This was something Itachi had never known.
He had never imagined that Shisui had once fought so desperately to repair the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan—for the sake of protecting his and Sasuke's happiness.
Itachi: Shisui...
"Your chakra feels like a kitten soaked in the rain. It can't find its way home, and it can't see a future." Uzumaki Mito's sensory ability far surpassed even Tobirama Senju's as a sensory-type ninja, thanks to the innate talent of her pure Uzumaki bloodline.
It wasn't a kekkei genkai, but like the Adamantine Sealing Chains, it was part of the Uzumaki's direct bloodline ability system.
She had already sensed, from the faint chakra Itachi leaked while controlling the crows with genjutsu, that this young Uchiha's body was in terrible condition.
When Itachi pulled her into the Tsukuyomi world and told her about the changes in Konoha and the ninja world over the years, Mito was genuinely shocked by how frail he was.
If this continued, the young Uchiha might not live more than three years...
The responsibilities and fate that should never have been his to bear—he had carried them all alone.
Itachi could hear the concern in Princess Mito's voice. He was moved, but he knew his own condition better than anyone. As the murderer of his clan and a traitor, part of him wanted to reach the other side sooner—to kneel before Father and Mother and beg for forgiveness.
...
[In the image, Shisui clutched his eye.]
[By then, he had awakened his own Mangekyō Sharingan—Kotoamatsukami!]
["No matter what it takes," Shisui once swore to himself in his memories, "no matter what it takes, I will protect Itachi and Sasuke's happiness."]
[At dusk, standing before a cliff and watching the two brothers head home, Shisui made up his mind—]
["That's right! No matter what happens, I'll stop it! I won't let anything stand in the way of their happiness!!"]
Inside the Kamui dimension—
"Hmph. In the end, you can't protect anything." Uchiha Obito put on his mask, speaking in Madara's voice as if he had convinced himself he really was him. "In this ninja world, everyone ends up as trash."
"Only the Eye of the Moon..."
"Only the Eye of the Moon can truly bring peace to the ninja world!"
"When that time comes, there will be no more barriers between people. No more war, no more death, no more regrets, no more heroes left alone in front of the memorial stone, forced to speak their pain to the names of the dead."
...
[Uchiha Shisui's memories ended.]
[At this point, he had already lost one Sharingan, inhaled a large amount of Root's poison gas, and was being hunted to a dead end by Danzō and his men.]
Everyone watching couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Uchiha Shisui.
This part of the story was something the Third Hokage and the two advisors had never known.
Back then, they had believed Shisui's plan had failed—that he had been killed by Uchiha Fugaku and other powerful Uchiha elites, who then staged it as a suicide and reported it to the village.
Now, with the truth laid bare before the entire ninja world, they finally understood...
"Danzō, that bastard!"
The Third Hokage removed his hat and held it in his hands. There was anger in his voice—but also grief.
Only the two advisors who had known him for years, along with his teacher Tobirama Senju, understood what that gesture meant.
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi's guilt as Hokage.
He felt he had no right to keep wearing that hat while watching this.
He felt ashamed.
But as a ninja, and as the leader of a hidden village that served as a nation's military force, he knew that missions often walked hand in hand with death.
Taught by the First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen had come to see every part of Konoha as part of his own body, and every villager as his family.
As Hokage, guilt had always accompanied him.
But Shisui's case... no.
It wasn't just Shisui.
Everything involving Danzō and Orochimaru—he could not escape responsibility.
His teacher had often said that a ninja must strip away personal feelings to make the right judgment.
But when it came to his closest friend and his beloved student, Hiruzen had always retreated again and again. In the end, both men committed grave sins, dragging countless Konoha ninja down with them.
And now even Shisui...
[In truth, the image was nearing its end.]
[Shisui's vision began to blur.]
["No," he forced himself to think. "I can't fall yet."]
["There's still something I must do..."]
[The massive projection was replaced by Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan.]
Seeing the three-tomoe Sharingan in the image, many ninja instinctively closed their eyes or looked away, afraid of being caught in genjutsu.
[But Shisui's eye was not merely a three-tomoe Sharingan!]
["Tchiiii—!"]
[The tomoe pulsed and contracted, forming a new pattern within his eye!!]
[It resembled a spinning shuriken—his Mangekyō Sharingan!]
[Kotoamatsukami!!]
...
[A crushing shockwave blasted away the Root members Danzō had sent to encircle Shisui. A gigantic figure emerged from the smoke—]
As the smoke cleared, the ninja watching were stunned.
They had never seen a jutsu like this.
No—this was beyond a mere jutsu.
The power of the Uchiha once again forced them to confront the terror of something legendary.
[Glowing green senbon the size of swords shot out from the lingering smoke!]
["Pfft! Pfft! Pshh!"]
[Those who dodged were lucky. Those who tried to block with a small kunai were struck down instantly.]
[Of the ten Root members, only two survived in the blink of an eye.]
[When the smoke fully dispersed, the entire scene was revealed—]
[What kind of monster was that?!]
[The enormous figure that had loomed in the smoke—a green chakra giant encasing Uchiha Shisui—had the face of a wrathful demon! It wore samurai armor, ghostly flames flickering around its body, and on its chest glowed a massive orange magatama, identical to the tomoe within the Sharingan!]
["What is that?!!"]
"What is that?!!"
The two Root ninja in the image and everyone watching outside it voiced the same question.
They had never seen such a monster.
Land of Lightning · Kumogakure—
"It's almost like a weaker version of a Tailed Beast. Doesn't that flame around it look like when Yugito-sama unleashes the Two-Tails?"
"It's unbelievable. A non-jinchūriki possessing this kind of power..."
Land of Water · Kirigakure—
"The one who controlled the Mizukage..." The speaker trailed off, unable to find words.
This power was simply too horrifying.
Land of Wind · Sunagakure—
An elder muttered, "..."
Chiyo watched the image grimly. It was fortunate that during the Third Great Ninja War, the Uchiha had mainly been assigned to battlefield cleanup. Otherwise...
Land of Earth · Iwagakure—
"Susanoo..." Ōnoki said in shock.
"Tsuchikage-sama, the Susanoo you're referring to—?"
Ōnoki recalled following the Second Tsuchikage to Konoha for negotiations, only to be stopped outside by Uchiha Madara.
"What Madara used back then was a blue Susanoo!" Ōnoki's voice carried lingering fear. "Even the Second Tsuchikage had difficulty dealing with it. It's the strongest ocular technique of the Uchiha clan!"
Land of Fire · Konoha—
Hidden within the Kamui dimension, Uchiha Obito's eyes widened.
"Activating Susanoo with only one eye?!!"
That Uchiha Shisui actually had such ability!
With Madara's memories, Obito understood the power of Susanoo better than anyone. But since he possessed only one Sharingan, he had never used it himself.
Seeing Shisui, who also had only one eye, activate Susanoo through his Mangekyō Sharingan, Obito couldn't help but feel both shock—and jealousy.
[However, like a fleeting bloom, Shisui's Susanoo lasted only seconds. Already at his limit, he lacked the stamina to continue fighting.]
"Shisui-nii!" Sasuke stared at the image, tense.
Even though it was the past, something that could no longer be changed—
["Now!" Root ninja never cared whether something was dishonorable. In fact, the more underhanded the assassination, the more efficient it was.]
[Several kunai shot toward Shisui.]
[He evaded with the Body Flicker Technique. From the forest behind him, several massive fireballs burst forth—"Boom! Boom! Boom!"—slamming into the two remaining Root ninja.]
[A figure flashed past, hoisted Shisui onto his shoulder, and immediately retreated.]
Konoha · Training Ground 44, near the Central Tower—
Sasuke: "Brother!!"