"What did you say?!"
For a long moment, Uchiha Shisui couldn't process the words. Danzō, the elder of Konoha, was asking him to use his ultimate power—his Kotoamatsukami—to control the two Hokages. The sheer audacity of the command, the absolute treason of it, left him reeling.
"Don't panic, Shisui," Danzō said, his voice a low, placating murmur. "This is merely the condition I am offering you."
"As long as you promise me to place those two under my influence, and then have them voluntarily relinquish their positions and nominate me as the Fifth Hokage…"
"After this is accomplished, I give you my word that the Uchiha clan will be elevated to the highest status in Konoha, equal to that of my own Shimura clan."
"The accusations of assassination and rebellion will also be… forgiven."
"So, what do you say? Do you agree?"
"That is…!" Uchiha Shisui didn't need to think. The answer was immediate, absolute, and decisive. "Completely impossible! I will not, under any circumstances, do anything to harm the Hokage!"
Shisui knew exactly what kind of man Danzō was. If he were to become Hokage, the Uchiha clan would not be elevated; it would be pushed to the brink of extinction. No matter their private thoughts, at least the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, advocated for the Uchiha on the surface. But Danzō was different. He worked against the Uchiha both openly and in the shadows, his animosity a barely concealed threat. Shisui simply could not bring himself to believe a single word of Danzō's treacherous offer.
"If there is nothing else, I will be leaving now, Lord Danzō."
Shisui needed to get away from this man, away from this poison. In that moment, he finally saw through Danzō's decades of posturing and ambition. It was not the village's security he had always coveted, but the position of Hokage itself.
"Shisui," Danzō's voice was a low growl. "Do you truly think… I will let you go so easily?"
The pretense was gone. Danzō's face twisted into a fierce, predatory snarl. "Since your eyes cannot be used for my benefit, then I will simply have to take them for myself!"
In a blur of motion, Danzō struck. He lunged forward, his hand clamping down on Shisui's shoulder with surprising strength.
"I will have your Sharingan!"
"Ghh!"
Just as Danzō's fingers were about to dig into Shisui's eye socket, his entire body suddenly froze, his expression locked in a state of shock.
"Is this… a genjutsu?"
Danzō widened his eyes, staring at Shisui in disbelief.
Uchiha Shisui remained expressionless, his voice calm and steady. "Do not worry. It is just an ordinary illusion. You will awaken soon enough. I will not tell anyone of what happened here today. Let us pretend this conversation never occurred."
With that, Shisui gently lowered the paralyzed Danzō to the ground and turned to leave. He had not taken more than a few steps when a profound chill shot through his entire body. It was raw, undiluted killing intent.
The Danzō he had left behind had vanished into thin air.
Shisui knew something was terribly wrong. He spun around, but it was too late. A powerful fist slammed into his abdomen, driving the air from his lungs. Before he could recover, two more brutal punches struck him across the face.
Crack!
Uchiha Shisui was thrown off balance, unable to dodge as Danzō's hand shot out, his fingers digging into Shisui's right eye and ripping it from its socket.
Danzō no longer bothered with any pretense. He held the bloody eye in his hand for a moment before placing it into his own empty, bandaged socket. The sclera of the stolen eye slowly turned white.
"Sharingan? Danzō… you!"
Uchiha Shisui's face was a mask of pure shock, the searing pain in his eye socket completely overshadowed by the horror of what he was seeing.
"How do you have the Uchiha clan's Sharingan? Whose eye is that?!"
"And that technique you just used… could it be the forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan… Izanagi?"
"Danzō! How much do you know of our clan's secrets?!"
"Hmph. These are things you do not need to know," Danzō sneered. "Your right eye will serve as my new spare. And since we have come this far, you will give me the other one as well."
Swoosh, swoosh!
A large number of Root ninja appeared from the trees, surrounding them in a silent, deadly circle.
"Go! Take his left eye!" Danzō commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
The Root ninja attacked as one, their forms blurring as they closed in on Shisui. With no time to hesitate, Shisui's hands flew through a series of seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge sphere of flame erupted from his mouth. The Root ninja reacted instantly, countering with their own jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
The moment fire and water collided, a massive cloud of thick steam exploded outward, shrouding the battlefield. Shisui knew this was his only chance to escape. He turned and vanished into the night.
"Hmph! The Body Flicker Technique?" After the steam dissipated, Danzō scanned the area, his gaze locking onto a flicker of movement in the distance. He gave his final order.
"After him! He must not escape!"
In the woods surrounding the Naka River, Uchiha Shisui's figure flashed through the trees. He was exhausted, physically and mentally. A wave of utter despair and powerlessness washed over him. He was tired.
What was a mission? What was a ninja? What was a clan? What was a village?
What was the Will of Fire?
He had given so much, dedicated his entire being to protecting the peace, and this was his reward.
This world… did it truly hold any meaning at all?
_______
Power stones please