A street corner.
Bang!
As smoke burst out, "White Dove" emerged from the street and headed toward the clan compound.
The Anbu member who had been keeping watch also left.
That was right. Since last night, Anbu had been keeping Uchiha White Dove under surveillance.
After all, he hadn't just been trying to "create a New Uchiha"—he had also defeated Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head. It was no wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent Anbu to watch him.
Anyone would have done the same.
When a boy who had once been incredibly low-key suddenly became powerful, the village leadership wouldn't be able to sleep until they found out what was going on.
Half a minute later.
Only two figures remained in the alley.
"Any news?"
White Dove asked Tekka.
He had sent Tekka and Inabi to keep an eye on Root and Shisui, respectively. Tekka wouldn't have come to him unless something had happened.
"Uchiha Shisui is on his way to meet Danzo. Inabi is watching them!"
Tekka quickly relayed the information.
"..."
White Dove's mouth twitched slightly.
Though he had seen ninja work at astonishing speed countless times, he still couldn't help being stunned... Danzo's efficiency was outrageous.
He had only revealed the information about Shisui's Kotoamatsukami that afternoon.
And Danzo was already making his move that night?
He was unbelievable.
Luckily, White Dove hadn't wasted any time. He'd found a way to send the White-Eyed Wolf away that afternoon. Otherwise, things would have been troublesome.
With him around, who knew what might go wrong?
In fact.
Uchiha Itachi, who was currently on a mission outside the village, was completely dumbfounded.
He had arrived there at dusk, but before they could even begin investigating what the Uchiha were up to, they had come under attack.
It had been only a little over a year since he graduated, and his Sharingan had only reached three tomoe. His opponent defeated him with ease, then chased him relentlessly. He was getting farther and farther from Konoha.
Konoha!
Following the markers Inabi had left, White Dove arrived in front of a massive shrine. The bright moonlight let them make out the scene in the clearing up ahead.
Root had people on guard, but with his and Tekka's abilities, they could easily avoid them and get closer.
After joining Inabi, the two stayed in the woods and quietly watched the clearing.
The scene had reached the famous moment when Danzo struck first, only to be countered by Shisui with a single genjutsu.
"I'll take your eye!"
Danzo first distracted Shisui with his words, then shot out his left hand to snatch his eye in a flash.
Though Shisui had been distracted, his incredible reflexes kicked in. His eyes instantly turned into Sharingan, and Danzo froze on the spot.
A genjutsu!
A simple Sharingan genjutsu had easily taken Danzo down.
"It's only an ordinary genjutsu. He'll break out of it soon!"
Shisui glanced at Danzo in disappointment, then ignored him and turned to leave.
Several people secretly watching from the woods witnessed the scene.
"You've got to be kidding... That's all the Darkness of the Shinobi can do?"
Tekka muttered under his breath.
Inabi didn't say anything, but his expression showed he felt the same way.
In the anime, Danzo might have seemed like a "clown."
But in the real Shinobi World, he was a terrifying figure who could scare children into silence. His reputation was every bit as fearsome as Sarutobi Hiruzen's.
If he weren't, the clans wouldn't have swallowed their anger and handed over their people as tools whenever Root came demanding recruits.
Even the Uchiha, despite hating Danzo, didn't dare underestimate him.
But now?
The "Darkness of the Shinobi," whom they had thought so terrifying, had been so easily taken down by a simple genjutsu—even though he'd struck first.
Even if the person who beat him was Uchiha Shisui, the greatest prodigy in their clan, it was still terribly disappointing.
"No. The good part is coming."
White Dove shook his head lightly, not underestimating Danzo.
He knew the story, and he was well aware that Danzo's sneak attack would succeed this time. What he wanted was for Danzo to get a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, not just one.
After all, White Dove had already made preparations on Danzo. Getting the Mangekyo from him would be effortless.
"No way. Isn't it over?"
Tekka and Inabi looked at Uchiha White Dove, completely unable to understand how Danzo could still turn things around.
"Don't underestimate the Darkness of the Shinobi."
White Dove folded his arms and watched the show, murmuring to himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, the scene in the distance changed.
Danzo, who had been immobilized by the genjutsu, suddenly vanished from where he stood and appeared in front of Shisui. He caught Shisui completely by surprise.
Thud!
Danzo drove a heavy punch into Shisui's liver, then followed up with a vicious knee. As Shisui doubled over in pain, Danzo's left hand curled into a claw and thrust straight toward his eye socket.
Rip!
Danzo forcibly tore out Shisui's right eye.
But Shisui was a battle-hardened fighter. Even caught off guard like this, he reacted in time, immediately springing backward to put some distance between them and avoid Danzo's follow-up attack.
Danzo could only blame his missing right hand. If he still had both hands, he wouldn't have stopped at one Mangekyo—he would have taken both.
Danzo didn't pursue him. Instead, he unwound the bandage around his head, revealing his right eye.
A three-tomoe Sharingan sat inside, its light already gone.
Shisui blurted out:
"Sharingan!"
He hadn't expected Danzo to have a transplanted Sharingan. Now he understood what had just happened.
Izanagi!
As a core member of the Dove Faction and the Uchiha's strongest fighter, Shisui naturally knew about the technique.
"This will take the place of my eye—and become a blade for Konoha."
Danzo gazed at the Mangekyo in his hand, enthralled. One by one, Root ninja wearing masks appeared around him, surrounding Shisui in a loose semicircle.
"Give me your other eye too, Shisui. Attack!"
He spoke in a low voice. The last word was an order to the Root ninja beside him.
Uchiha Shisui had been ambushed and had lost one Mangekyo. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't possibly escape the encirclement, so Danzo wasn't in a hurry.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Shisui formed hand seals and used this C-rank Fire Release jutsu.
Whoosh!
A giant fireball shot toward Danzo.
Whether or not the technique was powerful, no one dared take it head-on. Shisui was trying to disrupt Root's formation.
But with more than a dozen Root elites beside Danzo, they weren't about to retreat because of a mere Great Fireball Technique.
Three masked Root ninja stepped forward.
"Water Release: Water Turmoil Wave!" x3
All three used the Water Release technique, sending out three streams of water to collide with the Great Fireball.
Boom!
The water streams and fireball collided. A tremendous explosion rang out as mist billowed into the sky.
The mist covered the entire clearing, blocking everyone's view.
In the woods to the side.
"Damn it, Danzo actually dared to—"
Tekka was about to draw his sword and rush out, but then he remembered White Dove hadn't given the order. He looked toward him instead. If White Dove nodded, Tekka would immediately go help Shisui.
"White Dove?"
Inabi quietly asked if they should step in.
"No. Shisui's already escaped. You two go back to the clan."
Uchiha White Dove told them to return to the compound first.
He hadn't expected things to follow the original story despite his intervention. All he could do was put his backup plan into action.
"...Understood!"
Inabi nodded, then pulled away Tekka, who looked confused.
They didn't understand why Uchiha White Dove wasn't taking them with him, but over the past few years, he had proven time and again that he was confident whenever he made a decision. All they had to do was follow his lead.
Once the two had left, White Dove worked out which way to go and hurried toward a waterfall cliff upstream from the Naka River.
It was also a place where Shisui and the White-Eyed Wolf often met.
Since events had followed the original story, the backup plan he'd prepared in advance could come in handy.
Heading straight for his destination and with no one pursuing him, White Dove naturally reached a waterfall cliff upstream from the Naka River before Shisui did.
Once he arrived, White Dove quickly took out a bag and opened it. Inside were...
Cosmetics!
That was right, cosmetics. They were exactly what he would need next.
He'd prepared them as a backup plan, but now that it had really come to this, he had to use them.
First, he changed into a standard-issue Anbu uniform. Then he tidied his hair and used the cosmetics to paint his face.
A disguise!
Disguise was a basic skill for any ninja, so it wasn't strange that White Dove knew how.
Before long, a lifelike "Uchiha Itachi" stood on the cliff.
He cleared his throat.
"Shisui!"
"Shisui!"
White Dove kept adjusting his voice until it sounded just like Itachi's.
Normally, Shisui, who knew Itachi extremely well, would have seen through this disguise quickly. But in his current state, he couldn't observe things that carefully.
Why not use the Transformation Technique?
Shisui could see through a low-level jutsu like that at a glance.
He might have lost one Mangekyo, but he wasn't blind. A disguise was the best choice.
Then White Dove waited like a hunter watching for prey, quietly standing on the cliff and looking at the waterfall plunging down in front of him.
Before you continue