"Not bad. Your progress is fast. Truly a genius," Shisui said, appearing behind Kagaya at some point, arms crossed, having observed everything Kagaya had done.
"No, I can't compare to you, Senior Shisui."
He still far from it—at least for now.
"You sure know how to talk. I remember once when I met Itachi, I praised his skills, and his response was exactly like yours," Shisui remarked.
For some reason, Shisui always seemed to link Kagaya with Itachi.
"I'm not Senior Itachi, and he's not me."
Over the past half-month, Kagaya hadn't sought out Itachi even once. After his conversation with Shisui, he realized he had overlooked a crucial fact: his ideals were fundamentally different from Itachi's. Their paths diverged. As a transmigrator, Kagaya couldn't bring himself to slaughter the clan that raised him for the sake of a village he felt little attachment to. His roots were with the Uchiha, not Konoha.
Kagaya and Itachi could be friends—close friends, even—but they could never be comrades with shared ideals, at least not before the Uchiha massacre.
When Kagaya said he wasn't Itachi, he wasn't referring to appearance or behavior but to their ideals. He was reminding Shisui that he would never "become Itachi" or prioritize Konoha over the Uchiha.
"Of course I know you're not Itachi," Shisui replied.
Kagaya had misunderstood. Shisui was merely making a casual remark, nothing more.
"By the way, there's no class at the academy tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, no class."
"Then, are you interested in spending tomorrow learning something with me?"
Kagaya answered without hesitation. "Of course I'm interested."
"Alright, I'll come find you tomorrow. Wait for me at home."
"Got it, Senior Shisui."
After a brief chat, Shisui left. Unlike usual, he didn't stay at the training ground to teach Kagaya today.
Kagaya stayed behind, practicing his hand-sign speed and nature transformation for a while before heading home.
The next day, in a forest, Shisui handed Kagaya a wooden branch.
"Today, I'm teaching you ninja tracking and counter-tracking. This is essential for your future, and I'm giving you a head start, haha. After all, this isn't something an academy student would typically learn."
Kagaya took the branch and examined it closely. "This branch has been stepped on. Someone passed through here."
"Can you tell how long ago they passed by?"
Kagaya shook his head. "No, I can't."
Shisui corrected him. "It's not that you can't—it's that you can't yet. With just this clue, we only know someone passed through. To learn more, you need to find other clues. The more clues you gather, the more you can piece together. Let's go."
With that, Shisui walked forward, and Kagaya followed.
They were in a forest filled with trees and thick with weeds. Some clues would be hard to find in such an environment, but…
Kagaya's eyes narrowed slightly. "On the other hand, some clues stand out clearly in this setting. Some traces can't be hidden."
Shisui clapped and laughed. "Exactly, Kagaya. You're right. So, in this environment, what's the most obvious trace?"
Shisui asked as he walked, testing Kagaya.
Kagaya had already thought of his answer and replied immediately. "It's any disruption or damage to the environment."
He approached a patch of weeds. At a glance, they looked normal, but upon closer inspection, some were bent halfway, and others were pressed flat against the ground.
"There are a lot of weeds here, so if a fugitive passed through, they'd inevitably disturb their natural state."
Shisui nodded repeatedly. When Kagaya finished, he spoke. "Kagaya, your mind is sharp. You quickly identified what kind of clues a fugitive might leave in this environment. But you overlooked one thing."
Kagaya was taken aback. "What?"
Shisui pointed to his head. "The fugitive's mindset. Look, with so many weeds in this forest, it's too obvious. A fugitive would know that passing through the ground would leave traces. So, Kagaya, if you were a fugitive, what would you do?"
Kagaya froze, thinking hard but unsure. Then, his eyes caught a tree, and it clicked. "The trees! If I were a fugitive and knew walking on the ground would leave traces, I'd leap across the trees"
He had almost forgotten—this was the Naruto world, not reality. Jumping between tree branches was second nature here. Why would a fugitive bother with the ground?
Shisui nodded. "Exactly. It's common sense. The clue you found was likely a decoy set by the fugitive. Such crude tricks are usually meant to fool ninjas new to tracking."
Kagaya felt a bit embarrassed but shared his thoughts earnestly. "But, Senior, what if the fugitive deliberately went another direction on the ground, making us think the clue is fake when it's actually real?"
Shisui chuckled. "That's possible, but here's the thing: leaping across tree branches is faster than running on the ground. A fugitive's ultimate goal is to escape pursuit as quickly as possible. In that case, jumping through the trees is far better than running on the ground."
Kagaya frowned, wanting to say more. "But…"
Shisui raised a hand to stop him. "No need to overthink. I know a fugitive might exploit that logic and stick to the ground. But, Kagaya, in this world, anything is possible. Nothing is absolute. If you consider every possibility, do you have enough time? A fugitive is escaping every second—you need to catch them quickly. And even if you account for every possibility, do you have enough manpower? Would the village send half its ninjas for one person? The best approach is to pick one or a few routes you think are most likely. That's how you complete a tracking mission efficiently."
Kagaya nodded humbly. "I understand, Senior. That was my mistake."
Shisui laughed heartily. "No, no. If you didn't make mistakes, I'd be worried—I wouldn't know what to teach you! Your mistakes give me something to work with, haha. Alright, let's continue."
Shisui continued leading Kagaya through the forest, teaching him various tracking and counter-tracking techniques.
By evening, Shisui and Kagaya sat by a river, lighting a fire to grill some fish.
Shisui's eyes carried a hint of nostalgia. "You know, the day I taught Itachi tracking and counter-tracking, we sat by this same river in the evening, grilling fish. I miss those times. Guess what Itachi said when he saw me light the fire to cook?"
Kagaya replied helplessly, "I can't guess."
Shisui burst out laughing. "Haha, he said, 'The textbook says not to use fire when camping at night, so there must be some hidden reason for you doing this.' So cute. Back then, I just wanted to eat fish with him, nothing more. If there was any 'hidden reason,' it was just that it felt nice to share a meal with someone who makes you feel at ease. It was surprisingly relaxing—I was just being lazy. Same thing now, so don't ask me the same question, haha."
Kagaya asked, surprised, "Senior Shisui, don't you have anyone else you can relax and eat with?"
Shisui smiled gently. "I do—you and Itachi."
Kagaya fell silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "Anyone else?"
Shisui's gaze lowered slightly, a touch of melancholy in his voice. "I'm in the Anbu, Kagaya. Do you know what the Anbu is?"
Kagaya understood instantly. "The Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, known as the Anbu."
Shisui gave a self-deprecating smile. "Exactly. In a unit built for assassination, how can I fully let my guard down?"
Kagaya spoke urgently, unable to imagine how torturous it must be to live without even relaxing during meals. "But if it's like that, why don't you just leave—"
Shisui cut him off. "No, Kagaya, do you know what I want to be? I want to be a nameless hero who protects peace from the shadows. The Anbu right now… it's not ideal. You might laugh at me, think I'm overreaching, but I want to change it. The Anbu isn't about killing for the sake of killing—it should be about killing for peace! I want to transform it. I know the Anbu isn't yet a group of nameless heroes protecting peace, but that's exactly why I want to change it! If everyone flees the Anbu, who will change it? Don't worry—even if I can't change it, I won't let it change me. Shisui will always be Shisui, and the person I want to be—a nameless hero protecting peace from the shadows—will never change. After all, I'm kind of your big brother, right? I can't afford to lose face."
*****
A/N: In episode 674, facing Danzo's Root, Shisui said he believes those who protect peace from the shadows are the true ninjas.