Shisui's mind was still spinning as he walked back to his small quarters deep within the laboratory. He had just agreed to plunge headfirst into the bloody, lawless world of the underground exchange. It would likely be a very long time before he saw the village again.
He needed to prepare meticulously. If he was going to resurrect the legend of Shisui of the Body Flicker and operate under the banner of a new, terrifying syndicate, his execution had to be flawless.
As he packed his few remaining possessions, he replayed the conversation with Kei in his head. The doctor's logic had been absolute, leaving him with no room to argue. Yet, as he recalled forcing out that awkward "thank you," Shisui couldn't shake the nagging sensation that he had just been brilliantly, completely played.
Watching Shisui retreat into the shadows, Haru turned to Kei. "Do you think he realizes what you just did to him?"
"Probably not," Kei smiled softly, picking up a surgical tool to clean it. "While it is undeniably true that I am using him to harvest capital, the arguments I presented to him were entirely factual."
"Even if he eventually connects the dots and realizes I manipulated him into fighting my battles while simultaneously forcing him to thank me for the privilege... he will reluctantly accept it."
"Despite his tragic devotion to the Will of Fire, Shisui is a brilliant tactician," Kei continued, his voice echoing slightly in the sterile room. "He knows he is out of options. Even if I hadn't dressed the assignment up in the noble rhetoric of 'healing' and 'revenge,' he would have eventually agreed to hunt bounties just to keep this lab funded."
"I simply provided him with a psychological safety net. I gave him a righteous justification so he can slaughter rogue ninja with a clear conscience."
Haru nodded slowly, her respect for the doctor's terrifying intellect deepening. She remained silent as she helped him clean the surgical station.
Half an hour later, the heavy vault door clicked open.
Shisui stepped out of the shadows. He had abandoned his standard Uchiha combat gear. He was now draped in the sweeping, pitch-black cloak of the Avengers Alliance.
Kei had commissioned the fabrication of these standardized uniforms shortly after their midnight oath in the forest. Anticipating future recruitment, he had ordered several extra sets tailored and sealed.
Dressed in the heavy, light-absorbing fabric, Shisui's entire physical presence shifted drastically. The warm, approachable aura of the legendary prodigy was gone. He radiated a cold, oppressive gravity.
To ensure his ruined eye sockets remained hidden—and to prevent anyone from identifying him through the absence of his Sharingan—Kei had specifically modified Shisui's porcelain mask, outfitting the eye-holes with dark, crimson-tinted glass lenses.
Standing under the flickering, harsh light of the laboratory, wearing the mocking, sinister grin of the white mask, Shisui truly looked like a nightmare dragged straight from hell.
Shisui adjusted the heavy clasp of the cloak. "Kei. I anticipate I will be operating in the outer territories for several months. Before I leave the village... I need to see the compound one last time."
Kei didn't immediately refuse the dangerous request. He simply tilted his head. "Are you absolutely certain, Shisui? You are well aware that the Uchiha sector is currently a powder keg. The ANBU surveillance is suffocating."
"While the sensory-blocking seals woven into that cloak will mask your chakra signature, if a patrol visually spots a masked, unidentified operative lurking near the estate, they will instantly assume it is an assassination attempt."
Shisui hesitated, his gloved hands clenching into tight fists. "I know the risks. But I must look at my home. I am terrified that the next time I return to Konoha, the compound will be nothing but ash."
Kei could clearly feel the raw, agonizing desperation rolling off the Uchiha. He understood that denying him this closure would severely damage Shisui's operational focus.
"Very well," Kei nodded. "But you cannot linger, and you cannot cross the perimeter wall. Furthermore, I will accompany you. If an unexpected patrol intercepts us, I possess the political clearance to provide an alibi."
"Thank you, Kei," Shisui said, the gratitude in his voice vastly more genuine than his earlier thanks.
Waiting until the dead of night, when the civilian streets were entirely abandoned, the two men slipped out of the Sanatorium and navigated silently through the village toward the Uchiha district.
They couldn't risk approaching the main gates. Instead, Kei led them to a high, heavily forested ridge that overlooked the sprawling, quiet Uchiha compound.
They stood side-by-side on the precipice. A cool night breeze swept over the ridge, rustling the leaves and violently whipping Kei's white physician's coat and Shisui's heavy black cloak around their legs.
Shisui faced the direction of his ancestral home. Though he lacked the physical eyes to see the curving tiled roofs and the glowing paper lanterns, his sensory perception painted the familiar streets perfectly in his mind.
His face, hidden behind the mocking porcelain mask, was twisted in profound, suffocating grief.
Having personally experienced the absolute, ruthless darkness of Konoha's leadership, Shisui was consumed by the terrifying certainty that his family was walking blindly toward a slaughterhouse. Even though Kei had promised him a path to salvation, the nightmares still haunted him every time he closed his eyes—dreams of his streets running rivers of blood, of his clansmen butchered in the dark.
He stood frozen on the ridge, entirely silent, for a very long time. Kei remained perfectly still beside him, offering no empty comforts, simply sharing the heavy burden of the silence.
Only when Shisui finally let out a long, shuddering breath and turned away from the compound did Kei speak.
"The next time you return to this ridge, Shisui... it will be time to exact our toll in blood," Kei promised, his voice cold and absolute over the wind.
"I will stand beside you. We will tear down the architects of this tragedy, and we will drag your family out of the fire."
Shisui nodded deeply, opening his mouth to reaffirm his oath.
Suddenly, Kei's sensory web spiked violently. He raised a hand, cutting Shisui off. "Suppress your signature instantly. We have company."
Having witnessed the doctor's terrifying sensory range firsthand, Shisui did not question the order. His hands blurred through a single seal. With a soft poof of smoke, the towering avenger vanished, transforming into a sleek, black crow that fluttered silently up into the high branches of an oak tree.
Kei remained standing casually on the edge of the ridge, leaning on his cane.
A moment later, a silent shadow dropped from the treeline. The newcomer stepped into the moonlight, his Sharingan blazing bright red in the dark.
"Kei Hyuga," the boy demanded, his voice dropping to a freezing, lethal whisper. "What exactly are you doing lurking outside my clan's perimeter?"
It was Itachi Uchiha. He was still wearing his standard ANBU uniform, having likely just returned from a covert deployment.
"I found myself suffering from a bout of insomnia," Kei replied effortlessly, offering a warm, innocent smile. "I simply decided to take a quiet stroll and appreciate the moonlight."
Itachi stepped closer, his burning red eyes locked onto the doctor's thick bandages. "You are a blind man. Do not insult my intelligence by claiming you are here to admire the moon. And even if you were... why choose the high ground directly overlooking the Uchiha compound?"
"Are the blind legally prohibited from enjoying the evening breeze, Itachi?" Kei tilted his head, feigning mild amusement. "Furthermore, I am simply standing on a public ridge within the borders of Konoha. I wasn't aware I required an ANBU escort for a midnight stroll."
"Your silver tongue will not work on me, doctor," Itachi warned, his hand drifting dangerously close to the hilt of his tantō. He was projecting a suffocating, coercive killing intent. "This is Uchiha territory. It is not a tourist attraction for you to wander around in the dark."
Kei chuckled softly, entirely unaffected by the lethal pressure.
"This is Konoha territory, Itachi," Kei corrected smoothly. "And I am a Konoha shinobi. In fact, just a few days ago, Lord Third personally bypassed the standard protocols to promote me to the rank of Special Jonin."
"Therefore, unless the Hokage has officially declared this ridge a highly classified, restricted military zone... I possess the absolute, legal authority to stand wherever I please."
Before Itachi could formulate a rebuttal, Kei leaned forward, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper.
"Or... are you implying that the Uchiha have already formally seceded from the village? Because if this is now sovereign rebel territory, then you are correct. I am indeed trespassing."
Itachi's jaw locked. His fists clenched so tightly his leather gloves creaked. Kei had flawlessly trapped him. He couldn't legally force the Jonin to leave without openly confirming the village's deepest, most terrifying suspicion: that the Uchiha were actively preparing for war.
Staring at the smiling, blind man in the white coat, Itachi violently wished he could just draw his blade and drive the doctor away by force. But he was trapped by the political reality. He could do nothing but glare in helpless fury.
"If you truly wish to waste your night freezing on this ridge, that is your choice," Itachi finally hissed, turning his back.
Before he vanished into the trees, Itachi threw one final, lethal warning over his shoulder. "But mark my words, doctor. If you harbor any dark intentions toward my family... I will execute you."
"Instead of making empty threats against a blind physician, Itachi... you should perhaps turn that intense scrutiny inward," Kei called out, his voice suddenly losing all its manufactured warmth, ringing with cold, absolute judgment.
Itachi froze.
"Shisui spoke of you often during our sessions," Kei continued mercilessly. "He possessed such profound, tragically high expectations for you."
Kei shook his head slowly. "It is a profound pity. I calculate you are going to brutally disappoint him. You possess a ruthlessness that borders on the monstrous. Looking at you now... I see absolutely nothing of the brilliant, compassionate brother Shisui described to me."
Itachi's spine went completely rigid. The mention of Shisui was a physical blow. He slowly turned his head, his Mangekyo Sharingan flaring with pure, unadulterated murder. For a terrifying second, he debated drawing his blade and silencing the doctor right there.
But thinking of the fragile, explosive political tightrope his clan was currently walking, Itachi forced the rage down. He swallowed hard, turned away, and vanished completely into the night.
A moment later, the black crow dropped from the branches, transforming back into the masked avenger.
Kei didn't turn around. "Do you finally understand why I warned you that it was impossible for me to psychologically rehabilitate him, Shisui?"
"He is exactly who you used to be. A fanatical slave to the Will of Fire." Kei's voice was dark and heavy. "Only, Itachi is vastly more dangerous. Because his absolute devotion makes him infinitely more foolish."
Shisui 'looked' into the dark forest where his best friend had disappeared. He didn't offer a defense. He simply lowered his head and let out a long, silent sigh of despair.