The sun gradually dipped lower, staining the Hidden Leaf in shades of dark yellow with its slanted rays.
Under the ambiguous light, Shisui stood clad in his Uchiha uniform, looking toward the temple ahead with a complex gaze.
There were two statues.
One represented good, the other evil.
One had a kind face, while the other featured blue skin and fangs.
Shisui narrowed his eyes. He wasn't unaware of the potential danger of this trip, but for the sake of the village and the clan, he had to come.
Root was a place even darker than the Anbu.
Furthermore, Danzo, the man who commanded Root, was practically the thickest concentration of darkness in the entire Hidden Leaf.
Only by persuading this deepest and darkest high-level official would there be a possibility of peace for the village and the clan.
Besides, Shisui wasn't without the thought of using Kotoamatsukami to change Danzo's will.
Despite the unease in his heart and the knowledge that he was entering a tiger's den, Shisui still faced the setting sun and walked forward without looking back for the sake of his people.
Meanwhile, the Root leader Danzo, leaning on his cane, had long been waiting in formation.
He was waiting in a very literal sense.
The two men came to a halt in front of the temple gate, standing right between the two statues of good and evil.
"Lord Danzo, may I ask why you requested to see me?"
Even though he knew there was a trick, his attitude remained respectful.
Danzo sized Shisui up with his single eye, a terrifying killing intent hidden within his raspy voice.
"The time for the gathering is almost here. If you cast Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku and persuade the Uchiha, but the village doesn't change, what will you do?"
Shisui carried his tactical blade on his back. Under his short black hair, his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan had already quietly activated.
He spoke seriously, emphasizing every word: "Lord Hokage promised me that as long as the Uchiha coup is prevented, the village will definitely make changes as well!"
Faced with Shisui's confident answer, Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped his cane lightly against the ground.
"Even if Hiruzen agreed, someone as suspicious as I won't change my mind so easily. What will you do then?"
These words immediately caused Shisui's heart to sink to the bottom.
His greatest fear had come true. Danzo Shimura, the "Darkness of the Shinobi," simply did not want to see the village and the Uchiha live in peace.
What he truly wanted was to personally destroy the entire Uchiha Clan to achieve his goal of protecting the village!
Shisui Uchiha's expression darkened slightly as he said calmly, "Lord Danzo, please rest assured. I will definitely persuade the Uchiha Clan. Likewise, I will use my own actions to change your view of the Uchiha!"
Hearing such a naive statement, Danzo couldn't help but sneer. "Actions? What kind of actions do you plan to take?"
A terrifying malice suddenly surged from Danzo, so intense that Shisui's entire body tensed up in an instant.
Then, he heard Danzo say, "Are you planning to use Kotoamatsukami to control me as well?"
As soon as the words fell, the long-premeditated Danzo launched his attack.
A surging killing intent from countless slaughters poured out like seawater. His aged face suddenly became distorted, and his exposed arm thrust toward Shisui Uchiha's eyes like a spear.
"I'll be taking your Sharingan!"
His swift arm sliced through the air, creating a terrifying sonic boom.
Just a second before touching Shisui's eye, Danzo's arm came to a bizarre, frozen halt.
Shisui Uchiha's crimson Sharingan spun slightly. His powerful visual prowess wove an illusion, instantly pulling Danzo inside.
Danzo was prepared, but Shisui was no fool either.
During their brief conversation, he had been using his Sharingan to observe Danzo's every move. If there was any anomaly, his prepared genjutsu would be released instantly.
Because of this, Shisui easily blocked Danzo's surprise attack with his palm.
"So it's still impossible to resolve the conflict between the village and the Uchiha through conversation..."
Shisui was somewhat disappointed. Danzo's actions today completely shattered his hope of using communication to ease the friction between the two sides.
"Since it has come to this, I have no choice but to use Kotoamatsukami to change your mind."
The three tomoe in his crimson eyes began to spin, eventually merging into the pattern of a Fuma Shuriken.
The Mangekyo Sharingan, activated!
But in the next second, Shisui froze on the spot.
The Danzo he was holding in front of him suddenly vanished into thin air.
That was right. Just like that, in front of the Sharingan—which possessed the strongest observation and dynamic vision—and even the Mangekyo Sharingan, he disappeared without any warning!
Impossible. I clearly confirmed it just now. That definitely wasn't a clone.
Even a clone couldn't vanish before my eyes without a trace!
Although filled with doubt, Shisui had no time to ponder these questions.
After Danzo vanished, an intense sense of crisis made his skin crawl.
The Mangekyo Sharingan, containing immense visual prowess, proved its worth at this moment.
Shisui sensed the source of the danger and spun around violently, but Danzo's figure had appeared there at some unknown time!
Danzo wore a faint smile of a successful plotter. A heavy elbow strike landed squarely on Shisui's abdomen.
The heavy blow caused Shisui's brain to stall briefly. A terrifying force spread from his stomach to his entire body, followed by a horrific sensation of paralysis.
This full-body paralysis left Shisui with no way to fight back.
His body flew upward slowly from the impact. Before he could go far, Danzo's upward-reaching hand grabbed his hair.
He ripped Shisui back down violently!
His bent knee transformed into another terrible strike against Shisui's abdomen.
That wasn't all. While Shisui was still paralyzed, Danzo's arm shot out like lightning. Like a hawk catching its prey, he accurately struck Shisui's eye.
Squelch!
Crimson blood sprayed from Shisui's eye socket instantly. Shisui's body was sent flying back by the impact of this final blow, finally exiting Danzo's attack range.
Shisui scrambled to seize the opportunity, bouncing off the ground several times to put distance between them again.
"How could this be..."
Before he could even process it, an even more shocking scene unfolded before him.
Danzo ripped away the bandages wrapped around his face.
As the bandages fell, a familiar eye appeared in Shisui's sight.
A crimson background with three pitch-black tomoe...
"A Sharingan!"
Shisui stared with his one remaining eye.
At the same time, the Sharingan Danzo had just revealed began to lose its color, eventually turning into a lifeless grey-white.
On Shisui's side stood the kind Buddha.
On Danzo's side stood the fierce Yaksha!