Creeak...
The sound of grating friction rang out.
Shisui Uchiha struggled wildly while controlling his Susanoo, but no matter how he thrashed, he could not break free from the constraints of the wooden dragon. Furthermore, under the relentless extraction by the dragon, the emerald chakra giant dimmed rapidly. Finally, under Shisui's unwilling gaze, it quietly dissipated.
Green chakra drifted into the air as this battle between Wood Style and the Sharingan drew to a complete close. Shisui, whose chakra was already nearly depleted, was simply no match for Simu.
Despite this, Shisui did not give up. After the Susanoo vanished, he used his last bit of strength to dash toward the forest. However, before he could take more than a few steps, a branch grew out from a nearby tree and bound him tightly.
Dammit...
Shisui tried to struggle, but he found he didn't even have the strength to swing his ninja blade, let alone cut through the branches binding him.
"Give up. No one can defy Lord Danzo's orders!"
Simu's figure appeared behind Shisui. It had to be said that this was indeed a respectable opponent. If only his head were a bit sharper, Simu thought. This maneuver of venturing deep alone only to be ambushed left Simu speechless.
Should he say Shisui was too naive, or that he had underestimated Danzo's treachery and strength? Regardless, Shisui's fate was no longer in doubt. At this point, his only remaining chance to turn the tables was...
Kotoamatsukami!
Shisui struggled to lift his head, preparing to cast the technique on Simu. However, he realized that Simu had already used Wood Style to create a spiral mask, covering his entire face and eyes.
"Alright, it's over."
Simu appeared before Shisui like a bolt of lightning. With a swift hand-chop, he cleanly knocked Shisui unconscious. To be honest, if time permitted, Simu wouldn't have minded letting Shisui recover to his peak for a proper rematch. Only then could he collect more combat data regarding the Mangekyo Sharingan.
What a pity...
He wove hand signs, and a plump, white insect the size of a human burrowed out of the soil. It swallowed Shisui's body in one gulp and then vanished in a puff of smoke. Next, it would transport Shisui to a stronghold within the Land of Fire at maximum speed to analyze the Uchiha lineage and the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Only after all this was finished did Jia arrive at the scene. He looked at the empty battlefield and turned a suspicious gaze toward Simu.
"Where is Shisui Uchiha?"
Simu spread his hands and replied calmly, "He ran away."
"Ran away?" Jia made a face that clearly said do you think I'm stupid? "You were just beating him down, and now you're saying he ran away?"
Simu chuckled. "Regardless, he's gone."
Jia spoke with some helplessness. "Yi, do you have any idea what kind of punishment you might face for failing Lord Danzo's mission?"
This was likely the mission Danzo valued most. Yet Simu, who had been given high expectations, had let Shisui escape. This would undoubtedly invite Danzo's thunderous rage.
Simu simply shrugged indifferently. "At worst, I'll be put back in solitary confinement. Lord Danzo isn't going to kill me anyway."
Jia felt helpless against Simu's "dead pig unafraid of boiling water" attitude.
Simu's prediction was correct. About a minute later, Danzo arrived at the scene, flanked by the remaining Root ninja. After surveying the wrecked battlefield, his expression darkened instantly.
"Jia, Yi, where is Shisui Uchiha?"
Unlike his previous indifferent reply, Simu now wore an expression of three parts unease, three parts guilt, and four parts fear.
"Lord Danzo, your subordinate was incompetent! Shisui Uchiha... he escaped."
"What?!"
Although he had expected it, the moment Danzo heard the answer, a mad rage surged within him. The entire area fell into a terrifyingly low atmospheric pressure. For this operation, Danzo had sacrificed several Root elites, yet he had only obtained one of Shisui's eyes. This was undoubtedly an unacceptable result!
However, at this stage, they could only quickly cover up the traces of the battle and return to Root. Danzo swept a cold gaze over Simu and Jia before saying stiffly, "Let's go back."
"Yes!"
The Root ninja beside Danzo immediately began concealing the combat marks. As for Simu and Jia, they were led back to Root by Danzo.
After they departed, a crow quietly flew away from the bushes at the edge of the battlefield. It flew across most of Konoha, eventually entering the Uchiha Clan Compound.
It arrived at the lakeside training ground. Itachi Uchiha was currently spar-training with Arima. The moment he saw the crow, an ominous premonition struck him.
"What is that?" Arima asked, puzzled.
"Shisui's messenger crow."
Itachi quickly extended his arm, letting the crow land. The crow opened its beak and spat out a scroll.
Itachi, when you see this message, I am likely already gone.
I was ambushed by Danzo. There is a high chance both of my Mangekyo Sharingan will fall into his hands. You must be careful.
Furthermore, Root possesses two Wood Style ninja, codenamed Jia and Yi. Jia seems weaker, but it cannot be ruled out as a disguise. The one who fought me was Yi. He is proficient in large-scale Wood Style jutsu, such as the First Hokage's Wood Human Technique...
This is all the intelligence I could gather.
Itachi, do not seek revenge for me. Instead, frame my death as a suicide. Otherwise, it will inevitably cause further division between the village and the clan. Go to my desk; there is a suicide note inside...
Finally, you must ensure peace for the village and the clan. I'm counting on you, Itachi.
After reading the scroll, Itachi stood frozen. An indescribable, terrifying emotion surged from his mind, beginning to strike his eyes uncontrollably.
"Shisui..."
Accompanied by a piercing pain, two warm streams flowed from Itachi's eyes. It was blood. The sinful blood of the Uchiha!
Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan activated automatically, and the world before him turned crimson. When he wiped the blood from his face and opened his eyes again, the three pitch-black tomoe had quietly connected, forming a black pattern resembling a three-bladed Fuma Shuriken.
An ominous aura radiated from them.