Forest of Death.
Shisui stumbled along, fleeing cautiously and prudently deep into the forest.
Along the way, he picked some hemostatic herbs and applied them to his eyes to speed up the clotting and healing.
Finally.
He reached the destination of this trip—
Deep within the Forest of Death, an abandoned Anbu training base.
This place used to be an Anbu training ground, but it was later abandoned for some reason, and Danzo led all the Anbu training departments away from this stronghold.
Even so.
There were still old houses here, which were much better than being out in the wild; the only concern was food.
But in the short term, he still had soldier pills and didn't need to go out for The Hunt, which would be enough to sustain him through this period when the heat was at its peak.
Shisui tried to sleep, but he couldn't sleep at all; as soon as he closed his eyes, the tragic scene of the Uchiha Clan being massacred surfaced in his mind.
A despairing, lifeless future suffocated him, but various crises forced him to pull himself together and survive.
Unable to sleep, he simply got up to explore the base.
This base had been abandoned a few years ago.
Shisui didn't know much, only vaguely hearing that it was related to a disgraceful operation Danzo had conducted in his early years; it was precisely after that time that Danzo gradually lost power within the Anbu.
He only managed to enter the Anbu after that happened.
Shisui judged:
In the short term, Danzo would first search places like the Uchiha and the Naka River, and later might monitor nearby areas or the borders.
Once the heat died down, even if Danzo searched again, he wouldn't start from the Forest of Death.
Furthermore... that person should help him with some concealment.
Thinking of that Black-Robed Man, a hint of curiosity flashed in Shisui's eyes.
The other party's Water Release Ninjutsu was exceptional, almost making him think it was the Hōzuki Clan, but Shisui had seen Ninjas from the Hōzuki Clan before.
He knew very well—
The Water Transformation Jutsu wasn't like that.
The opponent used ordinary Water Release, but must have received the true teachings of the Second Hokage.
Thinking through all the current Jonin in Konoha, he couldn't find a single person who fit the other party's description.
There was one person who might be a possibility—
The Third's disciple, Orochimaru, who had once served in the Anbu.
"Is it one of his people?"
...At night, the moon was bright and stars were sparse, but Konoha could hardly remain peaceful.
Masahiko was training outside and could see figures dashing past with "swoosh swoosh swoosh" sounds.
The Third had begun to clean up the mess.
It was almost eight o'clock, and he didn't linger on the streets for too long.
Returning home, it was already ten past eight; he summoned the light screen, and immediately a large area of bullet chat flew out—
"Holy crap, the update is so fast!"
"Excellent production, rapid updates—who said the prequel wasn't good? This prequel is just too great!"
"What does Kishimoto know about Naruto? This is the original version!"
"Kishimoto, learn from this update speed!"
Masahiko was surprised, then let out a low laugh.
The Kishimoto of that world probably has a headache over how to create now, right?
He looked toward the screen.
The opening sequence connected to the end of the seventh episode, precisely the situation where Shisui entered the Hokage Building.
It was similar to the plot in Masahiko's memory.
Before he arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were already talking in the room; once he entered, The Third only spoke about the matter regarding Kotoamatsukami.
The next moment.
"Holy crap! You can control others? That's so OP?"
"And the clan can still be exterminated with this?"
"It should be said, the clan is being exterminated because of this. Look at Danzo's expression..."
"No!"
Through the screen, the audience could vaguely smell that something was wrong, and one by one they began to worry for Shisui.
The next second, the scene shifted to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Shisui gradually appeared on the screen, and clan members greeted him warmly one after another.
"So nice."
"The more beautiful it is, the more knives there will be."
"I've already imagined the scene: Shisui finally standing tragically before Itachi, his face covered in blood, his eyes gouged out..."
"Damn! This batch of viewers can deliver the knives themselves!"
A bit later, the bullet chat became dense.
Shisui didn't appear in many episodes, but from this scene, it was clear that his popularity was truly not low.
However.
In a short while, the scene of the Kunai "attack" was played on the screen, with a figure flashing past above.
Afterward... the content of the note and Shisui's reaction also appeared on the light screen.
In the bullet chat, everyone was more anxious than Shisui himself, completely immersed in the plot, speculating on who threw the Kunai and why they knew about Danzo's news.
To avoid exposure that day, Masahiko hadn't stayed to observe at all; now he could see it clearly and understand.
On Shisui's face, doubt, shock, and tension flashed continuously, making it incredibly compelling.
Tsk!
Watching the plot, he wasn't surprised by the subsequent developments, thinking to himself—
In this episode's plot, the main character is clearly Shisui.
So, could he also see Shisui's whereabouts afterward from the screen?
If so, seeing Shisui once more when needed might deepen his "unfathomable" impression.
While he was lost in thought, the screen had advanced to the scene of Shisui meeting Danzo.
The two were talking in front of a pavilion.
Listening to Shisui's plan, Masahiko couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Compared to Itachi, Shisui was not extreme and could understand the conflict and positions of both the Uchiha and Konoha.
He understood the logic that in the worst-case scenario, parts needed to be sacrificed.
Unfortunately, just as said in the bullet chat—
"If Shisui hadn't exposed Kotoamatsukami, this plan might have still had a chance of being approved."
"Danzo is definitely going to make a move."
"Shisui trusts The Third so much, yet The Third didn't even protect him."
"Sigh, he really was too naive."
Sure enough.
The next moment, Shisui's face stiffened, and the screen flashed back to the previous scene where he met the Root Squad members.
Afterward, his reaction was extremely fast, however... Danzo had Izanagi.
The bullet chat was full of curses.
Danzo's persona as a major villain was now completely out in the open, but this did not affect Masahiko's reputation.
Of course.
In this episode, there was currently no discussion targeted at him.
He just didn't know if the plot editing would include him.
Masahiko watched quietly.
Once the battle broke out, the bullet chat actually decreased; perhaps everyone was immersed in the fight.
Until... Danzo suddenly "flashed" eerily and took the chance to seize Shisui's eye.
A flurry of bullet chats like "despicable" surfaced.
Masahiko snorted in disdain.
If he were Danzo, facing a troublesome enemy, he would also use any means necessary.
This in itself was not shameful.
What was shameful was—
This battle could have been avoided.
However.
Just as Shisui faced a desperate situation, Masahiko's intervention caused the water to surge and sweep Shisui away, making the bullet chat explode instantly:
"Holy shit, he's so OP?"
"Great!"
"Black Robe Bro, I want to have your babies!"
"Don't get happy too soon, I feel... this guy might not necessarily be a good person either."
Some were worried, some were glad; Masahiko smiled without a word.
However.
To his surprise, after the water swept him away, the next scene was not the plot between him and Shisui, but a scene of Itachi waiting by the Naka River.
His expression and emotions were constantly changing.
Suddenly.
In the distant night sky, crows filled the air, circling and moving downward toward a certain spot on the river surface.