Chapter 24: Change

"...This is far enough, Itachi."

Shisui suddenly called a halt to Itachi, who was still moving around restlessly. They stopped at the edge of a cliff.

Itachi supported Shisui, glancing around uneasily. "The terrain here is open, with no good hiding spots. Do you have other preparations...?"

Before Itachi could finish, Shisui straightened up and looked at him, shaking his head. "No need for caution. There are no ambushes or pursuers."

"Is that so?"

Hearing Shisui's reassurance, Itachi sighed in relief. "Then wait here for me. I'll go notify the medical team to send someone over immediately..."

However, Shisui raised his hand to stop Itachi from leaving. He had already regained his composure. "My eyes were taken by Danzo."

Upon hearing this, Itachi halted in his tracks.

"The coup within the Uchiha clan is nearing a point of no return. Since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha have been isolated by the village due to the suspicions surrounding our Sharingan. Danzo's actions indicate that even within the village, I'm not trusted. In this situation, even the Third Hokage, despite his intentions to maintain peace, is powerless on his own." Shisui calmly analyzed the situation, as if he weren't the one suffering. "I originally planned to use my Kotoamatsukami to rectify the situation, but at this point, if I survive, I won't have enough chakra to change the outcome."

"Moreover, the effect of Kotoamatsukami on people's desires would be a bigger issue for the village's upper echelons than the Uchiha coup itself. Not only will foreign nations take advantage, but Konoha will also fall apart from within."

"I want to entrust my left eye to you, Itachi." With that, Shisui reached up to his eye socket, and to Itachi's horror, he forcibly pulled out his eye!

The pain, unimaginable to ordinary people, didn't even flicker across Shisui's calm expression.

Watching this unfold, Itachi was moved, as if Shisui understood him better than anyone else in the world. He knew what his dear friend was thinking.

Just like the will of fire he had always upheld, Shisui continued to burn himself to protect the village.

A raven flew through the sky, crashing between them, and with the raven, Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan disappeared.

"I accept it." Itachi looked at his friend, who lay bleeding from his closed eyes, and his heart shook violently.

At that moment, he had no one to believe in except himself, yet he was still willing to give everything for the village. What path was he truly seeking?

"Itachi, have you found your answer?" Even though he had lost his eyes, it felt as if he could still see the confusion on Itachi's face. Shisui asked.

"I..." Itachi hesitated, words escaping him.

"I see... Itachi, I'm sorry I can't accompany you on your search anymore." Shisui waited a moment but didn't hear his friend's response. Regret flickered in his heart, though he didn't show it. "From here on, I will die. My death will play a crucial role in changing the Uchiha rebellion's situation. Although my clan doesn't want to acknowledge me, everyone knows I'm the strongest Uchiha. Even the radicals think that once the coup starts, I will still participate due to my family ties. This thought is like a spark; once ignited in people's hearts, it's unstoppable."

"The mission I accepted in front of the Hokage was to stop this internal conflict, and I will fulfill that with my death." Shisui stepped to the edge of the cliff. "Itachi, do not stop me; there's no need to. You are my best friend, my most satisfactory companion. Follow the path I've paved and carve out the future you believe is right, no matter the outcome... I trust you."

"And be careful of Danzo. He has an unusual technique that can alter reality, very similar to our clan's secret arts... If it's not necessary, don't engage with him!"

With that, Shisui leaped into the abyss, watched by Itachi's tear-streaked Sharingan.

It was such a resolute and clear decision. Was his determination to protect the village truly that strong, or had his heart already died?

Itachi didn't know; he only knew that in the moment Shisui fell, his body moved uncontrollably forward. The usually emotionless Uchiha Itachi shed two streams of blood tears as he watched his dear friend plummet down.

His outstretched hand hung in the air. He knew Shisui wouldn't grasp his hand. If Shisui saw his actions, he would be even more disappointed.

In that instant, the three tomoe in Itachi's eyes began to spin wildly. The blade-like shape of the Mangekyō Sharingan flickered with a crimson light.

Then, Itachi rose and left without attracting anyone's attention. He silently returned to the clan, as if everything were none of his concern. He quietly approached his father's room and softly said through the thick door, "Uchiha Shisui is dead."

And then, he slipped away.

Inside, there had been some noise, but now there was only silence.

Itachi didn't know how many people were inside, but he understood that this statement would change the Uchiha clan tonight, at least... it would pour cold water over their frenzied minds and hang a sword of Damocles above them.

At the edge of the cliff, after Itachi left, Root ninjas had already tracked them down. Looking at the blood on the ground and the bottomless chasm, one of them spoke after a moment of silence: "Go down and search; we need to see both the living and the dead."

The next day, almost simultaneously, Danzo Shimura and the Third Hokage in the Hokage office received an unexpected but chilling answer—

"Uchiha Shisui's body has not been found!"

The masked man was sitting in a chair beside an oddly half-black, half-white figure, both of them staring at Uchiha Shisui, who lay across the desk.

"Did Konoha's Shunshin save him?" Zetsu's voice was hoarse but still conveyed surprise.

"Not quite. At least for now... he hasn't escaped danger. He could die at any moment; it doesn't count as saving him," the masked man replied coldly, his gaze fixed on Shisui's body.

"Indeed. And I must remind you, if you don't make a decision quickly, he really will be beyond saving. You need new help to deal with that guy from the Mist Village, right?" Zetsu grinned, then continued, "But my intel indicates his loyalty to Konoha is unshakeable. Plus, he's worse off than you were initially, and without Obito's help..."

"Shut up, I know," the masked man interrupted Zetsu's taunts. He stood up and moved in front of Shisui, squinting at the chest that was barely rising and falling before directly thrusting his hand through Shisui's heart!

In that moment, Shisui, who was unconscious, stopped breathing entirely.