Shisui Attacked, Yao Watches Coldly

Uchiha Shisui darted through the crisscrossing shadows of the trees at a speed the naked eye could barely follow.

Tonight, Shisui had arranged to meet his close friend, Uchiha Itachi, by the cliffs of the Naka River.

Danger was closing in.

Whoosh!

Dozens of kunai glinting with cold light completely sealed off every route Shisui could take forward, backward, or aside!

This is bad! An ambush!

Shisui's heart sank, and every muscle in his body instantly tensed to the limit.

In the flash of an instant, Shisui twisted his body in midair in a way that completely defied physical laws.

He narrowly slipped through the gaps between the kunai.

Body Flicker Technique!

Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!

Earth Release: Earth Formation Wall!

Rumble!

A dull roar came from beneath the ground, and the earth shook violently.

Thick, towering earthen walls rose from all sides, swiftly closing in to form a huge, sturdy square cage that trapped Shisui firmly in its center!

At the same time, Uchiha Yao learned through the system's warning that Shisui had come under attack.

Looks like you still reached the end, Shisui!

Uchiha Yao let out a helpless sigh.

Perhaps this was Shisui's fate. Uchiha Yao did not choose to rescue him; he had already given Shisui a chance to choose.

But Shisui had still chosen to trust the Third Hokage.

Shisui's death would completely shatter the Uchiha Dove Faction's unrealistic fantasies!

For Uchiha Yao, this was the best opportunity to bring the Dove Faction together.

Mercy? Sympathy?

In the cruel Shinobi World, those were epitaphs for the weak!

Uchiha Yao was no saint, much less a savior!

Ding! The host's current state of mind and behavioral pattern meet the trigger conditions for the hidden strategic mission, Coldly Watching the Fire: Sacrifice of an Era.

A virtual screen appeared before Uchiha Yao.

On it, everything happening at the cliffs of the Naka River was being broadcast in real time.

Back to Shisui.

Dozens of figures wearing all kinds of animal masks silently appeared atop the earthen walls.

"Root!"

Shisui's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

He recognized who they were!

They were Shimura Danzō's Root!

They... actually dared to make a move against him!

"Uchiha Shisui, surrender without resistance."

Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō slowly stepped out of the shadows, flanked by two Root shinobi.

"Lord Danzō, what is the meaning of this?"

Shisui forcibly suppressed the surging anger in his heart, his voice trembling faintly with rage.

"What does it mean?"

"Uchiha brat, you do not need to understand."

"You only need to know that those eyes of yours should not belong to you."

"For the sake of Konoha, hand them over!"

Before he finished speaking, Danzō abruptly swung his bandage-wrapped hand!

"Attack!"

At his command, the dozens of Root shinobi atop the earthen walls pounced on Shisui from all sides without hesitation!

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

"Bastards!"

Shisui roared. The Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, and a terrifying ocular power far surpassing that of an ordinary Sharingan erupted!

The Mangekyō Sharingan opened instantly!

Susanoo!

Green Chakra energy surged out of his body like an erupting volcano, swiftly condensing over his body into a massive skeletal armor wielding a spiraling longsword!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless ninjutsu slammed violently into the green Susanoo!

Yet there were simply too many Root shinobi.

Though the Susanoo's defense was astonishing, it could not withstand endless attrition!

Shisui was frantic.

He knew perfectly well that under such an airtight siege, he would eventually be worn to death here!

He had to break out!

Kotoamatsukami!

He placed his last hope in his strongest genjutsu, attempting to control Danzō and thereby dismantle the siege.

Yet a cold smile of success appeared on Danzō's wrinkled old face!

It was as though he had anticipated this all along!

"Don't even think about it!"

A cold glint flashed in Danzō's eyes. A Root shinobi wearing a bird mask beside him suddenly formed hand seals!

Genjutsu: Darkness and Darkness Technique!

A strange wave of Chakra instantly spread outward. Shisui's vision suddenly went black, as though all light had been ripped from the world, plunging him into endless, pitch-black darkness!

Although Shisui used the Mangekyō Sharingan's formidable ocular power to break free from the genjutsu in barely a tenth of a second.

That brief instant of lost vision was already fatal for a top-tier shinobi!

Mind Transfer Jutsu!

Yamanaka Fu appeared from Shisui's right and unleashed the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique.

Shisui felt a powerful, overbearing mental force like a steel needle trying to force its way into his mind and seize control of his body!

"Get out!"

Shisui roared again. The Mangekyō's ocular power erupted without restraint, forcibly scattering Yamanaka Fu's invading spiritual energy!

But Shisui's Chakra was depleted even more severely, and his face grew increasingly pale!

"Heh heh, Uchiha Shisui, your struggle is futile."

To Shisui's horror, Danzō had somehow appeared directly before him!

Within arm's reach!

Danzō's right eye, which should have been covered by bandages, was revealed to be a scarlet Three-tomoe Sharingan!

Izanagi!

Danzō uttered in a low voice, and the three tomoe instantly lost all their light, turning grayish white!

Then Danzō's figure appeared out of thin air at the blind spot where Shisui's Susanoo defense was weakest!

Splat!

A right hand wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages viciously dug toward Shisui's right eye!

"Argh—!"

Excruciating pain instantly shot through every nerve ending in his body!

Shisui let out a miserable scream. Warm blood mixed with tears and poured wildly from his empty right eye socket!

Shisui staggered backward and crashed heavily onto the ground, instinctively covering his bloody right eye with his hand.

Just as Danzō was about to reach for Shisui's remaining left eye.

A furious shout rang out!

"Stop!"

A figure burst in like a bolt of black lightning!

It was Uchiha Itachi!

Itachi roared, the Three-Tomoe in his eyes spinning madly. He gave Danzō no time to react as his body became an afterimage and shot straight toward him!

Dozens of shuriken and kunai flew from Itachi's hands at all kinds of tricky angles, aimed directly at Danzō and every Root shinobi around him!

"Hmph! Uchiha brats, coming one after another to die!"

Danzō snorted coldly, yet he did not dare let down his guard in the slightest and quickly retreated.

The Root shinobi immediately stepped forward and formed up to block Itachi's storm-like assault.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sounds of metal clashing rang out without end.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Itachi spat out several fireballs that scattered like heavenly maidens strewing flowers, yet precisely sealed off the Root shinobi's movements and created a chaotic sea of flames.

The chaos lasted only one second.

But for Uchiha Itachi, that was enough!

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Itachi flickered again and appeared beside Shisui, scooping up his badly wounded friend.

"Shisui! Hang on!"

"Go!"

Itachi did not linger to fight. Carrying Shisui, he pushed the Body Flicker Technique to its limit and repeatedly unleashed Fire Release Ninjutsu, forcibly breaking through Root's encirclement!

"Lord Danzō!"

"No need to pursue them."

Danzō watched the direction in which the two had vanished, his bandage-wrapped face betraying no expression.

He slowly spread open his left hand. In his palm lay a freshly gouged-out Mangekyō Sharingan, still stained with warm blood.

He had already achieved half of his goal.

"Pass down the order."

"Uchiha Shisui attacked a Hokage Advisor and intended to defect. He has committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

"Make sure this news spreads throughout the entire village before dawn."