I wonder if the Third Hokage is keeping up with the current situation in a timely manner. And if he has grasped it, what would he think seeing the state of things now?
"Itachi Uchiha. I have heard of you. Strictly speaking, this is our first official meeting, but the rumors are indeed true—your talent as a ninja is unquestionable. However... what is lost is lost. You should take a clear look at what you truly ought to be holding onto."
Hagoromo spoke to Itachi. He was telling him that instead of clinging to an eye he couldn't get back, it would be better to carry out Shisui's convictions from when he was alive.
In the end, Shisui entrusted his ideals to Itachi, whom he valued highly. Yet, this was ultimately a tragic matter, because Shisui could never have imagined that annihilating the entire clan was even an option in Itachi's mind.
Such an extreme plan—wiping out everything—was an extreme choice that only an extreme person could make under extreme circumstances. It was something the deceased Shisui had never anticipated.
Shisui's own methods and thoughts could, at most, be called "naive," but they weren't incomprehensible. However, Itachi was somewhat difficult to understand. In his order of importance, it actually went: younger brother > Konoha > Uchiha clan & parents...
Was there any logic to this? For Itachi, there definitely was. He wasn't a madman; on the contrary, he represented the exact opposite of madness.
When making a choice involving life and death on a massive scale, his actions couldn't be explained away by a single word like "brother-con." A person must have a corresponding reason for doing something. Unless others are in the exact same situation, it's difficult for them to empathize.
Therefore, Itachi was incomprehensible to others.
If this were applied to Hagoromo, then everyone would understand perfectly: Mirai & Naruto > Konoha > Uchiha. No problem there at all. It was surprisingly reasonable; after all, that was just the kind of person he was.
But whether the Uchiha would be annihilated or whether Itachi would still walk his original path—to Hagoromo, it could go either way now.
Annihilation or continued existence, it didn't matter. Without Kotoamatsukami, the Uchiha's "absolute threat" was gone.
Itachi Uchiha remained silent, weighing Hagoromo's words... He would then make the most rational judgment fitting the situation. "Rationality"—this was this young, genius ninja's greatest strength, and also his greatest flaw.
At his age, he really shouldn't be overthinking things. Wouldn't it be better to just drift around aimlessly like Hagoromo did back in the day?
Itachi's behavioral patterns were the comprehensive result of various complex reasons. Catching the tail end of the war? Experiencing the Nine-Tails incident? Desiring peace? Disgusted by his clan's methods?
Perhaps it was all of the above. But the most certain, most important, and even decisive factor was his damn habit of "thinking like a Hokage."
Did worrying about so many things mean he had found himself, or lost himself? Being like Hagoromo was definitely the easiest.
Hagoromo walked past Itachi, and the latter indeed did not attempt to attack again...
Using the Mangekyo Sharingan was too heavy a burden for a ninja, even a pure-blooded Uchiha.
The night was very serene. Once their conversation stopped, the sound of the Naka River flowing beneath the cliff could be clearly heard.
This was exactly where Shisui had just leapt down. Hagoromo looked down.
However, it was too dark; he couldn't see a thing.
"What are you going to do?" Itachi finally couldn't help but ask.
Hagoromo's demeanor clearly indicated that the situation hadn't reached a "that's all for now" conclusion.
"There is a forbidden jutsu called Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu). Using a living human as a sacrifice, it can awaken the deceased, allowing them to retain the power and abilities they had in life. Of course, to activate such a jutsu, one inevitably needs a bodily sample from the deceased..."
"Therefore, a ninja like Shisui has the potential to be targeted."
In fact, Shisui was already being targeted.
To Hagoromo, it didn't even matter if Orochimaru revived Madara via Edo Tensei, but Shisui was the sole exception.
"You wouldn't want to see him become someone else's puppet after death, especially a puppet that retains all of its original abilities..."
Beware of fire, beware of theft, beware of Orochimaru. After all, a certain someone had a taste for the fresh corpses of powerful individuals, and this necrophilia was completely incurable. So, Hagoromo had to find Shisui's remains first.
In terms of pure talent, the Second Hokage was inferior to his brother. But perhaps because of that, he dedicated himself to the development of various forbidden jutsu. And then... almost all the jutsu that brought immense trouble to future generations were his creations.
Ultimately, Itachi didn't try to stop Hagoromo again. He chose to believe Hagoromo's words. After all, having already obtained Shisui's eyes, Hagoromo's reasoning possessed a reasonable degree of credibility.
Since he already held Kotoamatsukami, Hagoromo would naturally prevent a new Kotoamatsukami from appearing.
"Why didn't you stop the conflict between Danzo and Shisui? Why didn't you stop Shisui's suicide? With your abilities, you could have done it!"
After a long silence, Hagoromo was met with the Third Hokage's sharp questioning.
And the Third's questioning was entirely justified. His judgment wasn't wrong either, because Hagoromo absolutely could have prevented these things from happening.
But he didn't.
Shisui's body was ultimately laid before the Third Hokage's eyes. This was something the Hokage had never anticipated.
The Third Hokage's grief at this moment was imaginable. But it wasn't just a matter of grief; this also meant that all of his previous arrangements and plans had completely fallen apart. Not only that, but with the death of the Uchiha's strongest, the entire situation had become infinitely more complicated.
Hagoromo gave the Hokage a detailed account of what happened that night, and what he said mostly aligned with the facts: Danzo stole the eye, Shisui committed suicide, and Hagoromo was 'powerless to intervene.'
It took about three hours for Hagoromo to find Shisui's body downstream in the Naka River, after which he immediately applied sealing treatments to it.
By now, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Hagoromo's thoughts during this time could only be described as complex, but these emotional thoughts could not influence his actions.
Facing the Third Hokage's questioning, Hagoromo's reasoning was sufficiently solid:
"This happened far too suddenly. No one could have predicted that Danzo possessed a Sharingan and could use the legendary forbidden jutsu, Izanagi. His theft of Shisui's eye occurred in a split second, leaving no time to react. Once I realized the consequences of Kotoamatsukami falling into Danzo's hands, my judgment was that retrieving the eye immediately took precedence over continuing to protect Shisui..."
"Objectively speaking, I do not believe my actions were unreasonable. Under such circumstances, no one can grasp all possibilities. Who could have imagined that Shisui would commit suicide to hide the fact his eye was stolen and to protect his remaining left eye?"
Given this explanation, Hagoromo indeed hadn't made any mistakes, rendering the Hokage's questioning invalid.
In truth, the Hokage had no reason not to know Danzo had a Sharingan. Even if he didn't know for sure, he could have guessed. After all, who would believe there was nothing wrong with keeping one eye perpetually bandaged?
But the Third Hokage never imagined Danzo would use his Sharingan in a situation like this. It ruined everything.
The Hokage also understood that what happened was irreversible. What he needed to consider now was how to deal with this massive mess. Assigning blame was meaningless... and even if he were to assign blame, the first person to seek out was Danzo, not Hagoromo. He couldn't just point fingers blindly.
The Hokage glanced at the corpse before him... Regardless, Shisui's body could not be returned to the Uchiha clan right now. They couldn't be provoked any further.
Returning an eyeless Shisui compared to returning a whole Shisui presented too massive a disparity. The latter showed at least a bit of sincerity, while the former instantly screamed of a total conspiracy.
As for returning Kotoamatsukami to the Uchiha... Had the Third Hokage lost his mind?
"How should we handle Shisui's remains moving forward?" he asked.
"Cremation. To prevent him from being used by those with ulterior motives," Hagoromo stated. Although he had applied sealing treatments, it wasn't thorough enough.
Only "disappearance" was truly thorough.
Faced with Hagoromo's suggestion, the Third Hokage fell silent once more.
Was this tacit consent?
"Then..."
Then came the critical question.
"Where are Shisui's eyes?" the Third Hokage asked.
"...Destroyed."
This was Hagoromo's answer, and it was the only "truth" he could speak.