The moment Yoru's voice rang out, both Uchiha Shisui and Tobi turned their gazes toward the figure in blue-and-white ceremonial robes and a Mizukage's hat. Their movements came to an abrupt halt.
From the sidelines, Black and White Zetsu exchanged glances, a look of utter bewilderment on their faces:
"He shouldn't be here… Wasn't he supposed to be in Kirigakure? What's he doing here?!"
The news that Yuki Yoru had succeeded the Fourth Mizukage had already spread across the shinobi world. As the newly appointed leader of the Hidden Mist, he should've been busy learning to handle administrative matters. Why would he suddenly appear all the way out in Amegakure?
And right in the middle of a battle like this?
It was far too coincidental.
Of course, it wasn't a coincidence at all.
Back at the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, Yoru had taken the opportunity to meet with Yahiko and Nagato. That meeting hadn't just been small talk — it had been the perfect chance for Yoru to implant Monitoring microbes onto their bodies.
(Monitoring Microbes: Special Shinigami-tech constructs that can adhere to others to monitor them and their surroundings without being detected.)
His goal was simple: use Akatsuki to divert the major villages' attention while secretly maintaining control over them.
So, when Yoru detected signs of conflict, he had left Kirigakure immediately. Even with space-warping barrier techniques and repeated use of Shunpo, the distance was vast — nearly spanning all of the Land of Fire — and the battle had already reached its midpoint when he arrived.
Thankfully, there had been no unexpected deviations on Nagato's side — he had already summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path (Gedō Mazō), unleashing destruction.
But just as Yoru was monitoring this from afar, another enormous clash in the distance drew his attention away.
What he stumbled upon was spectacular: Wood Release versus Susanoo—a scene straight out of legend.
"Yoru of the Yuki clan…"
Shisui looked up at him with a complex and heavy expression. Yoru stood poised atop a tree, water dragon-embroidered robes swaying in the wind.
The last time they met, they were both weapons on the battlefield. Now, one stood as the leader of a Hidden Village.
"Well, well… Isn't it Shisui-kun? The pride of the Uchiha clan," Yoru said with a smirk. "Shouldn't you be out on the Iwagakure frontlines helping Konoha? What brings you here to Amegakure?"
"And..."
Yoru slowly removed the mask covering his right eye. The blood-red three-tomoe swirled, yet it couldn't transform into the four-pointed shuriken pattern seen in Shisui's left eye.
"Tell me something: Why won't this eye of mine evolve like yours did? And your right eye…"
"I'm not going to hand over the Uchiha clan's secrets just because you ask!" Shisui barked.
The nerve — to steal his most precious possession and now come asking for user instructions?
Was this some kind of sick joke?
"Now, now, don't be like that," Yoru replied lightly. "We're allies now, aren't we? If you're willing to tell me these things, and share information about that brand new right eye of yours, I could fulfill my duties as an ally and help you deal with that spiral-masked man
"I don't need your help."
But the moment Shisui finished speaking, the ground beneath him trembled — vines and bark shot up, forming a wooden prison.
"Hey now!" Tobi called out, waving his hands. "If we're going to chit-chat, include me too! I still haven't learned what a bowel movement feels like!"
Shisui snorted coldly. His deep green Susanoo flared violently, one arm sweeping sideways and instantly shattering the wooden trap.
"Wood Release and Mangekyō — both are powers of Konoha. I'll handle this thief myself. Stay out of it, Yoru!"
"Oh? That confident, are we?" Yoru murmured, rubbing his chin.
Truth be told, he couldn't accurately gauge Shisui's current power level. Clearly, his left eye was his original Mangekyō — activated in battle. But the right eye…
Its pattern was far more intricate than a normal Mangekyō. It looked like a fusion of two distinct dōjutsu. The sharp black lines of Shisui's shuriken-shaped Mangekyō were now more refined—surrounded by a secondary ring of arc-like markings.
Even brief eye contact triggered a pressure that made Yoru's three-tomoe spin uneasily.
There was no mistaking it—
An Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
This brat had actually stumbled into unlocking the Eternal eye after losing his original right eye!
"But Eternal Mangekyō can only be awakened by transplanting a close relative's Mangekyō… and Shisui has no siblings."
With each use of those eyes, Shisui's chakra surged. His deep green Susanoo swelled in size — its armor thickened into that of a crow tengu, wielding a spiral-shaped spear. The very air quaked from its power.
Third-Stage Susanoo!
Uchiha Fugaku had nearly bled himself dry to reach this level. Yet Shisui called it forth effortlessly.
"Well then, if I don't beat you today, I guess I'll never know what a bowel movement feels like!" Tobi shouted.
He started forming hand signs, chakra surging.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Te—"
"We're leaving, Tobi. The mission is complete. No need to waste time," Black Zetsu's gravelly voice interrupted him.
"Whaaat?!"
Tobi stomped in frustration, pointing dramatically at Shisui. "Fine! But next time, you'd better tell me what that feeling is!"
With that, a vortex of space-time swallowed him and Zetsu whole.
"Escaped using space-time ninjutsu… Bastard!" Shisui muttered darkly.
Shisui turned sharply to face Yoru again. His towering Susanoo pulsed with killing intent.
"What? Planning to fight me now?"
Yoru removed his Mizukage hat, his hand falling to the hilt of Hyorinmaru.
"I'd think carefully if I were you, Shisui-kun. We're supposed to be allies."
"If I kill you here, Kirigakure becomes irrelevant. Konoha won't need to keep paying reparations."
Shisui's Eternal Mangekyō spun wildly. Susanoo lunged, spear aimed straight for Yoru's chest.
"Ah, well, I suppose there's no help for it. I was hoping to ask you to test some things for me."
Yoru unsheathed Hyorinmaru. A massive ice dragon roared from the blade, smashing into the incoming spear and freezing it mid-air.
Then a glacier erupted from the ground, instantly encasing Susanoo in solid ice.
"So this is that Ice Release that froze an entire battlefield…" Shisui muttered.
Shisui winced as his left eye bled, searing pain stabbing through his skull. But his chakra flared again.
The frozen Susanoo began to shake—the ice cracking. New limbs formed. Its lower half grew in, and a column of green chakra rose, placing Shisui directly in the avatar's head.
"But against the power of the Uchiha, your ice techniques are nothing!"
As Shisui's fierce roar echoed, the Fourth Stage Susanoo raised its spear high and thrust it mercilessly towards Yoru!
"Is that so?"
"Truly a powerful ability. However, in this state, perhaps I can test something quite... special."
He slashed downward, summoning a thick, vacuum-like glacier that caught the lance mid-flight.
But Shisui's eye flared once more.
"Susanoo: Ninety-Nine!"
Dozens of green chakra arrows exploded from its chest, bombarding the frozen wall and shattering it.
The moment it broke, Susanoo's spiral spear drove forward and impaled Yoru clean through the chest.
"Die, Yuki Yoru!"
"BOOM!!"
The ground quaked as Yoru's body was impaled. Blood sprayed.
Yoru stared at his chest in disbelief. An unspeakable, horrifying wound tore through his flesh, simultaneously stealing his life.
Shisui's expression was cold and detached. He controlled the Susanoo to retract its spear. Yuki Yoru's body fell limply from the spear, crashing to the ground, kicking up a spray of mud.
"Such incredible power…"
"It's over," Shisui said coldly. "This is the price of your arrogance."
"Is that so? You might want to think very carefully, Shisui-kun. We are allies, after all."
The familiar voice sent a chill down his spine.
He turned.
Yoru stood unharmed on a tree branch, gazing calmly down at him.
"How...?!"
Shisui froze for a moment. Instinctively, he controlled his Susanoo to attack Yoru.
Yoru activated Hyōrinmaru to defend.
Ice splattered. The Susanoo shattered countless ice dragons, but Shisui's eyes were filled with utter confusion.
Didn't I already kill him?
Genjutsu?
No. His chakra wasn't disrupted. And Yoru's eye was just a three-tomoe Sharingan—he shouldn't be able to trap a Mangekyō user.
What in the world is this...?
"There's an opening, Shisui-kun!"
"Ryūsenka!"
Yoru's right arm transformed into a frost dragon's claw. With wings flaring, he vanished—and reappeared behind Susanoo.
The icy claw stabbed through its armor—freezing it once again.
"Don't mess with me!"
Ocular power surged from Shisui's eyes. The Susanoo rapidly expanded, even growing a lower half and legs. Simultaneously, deep green chakra lifted Shisui's body, positioning him within the Susanoo's head region.
"What?!"
Yoru's eyes widened.
"This is a power that can only be obtained when both Mangekyo Sharingan are awakened! It's the Third Power, transcending the dōjutsu of both the left and right eyes!"
"You, who are no different from that other one who stole Uchiha power, could never understand!"
The Fourth Stage Susanoo raised its spear high and thrust it fiercely towards Yoru! Yoru raised his blade to block, but he was overwhelmed by the Susanoo's spinning chakra spear. In that exact instant, Shisui, still within the Susanoo, swiftly formed hand signs and unleashed a searing Fire Release!
"Such power…"
A low murmur escaped Yoru's lips. The engulfing flames completely consumed Yoru, taking his life amidst his horrified gaze.
"It's over, Yoru..."
"Think carefully, Shisui-kun. We are allies."
Again, that cursed voice echoed.
Shisui turned—and there he was. Alive again. Unharmed.
They clashed repeatedly. Susanoo's spiral lance shattered mountains of ice. Chakra arrows filled the sky.
Each time Yoru was destroyed—he returned.
"Think carefully, Shisui-kun. We are allies."
He smiled, completely unharmed.
"I imagine you're starting to consider it now, right?"
"You… what is this?! What the hell are you?!"
The eerie repetition finally cracked Shisui's composure.
He realized now—he was trapped in some kind of loop. A cycle he couldn't escape.
It resembled a forbidden Uchiha genjutsu, yet somehow evaded all chakra detection. He had no idea when he was caught—only that he couldn't break free.
"Oh? So you're finally thinking instead of just swinging your Susanoo around."
Yoru chuckled, adjusting his Mizukage hat.
"So… tell me, Shisui-kun. How many times do you think we've had this exact conversation?"
"YOU BASTARD!!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin