Fugaku Uchiha gazed at the man who had once been the pride of the Uchiha Clan.
Though Shisui had always been somewhat indecisive—unable to choose cleanly between loyalty to clan and village—Fugaku had held high hopes for him, believing Shisui could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and become the future of their clan.
But several months ago, on a mission issued by Danzo, Shisui had vanished. Now, he'd returned—draped in strange, unfamiliar garb, and his very essence had shifted beyond recognition.
Danzo… what kind of mission did you send him on?!
Fugaku seethed internally, eyes locked on Shisui's pale mask, as if trying to pierce through it and rediscover the young prodigy who had once carried so much promise.
"Why?! Why did you turn out like this?!"
"There is no 'why,'" Shisui said calmly.
Facing the clan head's question, he shook his head slightly. "I only have a few questions for you, Clan Head Fugaku."
"…Speak."
"First—those dark secrets buried within the village: the experiments with Hashirama's cells, the power centralization that targeted our clan, the pressure that drove White Fang to his death… Did you know about all of it?"
"I did!"
Fugaku's brow furrowed, but as Shisui continued, a brief glimmer of satisfaction flashed across his eyes before he nodded solemnly. "Yes, I knew."
"This village has rotted under the likes of Hiruzen Sarutobi—decayed and weak. And we, founders of Konoha, are left powerless. Even if I wanted change, I'd be feared, restricted."
"That's why our clan has pushed to depose the Hokage. Only the Uchiha can lead Konoha back to greatness!"
Emotion welled in Fugaku's voice as he stared Shisui down. "I can sense your power—it surpasses even mine!"
"Shisui, with your strength and my eyes, we can take that position! We can take it all!"
"…Alright."
Shisui nodded, unaffected by the passionate appeal.
"Then let's assume everything goes your way. The Uchiha seize power, win the political war, and install one of our own as Hokage. What then?"
"What…?"
Fugaku blinked, confusion flickering in his eyes.
"You seem completely unprepared, Clan Head."
Shisui's voice was cold. "Beyond your obsession with power, have you considered the village's future? What reforms will the Uchiha make? What policies? What change?"
"All you want is control—to claim the village built by our ancestors and the First Hokage as your own. Isn't that right?"
"…"
Fugaku tried to speak, but no words came.
He knew Shisui was right. They had no vision, no plan—only ambition.
"But Shisui," Fugaku finally argued, "taking the Hokage seat is the beginning! That's when change becomes possible! We can transform the village, elevate the Uchiha, and cleanse the government of its corruption!"
"You can't," Shisui said flatly.
"What?"
"I said… you can't."
Shisui shook his head slowly. "The Land of Fire is the most prosperous country in the shinobi world. Konoha is its strongest hidden village. And because of that, its systems—its ideology—are too deeply ingrained to change."
"The Daimyō's son remains a daimyō. The nobles pass their status to their children."
"The 'Will of Fire'—a noble-sounding lie—only deepens the roots of the powerful, while the weak are left to grow, only to be harvested."
"You can't change the system… because you're part of it."
"The dragonslayer always becomes the dragon. Once you take the Hokage's seat, you'll become just like Hiruzen. You'll protect your authority, suppress the other clans, and repeat the same cycle that Tobirama and Sarutobi created."
"But… but…"
Fugaku's eyes wavered. He understood Shisui's meaning, but couldn't reconcile it.
Wouldn't it still be better? he thought. If the Uchiha gained power, couldn't we begin to fix Konoha's darkness from within?
Staring at Fugaku's uncertain expression, Shisui shook his head.
"I understand your hope, Clan Head Fugaku. But that future… is not the one I seek."
Though born into a powerful clan, Uchiha Shisui's beliefs had never been confined to it.
In that sense, he shared some similarity with Itachi, the "weasel." But unlike Itachi's blind idealism, Shisui—shaped through and through by Yuki Yoru—had evolved into something else entirely.
He once loved his clan, and beyond that, the village of Konoha itself.
But when Yoru tore away the village's veil of deception and exposed the filth underneath, Shisui realized—what he loved wasn't the institution of the village.
It was the people.
The smiling, kind, ordinary people who never had power.
Yet in this prison called the Will of Fire, those lovely people were always the ones crushed, kept at the bottom, exploited, discarded.
Shisui looked at Fugaku and said, "Konoha cannot give me what I want, but I won't stop you—because I, too, am an Uchiha."
Fugaku's fists clenched… then slowly relaxed.
"…Is that what you brought me here to say?"
"That's only part of it."
Shisui rested his hand on the hilt of the blade at his waist.
"The other reason… is to prepare you—and the Uchiha—for the impact of a new era."
"…A new era?"
BOOM!!!
Before Fugaku could finish his thought, a pressure erupted around them—like the crushing weight of oceans and mountains crashing all at once.
He stumbled back instinctively, gasping.
The pressure expanded as Shisui slowly drew his blade. Fugaku's breath hitched—his lungs strained under the weight. The air itself felt compressed. A ringing crept into his ears.
This wasn't chakra.
This was something far more terrifying.
"Shikai."
The white captain's haori on Shisui's back flared violently as if stirred by a soul's scream.
"Illuminate the Sun, Disrupt the Gods. Clear the Moon, Corrupt the Heart."
The world rippled—like a droplet striking a lake.
In an instant, invisible power burst forth. Fugaku's vision blurred, and a haunting resonance echoed in his ears.
When it faded, and clarity returned—
Fugaku found himself sitting at his desk inside the Konoha command tent.
"What… How is this possible?!"
His eyes widened as if jolted awake from a nightmare. He stood up, completely dazed.
A moment ago, he'd been in a clearing miles from camp—alone with Shisui.
How could he have returned to his tent in an instant?
Space-time ninjutsu?
Genjutsu?
Or… was it all a dream?
No.
The ache in his left eye—residual backlash from his own dōjutsu—was real.
Everything had happened.
He had confronted Shisui.
Fugaku stepped outside the tent. The sky was painted in amber—the sun near setting in the west.
He stared at the orange twilight, fists clenched tight.
When he and Itachi took down that Iwa genin, it was just after lunch—barely afternoon.
Since the moment Shisui had uttered "Shikai," he remembered nothing.
Had he truly been unconscious? Like a puppet?
Or had he fought and lost… his memory erased?
Uchiha genjutsu could erase memories. For someone like Shisui, a master illusionist, such a feat was simple.
Still—
Fugaku had never imagined this fate would befall even someone with the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He didn't know what had happened.
But one thing was certain:
Against Shisui… he was completely powerless.
"Shisui… just what kind of power have you gained?"
Returning to the tent, Fugaku's thoughts were in turmoil.
Power greater than his own dōjutsu. Techniques beyond comprehension. That haori, distinct from any standard Konoha uniform.
Undoubtedly, in these past few months, Shisui had undergone a drastic transformation while on Danzō's mission. This transformation was so profound that Shisui's body and mind had completely changed, his power undergoing a metamorphosis akin to a butterfly breaking from its cocoon, and he had even abandoned both his clan and the village.
And the core and key to all of this...
Danzo.
"Danzo… what exactly did you order him to do?!"
But in the end, Fugaku didn't report anything to Konoha's elders.
He knew—this change had little to do with Danzo. No one in Konoha could instill that power or ideology in Shisui.
And he had no intention of exposing Shisui.
"Clan and village… Konoha and the Uchiha… Shisui, what did you see that I couldn't? Even with the Mangekyō, why am I still lost in fog?"
"…And what is this 'new era' you spoke of?"
"What suffocating spiritual pressure, Captain."
Kushimaru Kuriarare grinned as he removed his mask, crouching on a tree branch. "I'm curious—what kind of being could push a monster like you to release your Zanpakutō? Don't tell me you ran into Orochimaru?"
The others also watched Shisui with interest. That immense spiritual pressure just now, though far from the main battle, was impossible for Shinigami like them to ignore.
Even Yagura, another captain, turned to look.
"…It was Uchiha Fugaku," Shisui said, emotionless. "He awakened his Mangekyō. I had no choice but to release my Shikai."
"…Mangekyō Sharingan."
Everyone's expression tightened.
With Shisui as the perfect experiment, Yoru had already compiled extensive research on the Sharingan—especially the forbidden Mangekyō.
They had all studied its bizarre dōjutsu, its connection to Susanoo, and the dark legacy it carried.
"If it was Mangekyō, then yeah—he's got real power."
"The Wicked Eye awakened Mangekyō? I've never heard of it."
"To hide something like that… Fugaku's ambitions must be huge."
"Captain, do you know what his Mangekyō power is?"
Speculation flew.
But Shisui remained silent, leaning against a tree, masked face revealing nothing.
The others fell quiet. Finally, Yagura muttered:
"You released your Zanpakutō. Fugaku should have learned something about you to a certain extent, right?"
"Hm."
Shisui opened his eyes. "That guy never had to worry about information leakage, anyway. Besides, your next mission will definitely reveal your whereabouts and information too, won't it?"
"Tch. Whatever."
Yagura snorted lightly, not bothering to say more.
Everyone began to rest and regroup.
What they had to do was not just simply set up the soul-absorption devices.
After all, devices are just devices. Given the current intensity of the conflict between Konoha and Iwagakure, the devices they had set up would be full in a day or two.
At that point, they would have to collect the instruments, and then redeploy them.
"Hm?"
A silent signal pulsed through the air.
All eyes opened at once.
Yagura stood.
"Well then. Duty calls."
"Need help?" Shisui asked.
"Nah. No need to fight him to the death. Just need to plant a marker."
"I'll leave this place to you. I'm off."
With a nod, Yagura vanished in a flash.