relationship, only Kotoamatsukami could change everything…
His plan was already set in motion, and there was no way to change the target of Kotoamatsukami at this late stage.
For now, he still needed to meet Danzō Shimura.
In an instant, Shisui vanished from the spot. The dim sky illuminated the entrance to a secret tunnel beneath Konoha. Here, he would meet Danzō Shimura, then attend the Uchiha clan meeting and seize the opportunity to alter Fugaku's will.
Danzō Shimura, however, was punctual. He had been waiting here for quite some time.
He had long known about Shisui's plan but had never believed in its feasibility.
"Even if you cast your Mangekyō Sharingan's dōjutsu on Fugaku Uchiha, and Fugaku guides the Uchiha clan to change, what will you do if Konoha remains unchanged?"
Danzō Shimura was a rationalist and a pessimist.
He believed the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha was deeply rooted in history. Resolving the current conflict between the two clans was no longer a chicken-and-egg situation.
"Do you really believe that the Third Hokage's persuasion alone can change Konoha's entire view of your clan?" Danzō retorted. "Don't delude yourself. Prejudices and suspicions won't easily disappear."
Shisui Uchiha responded, "I understand. There are no shortcuts to achieving true peace. My Mangekyō Sharingan's Kotoamatsukami can only temporarily suppress Fugaku-sama and some Uchiha's emotions. But as long as the Uchiha and Konoha work together, the relationship will eventually improve—just like the other clans' relationships with the village!"
"All of this is wishful thinking," Danzō replied sharply. "Old men like me never had much faith in your plan, and we certainly don't trust your Uchiha clan."
Danzō's voice suddenly grew dark. "And when that time comes, do you intend to use Kotoamatsukami to control the wills of both me and the Third Hokage as well?"
"No, I—"
Shisui Uchiha had been pondering how to respond, but before he could…
"Then hand over your Sharingan to me! Let me handle everything from here on out!"
As he spoke, Danzō reached for Shisui's eyes!!
Boom!
Danzō Shimura crashed to the ground.
"Don't worry, it's just a basic Genjutsu."
Against this cunning man, who lacked any sense of camaraderie with Konoha, Shisui Uchiha hadn't been completely unprepared.
But he never imagined that Danzō would use the Izanagi technique to rewind his time back more than ten seconds!!
Badly wounded, Shisui Uchiha, just as Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had witnessed, had one of his Sharingan eyes forcibly ripped out by Danzō Shimura!
…
Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan meeting had already begun.
Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha anxiously waited, but their eldest son never arrived.
"We won't wait any longer."
Fugaku led his wife into the Naka River Shrine, where the clan members had gathered as planned. With tensions between the village and the Uchiha escalating, the clan members buzzed with anger over the injustices they had suffered in Konoha in recent days.
No one expected the situation to erupt at this moment!
The cry of a Chidori drowned out all the noise, and blue lightning power completely illuminated the dim underground shrine!!