At night, in the forest surrounding Konoha, cold moonlight pierced through the tree gaps, casting fragmented shadows on the cliff edge. Below, a stream gurgled, its sound exceptionally clear in the silent night.
Above the cliff, two figures stood silently opposite each other.
Both wore the standard Konoha Anbu vests, with a short sword strapped to their backs. The young man standing in front had a proper face, his button nose adding a touch of childishness, but at this moment, his expression was terrifyingly grave.
Uchiha Shisui.
His right eye was tightly closed, blood trickling down his cheek. His left eye, not stained with blood, showed deep fatigue and resolve.
Standing opposite him was a black-haired, black-eyed girl.
Uchiha Itachi.
The girl had delicate features, her eyes possessing a calmness far beyond her age. The only thing that marred this beauty was the two tear troughs extending from the corners of her eyes to her jawline, giving her a sense of unapproachable authority even when expressionless.
"Shisui... your eye..."
Itachi's voice was very soft, yet it seemed frozen by the night wind. She stared intently at Shisui's tightly closed right eye.
Shisui gave a bitter smile, "Itachi... I originally intended to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the Uchiha Hawk Faction's plan. But I failed completely."
"Danzo didn't trust me at all."
"He took one of my eyes, but he won't stop there." Shisui raised his hand, his fingertips gently touching his closed right eye, "Before he makes his move... I want to entrust my remaining eye to you."
The night wind suddenly stopped, and the air seemed to solidify.
"Please..." Shisui's voice was almost a plea, "You must stop the Hawk Faction's plan."
His gaze passed over Itachi, looking at the distant lights of Konoha, a faint glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes.
"Just wait for your sister... and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to grow up... then, the fate of the Uchiha in Konoha... will be rewritten."
Uchiha Itachi gazed at her best friend's empty right eye, blood still slowly dripping, staining his clothes. Her knuckles unconsciously tightened, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
Why?
The Uchiha clearly had a chance to prove their trustworthiness. Satsuki, her younger sister, was now inseparable from Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
If they just waited a few more years, until they grew up, the Uchiha's position in Konoha would inevitably change. Fugaku, the Clan Head, had been appeasing the radicals in this way—the future of the Uchiha would be completely rewritten by the next generation.
But... those Hawk Faction members weren't even willing to wait that long.
When they learned that the Clan Head's daughter was so close to Konoha's "ultimate weapon," they not only felt no relief but instead secretly concocted an even crazier plan—since Satsuki could approach the Jinchuriki... why not use that fact?
Normally, Konoha's higher-ups would never allow an Uchiha clan member to get close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. But now, Satsuki could intimately interact with Naruto right under Konoha's nose. If that was the case...
All they needed to do was induce Satsuki to bring Naruto back to the Uchiha Clan Estate, then use the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails.
With the Nine-Tails' power, the Uchiha's coup would face no further obstacles. Why wait for a vague, distant future? They could seize the Hokage position now!
This idea was quietly spreading among the Hawk Faction.
The night wind whimpered, and the loose pebbles at Shisui's feet on the cliff edge tumbled down into the dark abyss, a faint echo returning after a long while.
Uchiha Shisui gazed at Itachi with his sole remaining left eye—this girl who had trained behind him since childhood was now capable of standing on her own.
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, a barely perceptible trace of reluctance flashing deep in his eyes, but soon, that softness was replaced by resolute determination.
He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips touching his left eye.
"I can only... entrust this to you."
Blood seeped through his fingers, but he didn't even frown. With a faint tearing sound, he removed his last remaining Mangekyo Sharingan and offered it to Itachi.
"Protect the village, and the Uchiha name. You must not... let them get near the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
The night wind suddenly picked up, rustling a few dry leaves. Just then, a black crow silently glided across the night sky, landing steadily on Itachi's shoulder—it was her summoning animal. The crow's blood-red eyes rotated, silently watching the blood-stained Mangekyo Sharingan in Shisui's palm, then gently leaned down and picked it up with its beak.
The next second, the crow's body suddenly disintegrated, transforming into countless feathers that scattered with the wind into the night.
"I've taken it." Her voice was calm, almost cold, "Then what... do you plan to do next?"
Shisui didn't answer immediately, but instead took two steps back.
His heels were already hanging over the cliff edge, pebbles rattling down.
"If I die... perhaps it can buy some more time."
"I must appear to be missing... the clan members must not know that Danzo attacked me."
The night wind ruffled his clothes, "Otherwise... it will only lead more clan members to support that insane plan."
Itachi's pupils suddenly contracted. What was he saying?
The calm mask she maintained finally cracked, and panic surged into her eyes like a tide.
"Wait! Shisui—!"
She abruptly took a step forward, reaching out to grab him.
"Don't stop me, Itachi!"
Shisui sharply rebuked, "Right now, because of the 'Jin' organization's warning, the major nations dare not act rashly... The Hawk Faction knows very well that even if they start a civil war, other major nations will not take the opportunity to invade."
A bitter smile twisted his lips. "So... if there's a coup now, it will be a war... without any worries."
The Uchiha's madness would then be unleashed without restraint.
The wind on the cliff edge suddenly stilled.
Shisui, dragging his heavily injured body, slowly took a step forward. His blood-stained fingers slightly lifted, gently brushing Itachi's braid behind her head—just as he had done countless times in the past.
"...Moreover, Danzo's subordinates... the poisonous insects of the Aburame clan have already taken root in my body."
"Even if I didn't do this..." Shisui's voice grew weaker, "I'm already beyond saving."
Under the moonlight, the young man with tightly closed eyes and blood continuously flowing from his empty eye sockets suddenly revealed a smile. That smile contained so many things—reluctance, nostalgia, concern, but ultimately, it all transformed into relief.
Then, he fell backward.
Goodbye... Itachi.
"Shisui!!!"
Itachi could no longer maintain her composure. She lunged towards the edge of the cliff, her fingers grasping futilely at the air, only catching a few wisps of the drifting night wind. A dull 'plop' sound came from below, and the rushing stream instantly swallowed her best friend's figure.
"Shisui..."
Itachi knelt at the cliff edge, her hands gripping the rocks tightly. Her chest felt as if it were being torn apart, and something heavier and darker than sadness was growing wildly within her.
"Ugh..."
She suddenly doubled over in pain, covering her eyes with her hands. Warm liquid seeped through her fingers—not tears, but blood. Bright red blood tears streamed down her pale cheeks, dripping onto the rocks.
When Itachi looked up again, her eyes had changed. The original Three-Tomoe Sharingan was gone, replaced by a slowly rotating, shuriken-shaped complex pattern—the Mangekyo Sharingan.
On the cliff, only the howling wind and the girl's suppressed sobs remained.
— — — — — —
The rushing stream, carrying a bone-chilling cold, washed over Shisui's broken body. His skin, pale from severe blood loss, was now bluish-white, and each weak breath brought with it bloody foam, blooming into a faint red in the cold river water.
So this is... my end...
The darkness of no eyes. The numbness of no pain. Death was imminent, consciousness like a flickering candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
Just as his consciousness was about to completely dissipate.
"Found him."
A strange voice abruptly pierced his eardrums. "An idealistic sacrifice."
Moonlight penetrated the water's surface, casting a distorted shadow in the blurry scene. Shisui's scattered consciousness barely caught a silhouette.
...Who?
Above the stream, a figure wearing a fox mask looked down at him. The current suddenly slowed, and Shisui felt a hand grab his collar, pulling him sharply out of the water.
"Cough—!"
Cold air rushed into his lungs, making him cough violently, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
The masked person held him with one hand, the other casually pressed against his chest.
A strange Chakra fluctuation spread. Space began to distort, and the next moment, the two figures instantly vanished above the cold stream.
— — — — — —
Regarding the setting of Gold Experience: Gold Experience can bestow life, converting inorganic matter into biological tissue. However, the Sharingan is a hereditary ability of Indra's descendants. Gold Experience's creations are usually independent life forms and cannot replicate bloodline inheritance or soul characteristics.
Simply put, it cannot manually create Kekkei Genkai or the Sharingan.