"Cast without eye contact, nudge someone to act according to a subconscious suggestion they never notice was planted… and the only drawback is that it needs a steady stream of chakra?"
Seeing Shisui nod, Uchiha Shion followed up, "Does anyone besides the Fourth know what this jutsu can do?"
Shisui gave a slight shake of the head. "Kakashi, the Fourth's student, knows. During that incident a year ago, his eye played a crucial role."
Uchiha Shion sifted through Kakashi's history in his mind. With the Fourth still around back then, would Danzō even have tried to tempt Kakashi?
"From this moment on, don't tell anyone anything further about your Mangekyō Sharingan's ability," Uchiha Shion said. "If the Konoha leadership asks, just push it onto the Fourth and leave it at that."
None of the three present were fools; they understood Uchiha Shion's meaning at once.
Fortunately, there was another weakness to this power: constant chakra output. That very requirement turned into a tell, and the Byakugan could easily spot who was under control.
"Shisui-nii."
Itachi's voice sounded; in his eyes, the twin tomoe turned slowly. "About what happened last year—the enemy we captured and turned over to the Police Force—have we still not learned who he was?"
Shisui shook his head a fraction. "He wore a mask because his face had been ruined. And because the Fourth truly had important matters that day, it wasn't until the next day that he and I went to interrogate him."
"But you know what happened after that," Shisui continued. "The moment the Fourth and I had just left the Police Force, the man was broken out. And the Mangekyō we'd handed to Captain Fugaku for safekeeping the day before… became the cause of his death."
"And that eye…" Shisui began, guilt tightening his voice.
Itachi cut him off. "I know. As clan head, it was only proper to place any Sharingan lost in the wild under his care. But I need that man's identity if I'm going to find the one who killed my father."
Off to the side, Uchiha Shion scratched his head. A year ago, Obito's "Matryoshka Team Two" probably didn't have many people. As for "Team One," who knew if they'd already gone to the dark side by then. Even if they had… would they really send Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to pull a prison break? Wouldn't that trample all over Uchiha Madara's pride? More likely… the black-and-white duo, huh—Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
Talk of patricide chilled the air for a moment, until Shisui took out a ninja tool pouch and tossed it to Itachi.
"Congrats on starting at the Academy. It's a little gift—custom gear from Granny Cat's place (Nekobaa's). The kunai are light and razor-sharp—should suit you well."
Itachi glanced through the pouch, then looked up and smiled for the first time. "Thank you."
Shisui nodded, then turned to Uchiha Shion and flicked over a scroll. "Inside you'll find the Shadow Clone Technique and the Body Flicker Technique, plus a few Uchiha Fire Release jutsu. You're different from Itachi. I think you'll need these."
Uchiha Shion caught the scroll in one hand. As expected, Shisui really got him.
Fire Release or not—that was whatever. The real must-have was the ultimate ditch-class tool: the Shadow Clone Technique.
And the forbidden Multiple Shadow Clone to boot—Naruto Uzumaki's future training hack. So long as you can endure it, you can stack experience infinitely.
Can't endure it? The result is brain death.
"Shadow Clone and Body Flicker both demand a lot of chakra," Shisui warned. "If you throw them around carelessly and collapse, no one's going to miraculously bail you out. So…"
He let the caution hang there, then added, "Let's call it a day. Uchiha Shion, take Izumi's wooden kunai back to her for me."
…
From the training grounds back toward the Uchiha district, the three split up. Halfway along, Uchiha Shion stopped walking.
"You could sense me?"
Shisui appeared, surprised. But Uchiha Shion, standing in front of him, shook his head. "Not sensing. I just figured you had something you hadn't said—and didn't want Itachi to hear."
"Phew…"
Shisui exhaled and marveled, "Sometimes you really don't seem like a six-year-old. Shinobi grow up fast—Kakashi graduated at five and made chūnin at six. But you, Uchiha Shion… sometimes you're a kid, and sometimes you sound like an old man."
"Want me to call you 'Grandpa'?"
Smack!
Mouthing off earned Uchiha Shion a playful swat. Shisui laughed. "That kind of joke's a bit much, hey!"
Uchiha Shion grinned. "So what didn't you say? Go on—I might be able to help you think it through."
As he spoke, Shisui's expression grew solemn. The three tomoe in his eyes flowed together—the Mangekyō opened.
With the Mangekyō's perception and a sensory technique sweeping their surroundings, Shisui finally spoke. "The Kotoamatsukami I mentioned before is only the right eye's technique. My left eye's ability… is also called Kotoamatsukami, but what it does is…"
No eye contact required. No chakra link to maintain. The target is guided—without ever noticing—by a command planted deep in their mind.
A power that broken felt like a bug in the system—Shisui's ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami.
"When my eyes first awakened, I used it once," Shisui said, fear of the jutsu coloring his words. "That enemy… in genuine, gut-deep remorse… killed himself."
"From that moment on, I understood how terrifying Kotoamatsukami is. And because it's so terrifying, each use needs years to cool down before the next."
Uchiha Shion raised his chin slightly. "So when's the next window?"
Shisui nodded. "Next year—one more year."
Uchiha Shion let out a breath. Thank goodness it wasn't five years or more. Give it that long and the Uchiha might just manage to destroy themselves.
"This jutsu… don't mention it to anyone. Not even me," Uchiha Shion said. "If a third person learns of it, that'll be the day the Uchiha are wiped out."
He looked toward the Hokage's office at the center of the village. "Politics was born with dirty blood in its veins. Don't test a ruler's kindness with your own sincerity. When everything is weighed on the scales, you won't get the result you want."
Shisui nodded at that. "I understood Kotoamatsukami's horror the day my eyes opened. And you, Uchiha Shion, are the first person besides me to know. You have your secrets too, don't you? About Kotoamatsukami… I feel like you'd already guessed."
Uchiha Shion snapped his gaze to Shisui—then ducked his head. He looked up again, thought it over, then looked down once more. No need for eye contact; made no difference whether he looked or not.
On the smiling face in front of him, six months of moments flashed by—their conversations replaying one by one.
You really can't underestimate anyone who's made jōnin.
Parsing intel, dissecting every word—that's basic training for a jōnin.
And among jōnin, Shisui was elite. Enough said.
"I won't pry into your secrets," Shisui went on, "but I can feel it—Uchiha Shion, you really do like your life here in Konoha. And unlike Itachi, you have a lot of goodwill toward the ordinary Uchiha."
As he spoke, Shisui glanced toward a small shop ahead—the one run by a middle-aged couple in the district, the Uchiha Pancake Shop.
The owners were a simple pair, Uchiha Kengo and Uchiha Teiko—ordinary civilians who treated everyone with kindness.
Before the age of five, when only Uchiha Shion's mother was working to support them, the two shopkeepers would often slip pancakes to Uchiha Shion and Uchiha Izumi.
"They're just ordinary people. But because they bear the Uchiha name, they'll be forced to choose life or death." Uchiha Shion's voice was quiet. "Shisui—once you've recovered, use your ability and become clan head."
…