Stealing an eye

This was also why the Nine-Tails had preserved Minato Namikaze's chakra from the very beginning.

As for Kushina? The Nine-Tails could sense that special, motionless Chakra within the Sealing that confined him, but even he had no way to draw it out.

Unlike Minato's, Kushina's Chakra had almost completely merged with the Sealing. She resided within the Sealing itself, and freeing her would require a Release of the Sealing Formula first...

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to the Nine-Tails, and he glanced at Minato. As though sensing his suspicion, Minato answered with a brilliant smile.

"Hmph. Just what I'd expect from you." The Nine-Tails finally understood why Minato had wanted to teach Naruto Sealing jutsu from the start. There was no telling how many steps his plans had accounted for.

Before he had even confirmed anything about their situation, he had already left Naruto more than enough fallback options!

"Any shinobi looks utterly ordinary beside him."

That was the most fitting assessment others could offer of the young Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

While Naruto was still asleep, dawn was only just breaking. In a secluded corner of Konoha, the Third Hokage stood surrounded by his Anbu Guards, looking with approval at Shisui Uchiha, who knelt on one knee before him. "Shisui, whether the village can preserve its hard-won peace rests on you. Are you ready?"

"Yes. I will fulfill my mission." Shisui Uchiha raised his head as he accepted the order. His eyes bore a distinctive four-pointed pattern—the Mangekyō Sharingan that possessed the power of Kotoamatsukami!

Kotoamatsukami was an ability unique to Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan. It could forcibly alter another person's thoughts and plant them deep within their mind. More powerful still, unless the target's ocular power surpassed his own, resisting the Formula through individual strength was almost impossible. It was the ultimate genjutsu, guaranteed to succeed!

And at that moment, he was the strongest member of the Uchiha Clan!

That almost miraculous power now lay dormant within Shisui Uchiha's crimson eyes. It was also what gave him the confidence to change the course of the village's internal strife—

He would use Kotoamatsukami to alter the thoughts of Uchiha Fugaku and the other senior members of the clan, making them truly understand the Will of Fire and what Konoha needed while its wounds from the war had yet to fully heal, preserving the village's peace!

"Ah, though Kagami died tragically young, I'm sure he would be proud to have a descendant like you." The Third Hokage looked at Shisui, his eyes full of warmth.

Shisui Uchiha was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha, who, like the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had once been both a student and a Guard of the Second Hokage. They had been close enough to call each other comrades through life and death. The Third Hokage had watched Shisui grow up, so naturally, he knew the boy's intentions were sincere.

For that reason, he had stood against the objections and overruled those who wanted to strike first against the Uchiha Clan. He still chose to give Shisui this chance, staking the entire village's fate on him. It was indeed a profound display of trust.

"Go, young man. The village's future is in your hands." The Third Hokage lowered the brim of his Hokage hat, then gave Shisui a reassuring smile. "An old man like me will make sure you have something to fall back on."

"Yes!" Hearing the Hokage express such trust in him stirred Shisui's heart, but more than anything, he felt the weight of the burden on his shoulders.

After answering the Third Hokage, he vanished from the sight of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu behind him.

Body Flicker Shisui—during the Third Fourth Shinobi World War, the reputation of his Body Flicker Technique had rivaled that of Konoha's Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash.

This was his second trump card. With that ability, no one in all of Konoha could hold him there!

The surrounding trees and shrubs raced backward as Shisui sped toward the Uchiha Clan's grounds like a flash of lightning. Suddenly, however, a dark figure blocked his path.

Instinctively wary, Shisui Uchiha had already drawn a shuriken, but when he recognized the man, he quickly lowered his guard and stopped.

"Lord Danzo?"

The Sharingan could see through Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, so no one could deceive him with a Transformation Technique. The man blocking his path was indeed Shimura Danzō, a member of the Konoha High Command.

He was also a comrade who had fought alongside the Third Hokage and Shisui's elder, making him a senior worthy of Shisui's respect. When Shisui was young, he had often looked after him as the descendant of his old comrade.

Although some of the things Danzo did as leader of Root, the organization known as the Darkness of Konoha, were unacceptable in Shisui Uchiha's eyes, he also understood that Danzo acted for Konoha's sake. His feelings were therefore mostly ones of understanding.

On that basis, Shisui even held a measure of admiration for Danzo deep down. After all, a man willing to dirty his own hands to uphold the Will of Fire was also a powerful shinobi following his own path.

At least at that moment, Shisui Uchiha was not particularly guarded around Danzo. He even considered them comrades working for Konoha's sake, worthy of each other's trust.

"Shisui, have you already confirmed things with Sarutobi?" Half his body concealed beneath his robe, Danzo watched Shisui Uchiha lower his guard and cast a seemingly casual glance at the distance between them. "If you stop your own family and side with the village, you'll face malicious condemnation. You'll live under the uncomprehending gazes of your clansmen, just like Hatake Sakumo. Have you truly thought this through?"

As Danzo spoke words of comfort and understanding, he slowly approached Shisui Uchiha.

At some point, several Anbu figures had appeared behind him. A closer look, however, would reveal slight differences in their attire. The patterns on their masks were more frightening—they were members of Root, Konoha's darkest organization.

Although Shisui Uchiha immediately noticed the growing number of people around him, Danzo was the Leader of Root. It was only natural that he would have guards accompanying him, so Shisui saw nothing amiss.

Yet that single judgment would leave him with lifelong regret.

"Lord Danzo, I've already prepared myself..." Shisui Uchiha looked at Danzo with a resolute expression, ready to reaffirm his unwavering determination. Danzo, too, wore a look of approval, apparently reaching out to pat his shoulder in encouragement, but...

Everything changed in an instant!

"Aah!"

It all happened too suddenly. Shisui clutched his eye socket with his left hand and let out an agonized scream. In desperation, he hurled a shuriken at Danzo with his right hand, forcing him back several steps before immediately escaping with the Body Flicker Technique.

Danzo calmly leaped back and landed. He did not even glance at the cut the shuriken had left on his arm. Instead, his gaze settled joyfully on the blood-soaked Sharingan resting in his bloody right palm.

A cruel smile spread across Danzo's face. "Go. Bring him back."

The Root shinobi behind him vanished a moment later, as though they had never been there at all.