Chapter 17: Transformation (Please Keep Reading~)
"Shisui, this is bad."
On the battlefield, Shisui Uchiha, Uchiha Shizuka, and Uchiha Makoto stood back to back.
Around them stood a squad of Kirigakure Anbu, concealed in the thick mist!
Blood had already begun to trickle from the corner of Uchiha Shizuka's mouth, and a clear slash wound marked her arm.
Crimson blood continued to pour from it, but she was still struggling to hold on.
"I'll find a way to get us out of here!"
Shisui frowned as he looked around. He was just as anxious, but he still spoke up to reassure them.
"You heard the commotion just now. The other Mist Ninja have left, which means our reinforcements have arrived. You have to hold on!"
"Stop dreaming, brat."
But as soon as he finished speaking, a voice rang out from within the thick mist.
"You won't be getting any reinforcements. All that awaits you is death!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
As the voice rang out, countless kunai suddenly flew at them from every direction.
The Three Tomoe in Shisui's scarlet eyes shifted slightly. He had just raised his blade to block the kunai when his expression changed. "Watch out! Scatter!"
Through his Sharingan, he clearly saw that each kunai had an Explosive Tag attached!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening explosions continued to ring out. The smoke billowing into the air, combined with the dense mist, made it impossible to see what was in front of them.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Shisui coughed as he got to his feet. He held his ninja blade before him, his scarlet eyes sweeping across everything around him.
He had to admit, he'd been careless this time.
On his first mission on the battlefield, he'd been given an important reconnaissance assignment, and he'd been thrilled.
What had thrilled him even more was that Uchiha Shizuka, who had always looked after him in the clan since they were children, was on his team.
He didn't know Uchiha Makoto well, but he knew he was a veteran who had spent several years on the battlefield. Although Makoto seemed somewhat displeased with him, Shisui still respected him greatly.
Their mission had gone smoothly at first. But their apparent good fortune had merely been part of the Mist Ninja's trap.
Uchiha Shizuka had warned them that something seemed wrong, but Uchiha Makoto had insisted. In the end, Shisui chose to press on.
He'd wanted to get along with his teammates, but that choice had plunged them into a nightmare!
For days, the Mist Ninja had pursued them so relentlessly that they couldn't even return.
Worse still, after he revealed his Three Tomoe Sharingan, Kirigakure had even sent the Anbu to hunt them down.
And now, they were almost at their wits' end!
"Damn it! If I hadn't pushed ahead, none of this would've happened!"
Shisui gritted his teeth inwardly, never letting his guard down.
Then, in the next instant, his expression changed again. He spun around almost immediately, swinging the short blade in his hand.
Clang!
The sharp ring of metal echoed through the mist. The Mist Anbu's blade was barely a few inches from him, but Shisui had blocked it with pinpoint accuracy!
"Not bad."
The Kirigakure Anbu spoke calmly as he increased the pressure, leaving Shisui unable to move.
"But what about this?"
The Anbu's words made Shisui stiffen. He quickly glanced back and saw another Anbu already leaping high into the air, his ninja blade coming down toward him.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared between Shisui and the Anbu, taking the blow in her own body.
"No!"
Shisui roared. The Three Tomoe in his eyes began to spin rapidly as he tried to use genjutsu to control the Anbu.
He had seen clearly: the person standing in front of him was Uchiha Shizuka, the older sister who had always looked after him!
But his genjutsu had no effect. The Kirigakure Anbu's blade still came down, and Uchiha Shizuka's body went rigid before slowly collapsing toward Shisui.
At that moment, Shisui felt the world spinning. A suffocating sensation spread through his chest.
If only I could control him...
If only my genjutsu were stronger.
If only I'd stopped them from fighting us in the first place.
If only...
If only...
In the heart-rending depths of his despair, Uchiha Shizuka's body fell behind him. The three Tomoe in Shisui's eyes began to spin wildly.
"Hurry... run..." Suddenly, Uchiha Shizuka's voice reached his ear, weak beyond measure. "I'm sorry I can't look after you anymore, little brother Shisui..."
Her feeble voice gradually fell silent, and at that moment, Shisui felt his heart begin to race.
Memories of Uchiha Shizuka caring for him since childhood filled his mind. They weren't siblings by blood, but he had long since come to think of her as his own older sister.
He couldn't accept what had happened. He would never be able to accept it!
He clenched his teeth and slowly shut his eyes, but tears trickled down his face. At the same time, an incomprehensibly strange power began to gather in his eyes.
"You..." Shisui suddenly opened his eyes, and the Three Tomoe within them joined together completely. "You'll pay!"
Whoosh!
But just then, a sound cut through the air. The Anbu in front of him suddenly went completely rigid.
Crimson blood seeped through the fabric over his left chest. He tried to turn around in disbelief, but ultimately fell to his knees.
"Under attack! Watch out!"
The Kirigakure Anbu who had been holding his blade against Shisui immediately realized what had happened.
He hadn't expected that a team of twelve Mist Ninja, including two jonin, would actually be wiped out!
But whether or not he believed it, the scene before him made it clear: the Mist Ninja had indeed lost, and had likely been killed.
As an Anbu, he knew exactly what he needed to do. Although he couldn't take out this Uchiha brat, he still had to retreat.
Besides, he had a vague sense that something was wrong with the Uchiha boy in front of him.
"That presence... It's as if a ferocious beast has just been released from its cage."
Uneasy, the Anbu instantly pulled back his ninja blade and leapt backward. At the same time, he formed Hand Seals with one hand.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
A torrent of water, like a waterfall, surged violently toward Shisui. His aim was to force Shisui back so he could make a clean escape.
"Hm?"
But in the next instant, the face hidden beneath his mask changed dramatically. He clearly sensed a surge of chakra—and someone had appeared at his side!
He twisted his body in a nearly instinctive, contorted movement, but his attacker was too fast.
"Ah!"
The Anbu cried out in pain. He'd managed to dodge a fatal blow from the kunai, but it still sliced viciously across his face.
In an instant, his right eye filled with blood, and the light seemed to vanish from it completely.
Fortunately, he had managed to put some distance between them, enough to let him escape quickly. His remaining left eye caught a glimpse of his attacker from the corner of his eye.
It was another boy with scarlet eyes, the three Tomoe slowly spinning within them!