Chapter 45 - The Death of Shisui
As the building crumbled, an enormous green Susanoo burst forth from the ground.
But Shisui was not in good shape.
Root was, after all, an underground organization that Danzo had been running for nearly a decade. The vast majority of its members obeyed his orders completely — to the point of being willing to carry out suicide attacks without hesitation.
Tenzo, somewhere far away: ...Good thing I got out when I did.
The blade that had struck Shisui had been poisoned — something designed to delay nerve response and gradually weaken the body.
The Root base was in a remote location. Finding the Hokage from here in his current state was unlikely.
Wait — Itachi.
He should still be at the training ground.
Shisui adjusted his position, used Susanoo to block the ninjutsu coming from behind, and changed direction.
With pursuers constantly closing in, he would have to fight his way through before he could reach Itachi.
If that's what it takes...
Shisui made his decision.
Izanagi.
As the Mangekyou in his left eye went dark, Shisui's Susanoo surged directly into its third stage.
Izanagi: A technique that, for a brief window of time, allows the user to rewrite reality itself — turning damage they have received into illusion, and reshaping outcomes as they choose. The cost is permanent blindness in the eye used.
With that limitation lifted for now, the enormous Susanoo rose fully from the earth. A spiral spear materialized in its hand.
[Yasaka Magatama!]
Dozens of massive green magatama launched toward the Root operatives. A moment later, the spinning spiral spear followed — driving straight through their formation.
"...Will we win?"
One Root operative — one whose mind hadn't been completely hollowed out — watched the attack bearing down on him and finally understood why Lord Danzo wanted Shisui's eyes so badly.
His voice trembled.
"You won't."
That was his companion's answer.
The next moment, the Yasaka Magatama tore through the earth wall they had raised — and in the explosion that followed, they became the most unremarkable dust in the air.
After all, Root members are never permitted to have names.
Twenty seconds left.
As Shisui felt the remaining time on Izanagi counting down, a pair of enormous wings erupted from the back of his Susanoo. It launched into the air.
The spiral spear in Susanoo's hand began to spin again — and then Shisui hurled it directly at the Root base below.
Let's call this: the Flying Spiral Super Wheel Flash — Life Spear.
Minato, deep within the Shinigami's belly, gave a silent thumbs up.
Danzo:
After releasing the spear, Shisui turned and flew as fast as he could toward the training ground where Itachi usually stayed.
The sight of a giant Susanoo soaring through the sky above Konoha instantly triggered every sensory ninja in the village.
The door to the Hokage's office was kicked open. Kakashi, who had come running, didn't bother with pleasantries — he went straight to the point.
The Third Hokage, startled — quietly moving the crystal ball out of sight — heard the description of the enormous chakra signature and immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation.
He shed his Hokage robes, pulled on the armor stored in his office, and headed straight for Uchiha territory.
---
Meanwhile, Itachi had already dropped Sasuke home and made his way to the training ground where he and Shisui usually met — under the pretext of having something to take care of.
He had a bad feeling.
He'd had it all day.
Especially after what Shisui had said earlier.
"One against seven — I'm going to try my luck today. If it works, maybe I can save the village and the clan both."
Shisui's tone had been light. Half-joking, almost casual.
But he still hadn't come back.
A gust of wind passed.
In the distance, beyond the edge of the clan's territory, an enormous green Susanoo descended from the sky and then dissolved midway, vanishing into scattered light.
Itachi activated his Sharingan instantly.
Through it, he saw clearly the figure at the center of the dissipating Susanoo.
Shisui!
Itachi ran.
Fortunately, the descent hadn't been fast — the trees below acted as a buffer — and Itachi managed to position himself in time, catching Shisui as he fell.
"Itachi... thank goodness you're here."
Shisui looked up at his best friend and finally smiled.
"Shisui — what happened?"
Itachi felt the full weight of Shisui pressing down on him and asked with quiet urgency.
"I went to see Danzo today. He's the one who's been stoking the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha all along."
"I tried... cough cough... to alter his will using Kotoamatsukami — stop the coup before it started. But I failed. Cough cough."
"In the end... I escaped. Using these eyes."
The breaks in Shisui's voice made clear how little strength he had left.
Itachi gently lifted him to assess the wounds.
Shisui's body had already started going numb. Danzo was the shadow beneath Konoha — the poison he used was certainly not cheap.
If not for Izanagi, Shisui would have collapsed long before reaching here.
Shisui coughed again. He gave a quiet, wry smile — and then raised his hand.
Click.
To Itachi's disbelief, he removed his own right eye.
"I can't take on seven at once."
"My left eye is already gone — lost to Izanagi. So I'm entrusting my right eye to you. It still holds a temporary use of Kotoamatsukami."
"Konoha... is in your hands now too."
"My dearest friend."
Relying on memory alone — blind now — Shisui pressed his eye into Itachi's hand.
Then he lost consciousness.
"Shisui! Shisui!"
Itachi shook him. There was no response.
Shisui was gone.
He died on the road toward the dream he had been walking.
But my best friend is still here.
I believe he can do what I couldn't — bring Konoha and the Uchiha clan back together.
(Tobirama, somewhere in the afterlife: Stop muttering about dead Uchiha. What comes next is — Senju Itachi!)
Itachi felt the last warmth leave Shisui's body and quietly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, a scarlet Mangekyou Sharingan was looking back at the world.
---
By the time the Third Hokage and Fugaku arrived, all they found was Itachi — carrying Shisui's body, walking slowly toward the Uchiha Shrine.
The Third Hokage looked at Shisui's lifeless face and wanted to speak. He didn't know where to begin.
"Third Hokage. This is a clan matter. Please — go back first."
Fugaku looked at the body of his fallen clansman and could not hide his grief.
Shisui had been extraordinary. He had carried the Will of Fire. He had been close to the Hokage's faction. His mind had been largely free of the extremism that had taken root in so many others.
Can Itachi recover from this? A blow of this magnitude...
"Shisui was also one of my shinobi. I will find out what happened to him."
The Susanoo had been unmistakably Shisui's — and it had appeared directly above the area near Danzo's Root base.
I'll question Danzo first. Then speak with Itachi.
The Uchiha clan members had gathered around. Anger burned quietly in many of their eyes. Shisui had followed the Hokage's path — but he was still Uchiha.
Among the extremists, eyes had begun to turn red.
The Third Hokage, carrying the weight of what he likely already understood, said nothing more.
He turned and quietly left Uchiha territory.
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