In a western corner of the Uchiha Clan's district, a simple yet elegant wooden house stood out.
At that moment, in the kitchen, a girl in a black dress was carefully making dango in three colors. A beauty mark beneath her right eye did nothing to diminish her fresh, refined appearance.
"I hope Itachi likes these!"
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, the girl gazed at the nearly finished dango and said with adorable anticipation.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Just then, three urgent knocks sounded at the door.
"Of all times..."
Hearing the knocks, the girl furrowed her brow. But worried it might be an emergency, she left the dango unattended and hurried to open the door.
"Itachi..."
When she opened the door, she found Itachi standing there with the unconscious Shisui on his back. The girl was utterly stunned.
Seeing her, Sasuke, who stood beside Itachi, also froze slightly. At last, he knew who Itachi had meant by Izumi.
In the anime, Itachi had once saved Izumi Uchiha, and his good looks and talent had made her fall deeply for him. After Itachi became a Chunin, she even bought him dango in three colors as a gift.
Itachi had feelings for Izumi, too. If Danzo hadn't ordered him to carry out the clan's extermination, she might have become Sasuke's sister-in-law.
"Izumi, Shisui is badly injured. Hurry and use Medical Ninjutsu to treat him."
Itachi briefly explained, then carried Shisui inside and laid him somewhere comfortable.
"His injuries really are severe..."
Izumi Uchiha hurried in after them, examined the damage inside Shisui's body, and murmured.
She was deeply shocked. Shisui was the strongest member of the Uchiha Clan. Anyone who could injure him this badly must have been an exceptionally powerful opponent.
"It's my fault. I didn't get there in time..." Sasuke lowered his head, guilt-ridden.
"A ninja can't go through life without getting hurt. Besides, with Izumi here, she'll find a way to heal Shisui."
Seeing Sasuke blame himself, Itachi patted his head and comforted him.
Sasuke fell silent. After a moment, he nodded slightly and said softly, "Izumi, please take care of him."
Izumi nodded and slowly let out a breath. Shisui's injuries were severe, but if she used most of her chakra, she should be able to save him. She placed both hands over his wounds.
"Mystical Palm Technique!"
At Izumi Uchiha's quiet cry, a gentle chakra flowed from her hands into the pathways throughout Shisui's body.
Shisui's chakra pathways were badly damaged, like countless cracked, dried-up rivers, and they were still deteriorating. Fortunately, Izumi's chakra arrived in time, flowing through them like a warm spring and gradually nourishing them.
As Izumi continued pouring chakra into him, the pathways and bones inside Shisui's body began to mend, eventually returning to their previous condition.
As his condition improved, the pain on Shisui's face slowly faded. His curled-up body relaxed, and he lay back comfortably.
"Finally, it's done!"
"Shisui should wake up by tonight."
Izumi withdrew her hands, wiped away her sweat, and sat beside him. After catching her breath, she spoke calmly.
"Izumi, you're amazing!"
"When I get the chance, I'll treat you to a big meal on Gourmet Street!"
As soon as Izumi finished speaking, Sasuke jumped up excitedly.
"Sasuke, you know you're paying, right? I have a huge appetite!"
Having successfully treated Shisui, Izumi was in a good mood. She smiled and teased him.
"Heh, no problem. You can eat as much as you want, as long as you're not afraid of gaining weight."
Sasuke felt much more at ease and immediately replied with a grin.
"You two haven't eaten yet, have you? I just made some dango. Come and have some!"
At the mention of food, Izumi remembered the dango she'd made. Despite her exhaustion, she headed to the kitchen to fetch them.
"Brother, is Izumi your girlfriend?"
After Izumi left, Sasuke asked tentatively.
"No... We're just friends."
Itachi wasn't sure why Sasuke had suddenly asked. He froze for a moment, then replied hesitantly.
Sasuke smiled at Itachi's answer and didn't press him further.
Near dusk, four figures sat around a square table in the Konoha High Command's meeting room.
"Danzo, it's late. What's so urgent that you called us here?"
After taking her seat, Utatane Koharu looked at Danzo and asked tiredly.
She had been about to rest when Danzo summoned her.
Mitokado Homura and Sarutobi Hiruzen were in the same position. Neither knew what urgent matter Danzo had called them to discuss.
Without a word, Danzo slowly removed the bandages over his right eye, revealing the blind eye beneath.
"What?"
"W-what happened?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others stared at Danzo's blind eye in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"You all know that the Sharingan in my right eye was given to me by our teammate, Kagami Uchiha, just before he died. I've used it to protect the village ever since."
Danzo let out a quiet breath, then spoke gravely under their watchful gazes.
"Danzo, we know that. But how did your Sharingan suddenly go blind?"
Seeing Danzo's right eye rendered useless shook Sarutobi Hiruzen deeply, and he immediately asked.
"This afternoon, I met with Shisui Uchiha. I'd intended to discuss the Uchiha Clan's planned coup with him, but he suddenly attacked me and tried to control me with his strongest Genjutsu—Kotoamatsukami. I had no choice but to use Izanagi to escape."
His expression deadly serious, Danzo recounted the afternoon's battle as if every word were true.
"What... Shisui Uchiha attacked you?"
When Danzo finished, Utatane Koharu and the other two were shocked once again. They could hardly process such an unbelievable claim.
Danzo narrowed his left eye, his expression grim. "I've always taken a hard line on dealing with the Uchiha Clan's planned coup. If Shisui Uchiha had controlled me today, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't even need to stage a coup to become Konoha's new rulers."
"This is a brilliant plan to seize power without shedding a drop of blood!"
Danzo wanted Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu to understand the purpose behind Shisui Uchiha's actions that day.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and fell silent. He had always hoped to resolve the Uchiha Clan's planned coup peacefully, but the clan's sudden move at such a critical moment made him reconsider.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen had some doubts about Danzo's account of Shisui's attack. But he didn't think Danzo would destroy his own Sharingan just to deceive him, so he chose to believe Danzo.
(Thanks to AK Mo for the tip!
Last week, the recommendation tally was zero—we were only 180 votes short of unlocking an extra chapter. Brothers, let's aim for 500 votes this week! The system gives out recommendation tickets every day, so don't let them go to waste!
In the Naruto anime, Obito once said that Itachi had killed his beloved. That beloved was Izumi Uchiha. She barely appeared in the original, so I'll give her a bigger role in my story and bring you more of her adventures!)