The news of Uchiha Shisui's disappearance quickly spread within the village-
Sending shockwaves through both the Uchiha Clan and the Anbu simultaneously.
Fugaku mobilized the clan's most capable tracking experts to investigate Shisui's recent activities, conducting repeated searches along the areas where Shisui might have been.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, also dispatched Anbu Ninjas, scouring the forests outside the village, abandoned training grounds, and even the ruins of Kikyo Castle amidst its broken walls and debris.
Shisui was one of the few voices of reason within the Uchiha Clan and a descendant of Uchiha Kagami. Both publicly and privately, Hiruzen had to take this seriously.
However, after several days of searching, Shisui, along with his Mangekyo Sharingan, seemed to have been completely erased by an invisible hand, leaving behind no clues whatsoever.
The man Shisui, along with his legendary eye, seemed as if they had never existed in this world.
Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like water could drip from it.
The pipe in Hiruzen's hand had long gone out, the last wisp of smoke dissipated, leaving only cold ash.
His wrinkled face appeared exceptionally weary in the dim light, his gaze heavy as it fell upon the shadowy corner.
There, Danzo leaned on his cane, like a coiled venomous snake, his single eye showing no fluctuation, only an abyss of unfathomable darkness.
"Danzo-" Hiruzen's voice was hoarse, laden with heavy interrogation.
"Shisui's disappearance... is it truly unrelated to you, to Root?" His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of bandages, aiming straight for the depths of Danzo's heart.
The corner of Danzo's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly downward, his dry voice like sandpaper grinding: "Hiruzen, are you questioning my loyalty to Konoha? Or would you rather believe the baseless accusations of those Uchiha madmen?"
"I admit to having reservations about Uchiha Shisui's abilities, but reservation does not equal action. Every action Root takes is for the stability of Konoha. I have a clear conscience."
He slightly raised his chin, his single eye beneath the bandages meeting Hiruzen's gaze, so composed it was almost provocative.
That flawless calmness was precisely what made one's heart grow cold.
The Root's members under Danzo had completely cleaned up the battle traces from the temple and the marks left along Shisui's escape route after being injured. Naturally, the search teams from Anbu and the Uchiha Clan found no clues.
Although Danzo himself was also puzzled about where Shisui had fled, he absolutely could not admit it!
Hiruzen took a deep breath. There was no smoke, only cold air stinging his lungs, finally transforming into a heavy sigh that dissipated in the stagnant air.
Uchiha Clan's Compound, the courtyard of Fugaku's residence. Maple leaves fell, covering the ground in gold.
Itachi stood quietly under the engawa, watching the leaves swirl and fall.
His figure was tall and straight, already that of a youth, dressed in a deep blue household kimono, his expression calm to the point of aloofness.
Yet, only he knew how taut the string deep within his heart was, stretched nearly to the breaking point.
The news of his close friend's disappearance was like a thunderous catastrophe.
Several days had passed since the search began, yet not a single trace had been found.
An expert like Shisui had vanished as if evaporated from the face of the earth.
Shock, bewilderment, a sense of being abruptly uprooted and emptied… all swept over Itachi.
That friend who always wore a gentle smile, whose eyes were bright, who guided him like an elder brother, who shared his thoughts on peace and the village's future-
The only one within the clan who could understand him... was missing?
How was that possible?
Just last night they had agreed to meet at the secret training ground. He had so many confusions about the clan, about the future, that he needed to confide in Shisui about-
How could-
And what kind of powerful entity could target Shisui within Konoha without making a sound, without leaving a trace?
"Itachi!"
A low voice, thick with suppressed anger, shattered the deathly silence of the courtyard.
Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Tekka, and Uchiha Inabi, three men like blocks of ice radiating cold air, strode into the courtyard.
They wore dark clan attire, their faces grim, their crimson Sharingan openly activated. Their icy gazes, sharp as tangible blades, pinned Itachi down simultaneously.
Undisguised hostility and suspicion filled the air.
"Shisui is missing!" Yashiro spoke first, his voice like suppressed thunder. He was tall with a resolute face, now deeply furrowed.
This Uchiha Elite Jonin, usually with smiling eyes, now had his scarlet Sharingan active, pupils seeming to burn with anger.
"Just a few days ago! Right around the village! The clan's search teams conducted extensive searches inside and outside Konoha Village, with no results! The Anbu are even more tight-lipped! You-" He pointed at Itachi, his finger carrying an aggressive momentum, "A member of the Anbu, Shisui's most trusted friend! Don't tell us you know nothing about this?!"
The clansmen's cold interrogation was like poison-tipped needles, stabbing fiercely into Itachi's heart.
He jerked his head up, his black pupils instantly contracting!
Shisui's disappearance pained him more than anyone!
But the blatant suspicion behind this questioning was like a searing brand pressed onto the fresh wound of losing his closest friend!
"Yashiro-senpai-" Itachi's voice struggled to maintain calmness, but the end carried a barely perceptible tremor.
"Shisui's disappearance shocked and pained me as well. I want to know the truth more than anyone. But I… truly do not know." He met Yashiro's distrustful scarlet eyes, frank and resolute.
"Don't know?" Tekka beside him let out a sharp, mocking laugh. His face was gaunt, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.
"You joined the Anbu, spend all day mixing with those people, who knows what you're doing! Now Shisui is gone, and you think you can wash your hands of it with a flippant 'I don't know'?"
"Itachi, did you know something all along?"
"Was it the Anbu, or someone higher up, who decided to move against Shisui?! And you chose to stay silent? Or even… participated?!" Tekka's words stabbed straight to Itachi's heart!
A wave of scorching anger surged from the depths of his heart!
Itachi's body tensed instantly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, nails digging deeply into his palms!
'Participate?'
They twisted his bond with Shisui, his steadfastness as Uchiha Itachi, into betrayal so easily?!
"Itachi!" Inabi's voice was even colder, his gaze the most vicious.
"Drop that act of staying aloof! Don't forget the blood of the Uchiha clan flows in your veins! Regarding Shisui's matter, you'd better truly know nothing. Otherwise…" He took a step forward, the three tomoes in his Sharingan spinning wildly, the threat undisguised.
"The Uchiha Clan will never let any traitor go! No matter whose son he is!"
Traitor!
The word echoed like a curse in Itachi's mind, amplifying wildly!
Igniting the pain, confusion, and heartache over his friend's disappearance he had endured for days into a rage that burned away all reason!
'How dare they tarnish my friendship with Shisui with such venomous suspicion?'
'How dare they so disdainfully question my complex feelings for the clan?'
'And who was truly pushing the Uchiha Clan toward the abyss?!'
"I said… I! Don't! Know!"
A roar, suppressed to the extreme, like that of a wounded beast, erupted from the depths of Itachi's throat!
The anger, pain, and utterly provoked fury contained within that sound forced Yashiro and the other two to instinctively take half a step back!
In that moment of emotional rupture-
Itachi's figure vanished from his spot!
"So fast!" Yashiro's pupils contracted sharply, his Sharingan catching only a blurred afterimage!
Fast enough to surpass his visual limits!
It wasn't the flashy movement of the Body Flicker Technique, but a ghostly advance driven purely by explosive physical power!
Carrying a terrifying killing intent born of complete and utter fury!