A Final Warning for Shisui

Training Ground Three was thick with dense woods.

A sharp whistle tore through the air as a kunai pierced layer upon layer of branches and leaves, striking the bullseye at the center of a distant tree trunk with perfect accuracy.

Uchiha Shisui darted through the forest at high speed, leaving behind only a string of blurred afterimages, too fast for ordinary eyes to follow.

Body Flicker Technique.

Shisui finally came to a stop, his chest rising and falling slightly with each breath.

His meeting with the Third Hokage had kindled hope in his heart.

Using Kotoamatsukami to stop the Uchiha Clan's coup d'état was the only way Shisui could think of to prevent his comrades and clansmen from shedding blood.

"I have to trust Hokage-sama."

"The Uchiha and the village will soon move toward peace!"

Shisui whispered to himself.

This was not only for the Uchiha, but for the entire village.

"Trust?"

"Do you trust Hiruzen Sarutobi, or that cold seat called 'Hokage'?"

A voice drifted out from the shade beneath the tree behind Shisui without any warning.

Every muscle in Shisui's body instantly tensed. He spun around, the Three-Tomoe in his eyes rotating rapidly as his Mangekyō Sharingan opened in an instant.

Uchiha Yao stood there quietly.

"Elder Yao?"

The scarlet patterns in Shisui's eyes slowly faded.

"Your Body Flicker Technique is indeed getting faster and faster, Shisui."

Uchiha Yao slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"But your vigilance is disappointingly poor."

Shisui frowned slightly.

"Elder Yao, I don't understand what you mean."

"The smell in the air is wrong."

"The smell?"

"Rotting roots, and that unconcealable, nauseating malice."

Uchiha Yao's gaze swept across the seemingly empty forest around them.

"Some eyes have been fixed on you all along."

Shisui's heart tightened, and he immediately pushed his sensory abilities to their limit.

After a moment, he shook his head in confusion.

"I didn't sense any unfamiliar Chakra... Perhaps they're ANBU sent by Hokage-sama to protect me."

"ANBU?"

Uchiha Yao gave a soft laugh.

"Do you think they belong to Hiruzen Sarutobi's ANBU, or the Root Danzo keeps?"

"Lord Danzo..."

Shisui's expression visibly grew more complicated.

Of course, he knew of Danzo's deep-rooted prejudice and hostility toward the Uchiha Clan.

"Elder Yao, you're worrying too much. Hokage-sama and I have already reached an understanding. Lord Danzo, he..."

"Danzo would gouge out your eyes without hesitation."

Uchiha Yao directly cut Shisui off.

Originally, Uchiha Yao had not wanted to meet Shisui. But for this Uchiha genius, if he did not even offer a final warning, it would have been too cold-hearted. Uchiha Yao knew he could not do that.

If he warned Shisui and Shisui still walked toward his original fate in the end, then Uchiha Yao would have nothing more to say. Everything would be Shisui's own choice.

"Shisui, placing your hopes in someone else's mercy is the stupidest thing you can do in this world."

"This isn't mercy. It's trust!"

For the first time, Shisui's emotions visibly fluctuated, and his voice rose with them.

"The Uchiha and the village have come to this point precisely because they have lacked even the most basic trust for so long! I have to do something to change this miserable situation!"

"So you're prepared to offer up your eyes, even your life?"

"Kotoamatsukami is such a powerful ability, yet you told Hiruzen Sarutobi everything about it. How is that any different from voluntarily placing a piece of fresh meat before a starving wolf?"

Shisui's body shook violently.

"No. Hokage-sama isn't that kind of person!"

"Shisui, wake up. Do you really understand the Third Hokage completely? Do you think Danzo knows about your Kotoamatsukami now? Do you really believe Hiruzen Sarutobi can keep him fully under control? Don't be so naive. The two of them are merely opposite sides of the same coin."

"No!"

Shisui retorted almost instinctively.

"Hokage-sama personally promised me..."

"Promises are worthless before absolute power."

Uchiha Yao's voice carried deep exhaustion.

He simply could not persuade Shisui.

"Stop, Shisui. Leave Konoha immediately. There's still time."

Leave Konoha?

Shisui was utterly lost.

That option had never appeared in his life.

"If you don't leave, you will only become the first needless sacrifice. Your death, your eyes, will only hasten the destruction of the Uchiha Clan."

Shisui fell silent.

Reason told him that Elder Yao's words were the cruel truth.

Yet the conviction burning deep within Shisui's heart kept him from accepting what Uchiha Yao had said.

He could not run away, and he never would.

Seeing the struggle and near-fanatical stubbornness in Shisui's eyes, Uchiha Yao stopped trying to persuade him.

Some paths could only be understood once one had personally walked to the edge of the cliff and realized there was no road left ahead.

"Since you've already made your choice..."

Uchiha Yao slowly turned around.

"...then remember one thing."

"If the road ahead is a cliff, don't hesitate. Turn back."

"If there is already no way to retreat..."

"Then drag your enemy down with you."

Uchiha Yao's figure flashed, and he vanished from where he stood.

Shisui remained alone in place, not moving an inch for a long time.

Shisui shook his head hard, trying to throw that ominous feeling out of his mind.

In the end, Shisui chose to believe in the Will of Fire, to believe in the Third Hokage, praised as the Ninja Hero.

There definitely... wouldn't be any mistake.

After steadying his turbulent emotions, Shisui headed in the exact opposite direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

He wanted to go to the bank of the Naka River and calm down, letting the cold river wind scatter the distracting thoughts in his heart.

Besides, he had arranged to meet Itachi there.

In a dark, damp underground chamber.

A Root ninja knelt on one knee.

"Reporting to Lord Danzo, the target has left Training Ground Three."

"During that time, he had brief contact with Uchiha Yao. Their conversation lasted approximately ten minutes."

Danzo's single bandage-wrapped eye snapped open, flashing with a terrifying gleam.

Uchiha Yao!

He had actually appeared!

"What did they talk about?"

"The distance was too great to hear clearly. However, the target's emotions appeared to fluctuate significantly."

"Uchiha Yao then left on his own."

Uchiha Yao's appearance was an enormous variable outside Danzo's plans.

Had Uchiha Yao noticed something?

Would he warn Shisui?

If Shisui listened to that warning, would he alter the original plan and turn against the village?

"Where is the target now?"

"He is alone, heading toward the Naka River."

The Naka River.

That place was secluded, and after nightfall, completely deserted.

It was the perfect place to make a move and seize his eyes.

The opportunity was right before them, fleeting and impossible to miss.

If Shisui truly heeded Uchiha Yao's warning, then after tonight, they might never find such a perfect opportunity again.

Take the gamble!

Bet that Shisui's naive idealism would outweigh Uchiha Yao's warning!

"Uchiha Shisui did not return to the Uchiha Clan Compound, nor did he go to the Hokage Building to seek protection. That proves he has not become fully suspicious yet!"

"Pass on my orders!"

"All teams, proceed to the designated location immediately!"

"Barrier Team, seal off every escape route along the Naka River at once!"

"Remember, I only want his eyes!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Root ninja's figure flashed, and he disappeared from the chamber.

Danzo slowly rose to his feet and walked toward a massive wall.

A detailed map of Konoha hung upon it.

His finger pressed heavily onto the spot marked "Naka River."

"Shisui, for Konoha's future, you will have to die."