sign

"Ah, this? Don't worry about it."

Shisui's smile was gentle, as though nothing had happened. As though they were still on that familiar training ground as usual, with Shisui still teaching him ninjutsu.

"Kagato, come on. Fight me once."

"Shisui, what are you saying? The most important thing right now is you—"

Kagato spoke anxiously.

But Shisui cut him off.

"Fight me. If you still consider me your big brother, then fight me one last time."

Looking at Shisui's solemn face, Kagato knew he couldn't refuse. The night wind brushed against his face. Beneath the moonlight, Kagato took a fighting stance, his shadow cast across the ground and trembling faintly.

"Attack me with all your strength."

Body Flicker Technique! Kagato instantly appeared beside Shisui and threw a punch.

But Shisui kicked Kagato away first.

"Too slow! I told you to attack with all your strength. Are you looking down on your big brother?"

Indeed, Kagato had been far too slow just now. Forget Shisui—even an ordinary Genin could have counterattacked.

"Shisui..."

Kagato looked at Shisui's tightly shut right eye, not knowing what to say.

"Attack me with all your strength!"

Shisui spoke solemnly once again.

It was the first time Kagato had seen Shisui seriously repeat the same thing twice. He bit his lip. With no other choice, Kagato could only unleash his full strength.

"Shisui, Uchiha Kagato, reporting in!"

Body Flicker Technique!

This time, unlike his leisurely speed before, Kagato moved so quickly that even Itachi's Three Tomoe Sharingan almost failed to catch his figure!

Kagato's usual speed had actually been a form of self-restraint. If he moved too quickly, even his own eyes might be unable to keep up with his body, leaving him unable to see clearly. In that case, excessive speed would become a burden instead.

That was why Kagato had always suppressed his speed. But with the appearance of the Sharingan, that speed had been released. This was also why he had been able to use an Instant Clone as soon as he awakened one tomoe.

Now, Kagato's Sharingan had reached the Three Tomoe stage. His formerly suppressed speed was completely unleashed. Even the Three Tomoe Sharingan might fail to catch his figure if one wasn't paying attention.

"Good! The one standing before you now is Konoha's Body Flicker Shisui, reporting in!"

Shisui raised his arm to block Kagato's strike.

"This is the strength you should have."

The next second, a second Kagato appeared on Shisui's other side and attacked.

Instant Clone!

Both Itachi and Shisui were shocked. They hadn't expected Kagato to have already learned this technique.

Shisui's smile grew even brighter. Now, he was even more at ease.

Shisui immediately retreated, dodging the pincer attack from Kagato and his Instant Clone.

For some reason, Shisui didn't use an Instant Clone in this battle. He didn't use his Mangekyō, nor did he use any ninjutsu. He had been holding back the entire time. Even so, Kagato could only fight him to a standstill.

Itachi watched quietly from the side.

Three figures battled at incredible speed beside the cliff, every movement sharp and fierce. To anyone else, it would have been an exhilarating duel. But to Itachi, the scene felt unbearably sad.

At last, as time passed, the battle changed. Kagato's fist struck Shisui's right cheek. Shisui should have been able to dodge it, but because he was missing his right eye, his field of vision had been greatly reduced, and he hadn't noticed it in time.

"Shisui! I—"

Kagato instinctively began to apologize. Shisui had only recently lost his right eye, and that punch must have hurt terribly.

"Don't apologize. You won this battle."

There was no pain on Shisui's face, only relief. After this fight, Shisui was finally at ease.

"Do you remember our promise? I told you before that once you defeated me, I would give you a present."

As he spoke, Shisui reached up, removed his left eye, and handed it to Kagato.

"At first, I said I'd give you my short blade. But you said that since I'd already told you, it had lost much of its surprise. So I said I'd think of another gift. Here. This is what I came up with. This eye can cast Kotoamatsukami, a technique that can permanently alter another person's will. It might not be very useful, but it's a gift from your big brother, so you're not allowed to dislike it."

Kagato shook his head again and again.

"Shisui, I don't want this gift. I don't want it. Take it back quickly. I want your short blade! I want your short blade! You've already lost one eye. How can you—how can you..."

Shisui smiled faintly. Then a crow flew over, swallowed the eye in Shisui's hand, and landed on Kagato's shoulder.

"That's why I told you not to dislike it. Even if you really do, as the gift your big brother gave you, you'd better accept it properly, you brat. I made a contract with this crow for you long ago. It's a crow I raised, and from now on, it's your summoning beast. I didn't tell you before because I planned to wait until you had emerged from the shadows, then teach you Crow Clone Jutsu. I would have told you about your summoning beast then.

"But it seems I won't have time to teach you Crow Clone Jutsu now. If you want to learn it in the future, have Itachi teach you. By the way, what's our record?"

Kagato answered through a sob.

"910 losses and 1 win. Reversed, that's your birthday, Shisui—October 19. I...I remember it very clearly."

During his final term at the Ninja Academy, Kagato had used Shadow Clone Jutsu to attend classes while his real body trained every day. As a result, the number of times he fought Shisui had risen sharply.

Shisui tightly closed his eyes and, relying on his perception, came before Kagato. He gently ruffled Kagato's hair.

"Ah, I see. I'm so happy—so happy that I met a little brother like you. Kagato, do you remember? We had two promises. The first was that after you defeated me, I would give you a present. The second was that I wouldn't let you awaken the Sharingan. I fulfilled the first promise, but I broke the second. If you want to hate someone, you can hate me. I'm a useless big brother. The so-called Body Flicker Shisui is nothing but a useless shinobi before his little brother. But promise me this: even if you can't protect the Uchiha or the village, never attack the Uchiha or the village in the future! Can you promise me?"

Shisui was afraid. He was afraid that Kagato's hatred of Danzo would one day involve Konoha. That wasn't what Shisui wanted to see. If he still had time, he could guide Kagato slowly. But Shisui had no time left. He could only use their promise to stop Kagato.

"I won't. I won't. How could I ever hate you, Shisui?"

Kagato could no longer speak through his sobs. The more Shisui acted this way, the more clearly he realized what Shisui was about to do.

"Then promise me."

Shisui smiled faintly. He had to hear Kagato's answer before he could rest easy.

"I...I promise, Shisui. I won't attack the Uchiha or the village. Never. Shisui, please take your eye back, all right? When you're like this, I'm scared."

This time, Shisui smiled brilliantly. He vigorously ruffled Kagato's hair.

"This is the last time. I have to do it properly. Haha."

At the very end, the man named Uchiha Shisui was still worried about his village, his clan, his closest friend, and his little brother.

Then Shisui walked to the cliff's edge, turning his back to the drop and facing Kagato and Itachi.

"You're both clever enough to see the situation with the Uchiha and the village. Things are already extremely dangerous. If I die, perhaps the situation will change. If it truly does, you must seize that opportunity. I've also left a will. At the very end, being able to see you both one last time is wonderful. From now on, protect the village and protect the Uchiha for me."

As he spoke, Shisui began to step backward.

"Wait, Shisui!"

"Don't! Don't! Shisui! No, you're my only family left! Please don't—don't leave me! I...I really have nothing left..."

The first sentence came from Itachi, and the second from Kagato. All of Kagato's weakness was exposed at this moment. He couldn't bear it anymore. He truly couldn't bear losing someone important again.

Looking at Kagato, Shisui suddenly saw the day Kagato had fallen into the snow and struggled to get back up. He didn't know what to say to him. He thought of countless words, but in the end, Shisui said none of them. He still smiled. At the very end, Shisui believed he should face Kagato with a smile and leave him with his best side. He was the big brother, after all. How could he cry before his little brother?

"Kagato, it isn't snowing today. It isn't cold."

Kagato reached out toward Shisui, trying to grab him, shaking his head again and again.

"It's cold. I'm really cold. Shisui, please come back, all right?"

Shisui smiled and shook his head.

"Don't stop me, Kagato. Itachi. Meeting you two has been the greatest fortune of my life as Body Flicker Shisui. My most precious friend, my most proud little brother, I have one final wish. Can you help me?"

Kagato spoke in a trembling voice.

"Shisui, tell me."

Shisui smiled faintly and let his body fall backward.

"Take care of the two most important people in my life. One is Uchiha Kagato, and the other is Uchiha Itachi. Thank you."

Shisui fell, his figure vanishing beneath the cliff. No one saw the two streams of tears spill from his eyes as he fell. How could an older brother cry before his little brother? Now that Kagato could no longer see him, he could cry.

Kagato, Itachi, I really, really wanted to live happily with you. I can't bear to leave you. But the village needs my death. The Uchiha need my death. Even your eyes need my death. Body Flicker Shisui died a meaningful death. I'm satisfied. Truly satisfied. From here on, I'll leave it to you, my best friend and my most beloved little brother.

Itachi stood frozen at the cliff's edge, staring blankly at Shisui's figure slowly disappearing below.

Kagato leaped after him like a madman, without thinking of anything else.

"Smack!"

At the critical moment, Itachi caught Kagato's left hand.

"Let go of me!!!"

Kagato roared at Itachi.

But Itachi shook his head.

"Kagato, it's useless. If you jump down, you'll die too."

Kagato's body trembled uncontrollably.

"In November last year, I lost my companions. In December, I lost my parents. It's only January, and now you're going to make me lose my only remaining big brother? He was—he was my only support!"

Itachi's eyes were filled with unbearable pain. He shifted his gaze away, unable to look at Kagato.

But Kagato ignored everything. He drew the short blade at his side. Since Itachi was holding his left hand, he would cut off his left hand!

"Clang!"

A Kunai blocked the short blade as Kagato swung it toward his own left hand.

Itachi pulled hard, dragging Kagato back up, and shouted angrily.

"Do you think Shisui jumped off the cliff because he wanted you to die with him? He gave you his last eye so that you could die with him? You idiot!"

The scolding finally brought Kagato back to his senses.

It wasn't snowing today, yet the cold was extraordinary—so cold that Kagato had lost all feeling. There wasn't the slightest trace of blood anywhere, but Kagato and Itachi's eyes were both such a vivid scarlet.

Itachi's eyes bore a pattern formed by three blades. In Kagato's eyes, the very center was hollow, encircled by a ring. On the ring's left and right were two sharp points extending to the edge of the iris, connected to the ring. Beneath it was another sharp point connecting to the edge, making three in total. Around each point, every empty space held a hooked shape resembling Obito's Mangekyō, except that these hooks were thinner.

Both of them had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. These eyes brought not only power, but nightmares.

Kagato stood dazed for a long while before looking at Itachi.

"Is there a path to the bottom of this cliff?"

"You want to—"

Itachi looked at Kagato and realized what he meant.

After passing through danger after danger, Kagato and Itachi reached the bottom of the cliff, where a river flowed.

Kagato stepped into the river with a vacant expression. His Three Tomoe Sharingan spun ceaselessly, as though searching for something.

It was already night. The river water was freezing, but Kagato didn't care at all.

How could this river be colder than the snow from a few days ago? How could it be colder than the wind above the cliff just now?

Gradually, his hands and feet turned purple from the cold, but Kagato still searched downstream without regard for anything else.

"Where are you? Where are you, Shisui?"

Save me. Save me.

No one noticed that the vacant-faced child was crying out for help inside. He had collapsed, utterly despairing. He could no longer feel even the slightest light. He had nothing left. He wished—wished so badly—that Shisui would appear beside him again, ruffle his hair, and ask how his training had gone that day.

Save me, Shisui.

The next morning.

At last, Kagato found Shisui's body on a stretch of riverbank. For the first time, he smiled from the bottom of his heart, smiling with complete satisfaction.

Kagato walked over, carried Shisui onto his back, and spoke softly to him.

"Shisui, let's go home."

That day, Shisui had carried Kagato home. Today, it was Kagato's turn to carry Shisui home.

Home. Home.

Hello, everyone! "sign" here can be understood as "road sign." It's the title of a Naruto opening theme. When this opening plays, Naruto has lost Jiraiya, Sasuke has lost Itachi, and I think Shisui means the same to Kagato as Itachi does to Sasuke and Jiraiya does to Naruto.

With the end of this chapter, this tragic arc has officially come to an end. In the next chapter, we'll be leaving Konoha. Thank you all for sticking with it. I know this section was rather depressing, so I'm truly grateful!