Konoha Rogue Ninja Shimura Danzō

"Freeze! Drop your weapons!"

Over a dozen figures with cat masks appeared suddenly, surrounding Shisui and Itachi.

Although they wore the same attire, Shisui knew clearly that these were the true Anbu under the direct command of the Hokage.

Looking at the two Uchiha before them and the scattered corpses of Root members, it was difficult for these Anbu not to let their imaginations run wild.

"Lower your weapons. They are on our side."

Minato Namikaze spotted Shisui Uchiha at a glance. Although he did not know the younger Uchiha beside him, he chose to trust Shisui.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Upon receiving the order, the Anbu retreated in unison and began to secure the perimeter, clearing space for Minato and Shisui to communicate.

"You kid, you always manage to surprise me. Tell me, what exactly is going on here?"

Having already taken the reins of the Hokage, Minato naturally recognized that the surrounding corpses were members of Root.

"Lord Hokage, Shimura Danzō has defected."

Minato Namikaze: "???"

"Danzō coveted our Uchiha Sharingan and tried to abduct both me and Itachi. He wanted to study the power of the Sharingan in the future, and because Itachi is the son of Clan Head Fugaku, he intended to use him as leverage against the village."

This was the cover story Shisui and Danzō had quickly concocted. Since the commotion today could no longer be hidden from the village, they had to provide a reasonable explanation.

Just then, an Anbu stepped forward to report, confirming Shisui's statement.

"Lord Hokage, the guard unit at the village gate just sent word: after wounding several guards, Shimura Danzō has fled the village."

"Danzō actually defected..."

Having received confirmation, Minato remained caught in shock.

As the Hokage's advisor, Shimura Danzō possessed immense power.

Furthermore, the Shimura clan had grown increasingly prosperous under Danzō's patronage; by all appearances, he had no reason to flee.

Yet, the fact that Danzō had escaped the village was right before his eyes.

"But what about all these Root members? Did you kill them all yourself?"

If it were Minato himself, he would have the confidence to wipe out these Root members using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

But Shisui was still an eight-year-old child. Even with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his strength was at best that of an elite jōnin, not yet at the Kage level.

However, there were at least five jōnin among the Root members, not to mention Danzō, who possessed quasi-Kage strength.

"I dealt with them all, using this eye."

Lying to a clever person was meaningless, especially since the Uchiha clan behind Shisui and Minato Namikaze were already bound by mutual interests.

"This is... the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

This was the first time Minato had seen a Mangekyō Sharingan with his own eyes. He scrutinized Shisui's eye, looking for anything special.

"The genjutsu ability of this eye is very strong. Just by looking directly at it, I felt an intrusion of mental energy."

Minato withdrew his gaze after observing for a moment; aside from the Mangekyō pattern, he saw no other differences.

"But why is only your left eye a Mangekyō?" Minato asked, puzzled. He had never seen an Uchiha who had awakened it in only one eye.

Minato's action made Shisui flinch.

If my Kotoamatsukami hadn't entered its cooldown period just now...

Just after activating "Kotoamatsukami" on Shimura Danzō, Shisui's right eye had entered a cooldown phase.

During this period, the Mangekyō in his right eye could not be activated and could only maintain the Three-Tomoe form.

If nothing went wrong, this cooldown would last for about ten years. In other words, for the next decade, Shisui would be unable to activate the Mangekyō form in his right eye unless he could transplant Hashirama Cells.

Shisui did have Hashirama Cells on hand—the corpse of the White Zetsu he had intercepted from Uchiha Madara remained unprocessed.

However, Shisui truly had no talent for scientific research and had no idea where to begin.

"While fighting Danzō and the Root members, my eyes were severely overexerted. My right eye regressed from the Mangekyō form back to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and I don't know if it will ever recover." Only he knew the truth about his Mangekyō, and Shisui didn't mind telling a small lie.

"Sigh, it is the village that failed to protect you."

Minato, unaware of the properties of "Kotoamatsukami," took it at face value and blamed himself for Shisui losing a Mangekyō.

"Lord Hokage, this is not your fault. It is all Danzō's doing."

"I only hope that you, Lord Hokage, will help me keep the matter of the Mangekyō Sharingan a secret. If the clan learns that I lost one because of Danzō, they will certainly not let this rest."

Shisui appeared incredibly selfless at this moment, considering the situation entirely from Minato's perspective.

The Uchiha clan had not seen a new Mangekyō Sharingan in nearly a hundred years. Once the hawks within the clan learned that Shisui's Mangekyō had been destroyed by the Hokage's advisor, they would never let it go.

At that point, the Uchiha's hatred would inevitably spill over onto Minato, the Hokage, and the other residents of the village.

"This... very well. It is a grievance to you, Shisui. If you have any thoughts, tell me, and I will do my best to compensate you."

At this moment, in Minato's eyes, Shisui was someone who carried the Will of Fire, just like his grandfather, Kagami Uchiha.

Coupled with the fact that Shisui had previously saved Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, and that the Uchiha clan had contributed greatly to his own campaign for Hokage, Minato felt he owed Shisui far too much.

Rest assured, there will be opportunities for you to repay my kindness, Shisui thought to himself.

However, Shisui offered words of comfort to Minato, saying, "Lord Hokage, wherever the fallen leaves land, the Will of Fire shall burn eternally. To dedicate one's entire being to the village—that is my ninja way."

Itachi Uchiha: "???"

Beside them, Itachi widened his innocent eyes as he looked at Shisui, the disbelief in his gaze serving as a silent indictment of the world.

At only four years old, Itachi had experienced too many highs and lows today; the world of adults was far too complex, and in this moment, he did not want to grow up.

Shisui naturally noticed Itachi's unusual behavior and prepared to leave the scene as quickly as possible, intending to leave the aftermath to the Anbu.

"Shisui-kun, you really are too..."

In his life, Minato had seen far too many people who spoke of the Will of Fire while engaging in disgraceful deeds behind the scenes. In his eyes, Shisui was one of the few true pioneers who fully put the Will of Fire into practice.

"Lord Hokage, this is all my duty." Shisui hurriedly interrupted Minato, fearing that he might inadvertently reveal his true colors if he let him continue.

Shisui: "Itachi has been away from the clan for quite some time, and I imagine Clan Head Fugaku must be worried. I will return to the clan with Itachi now. If there is a need to pursue the rogue ninja Danzō later, I, Shisui Uchiha, will not shirk my duty."

Danzō: That is not what you said to me just a moment ago.

"Ah, right, my apologies for the oversight. Shisui-kun, you two should head out; leave the rest to me," Minato said hurriedly, his tone filled with regret. He did not even notice that he had already accepted Shisui's classification of Shimura Danzō as a rogue ninja.