Uchiha Shisui

Seeing Yusuke swing the long blade in his hand, Nagato's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He cried out in anguish, "No!!!"

Hearing Nagato's shout, Konan opened her tightly shut eyes and looked back. She saw Nagato's mouth hanging open, the "No" he'd been shouting abruptly cut off.

With a thud, a headless corpse hit the cave floor. It seemed to be wearing no clothes, and its entire body was stark white—a bizarre sight. It was the White Zetsu Obito had sent to follow the two of them.

Nagato trembled as he let out a long breath, his heart—just moments ago lodged in his throat—settling back into his chest.

He'd thought Yusuke's strike was aimed at Konan. He hadn't expected it to be directed at a ninja hiding nearby.

Although the White Zetsu's appearance was bizarre, Nagato and Konan still assumed it was a Rain Ninja or a Konoha Ninja who had transformed using some strange ninjutsu.

However, Nagato, with his Rinnegan, quickly realized that the white corpse's internal structure was completely different from a normal human's.

"What is that thing?" Nagato asked Yusuke.

"You'll find out soon enough." Yusuke didn't explain what White Zetsu was. He simply sheathed his Zanpakuto and slowly headed for the cave entrance.

Although he'd killed this White Zetsu, Yusuke knew that Obito would find Nagato before long. Then Nagato would naturally learn what White Zetsu was.

Seeing Yusuke put away his weapon and spare them, Konan suddenly felt all strength drain from her body. She sank to her knees.

"Why are you sparing us?" Nagato called after Yusuke.

The other man was a Konoha Ninja. It was obvious that Rain and Konoha had conspired against them today. As a Konoha Ninja, he had no reason to let them go.

Yusuke didn't stop when he heard Nagato's question.

"Because you did nothing wrong. Yahiko did nothing wrong. The world did nothing wrong."

As Yusuke's figure faded into the distance, his voice grew fainter.

"What's wrong is this fickle fate!"

At Yusuke's words, Nagato stared blankly ahead, unable to recover for a long time.

Then Konan noticed something. A scroll had appeared on the ground where Yusuke had just been standing.

"What's this?" Konan picked up the scroll and examined it.

After leaving the cave where Nagato and Konan had been hiding, Yusuke sighed. "I still couldn't bring myself to do it."

He knew he might regret his decision someday, but at least in that moment, he had a clear conscience.

After tending to the wound on his right shoulder, Yusuke took a spare Konoha Ninja uniform from his Storage Scroll and changed into it, concealing his injury. Then he hurried back to the residence where the Konoha delegation was staying in Amegakure.

Danzo had changed back into his half-black, half-white house kimono. He sat in the hall with a gloomy expression.

He was furious about the operation. Not only had he failed to obtain the coveted Rinnegan, but he had also lost nearly all the personnel he'd brought with him.

Even though the negotiations for compensation from the Rain Ninja had gone perfectly, losing so many men meant his failures far outweighed his achievements. Sarutobi would surely reprimand him when he returned.

At the thought of Sarutobi's old face, Danzo's anger—which he'd only just managed to quell—flared up again. "Damn Hanzo! He's utterly useless. The hostage was right in our hands, and he still let them take him back!"

While Danzo raged, the other Konoha Ninja stood anxiously to one side. Not a single one dared speak up.

"It looks like the delegation has lost quite a few people. Was there some special operation? The Third Hokage didn't assign us any other missions for our visit to Amegakure. I wonder if Lord Danzo can explain." A voice came from the entrance to the hall. It was Yusuke, who had just returned.

Yusuke's expression was just as gloomy. He hadn't had much contact with Danzo before. Most of what he knew about the man came from the anime and manga he'd seen before crossing over. Although he disliked Danzo, he hadn't felt any particular emotion toward him.

But now Yusuke was living in the world of Naruto, and Danzo's despicable deeds had taken place right before his eyes. It enraged him.

Instead of answering Yusuke's accusation, Danzo asked coldly, "Where have you been? Why weren't you at the residence?"

"Where have I been?" Yusuke gave a cold laugh and continued, "I saw that you and the Root Organization were all gone, so I went outside to look for you."

"Impudent! Is that any way to speak to Lord Danzo?" one of the Root Organization Ninja standing behind Danzo snapped.

Yusuke's gaze cut toward the Root Ninja like a blade. The man felt an intense killing intent descend upon him. It seemed that if he said another word, he'd be killed on the spot.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The Root Ninja swallowed, but when he tried to speak, no sound came out.

"As for this matter, I'll explain everything to Sarutobi when we return," Danzo said with a cold snort. He rose and headed out of the hall.

As he passed Yusuke, Danzo stopped and shot him a murderous glance before leaving.

Elsewhere, in a secluded grove, the escaped Obito and Zetsu were discussing Yusuke. Obito had already changed to a new mask.

"What's the identity of the Konoha Ninja you fought today? He's incredibly strong. You're planning to attack Konoha soon and take the Nine-Tails while you're at it, aren't you? With someone like him there, your mission will be much harder," said the white half of Zetsu's body.

"His name is Uchiha Yusuke. He's been my opponent for a long time, so of course he won't be easy to deal with. But restraining him won't be difficult. I already have a plan. He won't get in my way," Obito replied slowly.

"Your clansman? He didn't seem to use his Sharingan when he fought you," Black Zetsu said.

Unlike White Zetsu's strange way of speaking, Black Zetsu's voice was low and deep.

Obito snorted. "At least he hadn't awakened his Sharingan by the time I left Konoha. But whatever the case, I'm going to master Yin-Yang Release as soon as possible!" This failure had served as a warning. Obito realized that relying solely on his current Kamui abilities might not be enough to carry out his plans. He also needed to grow stronger as quickly as he could.

Several days later, the Konoha delegation that had gone to Amegakure for negotiations returned to the village. Fewer than half of those who had left came back.

Yusuke stood outside the Third Hokage's office, waiting quietly. Before long, Danzo came out, his face black with anger. The Third Hokage had clearly given him a thorough dressing-down, and he was in a foul mood.

Without so much as glancing at Yusuke, Danzo swept his sleeve and left with his one remaining trusted subordinate. His other trusted subordinate, Yamanaka Rei, had died at Nagato's hands.

After Danzo left, Yusuke also reported the information he'd obtained to the Third Hokage. He told him everything, including the existence of the Rinnegan, except that he'd encountered Obito and spared Nagato and Konan.

After all, many Ninja from both Konoha and the Rain Ninja had taken part in Danzo and Hanzo's operation. There was no need—and no way—to keep it secret.

Once he'd finished reporting to the Third Hokage, Yusuke didn't linger. He left the Hokage Office.

At the Uchiha Clan Compound, three small figures were practicing diligently on the training ground reserved for Yusuke's students.

Kabuto was practicing Earth Release ninjutsu. After training for these past few days, he had already learned to perform quite a few basic techniques, thanks to his exceptional chakra control.

Yusuke had checked Kabuto's chakra affinities. He had Earth, Water, and Wind, so most of the techniques he practiced belonged to those three elements.

Izumi was practicing with the most basic ninja tool—the kunai. She didn't forget to ask Itachi to guide her, either.

"Itachi, look! I almost hit the bull's-eye that time!" Izumi said excitedly.

Itachi smiled and nodded. "Good. You've improved a lot."

"That's all thanks to your teaching, Itachi!" Izumi said happily.

Kabuto, who was practicing Earth Release nearby, happened to burrow up between them, leaving only his head above the ground. He gave them a deadpan look. "I offered to teach you, but you refused. You just had to ask Itachi."

At the sound of Kabuto's voice, Izumi looked down and saw only his head poking out of the ground. She jumped in fright, then blushed as she explained, "Itachi really is better at using ninja tools. I didn't mean anything else."

Kabuto shook his head, while Itachi stared straight ahead, pretending he hadn't heard them.

Suddenly, Itachi seemed to think of something. He casually threw three kunai toward the targets.

Izumi and Kabuto were puzzled. "Itachi seemed to have thrown them casually. He hadn't even aimed at the targets?"

But Itachi's next move left them completely stunned. He threw three more kunai. They caught up with the first three and struck them, changing their trajectories. In the end, all six kunai hit the bull's-eyes of six separate targets.

Kabuto's mouth fell open in disbelief. Even the glasses on the bridge of his nose slipped off.

Fortunately, he was using Earth Release and only had his head above the ground. His glasses had barely fallen any distance and weren't damaged. Otherwise, he would have been heartbroken.

Izumi was just as stunned, but she quickly recovered and gazed at Itachi with adoration, her big eyes practically sparkling with hearts.

It had to be said: girls in the world of Naruto matured early. At this age, Sakura was already pining after Sasuke, and Hinata was already pining after Naruto.

"Itachi, when did you learn to do that?" Kabuto asked in a daze.

"Just now," Itachi replied casually. "I suddenly thought of it while watching Izumi throw shuriken."

From that moment on, Itachi officially developed his peculiar trait—an obsession with micromanagement.

Hearing Itachi's answer, Kabuto felt deeply discouraged. That casual little trick was enough to make him admit defeat.

"Clap, clap, clap!" A round of applause rang out. The three of them looked toward the sound and realized that a slightly older boy was standing on a wooden post at the edge of the training ground. They hadn't noticed when he arrived.

The boy had short black hair. He wasn't particularly handsome, but there was something very soothing about him. A warm, friendly smile lit up his face.

A short sword was strapped to his back, and he wore a standard Konoha Ninja uniform. He was clearly at least a Chunin.

"Shisui!" Itachi and Izumi exclaimed in unison.