"Ha! Shisui, you've got to be kidding. For such basic training, I'm sure you're far more proficient than I am!"
Looking at Itachi Uchiha smiling at him, Shisui Uchiha found the other's answer so casual and carefree, as though the attack of over a thousand kunai was nothing more than a game. Yet inwardly, Shisui could only sigh bitterly. Even I would be hard-pressed to handle that without looking disheveled! Not using any ninjutsu at all, merely controlling kunai to evade and firing at aerial targets with pinpoint accuracy... in all of Konoha, perhaps only you can do it! What do you mean, simple? Looking at your training, perhaps no one in Konoha would dare call it simple!
Shisui did not say those words aloud. The other's talent was simply unparalleled. With such gifts combined with tireless effort, even without imagining it, Shisui could foresee Itachi Uchiha's future.
"Perhaps you might be able to stop him."
Shisui had already given up on avenging his father, because he simply did not possess the strength to do so. But now, hope had appeared before him. Perhaps he could not take revenge himself, but the person before him seemed capable of helping him fulfill that mission. He did not voice those thoughts to Itachi. Pure kindness was a quality unique to children, and Shisui did not wish to taint him at this moment. More than that, he deeply hoped that Itachi could preserve that pure kindness forever.
Venomous snakes were everywhere. There were giant serpent statues over ten meters tall, countless caves, and a chilling wind that blew from time to time. This was Ryūchi Cave. Mingye strolled along familiar paths, while the giant snake friends from the past seemed to have become things of the past. Arriving before the White Snake Sage,