Shimizu quickly disposed of the two bodies completely and cleaned up the battlefield. Then he began deducing Sawei's location from the remaining traces.
He knew he should sever all ties to this matter—pretend he knew nothing and continue carrying out his original mission, faithfully playing the role of the "ignorant one."
But memories of the past decade with Sawei kept flashing through his mind…
In the end, he couldn't persuade himself to walk away.
If he left like this, he would regret today's choice for the rest of his life.
He was a ninja—he had to remain calm and rational at all times.
But he was also human, with deep emotions.
He could not bring himself to abandon a companion of over ten years.
Judging from the range of Rockwood's sensory ninjutsu, it likely did not exceed one kilometer. Starting from that estimate, Shimizu narrowed his search area.
Before long, he found Uchiha Sawei among a pile of rubble.
But his chest no longer rose or fell. His eyes were shut tight. Blood had stained the ground crimson.
In the end, no miracle had occurred.
Shimizu walked over and gently lifted his body, noticing the fatal wound had come from behind.
He slowly guided newly generated chakra into Sawei's body.
Originally, this had been a detection technique—but the two of them had agreed to use it as a way to leave final words. When one was on the brink of death, he would lock his last thread of life with all his remaining chakra, entering a suspended, deathlike state. If, within a certain time, the other released the chakra seal, he could briefly revive.
But it would only be a final flash before death.
"Shimizu… cough, cough…" Sawei's chest rose again. He drew a deep breath and began to speak slowly.
He did not open his eyes.
His eyes…
There should have been a pair of extraordinarily powerful demonic eyes there—
But now, there was nothing.
Shimizu's eyes stung. Forcing down the surge of emotion in his heart, he said softly, "Whatever you want to say… take your time."
"The Uchiha clan's troubles—you know about them… If that day comes… help take care of… my parents… and my little sister…"
How could Shimizu not understand the "troubles" Sawei referred to?
It was the very realm of political power struggles he had always avoided. Once you stepped into that circle, you could never escape the vortex of fate.
The destruction of the Uchiha clan was a pivotal historical event—one of the central threads running through the entire tale of the ninja world. Though the Uchiha had produced countless geniuses, generation after generation, they could not escape the whirlpool called destiny.
From what Shimizu had learned of the past: the Uchiha had plotted rebellion, and Konoha's leadership issued an order of extermination. Uchiha Itachi became the executioner.
But was the truth really that simple?
From the fragmented information Shimizu had pieced together over twenty years, the seeds of annihilation may have been planted as early as the reign of the Second Hokage. Within Konoha's upper ranks, there had always been a force quietly pushing the Uchiha, step by step, toward an irreversible abyss.
And whenever the Uchiha name was mentioned, one figure could never be avoided—
Shimura Danzo.
One of Konoha's top leaders. Head of Root.
Sawei…
You've truly given me a difficult problem.
The Uchiha massacre—
A prison of fate no one had ever broken.
"Alright. I promise you," Shimizu said solemnly. "I swear on my life—no matter what happens, I will ensure your family's safety."
"Cough, cough... You... don't put shackles on yourself... What do you mean 'on your life'... It's not like I'm asking you to die for the Uchiha..."
"This is my promise," Shimizu insisted.
"I'll hold you to it then..." Sawei struggled to raise his right hand, trying to prop up his shattered body.
"You once saved my life. One life for another," Shimizu replied without hesitation.
Sawei suddenly slapped his abdomen and opened his mouth, spitting out a small brown bottle filled with liquid. Inside it floated two three-tomoe Sharingan.
So that was where he had hidden his eyes.
"Shimizu… these eyes…" Sawei placed the small bottle into Shimizu's hands. "I'm giving them to you… I don't want anyone else to have them."
A relieved smile appeared on his face.
Shimizu received the final gift solemnly with both hands—the pair of three-tomoe Sharingan. Faintly, they seemed to emit an ominous glow.
"Alright. I'll do as you say."
"Good… it's settled…" Sawei's breathing grew weaker. At the very end, he thought for a moment. There seemed to be nothing left to cling to… If there was one regret, it was that he wouldn't see his little sister grow up.
His hands gradually lost strength and fell limply.
"It's settled."
He stopped breathing.
Another genius of the Uchiha clan had fallen.
How fragile life was—and yet how precious.
"Phew..." Shimizu let out a long breath and wiped the moisture from his eyes with his thumb. He would need to find a safe place to bury Sawei's body for now and deal with it properly later.
But he had something more important to do.
Agreeing to Sawei's final request meant there would never be reconciliation between him and Danzo. Before, he could still choose to live quietly—maintaining a low profile in Konoha, smoothing things over, keeping the peace.
From this moment onward, he would have to take the initiative.
For example, this mission in the Hidden Rain Village—he had to uncover Danzo's true objective as soon as possible.
In his memories from his previous life, he could find no useful clues. He was certain he knew nothing about this segment of events. At first, he hadn't even recognized Yahiko—because in his previous life, he had only seen Yahiko in black-and-white manga panels as one of the Six Paths of Pain, appearing around twenty-five to thirty years old.
Now, Yahiko was only fourteen or fifteen.
Even without knowing the "plot," Shimizu was certain Danzo's motives went far beyond forming a solid alliance for Konoha. The fact that he had schemed to seize Sawei's eyes meant he coveted the Sharingan.
What about all the Uchiha who had died on missions over the years?
Or even earlier—those who fell in the Second Great Ninja War?
Sawei had once mentioned that during the Second Great Ninja War, a considerable number of Uchiha corpses had gone missing. Amid the chaos of war, the matter had eventually been left unresolved.
Every one of those bodies had borne Sharingan.
Had Danzo coveted those as well?
Thinking of Orochimaru's obsession with Itachi's Sharingan, Shimizu immediately imagined underground dealings between the two—human experiments, secret transactions.
Orochimaru… one of the Legendary Sannin.
Nagato.
Danzo.
Orochimaru.
Heh. Each one a towering figure in the ninja world.
Shimizu carefully sensed the flow of chakra within his body. Compared to not long ago, his chakra reserves had increased again. He was stronger than before.
In truth, after narrowly escaping death at Nagato's hands, his chakra had been completely depleted. Although he had consumed all his food in an attempt to recover some chakra and heal his fatal injuries, it shouldn't have been enough to change the ultimate outcome of death.
Later, when Windveil cornered him, he had desperately forced his exhausted chakra into motion for one final stand.
Unexpectedly, a powerful warmth had suddenly surged from his abdomen. In the span of a single breath, his chakra had been fully restored to peak condition. Not only that—it had healed all his internal injuries.
It was almost like Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Again—the abdomen.
This had to be a change brought by fusing with that strange fish.
What exactly was that thing? It could digest food to increase chakra, heal injuries to a degree—and now even provide chakra with near-resurrection effects.
Combined, these advantages were enough to trigger a second explosive growth in Shimizu's overall strength.
But whatever mutations had occurred within his body would have to wait until everything settled.
Right now, the urgent priority was uncovering Danzo's true purpose.
Seizing Sawei's Sharingan was one goal.
But why had he come to the Hidden Rain Village?