Shisui: Gone, not a drop left

"Shisui, what did you talk to Sister Izumi about earlier?" the Shadow Clone asked.

He did not state his intentions directly, choosing instead to bring up Sister Izumi to Shisui.

"Earlier?" Shisui paused, then recalled how, a few days ago, he had used a genjutsu on Ao-kun's sister that left her questioning her entire existence.

Shisui's mouth twitched, and his lone arm instinctively reached up to rub the tip of his nose.

Could Ao-kun have come to him to seek revenge for his sister?

Should he put on an act before kneeling, or would it be better to just kneel immediately?

While Shisui was caught in the dilemma of "act then kneel" or "surrender immediately," the Shadow Clone suddenly chuckled: "Looking at that expression, Shisui, don't tell me you think I'm here to settle a score?"

"Actually, I should be thanking you," the Shadow Clone continued, not waiting for Shisui to answer. "If you hadn't provoked Sister Izumi, I doubt she would have awakened her Mangekyo Sharingan."

Hearing Ao-kun's words, Shisui froze. His lone arm hung in mid-air like a statue, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

Wait, what? She awakened the Mangekyo just like that?

Then what does that make his own awakening?

Thinking back to how he had only awakened his Mangekyo after witnessing the deaths of his dearest friend and kin, Shisui suddenly felt the unfairness of this world.

"Alright, Shisui, stop spacing out." The Shadow Clone waved a hand in front of Shisui's face. "I brought up Sister Izumi because I intend to have her join us."

Any member of the Uchiha clan undergoes a world-shaking transformation the moment they awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Take Obito, for instance, who wanders the ninja world wearing a mask all day.

Before he awakened his Mangekyo, he was a total dead-last.

The Shadow Clone believed that, given Obito's talent, if he hadn't experienced that incident, he probably wouldn't even have been able to beat Naruto Uzumaki from the same period.

"Look, once Sister Izumi joins, we'll have two Mangekyo-level combatants on our side. You handle Itachi, and Sister Izumi will be responsible for controlling those stubborn elders." The Shadow Clone plucked a maple leaf and flipped it nimbly between his fingertips, the leaf refracting fragmented light under the sun.

"I've experienced Sister Izumi's Mangekyo ability before; it should be similar to your Kotoamatsukami. The effect might not be as strong, but it has the advantage of a short cooldown. It's perfect for dealing with those weak-minded old fools. Just activate it suddenly during the clan meeting speech..."

The Shadow Clone didn't finish his sentence, trusting that Shisui understood his meaning.

"Hmm..." Shisui mused, his lone arm tracing the mottled, old scars on the tree trunk.

Ao-kun's sister awakening the Mangekyo was already beyond his expectations, but he hadn't expected her ocular jutsu to be this powerful as well.

"But if she uses her ocular jutsu frequently, your sister's body might not be able to hold up," Shisui said, his brow furrowing. He possessed a Mangekyo himself, so he was well aware of its side effects.

Because of this, his stance on this power was to avoid using it whenever possible.

"Don't worry, I can handle that."

The Uchiha clan's bloodline traces back to Indra from a millennium ago, and as the son of the Sage of Six Paths, Indra naturally possessed a very dense Otsutsuki Bloodline.

On the day of the final battle between the brothers Indra and Asura, Indra had summoned a Complete Body Susanoo.

The prerequisite for summoning a Complete Body is possessing the Eternal Mangekyo.

And to evolve from a Mangekyo to an Eternal Mangekyo, one must fuse the eyes of a close relative.

Aside from the Sage of Six Paths and Asura, did Indra have any other close relatives in the ninja world?

Black Zetsu didn't count.

As for why Kakashi could summon a Complete Body Susanoo after receiving Obito's eyes, Uchiha Ao guessed it was because Obito had once been the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

The eyes had transformed the moment he reached the Six Paths level.

After all, what kind of Mangekyo could simply cross the boundary between life and death to send eyes over?

Therefore, Uchiha Ao speculated:

The reason the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo suffered from vision degradation was actually quite simple to understand.

As time passed, the Otsutsuki blood within the Uchiha clan had become increasingly diluted.

But he possessed a pure Otsutsuki Bloodline; replenishing Sister Izumi's bloodline in the future would be a piece of cake.

"Fine," Shisui sighed deeply. "Since you have a plan, I will cooperate fully."

"Alright, that's about it. For the specifics, just watch for my signal once the clan meeting starts." The Shadow Clone crushed the last maple leaf, the fine debris scattering in the wind.

"Understood," Shisui nodded. "I'll be going then."

He then prepared to jump off the branch and leave.

"Damn it, wait, don't be in such a rush," Uchiha Ao quickly called out to stop him.

The serious business was finished, but he hadn't finished milking Shisui for all he was worth yet.

"Ao-kun, please, next time you have something to say, just say it all at once," Shisui said helplessly.

This was the umpteenth time he had been stopped.

The time before last, he was asked to teach the Shadow Clone; last time, he was asked to donate blood; what did he want now?

Watching Shisui's mournful little expression, the Shadow Clone sheepishly rubbed the tip of his nose. "Ahem, it's mainly because you're just too useful... no, I mean, your abilities are too strong and your experience is so rich!"

"Ao-kun, I heard that," Shisui's expression grew even more helpless. He supported his forehead with his only arm, his Sharingan seemingly veiled in a mist of "grief." "If you keep squeezing me like this, believe it or not, the next time I see your real body, I'll spank you."

He deliberately stiffened his face, but the uncontrollable twitching at the corners of his mouth betrayed his inner helplessness and amusement.

The Shadow Clone chuckled; he actually raised both hands in favor of Shisui wanting to spank his real body. "Shisui, that sounds great! I've been wanting to teach the real me a lesson for a long time."

Shisui froze, nearly falling off the tree branch, and gripped the trunk tightly with his single arm.

He then looked at Ao-kun's Shadow Clone beside him with a helpless expression.

If the clone was like this, wouldn't the real body be even more of a headache?

Shisui suddenly felt that the future of the Uchiha Clan was a long and arduous road.

Despite his inner resignation, Shisui still patiently continued to instruct the Shadow Clone.

When the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the clouds a crimson red, Shisui had taught him just about everything he could.

"Ao-kun, I've been squeezed dry by you..." Shisui slumped weakly against the tree trunk, his single arm resting on his knee.

He watched the Shadow Clone still enthusiastically practicing chakra fusion, his Sharingan almost welling up with tears. "Ao-kun, we had a deal about Ichiraku Ramen. If we don't eat soon, I'm going to starve into a mummy."

Hearing this, the Shadow Clone stopped his movements as if hit by a pause button and immediately hurried to Shisui's side. "Let's go, let's go! I'll take you right now."

When the two landed in front of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Shisui's hair was disheveled by the wind, and before he could even stand steady, he was dragged into the shop by the Shadow Clone. "Uncle Ichiraku! One super-large bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen! Pile the chashu until it's overflowing! And add two more soft-boiled eggs!"

The Shadow Clone shouted while nimbly hopping onto a bench, patting the empty seat beside him to signal for Shisui to sit.

"Aren't you going to order a bowl for yourself?" Shisui asked as he walked over and sat down.

"Shisui, do you even hear yourself? I'm just a Shadow Clone."