Nine months later.
October 10th, 11:20 p.m.
Under the night sky, Uchiha Shion glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall. The time for the fourth transaction was almost here.
Looking at the moonlight outside, he thought back over more than half a year of ANBU missions. Those experiences had forced him to confront the brutal reality of this ninja world.
The impact on his values had been enormous.
Leaving no bodies behind, wiping out entire groups, infiltration, espionage, hunting down rogue shinobi…
Shion sighed. Since yesterday, he had already resigned from the ANBU.
Although those months had shaken his outlook, in the end he still clung to his own bottom line—the bottom line of simply being human.
Ninjas… are they all insane?
As the clock ticked toward midnight, Shion opened the hidden compartment beneath his bed and pulled out several scrolls. Undoing the seals, he laid out the contents:
The remaining half of Obito's arm.
A shed skin of Orochimaru.
Ten vials of Shisui's blood.
Ten vials of Itachi's blood.
Two vials of Kakashi's blood.
Sasuke's hair.
Naruto's hair.
And finally… a black, opaque sealed pouch containing Kushina's medium.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, combined with Uzumaki bloodline potential—there was no way he could've acquired this without high-level sensory abilities. If not for his mastery of sealing techniques…
Madara, this is just ridiculous.
He clicked his tongue, staring at the pile of items, hesitating over which one to use this time.
Not only that—he still hadn't used the ultimate ability of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Yanming. After more than half a year, it would be a waste to let it sit idle.
Kaguya? Or Madara?
One decisive strike to become rich?
If it were Madara, the Rinnegan wasn't necessarily out of reach anyway—Itachi's progress on that side should be close as well.
"...Hah."
Exhaling deeply, he saw the clock strike midnight.
His gaze swept over the mediums, and finally Shion picked up a strand of Sasuke's hair.
[Intelligence Exchange successfully activated]
[Rule Replication function initiated]
[Medium failed to trigger]
Frowning, Shion didn't bother with Naruto's hair. That clearly wasn't enough—just like Pain's black receivers.
His eyes settled at last on Shisui's blood.
Kotoamatsukami…
Even now, after more than half a year, Shion vividly remembered that terrifying right eye technique—the power to rewrite a person's very perception.
From the ten vials, he drew one to test.
[Medium failed to trigger]
He gradually increased the amount. By the time he used five vials, the medium finally responded.
[Intelligence Exchange successfully activated]
[Rule Replication function initiated]
[Medium triggered]
[Target locked: S-Class Ninja – Uchiha Shisui]
[Exchange space time flow altered]
[Enable Shadow Mode?]
No.
Inside the Exchange Space
Shion appeared in the guise of Uzumaki Sora. With a wave of his hand, the scenery around him shifted rapidly. When Uchiha Shisui manifested, they were standing on the Naka River.
"Uzumaki Sora?"
Shion nodded slightly. "The Fourth Hokage should have already explained this place to you, but recall carefully—the rules of this space should be imprinted in your mind."
Shisui closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again.
"You want to trade with me?"
Shion inclined his head. "Here, you can ask me anything you want. As long as you have the right chips, you can obtain any information you seek."
Silence hung in the air. Shisui seemed deep in thought, weighing many things.
At last, he lifted his head and looked at Shion. "There is no information I desire. Therefore, I won't offer you a single chip."
Shion considered this, then asked, "Because you refuse to give me your ability, correct? A certain power… one you know is too dangerous. Kotoamatsukami?"
Shisui's eyes widened briefly. This man, just as the Fourth had said, seemed to know far too much.
Uzumaki Sora?
"Hah…" Shisui exhaled slowly, then met Shion's gaze. "Since you already know about Kotoamatsukami, I have nothing left to conceal. I've resolved to take that ability with me into the Pure Land."
"That power… should not exist in this world! So no matter what, even if there were information I desperately wanted, I would never trade with you."
"Because someone like you—who controls this space—if you ever found a way to reduce the cooldown of Kotoamatsukami, your very existence would endanger the entire shinobi world."
Shion shook his head calmly. "The calamity that will destroy the shinobi world, the disaster that will obliterate Konoha, the means to ensure the Uchiha clan's rise… I hold all of it here."
"Compared to that, Kotoamatsukami is insignificant."
Shisui shook his head slightly. "No matter what, I will never make a deal with you. A power like that should not exist. One day, you'll understand."
As his words fell, Uchiha Shisui vanished from the space, leaving behind not a single chip.
Wrong choice…
Of course someone like Shisui would never allow Kotoamatsukami to be replicated.
[Simulating Uchiha Shisui's future changes]
[Predetermined death altered]
[Destiny drastically shifted]
[Uchiha fate rewritten]
…
[Uchiha Shisui's destiny alteration: 100%]
[Drawing Secret Scroll (Note: Secret Scroll cooldown refreshes every midnight)]
[Secret Scroll: Release (Note: Cancels all genjutsu and sealing techniques)]
[Fire-natured chakra (can merge with kekkei genkai)]
[Mangekyō Sharingan power (Uchiha Shisui – Kotoamatsukami)]
[Note: Uchiha Shisui (Bloodline)]
[Note: With duplicate bloodlines, ability can be extracted without keeping lineage]
[Genjutsu talent]
[Shunshin (Body Flicker) talent]
…
What the… damn!
Not a single chip, yet because of the 100% fate alteration, every reward was top-tier.
The second scroll—
Shion felt his heart bleed.
Secret Scroll: Release.
The ability to cancel all genjutsu and seals—essentially once per day, nothing of that nature could affect him.
His heart ached at the thought of letting it go…
[Transaction failed]
[Detecting external fate alteration]
[Yakushi Kabuto's destiny alteration: 100%]
[Drawing Secret Scroll (Note: Secret Scroll cooldown refreshes every midnight)]
[Secret Scroll: Restore (Note: Instantly restores everything, usable on others)]
[Note: No chips required]
???
!!!
Shion froze, dumbfounded. A consolation prize for failure?
So if a trade succeeds, it's based on chips. But if it fails, it draws from external fate changes?
Kabuto?
Because Orochimaru had defected, while Kabuto still remained in Konoha under Nonō's guidance, his fate alteration must have reached 100%.
And Shisui produced Release, Kabuto produced Restore—both tied to the people whose fates had changed completely?
Then why did Minato's scroll come out as Clone?