An impossibly difficult decision!
Shisui's eyes flickered with uncertainty, his inner conflict evident in every tense line of his body. The jade-marked kunai trembled almost imperceptibly in his grasp.
The Kirigakure pursuit squad had already emerged from the island's interior, fanning out along the shoreline in a practiced formation. The wielder of Hiramekarei and Ringo Ameyuri at the forefront, their expressions contorted with rage. They glared at Shisui with such intensity it seemed they might devour him whole.
Yet despite their fury, it was clear these two Swordsmen weren't the ones commanding this operation.
"Hold."
Between the two members of the Seven Swordsmen stood a shinobi clad in the standard uniform of Kirigakure's ANBU. Unlike his masked subordinates, his face remained exposed, though his left eye was concealed beneath a black eye patch.
His visible eye fixed on the distinctive kunai in Shisui's hand, and his expression suddenly shifted.
During the Third Shinobi World War, one man had brought unprecedented terror to the entire ninja world. Though a decade had passed since those blood-soaked days, certain distinctive characteristics of Konoha's Yellow Flash remained etched in the memories of shinobi from all major nations.
"A kunai bearing the Flying Thunder God mark?" he murmured, raising his hand abruptly to signal his forces to halt.
"Why are we stopping?" the Hiramekarei wielder questioned, his tone heavy with barely contained fury.
"Look at the kunai he's holding," the eye-patched commander replied. "Those unique patterns inscribed on it—they're the coordinates the Fourth Hokage uses for spatial transportation."
With visual acuity far exceeding ordinary shinobi, even at a distance of several dozen meters, the two Swordsmen could clearly discern the markings on Shisui's kunai once they knew what to look for.
"So what?" Ringo Ameyuri challenged, her lips curling into a predatory grin as she kept her eyes trained on Shisui. "Even if that kunai allows the Fourth Hokage to teleport, this Uchiha won't have time to relay our position back to Konoha before we strike him down."
"That would be true if we were relying solely on intelligence from ten years ago," the eye-patched ANBU commander said, his voice dropping to a more somber tone. "But approximately six years ago, Kumogakure shinobi encountered a Konoha squad during a mission."
He paused, ensuring his words carried the appropriate weight. "Among the Konoha shinobi was the Fourth Hokage's wife. She appeared to be experiencing some kind of physical distress. Then, without warning, the Fourth Hokage materialized beside her."
His eye narrowed. "The Cloud ninja broke formation immediately, abandoning their mission and fleeing for their lives."
"What?!"
Both Swordsmen reacted with shock. They understood why the Kumogakure shinobi had abandoned their mission—but if this information was accurate, how had the Fourth Hokage arrived so instantaneously at his wife's side?
"Look carefully at the mark on that kunai," the commander continued. "It appears different from what our village intelligence has documented."
Their eyes scrutinized the weapon in Shisui's hand. Indeed, Minato's modified sensing seal differed from the standard markings they were familiar with.
"The Fourth Hokage has always been a prodigy in developing ninjutsu," the commander explained. "He created an S-rank technique at merely ten years of age. He later enhanced the Flying Thunder God Technique left by the Second Hokage, elevating it to legendary status throughout the shinobi world."
"Your assessment is sound," conceded the wielder of Hiramekarei grudgingly. If their commander's information proved accurate, the Fourth Hokage could appear at any moment, forcing them to abandon the pursuit and retreat.
"Before we embarked on this mission, Mizukage-sama personally warned me about such contingencies," said the eye-patched commander.
"Yet notice that until now, Uchiha Shisui has refrained from using the talisman given to him by the Fourth Hokage," Ringo Ameyuri observed, lowering her eyelids contemplatively. A grin spread across her face, revealing gleaming teeth. "He fears that if word spreads of the Fourth Hokage's direct intervention here, even Konoha's considerable might couldn't shield them from the political fallout."
She cast a sidelong glance at a Kirigakure ANBU positioned behind her. "Be prepared to relay information back to the village at any moment."
SWISH!
Behind the Kirigakure forces, among the dense foliage of the island, Mei Terumi alighted silently behind a broad tree trunk, expertly concealing her presence.
With her exceptional skills, even as a shadow of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, she could remain undetected if she chose to hide herself properly.
Rather than departing immediately, Mei observed Shisui's predicament from her concealed position. When she noticed the Konoha ninja's deformed right foot, she understood the situation completely.
Moreover, she deduced the function of the kunai Shisui clutched so desperately. Knowing Minato's character as she did, Mei realized that when he dispatched Shisui on this mission, he had naturally prepared an escape plan in advance.
However, ANBU from every nation conducted clandestine operations in foreign territories. If Minato's direct intervention in such a mission became known to other countries, while outright war might not erupt, the Land of Fire would certainly face severe diplomatic repercussions.
Both Shisui and Minato would likely face intense criticism and condemnation from their own village elders and council.
Minato-senpai, you truly haven't changed at all, Mei thought with an inward smile.
She remembered Minato from years ago, when he had infiltrated Kirigakure as a spy yet risked everything to save a Kirigakure girl he had never met. Despite the years that had passed and his elevation to the position of Hokage, his fundamental nature remained unaltered.
But given her own precarious position, Mei knew she couldn't intervene directly. Any exposure of her true allegiance would endanger not only herself but the entire resistance movement within Kirigakure.
The pursuit squad maintained their distance, wary of Minato's marked kunai, but they had effectively trapped Shisui and his injured companion. Their intent was clear—they would not allow the Konoha shinobi to escape easily.
After what seemed an eternity of internal struggle, Shisui's expression hardened with resigned determination. He returned the special kunai to his arm guard.
"I'm sorry, Kimura," he said, his voice low and heavy with regret. "Although this was entrusted to me by Hokage-sama, I cannot use it."
He gripped his dual swords more tightly, knuckles whitening from the pressure.
"But I will not abandon my comrade," he declared with quiet intensity. "If we cannot escape, then we will face our end together!"
A crimson tinge gradually spread across the whites of his eyes as his three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin wildly.
Against three shinobi of Seven Swordsmen caliber, Shisui might still have managed to retreat while protecting his injured companion. But with over thirty Kirigakure ANBU behind them, to be surrounded meant certain death.
"So you've made your decision?" The eye-patched commander's lips curled into a grim smile. "Facing death without flinching—admirable indeed."
With a subtle gesture from the commander, the two Swordsmen and the Kirigakure forces behind them surged forward toward Shisui's position.
"Heh, Shisui, there's no need to apologize." A bitter smile crossed the face of the Konoha ninja named Kimura. "If not for my carelessness, these pursuers would never have managed to corner someone of your caliber."
Shisui didn't turn, his attention focused entirely on the oncoming Kirigakure forces, readying himself for their assault.
"I understand what you meant earlier," Kimura continued, his voice taking on a strange, resolute quality. "As a Konoha shinobi, I have long been prepared to sacrifice myself for the village."
His eyes flickered with unwavering determination.
"So there is no need for you to sacrifice your life here for me!"
As the final word left his lips, Kimura raised the kunai in his hand and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged it directly into his left chest!
Shisui sensed something amiss in his comrade's tone and spun around—but it was already too late.
THUNK!
The kunai pierced through Kimura's chest with sickening finality. Blood erupted from the wound, spattering across Shisui's cheek as he turned.
Staring at the horrific scene before him, Shisui's pupils contracted to pinpoints of shock and disbelief.
"NOOOO!"
A primal, anguished roar tore from his throat, the sound more befitting a wounded beast than a human.
Simultaneously, the three tomoe in his scarlet Sharingan eyes began to spin with frenzied intensity, transforming with each rotation as an overwhelming grief consumed him entirely.
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