In his daze, Shisui vaguely heard someone calling his name.
"Shisui."
"Shisui?"
"Shisui!"
Smack!
A sharp slap landed across his face.
Shisui's eyes snapped open as he stared blankly at the person in front of him.
"Sensei?!"
Shimizu shook his slightly numb left hand. He might have used a bit too much force.
Standing nearby, Fugaku—who had witnessed the entire process of Shimizu "waking" Shisui—couldn't help the awkward twitch at the corner of his mouth.
After awakening the Mangekyō, the surge in Shisui's ocular power had already broken through the limits of Fugaku's genjutsu. But afterward, the boy had fallen unconscious due to severe chakra disorder…
Who wakes someone up like that?
"Where's Kirigakure?" Shisui asked instinctively.
Then he suddenly froze.
"And sensei, weren't you…?"
His voice trailed off as he caught sight of Uchiha Fugaku standing calmly nearby—the same Fugaku who had already "died" in battle.
Several breaths passed before realization finally dawned on him.
"…It was all genjutsu?"
"From the moment sensei called me over?"
Fugaku nodded slowly.
"Yes. I used my Mangekyō Sharingan to pull you into a world created by my illusion."
Though Shisui had spent nearly half a day inside that false reality, in the real world only a single instant had passed.
One moment, his chakra had erupted violently.
The next, it had suddenly gone still.
And just like that, a new Mangekyō Sharingan was born.
Even Shimizu was a little curious about what exactly Shisui had experienced inside the illusion to awaken his eyes. Judging by the boy's current mental state, he actually seemed… fairly stable.
For a brief moment, a dangerous thought crossed Shimizu's mind.
If Fugaku's Mangekyō could help awaken another Mangekyō…
Couldn't they mass-produce them?
"It only works with someone like Shisui," Fugaku suddenly said, as though he had seen straight through Shimizu's thoughts.
"To break free from my Mangekyō genjutsu, there are only two possibilities. Either the target dies… or they shatter the illusion through awakening."
He paused before explaining bluntly,
"In other words, once someone is dragged into that world, if they fail to awaken the Mangekyō, death is inevitable."
What the... hell?!
"Why didn't you tell me that beforehand?!" Shimizu snapped, his irritation flaring.
Fugaku glanced at him calmly. "If I had told you beforehand, would you still have allowed Shisui to take the risk?"
Shimizu was instantly speechless.
He had assumed Fugaku's Mangekyō functioned similarly to Tsukuyomi—a genjutsu world the caster could freely start or stop at will.
After all, even if someone failed inside Tsukuyomi, the worst outcome was usually being bedridden for a while.
But Fugaku's Mangekyō was different.
Even Fugaku himself could not stop the progression of that illusory world once it began. If the victim lacked the power to shatter it, death was guaranteed.
Without absolute confidence, entering that world was no different from suicide.
Just how much did Fugaku trust Shisui?
"In my eyes, Shisui is a true genius," Fugaku said quietly. "I believed he could bring enough glory to the Uchiha clan…"
But midway through the sentence, he stopped.
Because he suddenly remembered something.
Even after witnessing the destruction of the entire Uchiha clan within the illusion, Shisui still had not awakened immediately.
Did the Uchiha still truly hold a place in Shisui's heart?
No.
What filled Shisui's heart now… was his teacher.
And Konoha.
Could someone like that still be used for the sake of the Uchiha clan?
Fugaku's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Shisui.
At that moment, Shisui was quietly feeling the overwhelming power surging within his eyes.
"So I really awakened it…"
"Get ready," Shimizu said as he looked toward the other Konoha shinobi who were already preparing to move out. "We're leaving."
Then he suddenly remembered something and glanced at Fugaku.
"By the way, Fugaku-senpai, have you found any trace of the Three-Tails?"
Fugaku shook his head.
"No. We searched throughout Kirigakure, but the Three-Tails doesn't appear to be inside the village."
"…I see."
Shimizu fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"And if possible, please do your best to keep these people alive."
Fugaku answered after a brief pause.
"…I will."
After giving Satomi and Megumi a simple explanation and farewell, Shimizu immediately departed.
Shisui followed close behind.
Megumi puffed out her cheeks slightly as she watched them leave.
"Shimizu's off doing dangerous things again."
Now even Shisui could accompany him into battle, yet she was still forced to remain behind.
Beside her, Satomi spoke softly. "Hasn't senpai always been like this…?"
Megumi glanced at her curiously. "You sound like you understand Shimizu pretty well."
Satomi merely lowered her eyes.
"Come on. We have our own mission too."
"Ah—right!"
…
Under the hazy moonlight, two figures moved swiftly through the endless sea of mist, racing toward Kirigakure's frontline camp at astonishing speed.
Suddenly, Shimizu raised a hand.
The two of them stopped instantly.
"Use the time to recover," he said calmly as another soldier pill pill disappeared into his mouth. At this point, even he had lost count of how many he had taken.
"Yes."
Shisui answered automatically, but his gaze unconsciously drifted toward his teacher.
Shimizu noticed immediately.
"If you want to ask something, just ask."
"Huh?" Shisui scratched the back of his head awkwardly before laughing a little. "I just think sensei is incredible. Earlier you fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and even the Third Mizukage, and you also summoned a creature like Garaga…"
He hesitated before finally blurting out what he truly meant.
"Your chakra reserves are enormous."
"Is that what you're thinking?"
"Yeah!"
In Shisui's understanding, the amount of chakra Shimizu possessed had already surpassed ordinary shinobi by several times over. It was far beyond the level of what people usually called "elite."
Shimizu, however, didn't seem to care much.
"To be honest, I was almost drained earlier too. I just recover quickly… and I've been swallowing a lot of soldier pills."
His tone remained casual, but inwardly he understood something clearly.
Stepping into the threshold of Kage-level chakra sounded impressive, yet when facing true monsters… it still wasn't enough.
Then Shimizu glanced at Shisui.
"You don't blame me, do you? For hiding the actual method of awakening the Mangekyō from you earlier."
"Of course not." Shisui shook his head with a smile. "If you had told me beforehand, I probably wouldn't have awakened it at all."
Then his expression turned sincere.
"Besides… sensei already warned me."
Yes. The moment he chose this path, he had already known awakening the Mangekyō would feel worse than death.
Everything had been his own decision.
Good.
Shisui was still the same Shisui. He hadn't changed.
"Then what about your Mangekyō ability?" Shimizu finally asked.
Earlier, Fugaku had been present, so he had deliberately avoided the topic. But now, after confirming that Shisui held no resentment toward him, there was no reason to keep waiting.
"At the moment, I've only sensed one ability." Shisui lowered his eyes slightly as he felt the strange power lingering within them. "It can control a person's will."
He paused before continuing,
"I think I can take control of the enemies guarding one of the defensive strongholds and create an opening for Yoshimaru-senpai and the others to escape."
"And how long does the control last?"
"…A very long time."
Shisui stopped briefly before turning to look directly at Shimizu.
"Almost permanent."
The misty night suddenly felt quieter.
Shimizu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"This technique… does it have a name?"
"It's called Kotoamatsukami."
There was no surprise on Shimizu's face.
He simply let out a slow breath.
"Shisui… do you understand what this technique truly means?"
"…I do."
The moment his Mangekyō awakened, Shisui had instinctively understood everything about the ability.
Kotoamatsukami could invade a person's mind without them ever noticing, permanently and completely rewriting their will.
It was the ultimate genjutsu.
Anyone the caster saw could be turned into a puppet.
"Then never let anyone know this ability exists." Shimizu's voice turned colder and more serious than ever before.
"No matter who it is. Even if it's the Third Hokage himself."
"Because this technique will awaken unimaginable greed in people. Once they realize its value, some will do absolutely anything to obtain and use it."
"Konoha… isn't ready for a power like this yet."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Then Shimizu looked straight into Shisui's eyes.
"So can you do that?"
"Absolutely." Shisui answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Good." Shimizu nodded. "Then your next priority is developing your second Mangekyō ability as quickly as possible."
Only then could they ensure that even Fugaku would be unable to discover the true secret behind Shisui's Mangekyō.
"Yes, sensei!"
Shisui looked around at the dense mist that never seemed to fade before suddenly speaking again.
"Sensei… maybe we can use this fog to infiltrate Kirigakure's camp directly?"
The thin mist surrounding them contained faint traces of chakra, enough to interfere with the perception of sensory-type shinobi.
And if Kotoamatsukami was truly this overwhelming, then why not take things even further?
Why not infiltrate Kirigakure itself and directly control one of their leaders?
But at the same time, Shisui remembered the greatest flaw of Kotoamatsukami—
Its cooldown period was terrifyingly long.
Once used, the next opportunity to activate it again might not come for years.
If that was the case…
Then wouldn't it be better to use this one chance to completely end the war between Konoha and Kirigakure forever?
"We can try," Shimizu replied after a moment of thought. "The chakra mixed into this fog interferes with sensory detection. That's good news for us."
But in truth, after learning the real nature of Kotoamatsukami, Shimizu had already begun forming a far larger plan in his mind.
He didn't just want to control Kirigakure's current leadership.
He was already thinking about the future as well…