(Note: Uchiha Izumi's strength has been adjusted for this story; she is stronger than in the original.)
Shisui turned and gradually disappeared into the morning mist outside the door.
Inside the house, Uchiha Izumi knitted her brows. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Shisui losing his arm than met the eye.
After thinking it over briefly, she swiftly formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone.
Her real self slipped out to follow Shisui, while her clone stayed behind to cuddle with her little brother.
"Little brother, come on. Let's go to bed."
Meanwhile, since Shisui wasn't walking very fast, Izumi soon caught up with him.
Just as Shisui turned the corner, a figure suddenly darted out.
Uchiha Izumi crossed her arms and blocked his path. Her hair whipped in the morning breeze as she spoke sharply. "Shisui, care to explain what happened to your arm?"
Shisui's amber eyes narrowed slightly, then returned to normal.
He looked at the brightening sky behind Uchiha Izumi and chuckled. "Miss Izumi's gotten stronger and stronger."
"Cut the nonsense. How exactly did you lose your arm?"
Uchiha Izumi clearly didn't want to waste time on anyone but her little brother, so she urged him to get to the point.
Shisui sighed and explained, "When I was consolidating the clan's forces, I realized it would be difficult to accomplish anything on my own."
"Then I thought of Itachi and went straight to see him. But I hadn't expected his views to be so extreme."
"In Itachi's mind, the village comes before the clan."
Shisui paused, then continued. "I argued with him, hoping he'd understand that the Uchiha Clan's fate was closely tied to Konoha's stability, and that we shouldn't be sacrificed so easily. But Danzo and the others had already brainwashed him. He believed the Uchiha had to be suppressed, or even wiped out, to keep the village at peace."
"We argued, and things turned violent. I planned to knock Itachi out and take him back to the clan leader, but I never expected him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan over this!"
Izumi's eyes widened in surprise.
The Mangekyō?
Itachi had the Mangekyō too?
Noticing Uchiha Izumi tense up, Shisui gave a bitter smile and continued. "His Mangekyō ability is bizarre. It lets him summon black flames. All he has to do is lock his gaze on a target, and those flames will ignite on them. They'll never go out until the target has been burned to ashes."
Uchiha Izumi's fingertips trembled despite herself. She could already picture the terrifying flames of Amaterasu—flames that could never be extinguished. If they landed on her little brother...
No! Itachi was too dangerous!
"So your arm..."
Before Uchiha Izumi could finish, Shisui cut in. "It was burned by Itachi's flames. Luckily, I reacted in time, or I'd probably be dead."
Uchiha Izumi fell silent for a moment.
"Shisui, I'll deal with Itachi. You protect my little brother." Uchiha Izumi had faith in Shisui's strength.
Even with one arm gone, his combat ability had taken a hit, but he wasn't someone just anyone could take on.
He'd be more than capable of protecting her little brother.
"No. I'll deal with Itachi!" Shisui quickly rejected Izumi's suggestion.
Izumi could beat him senseless, sure, but only because he hadn't used genjutsu.
As far as he could tell, Uchiha Izumi's ocular prowess hadn't reached the level of the Mangekyō.
If he let her face Itachi, one genjutsu from him would put her on her knees.
"With that battered body of yours?" Uchiha Izumi looked at Shisui with disdain.
Shisui considered himself an easygoing person, but being looked at like that by a younger shinobi still made him angry.
Who did she think she was looking down on?
Even with one arm gone, one genjutsu from him and she'd be on her knees!
Shisui's amber eyes suddenly narrowed. The Mangekyō Sharingan glowed a dark red through the morning mist, and chakra surged around him like a tangible force. "Miss Izumi, if you think you can deal with Itachi, then fight me. If you win, do as you please—I won't say a word. If you lose, I'll deal with Itachi, and you'll protect Ao-kun."
"I'll protect my little brother whether you tell me to or not," Uchiha Izumi corrected him.
"Then let's begin." As soon as Shisui spoke, he formed hand seals with one hand and unleashed the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. A torrent of scorching flames surged toward Izumi's Shadow Clone.
Izumi snorted and swept her hands through a flurry of seals. "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!" A blazing chakra dragon shot from her mouth and crashed into the fireball. The violent blast of air sent the rubble piled at the mouth of the alley flying.
Shisui knew he couldn't beat Izumi with ninjutsu. That Fire Release technique had only been a distraction. His real killing move was genjutsu.
The moment thick smoke billowed up from the collision, Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan blazed with a sudden crimson light.
Uchiha Izumi had just sensed the chakra fluctuation when her consciousness plunged into an icy abyss. The world around her twisted into a sea of red, and countless chains erupted from the ground, piercing her body.
"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!" Shisui's cold voice echoed through the illusory space.
Izumi gritted her teeth. The sharp pain in her tongue helped her stay conscious as her Sharingan spun wildly, trying to break the genjutsu.
But Shisui's ocular prowess was too strong. The chains tightened, as if they meant to crush her very soul.
In the real world, Izumi stood frozen, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
She bit down hard on her tongue, using the pain to jolt her senses. Then she forced chakra into her eyes. "Release!" The genjutsu shattered, but Shisui was already right in front of her, a kunai glowing with the eerie light of a Cursed Seal thrusting toward her throat.
At the last possible moment, Izumi twisted aside and rolled. The kunai scraped past her shoulder and struck the ground, scattering sparks.
She had barely pushed herself up when Shisui closed in again. The instant he formed a hand seal with one hand, Izumi's pupils contracted—another genjutsu!
Her vision blurred, and her consciousness plunged into darkness once more.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself trapped in a cage made of golden chains, surrounded by endless emptiness.
Shisui stood outside the cage, his expression calm. "This is a genjutsu space. You can't escape unless I release you."
Izumi gritted her teeth and grabbed the chains, trying to pull them apart, but only a splitting headache answered her efforts.
She could feel Shisui's genjutsu steadily eating away at her chakra. Every struggle drained her strength even faster.
"Why... why are you stopping me?" Izumi panted, her voice full of frustration.
"Because you'll die." Shisui's voice was low and firm. "Itachi's Mangekyō is as powerful as mine. You can't even break my genjutsu, so how do you expect to fight him?"
He paused, a complicated look flashing in his eyes. "Protect Ao. That's the most important thing for you right now."
With that, Shisui released the genjutsu.
Back in the real world, Uchiha Izumi looked at Shisui with mixed feelings. "Why didn't you use genjutsu before?"
Shisui lowered his eyes to the empty sleeve. A shadow fell over his amber gaze. "Because there was no need."
Before you continue