Missing Shisui

Deep within the dark forest.

Naruto sensed Shisui's physical condition as he hurried toward the Naka River with Shisui in tow.

To wait for Shisui in his severely weakened state, he had staked out the area for half a month and thoroughly mapped the terrain around Konoha, all to obtain Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Sharingan.

There was no other reason: Kotoamatsukami posed far too great a threat to him.

Danzo and the old Third Hokage could not tolerate a dojutsu capable of altering wills, and neither could he.

Shisui had no reason to use it on him, but Danzo and Itachi Uchiha were different. What if one of them hit him with Kotoamatsukami? He had to keep his fate in his own hands.

To deceive Shisui, whose perception was exceptionally sharp, he had not transformed directly into Itachi Uchiha. Instead, he had become some random Uchiha.

Then he imitated Itachi's mannerisms and traveled using the style of Uchiha-style Taijutsu, minimizing Shisui's suspicions as much as possible.

Just before reaching the Naka River, Naruto stopped, turned around, and looked at Shisui with a complicated expression. "Shisui, did your mission fail?"

Shisui nodded. "I originally wanted to control Captain Fugaku and stop this coup, but Danzo doesn't trust the Uchiha. He took my right eye and plans to stop the coup in his own way."

Naruto looked at Shisui, deliberately avoiding his eyes. "What are you planning to do next?"

Shisui sighed softly. "Controlling Captain Fugaku to stop the coup is no longer possible. I plan to kill myself and put an end to all this. After I die, I'll entrust both my Mangekyō and my ideals to you."

As he spoke, Shisui raised a hand to his left eye. Just as he was about to gouge it out to prove his resolve, he suddenly asked, "By the way, do you remember our agreement?"

"Of course I remember." Naruto approached Shisui as he prepared to strike.

But Shisui noticed something was wrong. He quickly pulled away and demanded, "No, you're not Itachi. Itachi would never use Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself in front of me. Who exactly are you?"

Naruto did not answer, but the Rasengan had already formed in his hand and struck Shisui directly.

Already near his limit, Shisui was powerless to resist. After collapsing to the ground, his vision went black, and he lost his remaining left eye.

Naruto released the Transformation Jutsu and looked down at Shisui. As he used Gentle Fist to seal Shisui's chakra pathways, he spoke in a disguised voice. "I never said I was Itachi Uchiha. You simply assumed it."

After a pause, Naruto placed the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan into a glass bottle and continued, "But you really are easy to fool. You got tricked twice in a single day and lost both Mangekyō Sharingan."

With his vision stolen and his Chakra sealed, Shisui was filled with horror. "Who are you?"

Putting aside the Uchiha-style Taijutsu, the technique used to seal his chakra pathways was clearly related to Gentle Fist. Moreover, its mastery was no less than that of the Hyuga rogue ninja Shisui had once dealt with.

Naruto ignored Shisui's questioning and had a Shadow Clone search him.

It quickly found the suicide note Shisui had prepared in advance. After giving it a brief glance, Naruto smiled. "I didn't expect you to have even written a suicide note. Even if I kill you, with this note, it can still count as suicide."

Shisui kept a cold face and said nothing, quietly regretting that he had misjudged the situation.

Otherwise, even in his poor condition, he could have destroyed Kotoamatsukami even if he could not defeat the ninja before him, rather than letting it fall into an outsider's hands.

No one understood the terror of Kotoamatsukami better than he did. Unless he faced a critical moment, he would never use its power and would keep it buried deep within himself.

While Shisui's thoughts raced, Naruto was busy counting his spoils.

Shisui truly deserved to be called one of the Uchiha's finest jonin. Not only was the equipment on him extremely valuable, but he also carried several hundred thousand ryo—enough for Naruto to live until graduating from the Ninja Academy without having to rely on the old Third Hokage anymore.

The Nine-Tails could not stand the sight of it. "Naruto, that Uchiha over there is still alive. Pay attention to the image of a Jinchuriki."

Naruto glanced at the Nine-Tails, suspecting it was reminding him to finish Shisui off, though he had no proof.

Still, it was better not to say certain things aloud, such as why he had secretly left the village to ambush Shisui Uchiha, or why he knew Shisui would appear here.

The Nine-Tails could not come up with a better explanation and could only attribute it to Naruto's extraordinary analytical and sensory abilities.

At least for now, they were bound by common interests and shared the same goal of leaving Konoha. That was enough.

After sorting through the valuables, Naruto said with a smile, "With this much money, we can have a feast. By the way, Nine-Tails, as a Tailed Beast, can you eat physical food?"

After pondering for a moment, the Nine-Tails said, "Probably. I once ate humans, but in the end, I got eaten."

Naruto froze for a moment. "Tailed Beasts really are strange forms of life, somewhere between Chakra and flesh-and-blood beings. But what exactly is Chakra?"

The Nine-Tails folded its arms across its chest. "Chakra is Chakra. There's nothing special about it."

Naruto merely smiled and left the Sealing Space. Though he and the Nine-Tails had a decent relationship, when it came to true secrets, the Nine-Tails still chose to hide things selectively. Naruto was the same.

Back in the real world, Naruto looked at the defenseless Shisui and did not feel secure simply tying him up with rope.

He immediately picked up Shisui Uchiha and fled toward the Death Forest. He had dug out a temporary base there, making it the perfect place to keep Shisui imprisoned.

Before squeezing out Shisui's last bit of value, he would not let him die so easily.

After reaching the temporary base, Naruto casually tossed Shisui inside and left behind a Shadow Clone to guard him, while his main body hurried back to the village.

Having luckily defeated Shisui, a Kage-level powerhouse, he still had to attend school on time the next day.

Meanwhile, atop a cliff near the Naka River.

Itachi Uchiha stood there for a long time, yet Shisui never appeared. Unease gradually began to rise in his heart.

The clan was holding a meeting to launch the coup. If Shisui did not appear soon, the coup they feared would likely become reality.

A violent conflict would erupt between the clan and the village. No matter who won, neither side would be a true victor.

Once the other major ninja villages learned of Konoha's internal strife, they would only seize the opportunity to wage war against Konoha.

At that moment, Itachi Uchiha noticed something floating down the river below. When he looked closely, his eyes widened. Floating on the water was a headless corpse wearing a Konoha jonin vest, with a build similar to Brother Shisui's.

A sense of dread immediately filled Itachi Uchiha. He leaped down the cliff to the riverbank and pulled the headless corpse from the water.

Though the corpse had a build similar to Brother Shisui's, its physical features were clearly different. This was not Brother Shisui's body. His greatest fear had not come true.

But Brother Shisui still had not appeared. It was as though he had vanished.

Shisui would not die for the time being, and he was an important figure on the night of the Uchiha clan's destruction. There was no conflict of interest between him and Naruto.