"Lord Fugaku."
"What is it, Shisui? Is something wrong?"
Standing on a small hill from which they could look out over Kirigakure's camp, Fugaku Uchiha observed the enemy camp growing somewhat chaotic due to their appearance.
As the leader of this operation, he turned his head and cast a questioning look at Shisui Uchiha, who had suddenly spoken.
"The war should be ending soon, shouldn't it?"
Shisui Uchiha, who was so young that he would seem wrong on any battlefield in any era, looked at the broken kunai scattered across the ground and asked somewhat absentmindedly.
"The Mist shinobi have almost been driven out of the Land of Fire by us. Although they barely stopped their decline thanks to that Mei Terumi's activity, they lost a large amount of combat strength during our previous counterattack. They should no longer have the strength to continue this war, right?"
"That is hard to say."
Fugaku Uchiha shook his head and sighed.
"Although Konoha seems to have every advantage now, on the road to final victory, there is still a powerful enemy who must be dealt with. If we do not find a way to defeat him, then the possibility of him reversing the entire war by himself will always exist."
"Are you talking about Rei Kaguya?" Shisui Uchiha quickly reacted.
"Yes. That man."
At the mention of that name, even the proud Uchiha had to show the necessary respect and seriousness.
Fugaku Uchiha crossed his arms and said in a low voice,
"According to intelligence sent from the village, after more than two months, Minato once again sensed the Flying Thunder God formula he left on Rei Kaguya.
"The other piece of intelligence related to Rei Kaguya was provided by Lord Jiraiya. He said that Rei has already become a perfect sage far above himself…"
"He has become even stronger than when he defeated Danzo?"
"Yes. Without a doubt, Rei Kaguya has become stronger than before. He has made up for his final flaw and weakness, truly standing at the very peak of the shinobi world."
Seeing Shisui Uchiha show an expression of pressure because of his words, Fugaku Uchiha appropriately softened his tone.
He bent down, placed both hands on Shisui Uchiha's shoulders, and said seriously to this child, who was only nine years old,
"Do you feel pressured, Shisui?"
"It's impossible not to feel pressure, Lord Fugaku."
A very mature bitter smile appeared on Shisui Uchiha's young face.
"If we want to protect the village, then we must think of a way to defeat Rei Kaguya. But against someone like that, whose ninjutsu and taijutsu are both as strong as a monster's, is there really a way to defeat him?"
"For others, perhaps they may truly be helpless. But…"
As he said this, Fugaku Uchiha's eyes shifted, revealing Sharingan with three tomoe.
He looked into Shisui Uchiha's own three-tomoe Sharingan and said seriously,
"For the Uchiha, there is still a certain possibility of defeating Rei Kaguya… Especially for you, Shisui, and my son Itachi. If we truly have to find someone capable of defeating him, then I believe that person will definitely be one of you two."
"Why would Lord Fugaku say that? Could it be…"
Shisui Uchiha frowned and faintly guessed what Fugaku Uchiha was thinking.
But that possibility was one he did not really want to imagine.
"Compared to Rei Kaguya's ninjutsu and taijutsu, which almost have no flaws to exploit, genjutsu is the one thing he is not skilled enough at. And Shisui, both you and Itachi have especially outstanding talent in genjutsu.
"If one day, you obtain eyes stronger than the three-tomoe Sharingan, then the dojutsu that fully elevates your genjutsu talent may be the only thing capable of defeating him."
Shisui Uchiha fell silent.
It was as if he had been pressed into speechlessness by the trust and expectation revealed in Fugaku Uchiha's words.
Fugaku Uchiha did not rush him either.
While maintaining basic vigilance toward their surroundings, he waited for Shisui's response.
"Lord Fugaku, how do you know this? I mean… after obtaining stronger eyes, the field one is best at will be elevated into an even stronger dojutsu…"
Shisui Uchiha was not stupid.
Almost immediately, he realized what Fugaku Uchiha meant by the method that could defeat Rei Kaguya.
But when he thought of the legendary method to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, he could not help feeling twelve parts suspicion and fear toward Fugaku Uchiha, who had made this proposal to him.
Are you expecting one of us, Itachi or me, to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan by killing the other, Lord Fugaku?
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Shisui's extremely complicated gaze and sighed helplessly.
"I knew you child would misunderstand… If I really had such thoughts, how could I openly discuss this topic with you in this situation, Shisui?"
"Uh… but…"
Shisui Uchiha blinked awkwardly and gestured vaguely.
"Isn't the Mangekyo Sharingan…"
"Very well. I will show you something that can provide evidence for what I am about to say… But remember to keep it properly secret, Shisui."
As he spoke, Fugaku Uchiha's eyes spun rapidly.
This time, the three tomoe in his eyes began to gather toward the center.
Then, under Shisui Uchiha's stunned gaze, they turned into a pair of eyes Shisui had never seen before.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
"You should know, Shisui, that most of my close friends and relatives are still alive…"
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Shisui's expression, slowly put away his Mangekyo Sharingan, and sighed.
"Yet I still awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Why do you think that is?"
"…"
Shisui Uchiha first fell into confusion because of shock.
But sharp and intelligent as he was, he soon realized the hint in Fugaku's words and murmured in disbelief,
"The Mangekyo… so it does not require killing one's closest relatives or dearest friends with one's own hands?"
"Correct. It does not."
Fugaku Uchiha nodded sadly.
"You only need emotions intense enough. You only need a loss carved into your bones and engraved with heart-rending pain. The Mangekyo Sharingan will then be born in those Uchiha who possess the talent, granting them even greater power and emotion.
"I lost my friend on the battlefield. He sacrificed himself to save me and was blown apart by the enemy's ninjutsu until not even his corpse remained whole.
"I looked at what remained of him, even when only half his face was left, yet his lips still carried a relieved smile.
"And I obtained these eyes.
"These eyes that can see through a limited future."
"So… that is how…"
Shisui Uchiha held his head, lowered it in disbelief, and widened his eyes as he worked hard to digest this shocking information.
Fugaku Uchiha gently placed a hand on his shoulder and said in a low voice,
"In the future seen by these eyes, I cannot see any possibility of myself defeating Rei Kaguya. But Shisui, you and Itachi possess tremendous potential that I cannot reach…"
"I am telling you this not because I want you to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan now and defeat Rei Kaguya. You are still too young. Your body cannot yet support eyes of that level.
"But I hope you can properly face your own potential and gather all your strength for a battle that may become unavoidable in the future."
At this point, Fugaku Uchiha sighed.
A little embarrassed, he lowered his voice and continued,
"If you can do it, Shisui, then perhaps Itachi will not need to experience the pain of losing someone dear to him… I'm sorry, Shisui. This is the unavoidable selfishness I have as Itachi's father."
Hearing Fugaku Uchiha mention Itachi's name and his own selfishness, Shisui Uchiha's heart, which had still been somewhat worried about whether he could shoulder such a heavy responsibility, instead calmed down.
If, hypothetically, only shinobi skilled in genjutsu had a chance of defeating Kirigakure's trump card, then he, an Uchiha, would complete this task.
He would protect everything in the village, so that the people in the village and the younger brothers of the Uchiha no longer needed to live in fear because of the covetous gaze of a powerful enemy.
He would reforge the Uchiha's glory, allowing the entire shinobi world to witness the Uchiha's strength once again.
Now that Danzo Shimura, the one in the village who was most hostile toward the Uchiha clan, was already dead, he even had the chance to take back the position of Hokage that had originally belonged to the Uchiha.
This truly was a task he could not shirk.
With that thought, Shisui Uchiha raised his head, wanting to respond to Fugaku Uchiha and show that he had already prepared his resolve.
But the moment he lifted his head, he saw endless thick fog surging toward the area where they stood like a roaring tide after a broken dam.
And within that dense fog, which was enough to completely seal both sight and hearing, an incomparably massive幽-blue chakra was slowly flowing.