Uchiha Shisui

"I'll make you pay for this!"

Leaving behind this venomous threat, Obito's figure twisted and vanished within the vortex of Kamui, leaving only faint spatial ripples in his wake.

Yoru did not pursue.

He stood still, the sharp pain in his left eye reminding him of his current weakness.

Most of Amenomikado's dojutsu power had been spent transferring the clan members. Tonight, he truly lacked the strength to catch Obito, whose escape skills were maxed out.

"Let's go. Time to regroup with the clan. They must be getting anxious."

Seeing Obito disappear completely, Uchiha Yoru wasted no words, leading Fugaku and Itachi toward the Naka Shrine.

"Yoru, are you sure it's fine to let the clan go ahead? Yashiro, Tekka, and the others don't have the best tempers."

Fugaku spoke with concern.

He knew the radicals in the clan well. If they realized they'd been deceived, they'd likely make life difficult for a long time.

"It's fine. I've arranged for a mysterious figure to go ahead. He'll help calm everyone down."

Yoru said nonchalantly.

"Who?"

"That's a secret. A surprise." Yoru teased.

The three said no more and quickly arrived at the Naka Shrine. The shrine stood empty and silent, save for the ancient stone tablet recording the clan's rise and fall.

Yoru pressed his hands against the tablet. The residual dojutsu power in his eyes flowed, and the tablet's surface rippled like water, opening a stable, starry portal.

"Let's go."

Yoru stepped through first, with Fugaku and Itachi close behind.

After a brief spatial shift, the scene before them opened up.

This was not the barren wasteland Fugaku had imagined, but a vibrant valley.

In the distance, green mountains stretched endlessly. Nearby, clear streams and dense forests thrived, the air impossibly fresh. Further off, temporary tents had been set up in the valley, with cooking smoke rising—the Uchiha clan members who had arrived during the day.

"What the hell! We've been tricked! They talked about a coup, and now they've dumped us here like trash!"

The radical Uchiha Yashiro shouted angrily at a figure whose back was turned to Yoru and the others.

"That's right! Where's the clan head? Where's Uchiha Yoru? He owes us an explanation!"

Uchiha Tekka chimed in, and many hot-blooded young clan members gathered around, their anger flaring as the situation threatened to spiral out of control.

Just as the commotion was about to escalate, the figure with their back turned slowly rotated.

He wore the familiar black high-collared short-sleeve shirt and pants, brown armor on his right shoulder, white bandages wrapped around his legs, a short sword at his back, and the Uchiha clan crest clearly visible on his hem.

When they saw that sunny, handsome face—yet carrying a hint of unfamiliar youthfulness—all the noise was strangled into silence, as if by an invisible hand.

Uchiha Itachi's pupils contracted, his body stiffening as if he'd seen the most impossible illusion. His voice trembled with barely concealed shock: "No... impossible... you... how can you be..."

Even the ever-calm Uchiha Fugaku gasped sharply, instinctively dropping into a defensive stance, his voice laced with unprecedented shock: "Uchiha... Shisui?!"

Indeed, standing before them, his mere presence enough to freeze all unrest, was the one once hailed as the Uchiha clan's genius, who had "fallen" into the Naka River over half a year ago—Uchiha Shisui!

"Long time no see, everyone!"

Shisui's eyes were tightly shut, but his face bore the same gentle smile as always, as if he'd just returned from a long-term mission.

"Itachi, bring it out."

Yoru suddenly spoke to Itachi, who was still in shock.

"Huh? What?" Itachi didn't react in time.

"The thing Shisui entrusted to you back then. It's time to return it to its owner." Yoru reminded him.

"Shi... Shisui, how can you be here? Weren't you already..."

Itachi's voice was hoarse. In his mind, the decisive scene by the Naka River surfaced—his best friend plucking out his left eye, handing it over, then leaping into the rushing current.

That scene remained an unhealed wound in his heart, and the catalyst for awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Surprised to see an old friend?"

Yoru smiled, a hint of pride in his tone. "This is a rare genius of our Uchiha clan. How could Big Brother just watch him die? After he jumped into the Naka River, I secretly saved him. He's been recovering in a hidden location for the past half year."

"Clan Head."

Shisui turned to Yoru. Though they were similar in age, his attitude was deeply respectful. He gave a slight nod, then quietly stood behind Yoru, making his stance clear.

In truth, Shisui's disappearance over the past half year was only partly due to recovery. More often, he had been under a kind of "protective" house arrest.

Back then, Yoru had told him bluntly: "If you're unwilling to help the Uchiha oppose Konoha, then at least don't appear for now. Don't shake the clan's resolve, and don't let yourself be dragged into the upper echelons' political whirlpool again."

Knowing Danzo's true nature and feeling disheartened, Shisui ultimately chose to cooperate, staying hidden until Yoru deemed the time right to reintroduce him to the clan.

Poof~

A faint puff of smoke dispersed, and the crow Itachi had summoned landed obediently on Shisui's shoulder.

"Shisui, thank you for keeping it safe all this time."

Shisui felt the familiar Chakra on the crow, offered a gentle word of thanks, and reached out to retrieve his Mangekyo Sharingan, the one imbued with the power of Kotoamatsukami.

Then he fitted it back into his left eye socket.

Watching Shisui skillfully reclaim his eye, Uchiha Yoru turned to face his clansmen, still caught between shock and confusion, and spoke in a clear voice that carried across the entire valley:

"Everyone, as you can see, this is our Uchiha Clan's new beginning—a New World far removed from the conspiracies and oppression of Konoha."

"Clan Head, what do you mean by that? Weren't you leading us to stage a coup? Why are we here? Where is this place? Don't we deserve a reasonable explanation?"

The radical faction representative, Uchiha Yashiro, stepped forward through the crowd, his eyes fixed sharply on Uchiha Yoru.

"Oh, there was never any coup. I lied to you. I used my Mangekyo's Space-Time ability to bring you all to a New World far from Konoha. Let's all make a fresh start here!"

Yoru smiled, admitting without hesitation that he had deceived his clansmen.

"Clan Head, shouldn't you explain yourself?"

"Explain?" Yoru's expression gradually turned cold. "You want me to give you a reasonable explanation?"

Looking down at the indignant crowd below, Yoru asked word by word:

"Do you think... whose fault is it that all of this happened?"