Early morning, Konoha's Fourth Training Ground.
The warm sunlight spilled over Mitarashi Anko, but the lavender-haired girl felt no warmth at all—only a bone-chilling coldness radiating from her heart.
"Why... why...?"
Anko stared at the stone monument just ahead. There, resting on a low stone platform, was a pale corpse. Her pupils contracted sharply as she whispered, "Sosuke... kun?"
The familiar short brown hair, the black-framed glasses, the gentle face—this boy, who lived in her memory as an embodiment of kindness, had become a cold, empty shell.
Thump.
Her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the grass. Finally unable to contain the grief, Anko let out a heart-wrenching howl. "Nooooo!"
Shhh-shhh-shhh.
Hearing the commotion, several Konoha shinobi rapidly converged on the site. Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate, and Yuhi Kurenai arrived first, followed shortly by a breathless Uchiha Shisui.
"It's a lie, isn't it? Aizen actually..."
"Damn it! Who could have done this?"
"Sosuke-kun? No, it's impossible! We made a promise... why is this happening?"
Unable to withstand the shock of the scene, Kurenai's legs buckled. Fortunately, Yugao was quick to react, catching her in a firm embrace.
"Kurenai! Are you okay? Kurenai!"
"She's just fainted from the shock."
"Regardless, let's get her to Konoha Hospital immediately."
While the others spiraled into a panic, Uchiha Shisui remained rooted to the spot. He stared at Aizen's body with a vacant, shattered expression, unable to move an inch.
"No, it wasn't supposed to be like this," Shisui muttered, his pupils dilated with horror. "It shouldn't have ended like this... It's me. It's all my fault."
He should have known. When Danzo's men took Aizen away, he should have realized it wouldn't end well. But out of a misplaced trust in the Konoha high command, he had stood by and done nothing. If he had acted then, Aizen would not be a cold corpse now.
Anger, agony, self-loathing, and regret swirled violently in Shisui's heart.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The rhythmic sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence. The gathered shinobi instinctively moved aside as a new group arrived.
"Hmph. It seems something quite interesting has transpired here," a grim, playful voice remarked.
Upon hearing that voice, Shisui snapped his head up, his eyes flashing with a twisted, guttural hatred. "Danzo!"
At that moment, the black tomoe in his eyes began to spin frantically, bleeding together until they forged the shape of four distinct blades.
The Mangekyō!
Driven by the death of his best friend and his loathing for the man before him, Uchiha Shisui had finally awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Chink!
Unsheathing his tantō, Shisui charged like a man possessed. "You bastard! Rot in hell!"
As if he had anticipated the assault, Danzo didn't flinch. Just as Shisui closed the distance, two Root shinobi intercepted him, moving with such unnatural speed they appeared to teleport.
What?
Shisui's face twisted with shock. Even with the Mangekyō, he struggled to track their movements. It felt like true spatial manipulation. These two are no ordinary shinobi!
As Shisui's mind raced, Danzo's cold voice cut through the air. "Not only did he murder Aizen, but now he intends to assassinate an Elder? Secure this traitor and take him to the Root's interrogation chambers!"
The surrounding shinobi gasped. Shisui was the murderer? It felt impossible. Everyone in the village knew that Aizen and Shisui were inseparable. How could he have harmed his closest friend?
Just as the two Root agents moved to execute the order, a deep, authoritative voice rang out. "Wait."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, appeared before the crowd. He first cast a sorrowful glance at Aizen's body before turning a stern gaze toward Danzo. "You claim Shisui murdered Sosuke? Do you have evidence?"
"Hmph." Danzo snorted, pulling a parchment from his sleeve. "Read it for yourself, Hiruzen."
The Hokage took the letter. As he read, his expression shifted from grief to grim realization. He turned to Shisui, his voice dropping to a frigid tone. "Uchiha Shisui... how do you answer to this?"
"Lord Hokage!" Shisui shouted, his voice cracking. "It was Danzo! Danzo killed him!"
"Look at this. Is this not Sosuke's handwriting?" Hiruzen held the letter before Shisui's eyes.
The letter was brief. It stated that Aizen had discovered Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan but feared the power was too "evil" and corrupting. For the sake of the village and his friend, Aizen had requested a meeting at the Fourth Training Ground to persuade Shisui to seal the power away. He had written the letter as a precaution in case things went wrong.
The logic was seamless. The handwriting was unmistakably Aizen's.
But Shisui knew the truth. This was a masterstroke by Danzo. He had spent the previous night at home, reeling from the cryptic warnings Aizen had given him before being taken away. He hadn't seen a soul. He had seen Aizen being escorted by Root agents with his own eyes—that was an unchangeable fact.
But as Shisui opened his mouth to speak, he realized he had no defense. His Mangekyō was now a matter of public record, and he was the only witness to Aizen's "abduction." Any denial sounded hollow and desperate.
"Danzo... this was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Shisui spat, his teeth bared in indignation.
"Trying to frame me now?" Danzo sneered. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
In a strange twist of fate, Danzo was actually telling the truth—the agents who had taken Aizen weren't his. But in this carefully constructed trap, even the truth wouldn't save Shisui.
"Enough!"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, looking between Danzo and Shisui with a mounting headache. "Until this matter is thoroughly investigated, Shisui will be detained in the high-security cells beneath the Hokage's office."
In his heart, Hiruzen suspected Danzo; the man's track record made him the far more likely culprit. However, as Hokage, he could not show blatant favoritism in the face of such evidence. This was the only middle ground.
"Still showing partiality, even now?" Danzo mocked. "This indecisiveness will eventually be your downfall, Sarutobi."
"I know what I am doing," Hiruzen replied, his face as cold as ice.