"Is this where Big Brother Chen said we'd meet?"
With one hand on his sword, Uchiha Shisui moved silently through the forest. The night wind whistled through the trees, conveniently masking the faint sounds of his footsteps as he trod over branches.
"Hmm?"
Shisui stopped and looked toward a clump of bushes in the shadowy forest ahead.
Was someone crouching there?
As he drew the short sword from his waist, Shisui activated his Sharingan and assumed a fully guarded stance.
Only after scrutinizing the figure with his Sharingan did he realize that the person hiding in the bushes wasn't crouching; he was naturally short.
The figure stepped out of the darkness. His purple eyes shone in the lightless night as he smiled at Shisui.
"Shisui, you're here!"
Shisui's expression darkened at once. He kept silent, staring intently at the newcomer as if searching for an opening.
"Coral Palm" Karatachi Yagura, Kirigakure's current pride and joy.
Could Senior Chen already be dead or captured?
"Shisui!" Uchiha Chen's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Shisui lowered his body slightly, and his figure abruptly flickered. A second image of him appeared behind him, guarding his blind spot.
It was a new technique he had created by combining the Body Flicker Technique with the Clone Technique. This was its first time in actual combat.
From the clone's point of view, Shisui saw something utterly horrifying.
A blood-red head slowly grew out of the ground, followed by a body streaked red and white. Once the red monster had completely emerged, it transformed into the likeness of Uchiha Chen.
"Shisui, there's no need to be nervous," "Uchiha Chen" explained.
"Yagura has the Three-Tails sealed inside him. I used genjutsu to control both him and the Three-Tails. I remember you said your Mangekyō ability was genjutsu-based, so I wanted you to see if there was a way to control him long-term."
"What?"
Shisui stared in surprise at Yagura's eyes. He carefully released a genjutsu with his Eye Power and, sure enough, sensed the power of the Sharingan.
"Senior Chen, you..."
Shisui was at a loss for words. He hadn't imagined Uchiha Chen would pull off something so momentous.
Yagura was a candidate for Mizukage, after all!
"Also, I encountered the mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails. He called himself Uchiha Madara, and he possesses two kekkei genkai: the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release. He wanted to control the Three-Tails and Yagura, too, so I was forced to fight him."
Uchiha Chen gave Shisui a concise account of his battle with Obito, sharing most of what he knew about him. Then he added:
"He has a group of plant-like monsters he cultivated with Wood Release. They have the most powerful Transformation Technique and infiltration skills in the Shinobi World. The body I'm controlling now is one of them.
"You've seen its ability to transform and infiltrate. From now on, you need to stay wary, even around people close to you."
Uchiha Chen didn't want Shisui to lose his Mangekyō to another surprise attack, so he made sure to warn him.
Shisui furrowed his brow, doing his best to process the astonishing secrets Uchiha Chen had just revealed.
After a long while, once he had sorted through his thoughts, he looked back at Yagura.
If they changed the mindset of a high-ranking figure like the Fourth Mizukage candidate, they could easily put an end to the war between Kirigakure and Konoha. They might even ensure Kirigakure never invaded the Land of Fire again for the rest of his life.
That was an opportunity the peace-loving Shisui couldn't refuse.
Covering his left eye with one hand, he revealed his greatest secret.
"The dōjutsu in my left eye is called Kotoamatsukami. It can permanently alter someone's thoughts. I can use it on Yagura."
"Changing someone's thoughts? What a terrifying ability!" Uchiha Chen marveled. He looked at Shisui and said softly:
"Then let him trust you and me unconditionally, forever!"
"All right." Shisui considered the idea for a moment, then agreed.
Thoughts like "pacifist" or "loyal to Konoha" would clash too much with Yagura's own position and might arouse suspicion in Kirigakure. Making him trust Shisui and Senior Chen unconditionally would also let the two of them influence Kirigakure's policies through him.
Having made up his mind, Shisui's tomoe joined into the shape of a shuriken, and blood suddenly welled up in his eye socket.
"Kotoamatsukami!"
Shisui and Yagura met eyes. In an instant, nearly all the power in Shisui's eye was spent.
After deactivating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui staggered a few steps and covered his eye, gasping for breath.
"My eyesight..." Shisui struggled to lift his head. The pupil of his left eye had grown somewhat unfocused. "Kotoamatsukami takes this much out of me? I probably won't be able to use the dōjutsu in my left eye again for more than ten years!"
Uchiha Chen stepped forward and steadied Shisui, helping him sit beneath a tree to rest. He took a scroll from his sleeve.
"This is the report I submitted to the village about the investigation into Suna-Kiri. I'll stay away for a while longer, claiming that I discovered Yagura had the Three-Tails sealed inside him and need to investigate. Help me cover for my absence."
Shisui coughed weakly and accepted the scroll. He hesitated before asking:
"Big Brother Chen, you're not going to do anything to harm the village, are you?"
"What are you thinking?"
Uchiha Chen flicked Shisui on the forehead, making his head jerk back slightly. Then he rested a hand on Shisui's shoulder.
"It's not that I don't want to return to the village. I want to investigate the clues left behind by that mysterious man who calls himself 'Madara.' He's gone after Tailed Beasts repeatedly. He must be plotting something terrible in secret!"
Uchiha Chen gently tapped the reddened spot on Shisui's forehead and looked straight into his eyes.
"Believe me, Shisui. This is the last time!"
"Mm!"
Shisui nodded firmly, suddenly feeling guilty that he had doubted Senior Chen, even for a moment.
What kind of bad intentions could an Uchiha who affectionately flicked your forehead possibly have?
"Excellent. It worked perfectly!"
Uchiha Chen looked at the red head in front of him and nodded with satisfaction.
The meeting place he had arranged with Shisui was nearly a hundred miles away, yet the resonance between their Eye Power hadn't weakened at all, even across that distance.
And this clone, which combined White Zetsu with the Blood Shadow and possessed a weakened form of Wood Release along with the Eye Power of Uchiha Chen and Uchiha Obito, was far stronger than an ordinary jōnin. It would be more than capable of moving through the Shinobi World.
All he needed to do was replenish its Eye Power every half month, and it could keep traveling in his place.
"Yagura, I'll leave it to you to take my clone to Kirigakure!"
Uchiha Chen then gazed toward the Land of Water in the distance.
Kirigakure had a wealth of secret techniques and bloodline clans second only to Konoha in both number and quality. Among them were clans like the Kaguya, who had blood ties to the Otsutsuki. These were treasures waiting to be developed!
And—
Uchiha Chen handed Yagura a procurement list for experimental equipment worth hundreds of millions of ryō. This was only the first batch of equipment he'd need for his upcoming experiments.
When it came to research, he couldn't compete with Orochimaru.
But when it came to burning through research funds, Orochimaru could never beat Uchiha Chen!
With the Land of Water's national strength, it would surely be enough to make Uchiha Chen smile.
Before you continue