The battle had dragged on for a long time. Night had fallen, and the desert was bitterly cold.
Nocturnal creatures began to crawl out from their holes—scorpions, lizards, and other desert dwellers.
Saitama didn't budge, standing as still as a statue with his arms hanging limply at his sides.
The night wind blew, lifting yellow sand into the air, spreading a strange odor across the desert.
Rasa had stopped struggling. The black flames covering him were beginning to vanish, and he lay motionless, seemingly without breath.
Shisui held his blade, his pupils continuously constricting, yet his face still showed confusion about Saitama's presence here.
He hadn't had the chance to kneel down and check Rasa's condition, but from a quick glance earlier, his condition was clearly dire.
"If you're not dead yet, why aren't you returning to the village?"
After a long silence, Shisui seemed to calm himself, his clear voice echoing through the desert sky.
The wind seemed even stronger now. The surrounding creatures sensed the ominous shift in the air and hastily retreated back to their dens—driven by instinct to flee danger and preserve themselves.
Saitama said nothing, maintaining a calm expression while watching Shisui closely with those round eyes.
He was contemplating what stance he should take toward this old comrade.
Should he try to make himself understood? Was such an option even viable? Saitama knew it likely wouldn't work. Shisui hadn't undergone the same experiences; there was no way he could ever share his mindset. Even if they had once been close friends, understanding wasn't something one could just magically achieve.
After all, without shared experiences, how can there be understanding?
If there was anyone in this world who might understand him, Saitama thought that perhaps only Nagato would have the qualifications to claim such understanding.
"Oh, well—it's not important, is it, Shisui?"
Saitama exposed his teeth in what might've passed for a smile, relaxing his body with a slight shrug as his right hand reached for the hilt of his sword.
"What are you doing now? Do you even know Rasa is the Kazekage? Are you trying to provoke another war between shinobi villages?"
Staring at Saitama's indifferent expression, many thoughts formed in Shisui's mind. Seeing Saitama so composed, strangely, he felt anger bubbling within.
Shisui had changed too. He understood that time alters people—but he never expected it could turn someone so familiar into a complete stranger.
"So what? What does that have to do with me?"
As soon as he decided, all hesitation left Saitama's tone. His voice turned stiff and icy.
Now that he had chosen this path, there was no turning back—he couldn't afford any sentimentality!
People have to grow strong. And some things just have to be left behind along the way.
"Damn it… do you even realize what you're saying?"
Shisui was furious. This Saitama speaking now was completely irreconcilable with the image in his head—the man who used to strive for peace throughout the shinobi world and prosperity for his clan.
"What I do has a purpose of its own—you don't need to understand. More importantly, do you really think you have the authority to lecture me?"
Saitama's tone grew colder. When speaking to Shisui, it was like he was talking to a stranger.
"So tell me then—what exactly have you become?"
Chakra began to gather in Shisui's hand, and a thin layer of it started flowing over the blade, giving it an enchanting visual effect.
The blue blade stood out sharply against the gradually darkening surroundings, just like Saitama's electric sword.
"It was me who killed Danzo. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Shisui's body stiffened. He fixed his gaze on Saitama, having never connected him with the person mentioned by Minato Namikaze before.
In his eyes, even if Saitama had taken what he believed to be the wrong path, there was no way he would ever turn against the village.
"Back then at Iwagakure, it was Danzo who led the ambush on me. He nearly killed me. Fortunately, I survived because someone rescued me."
"Do you know what I wanted to do most during that time?"
"Kill Danzo!"
"But after I recovered, I didn't act on it immediately. I knew the timing wasn't right yet. I needed absolute certainty before making my move!"
Saitama kept talking while Shisui stood silently in front of him, listening intently. His expression changed constantly as he listened, eventually settling into a complex visage.
"After being betrayed by Danzo, I promised myself that I must strive for everything myself and stop hoping others will give things to me freely!"
Saitama tightened his grip on the hilt and drew the blade slowly, pointing it at Shisui.
"Take peace for example! Do you understand now, Shisui?"
His eyes narrowed and his tone hardened, sending a sharp pressure toward Shisui.
A streak of blood still lingered at the corner of his left eye—left over from using [Amaterasu].
This smear of blood made Saitama look even colder at this moment.
Although his unique physiology gave him greater Sharingan power than most, it certainly wasn't limitless.
It just meant he had more stamina and recovered faster—no need to worry about chakra exhaustion or going blind.
But overusing the Sharingan would still cause damage—it would just heal eventually given enough time.
"So tell me, how does what you're doing now even connect with the peace you've always dreamed of?"
Shisui couldn't grasp Saitama's reasoning at all. The veins on the hand gripping his sword popped up as he clearly restrained himself.
"This current peace was built only on mutual fear among the ninja villages—that's not the kind of peace I want! Perhaps, I can create something far better, something perfect!"
Saitama raised his voice. His words might sound childish, perhaps even laughable to those in their thirties.
Yet Shisui didn't smile. He looked at Saitama with complicated eyes, lips pressed tightly together, unsure what to say.
"If Elder Danzo truly attacked you first and you've already killed him, I believe Lord Minato would understand your actions!"
"Come back with me! If you keep going down this road, you'll become a rogue traitor hunted by every Hidden Village across the Shinobi World!"
Shisui didn't know exactly what Saitama intended, but judging from his attack on the Kazekage alone, Saitama's goals were grand—and dangerous.
"Even after all this time, are you still so naive, Shisui?"
Saitama shook his head, his tone laced with mockery—he thought Shisui was being too idealistic.
With everything he had already done, three of the five great villages could no longer tolerate him.
He had killed Danzo, captured the Four-Tails, and now it seemed he had also slain the Kazekage.
For one person to carry all these deeds upon his shoulders was already terrifying enough.
"Do you truly not want to see the Uchiha rise again?"
Shisui asked once more. When they were young, Saitama had once said something similar to him, so he hoped he could use those same words to persuade Saitama now.
"Hehe!" Saitama looked at Shisui's earnest expression, though Shisui's current look did seem somewhat ridiculous.
"Shisui, there's no going back!"
After thinking for a while, Saitama could only settle on that one sentence to convey his feelings.
"Is that so..."
Shisui's eyes dimmed momentarily, but soon, his gaze became firm.
"If word of your actions reaches the village, you'll be branded a rogue ninja and hunted down by every village! Since you refuse to return, I will defeat you and drag you back!"
"I, and the entire Uchiha Clan, will stand behind you! The Fourth Hokage will surely handle your matter with discretion!"
"Tch! So in the end, you're still an idiot..."
Saitama held his blade across his chest, gazing at the pale moonlight reflected on its edge. Chakra surged from his hand, crackling into [arcs of electricity].
"Ready to fight..."
Shisui looked at Saitama's sword, smirking slightly as three Tomoe appeared in each of his eyes, locking his gaze firmly onto Saitama.
Anyone who could leave Rasa, the Kazekage himself, in such a state was no ordinary ninja anymore.
But fortunately, Shisui knew he wasn't ordinary either.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>