A Secret Rendezvous with Shisui in the Woods

The cunning smile of Sister Izumi still lingered before his eyes. Uchiha Ao stumbled back to his room, sliding down to the floor with his back pressed against the door.

He leaned against the door, gasping for air, muttering to himself about why Sister Izumi was so good at teasing.

Just as he was feeling flustered, the memories from his dispelled Shadow Clone flooded into his mind.

A clan meeting, huh... Uchiha Ao's thoughts aligned perfectly with those of his Shadow Clone.

He absolutely had to get involved in this clan meeting.

The next day.

Uchiha Ao left the comfort of Sister Izumi's embrace without a shred of hesitation, resolutely getting up, dressing, and eating...

Only to be dragged back onto the bed by Sister Izumi...

"Sister Izumi, I have urgent business today!" Uchiha Ao's face flushed red as he struggled while being held like a body pillow on the bed.

Sister Izumi only pulled him tighter, her hair brushing against his burning earlobe: "What could possibly be more important than staying with your sister?"

Damn it, I have to resist Sister Izumi today! I'll show her the true power of Otsutsuki Aoshiki!

With that thought, Uchiha Ao's chakra surged violently. Of course, he held back; he had no intention of actually hurting her.

However, just as Uchiha Ao prepared to act, he locked eyes with Sister Izumi's Mangekyo.

Oh, crap.

Uchiha Ao's chakra instantly fizzled out, as if doused by a bucket of cold water.

The Mangekyo Sharingan swirling in Sister Izumi's eyes looked somewhat similar to Sasuke's.

The pattern of her Mangekyo Sharingan resembled a blooming spider lily, with six blood-red petals spreading outward from the pupil.

Each petal had jagged edges and was entwined with dark, flame-like patterns, as if eternal hellfire were flowing through the veins of the flowers.

"Little brother~ what are you planning to do?" Sister Izumi's fingertips traced his tense jawline.

As those spider-lily Mangekyo eyes turned gently, Uchiha Ao felt his consciousness being ensnared by invisible threads, every struggling thought shredded to pieces.

[Eight-Headed Soul Entanglement]: The ability of Uchiha Izumi's right eye.

Once released, it gradually erodes the target's reason by consuming their memories and emotions. The victim is manipulated amidst the chaos, becoming a puppet to the caster's will, as if their soul had been completely devoured by the Yamata no Orochi.

Similar to Kotoamatsukami, yet far surpassing it.

It has no cooldown; as long as the caster has sufficient ocular power, it can be maintained indefinitely.

This is a dojutsu born from Uchiha Izumi's desire for her brother to stay by her side forever.

Of course, she wouldn't truly use such a cruel technique on him.

What she released was merely an infinitely nerfed version.

"Sigh." Realizing that his mental state had been compromised, Uchiha Ao gave up on resisting.

Combining this dojutsu with the fact that Sister Izumi had inexplicably awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Ao could roughly guess what she had done.

Yet, the more he understood, the more his heart ached for her.

Fine, I'll just spend these next few days with Sister Izumi as my main body, and let the Shadow Clones handle everything else.

Uchiha Ao voluntarily relaxed his tense body, looked up at the blood-red patterns churning in her eyes, and whispered: "Sister Izumi, I surrender, okay?"

Sister Izumi's Mangekyo slowly dimmed, replaced by her familiar, beaming smile: "That's a good boy."

Sister Izumi pulled him into her arms with satisfaction, the sweet scent of her hair lingering at the tip of his nose.

The moment she closed her eyes and hummed a soft tune, Uchiha Ao condensed a Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone slipped out of the room the moment it appeared.

Although he and his main body were essentially the same, he still didn't want to be a third wheel to their affection.

Uchiha Izumi naturally noticed her brother's movement, but she didn't say anything, simply holding her brother even tighter.

The Shadow Clone, having stepped out of the room, locked onto the direction of Shisui's house and sprinted toward it.

The Shadow Clone darted through the dim alleyway, skidded to a halt in front of Shisui's door, and pushed open the ajar wooden gate. The house was empty and silent.

"Where is he?" The Shadow Clone frowned, searching the house quickly but finding nothing.

Standing before Shisui's house, the Shadow Clone pondered where he might have gone.

After considering several locations, the Shadow Clone went to check them one by one.

Meanwhile, in a forest within the clan grounds.

Shisui leaned against that old oak tree, thick enough for three men to circle.

The bark still bore the uneven scratches from when he had taught Itachi how to use shuriken, now stained with dark, dried blood.

The midday sun filtered through the layers of leaves, casting dappled light onto his pale face.

In his ears, the earnest question from young Itachi seemed to echo once more: "Brother Shisui, what is the true power of the Sharingan meant to protect?"

Shisui's fingertips unconsciously traced the old scars on the tree bark, where dried blood crusts clung to the rough grooves.

Back then, Itachi always loved to chase after him with questions, his clear black eyes brimming with a longing for strength and justice, while Shisui would laugh and carve a mark into the trunk with a Shuriken, saying, "To protect the village and the clan."

Yet, whenever he thought of those eyes now, all that surfaced was Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.

The boy who once chased after him to learn the Shuriken had actually become the blade Konoha plunged into the Uchiha Clan.

"Protect..." Shisui let out a low chuckle, the sound laced with a trembling, breathy rasp.

He gazed at the treetops shimmering in the distance under the sun, the light spots blurring into hazy golden dots before his eyes. "So, the answer you found was to destroy everything with your own hands?"

Amidst the rustling of leaves as the wind swept by, he suddenly couldn't tell if the pain piercing his heart was from the loss of his arm or the transformation of the boy in his memories.

"Shisui, so this is where you are." Shisui snapped his head up, the sunlight filtering through the leaves piercing his eyes, which were already sore from blood loss.

In a daze, the silhouette of the Shadow Clone overlapped with his memories; he felt as if he saw little Itachi again, wearing his forehead protector and carrying a wooden training sword taller than himself, running toward him with a round, upturned face.

In just an instant, Shisui regained his senses.

"Ao-kun, why are you here?" Shisui blinked as he looked at the newcomer.

The Shadow Clone stepped out from behind the tree and stood before Shisui.

"Do you know about the clan meeting in a few days?" the Shadow Clone asked.

"I do," Shisui replied.

In truth, his original plan had been to join forces with Itachi to seize control during the clan meeting.

He just hadn't expected that plans would fail to keep up with the changes.

"Mm, I have an idea regarding the meeting in a few days." The Shadow Clone used Body Flicker to reach a thick branch and sat down, his legs dangling and swinging in the air as he beckoned to Shisui. "Brother Shisui, come up and let's talk."

Shisui raised an eyebrow and used Body Flicker to sit up there as well.

The aged bark creaked faintly under their combined weight, mingling with the faint chirping of birds in the distance.

The Shadow Clone reached out to pluck a maple leaf, spinning it between his fingers. "You can see further when you sit higher."

"It is quite nice indeed." Shisui leaned against the trunk, from where he could see the entire Uchiha compound. "Tell me what you intend to do."