Kotoamatsukami Shisui? Dead Tsundere

Uchiha District.

Caw, caw—

Flocks of crows gradually descended, flying into a simple little courtyard.

This courtyard sat deep within the district, plain and unadorned.

"Is that Itachi?"

Hearing the noise outside, Shisui, his eyes bound with bandages, slowly pushed open the door.

Creak.

The sound of the wheelchair scraping against the wooden floor was especially clear.

And when Itachi saw this, his calm, unruffled eyes couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Barely perceptible.

In the night, even if someone wanted to see it, they couldn't.

But Shisui didn't rely solely on sight.

"Your heart is unsettled." He paused, then pointed to the seat beside him. "Sit down and have a drink of water."

Watching his movements, Itachi furrowed his brow slightly. "Shisui, you seem... a little different."

The Shisui before him was utterly unlike the sunny, cheerful young man he once knew.

He was like a pool of stagnant water—no ripples, no change at all.

"Different? I'm already a dead man."

Shisui tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if trying to muster his familiar smile, but failed.

The darkness before his eyes seemed to slowly swallow the light in his heart.

The two faced each other in silence.

"Shisui, I... I'm going to rest."

After a moment, Itachi took his leave.

Whoosh.

He pushed open the door, but the moonlight outside had already vanished, leaving only thick darkness.

Quietly devouring the entire Uchiha District.

Only the dim lamplight remained inside the room.

Just as he lifted his foot to step into the heavy darkness, Shisui's voice came from behind. "Itachi—have you made your choice?"

Clack.

His raised foot paused on the threshold.

His back to Shisui, his figure froze in the doorway.

Motionless.

Even as the lamplight flickered out, turning as thick as ink.

Only then did he chuckle softly and remind him, "Shisui, it's getting late. Get some rest soon."

With that, his foot landed, and he was swallowed by the darkness.

Gone.

Drip.

Drip.

Outside the window, the faint sound of night dew falling came and went.

"That guy Itachi, he left without even closing the door."

After a long silence, Shisui suddenly moved his wheelchair forward to shut it.

Whoosh.

Slap!

But just as the wooden door was about to close, a small hand suddenly thrust in.

"Hm? Itachi, you—hm?"

Shisui paused, speaking on instinct, but stopped mid-sentence as he realized something was off.

"You're Jin?"

"Yo, Shisui, taking it easy tonight?"

Shisui: ...

That Jin's mouth really was...

The once-dead stillness in his heart suddenly stirred with a faint ripple.

He gave a wry smile. "It's the middle of the night, aren't you sleeping..."

"What about me? If Itachi can get in, why can't I?"

Jin completely ignored Shisui's body, pulled open the door, and squeezed right in.

His small figure wobbled unsteadily in the dim room.

Like a landlord patrolling his territory, utterly nonchalant.

In the end, Shisui couldn't hold back first and asked the doubt in his heart: "Why did you save me?"

"No, I didn't save you. I saved the Uchiha Clan."

Jin's unexpected answer made him think of many things.

The Uchiha Clan, the Leaf, and Itachi's wavering stance.

It also left Shisui frozen, his raised hand at a loss.

In the end, he could only place it by the wheelchair, gripping the armrest tightly.

Jin looked at Shisui, who only reached his chest, smiled, and reached out to tap his head:

"Shisui, your heart is in turmoil."

Shisui: ...

Those words felt familiar.

But the situation was almost the complete opposite.

He lifted his head and stared straight ahead.

Though he couldn't see, a childish face quietly reflected in his mind.

He was just a kid!

And—his behavior didn't seem particularly clever either.

Yet why did every conversation with Jin leave him feeling completely seen?

As if his whole body, not a thread on him, was laid bare and exposed before Jin.

Like a giant standing above fate, looking down on him.

He had guessed more than once whether Jin's eyes could see through fate.

But he had never been able to confirm it.

After a moment's hesitation, he still asked: "Why save me? I've lost both eyes now, no Dojutsu, both legs broken, my body crippled."

"I... I'm already a waste."

Jin casually brushed it off: "A waste is good. A waste can grind out the terms with ease."

What he said was completely incomprehensible to Shisui.

Shisui waved his hand, dismissing it as Jin rambling again, and asked: "What do you need me to do?"

"Oh? You can sense it?"

Jin was a bit surprised. Coming back from the dead, it seemed Shisui's mindset really had changed.

He didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "I need you to be a fighter, a fighter for the Uchiha Clan."

"And one more thing—I saved you!"

"So strictly speaking—you, Uchiha Shisui, should be my servant from now on."

As he said this, the frivolous laziness on Jin's face completely vanished, leaving only seriousness.

He stared at Shisui's face, and in the palm of his right hand, fine Adamantine Chains materialized.

Three strands twisted together, with a single eyeball at the center.

Kotoamatsukami.

The reason he had waited so long after saving Shisui to bring this up today

was because he had been figuring out how to use Kotoamatsukami.

And only today had he fully understood it.

Now, if Shisui dared to say a single "no," he would absolutely hit him with it.

Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was very useful to him.

At worst, he could just treat the clan massacre game like collecting SSR cards.

Of course, someone like Danzo—even a dog wouldn't want him.

"So... is Jin already prepared to stand against the village completely?"

Hearing this, Shisui fell silent again.

He vaguely sensed something, even glimpsing a future scene of brothers turning against each other.

This left him feeling somewhat powerless.

It also made his heart burn even more with torment.

Escape!

Perhaps death was the only way out.

Sensing Shisui's emotions, Jin moved closer, leaning down to whisper softly in his ear:

"Of course, if Brother Shisui wants to die, that's even simpler—I wonder if you've heard of the Second Hokage's forbidden technique, Impure World Reincarnation?"