Uchiha Shisui's Notes

Sasuke only glanced at the stone tablet for a moment before turning away to inspect other things. He had no interest in the tablet and did not bother activating his Sharingan to read the text upon it; he was more interested in whether anything else in the room could be of use to him.

He walked step by step toward a bookshelf in the room. The shelves were lined with rows of books, arranged neatly, clearly showing that the members of the Uchiha clan had kept them well-maintained.

Sasuke picked up a book titled Clan History. It was already covered in a thin layer of dust; it seemed that with no one coming to tend to these things for nearly half a month, they were inevitably gathering dust.

After flipping through it casually for a while, he discovered it was indeed just a simple record book containing no ninjutsu or techniques. Sasuke returned it to the shelf and continued browsing, looking for the next one.

Time ticked by second by second. Sasuke picked and chose; if a title caught his eye, he would open it to take a look, while books like Geography of the Ninja World or Travelogues of Ninja Nations were merely scanned. Finally, he found two items he needed.

Uchiha Style Fire Release Ninjutsu and Uchiha Style Genjutsu.

Uchiha Style Fire Release Ninjutsu recorded B-rank Uchiha fire techniques such as Majestic Destroyer Flame, Great Dragon Fire Technique, and Great Fire Annihilation, as well as A-rank techniques like Dragon Flame Song Dance and Wind Flame Dance. Below these techniques, the characteristics and training points for each were also documented.

Uchiha Style Genjutsu, aside from common genjutsu like Bubble Technique, Hell Viewing Technique, and Fox Mind Technique, also contained ocular genjutsu unique to the Sharingan, such as Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, and Demonic Illusion: Binding.

No Izanagi or Izanami?

Sasuke was not surprised by the absence of the two ultimate Uchiha genjutsu. Although this book was kept in a secret Uchiha gathering place, he knew better.

Judging from the anime and manga, there were twenty or thirty Uchiha clan members qualified to enter this place. Naturally, Izanagi and Izanami would not be left in such a location for anyone to browse at will.

He assumed only the clan head's lineage and the elders' lineage would possess them.

Without Izanagi and Izanami, Sasuke felt a bit disappointed. It wasn't that he wanted to learn these two ultimate techniques, but rather that he wanted to understand their characteristics and find ways to counter or break them.

He would certainly face Danzo in the future. To know oneself and the enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles, and the nature of Izanagi was simply too broken.

As for Uchiha Itachi, even if Sasuke didn't go looking for him, he would surely come for Sasuke in the future; Sasuke was very certain of this.

Compared to Izanagi, Izanami was even more insidious—a genjutsu that could be cast without even making eye contact.

If in the future he found that he hadn't grown as expected, and his ideology was vastly different from his brother's, how would he respond if Uchiha Itachi used Izanami on him?

The effect of Izanami was to trap the victim in a permanent loop of a specific period of time, unable to break free on their own; only by facing one's true self could it be undone.

Was this "true self" his current self, or the true self of the original Uchiha Sasuke?

And after breaking the genjutsu, would the person who emerged be him, or the Uchiha Sasuke that existed in Uchiha Itachi's heart?

To some extent, Sasuke's wariness of Izanami was even greater than his fear of Kotoamatsukami.

Since they weren't there, Sasuke didn't dwell on it for long. He tucked the two books into his pouch and continued to look through the remaining volumes, hoping to find more training manuals.

Ideally, he wanted something related to Lightning Release.

Sasuke's chakra affinities were Lightning and Fire. Although he was born into the Uchiha clan, judging by the original work, the original host had even greater talent for Lightning Release.

While he didn't hold much hope of finding Lightning Release manuals, it would be best if he could; if not, it was no great loss.

After picking and choosing for half an hour, Sasuke found no manuals on Lightning Release, nor even a single book on general training. It seemed this shelf contained only those two Uchiha training manuals.

"Heh..."

Sasuke's eyes glinted with amusement as he let out a soft chuckle. A unique book, standing out from all the others on the shelf, caught his attention, and he picked it up.

"Will of Fire? Heh..."

This out-of-place book was none other than the Will of Fire. The author was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and every new generation of Hokage would add their own annotations to it.

If it were the original host, he wouldn't have found it strange to see this book. After all, before the truth was revealed, the original host had always believed the Uchiha were the most honorable clan in Konoha. Finding a copy of the Will of Fire in the clan shrine might have been abrupt, but not entirely odd.

Now, knowing the various conflicts and entanglements between the Uchiha and Konoha, Sasuke knew for a fact that the Uchiha clan would never keep such a book here.

Sasuke flipped through the book casually. The flyleaf was inscribed with the name Uchiha Shisui, indicating that the book's owner was Uchiha Shisui.

The blank spaces in the book were filled with Uchiha Shisui's own interpretations of the Will of Fire, the meaning of the village, and so on.

Sasuke read page by page. Although it was laced with personal opinions, he read it very carefully, not missing a single detail. Finally, when he reached about two-thirds of the way through, the style changed abruptly.

It was no longer the content of the Will of Fire, but rather the training experiences researched by Shisui. It recorded Shisui's research into Uchiha genjutsu and swordsmanship, as well as his Body Flicker Technique, and the Sword Leap Flame, Sun Halo Dance, and Gale Sword—techniques that combined the Body Flicker Technique with Uchiha fire ninjutsu and swordsmanship.

"So it was you who left this behind, Uchiha Itachi. You really went to great lengths."

Sasuke scrutinized the handwriting. It was identical to the Shisui's handwriting from the earlier pages, with no difference at all; it appeared as if it were truly left by Shisui.

However, judging by the traces of ink and paper, he concluded that these pages had been completed recently, no more than half a month ago.

And Uchiha Shisui had died two years ago.

This book was naturally written by Uchiha Itachi in the name of Uchiha Shisui and placed here. Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui could be said to be the closest people in the world.

Uchiha Itachi viewed Shisui as a brother, a confidant, and even a mentor. The two often trained together and knew each other inside and out; Uchiha Itachi's Body Flicker Technique, genjutsu, and swordsmanship were all cultivated under the guidance of Uchiha Shisui.

Uchiha Itachi's purpose in leaving this book was simple: beyond wanting Sasuke to learn the training experiences within and grow strong quickly, his greater hope was for his younger brother to become someone like the Shisui he admired—someone who would inherit the Will of Fire.

That way, if Sasuke ever learned the truth in the future, he wouldn't seek revenge on Konoha, but would instead become a pillar of the village.

It was a plan that killed two birds with one stone.

It was just that when the original host came here, filled with a desire for revenge, he hadn't opened this book. After finding the two Uchiha training manuals, he had simply left.

"Thank you. You've done me a favor."

Sasuke chuckled softly, tidied up the bookshelf, and left Naka Shrine with the three training books he had gained today.