บท 12: Chapter:12

"It's time." Just as the two were about to separate, at that critical moment, Kirito, who had been hiding in the shadows and waiting patiently, made his move. He unleashed the fourth level of the God's breath, combining its flash skill with the Body Flicker Technique, moving at an almost unimaginable speed.

No one, not even Shisui, who was writhing in pain after losing his right eye, could see what had happened. All they saw was a flash of a sword passing between the two men. When they separated, Shisui was missing his right eye, and Danzo had lost his entire left arm.

"What the hell just happened?" Danzo, who thought he had won, stared blankly at his left arm that now lay on the ground. His palm was open, and the Sharingan was long gone. The next moment, a searing pain surged from deep within his soul, causing Danzo to let out a gut-wrenching scream, "Ah!"

Kirito smirked coldly and walked away without lingering. Danzo's left arm was now completely ruined. Kirito's Zanpakuto had severed not just his flesh, but also his soul.

In the days to come, unless Danzo replaced his arm with a puppet limb, even if he tried to transplant a new arm, it would become necrotic and he would no longer be able to gather chakra.

Let him deal with that mess.

"Lord Danzo." The Root ninjas, who had been hiding in the shadows, were equally stunned and immediately appeared to protect Danzo.

They hadn't even seen what had transpired.

They only saw a blur before their eyes, and then Danzo's left arm was gone.

Shisui also reacted quickly. Clutching the empty socket where his right eye had been, he looked at Danzo, whose left arm had been severed. Realizing a third party was involved, he swiftly formed seals with both hands.

"Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique."

A massive fireball suddenly engulfed Danzo and the Root ninjas.

These Root ninjas had been deployed by Danzo to deal with Uchiha Shisui. Upon seeing this, they simultaneously formed seals. "Water Style! Water Wave."

Water clashed with fire, sending a huge cloud of steam rising into the air.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Shisui quickly made his escape.

The Root ninjas turned to Danzo. "Lord Danzo, Uchiha Shisui has escaped."

"Damn it, who did this?" Danzo's face was twisted in anger as he clutched his left shoulder, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes filled with unwillingness and rage.

He had always prided himself on being a master strategist, but today he had been outmaneuvered.

This was simply unacceptable.

"Lord Danzo, should we pursue them?" one of the Root ninjas suggested.

"Chase? What for? Retrieve my left arm and take me back to the Root base immediately," Danzo roared. Though he hadn't seen who cut off his arm, he was certain it wasn't Shisui.

In that situation, Shisui didn't have the ability or the courage to do so.

Now that Danzo's Sharingan had been used up, and his body had suffered severe damage, with his right hand, which had been infused with the First Hokage's cells, still sealed, he was in no condition to use any more risky tactics in Konoha.

If that mysterious attacker struck again, his life would be forfeit!

Meanwhile, after Kirito had secured Kotoamatsukami from Shisui, he chose not to reveal himself just yet.

Instead, he headed to the Nanhe River, where Uchiha Shisui would eventually meet his end.

"Is this the so-called 'Mangekyo Sharingan'?"

Looking at Shisui's right eye, which he had taken from Danzo, Kirito felt a wave of disgust and casually stored it in his system warehouse.

In the system warehouse, time and space were completely frozen. He had previously tested this by placing rabbits and fish inside, and they had remained safe and sound, so he was confident the Sharingan would be preserved perfectly.

As for transplantation...

Kirito had no interest in that.

He would never do something as gruesome as gouging out his own eyeballs.

He had no desire to end up like Kakashi, burdened by the Sharingan and eventually going blind due to not having Uchiha blood. That would be too tragic.

Another reason was that the Sharingan alone was too unsightly.

Instead of going that route, he'd rather emulate Uchiha Itachi and transplant the Sharingan into the eyes of a summoning beast. Wouldn't that be more convenient?

However, just as he tossed the Sharingan into the system warehouse, a long-awaited system prompt echoed in his mind.

[Ding, the system has detected the Sharingan from the Naruto world in the warehouse. Would you like to merge it?]

"What will happen if I merge it?" Kirito asked internally, slightly taken aback.

[Ding, after merging, it will replace the host's right eye.]

"Are you kidding? What's the point of merging? I don't want to become another Kakashi." Kirito's mouth twitched in frustration as he glanced up at the cliff above, his eyes flickering with thought. "System, what would happen if I threw Uchiha Shisui into the system warehouse?"

[Ding, the host may experience split personalities if you proceed.]

"Damn it. Only an idiot would try that." Kirito cursed in his mind.

He didn't care about the rest. Regardless of whether Shisui was dead or alive, he would just toss him into the system warehouse and see what happened.

At the same time...

Uchiha Shisui and Itachi had reached the top of the cliff.

This was a place where they had often played together as children.

"Shisui... your eye?" Uchiha Itachi, who was usually terrible at expressing his emotions, maintained a calm facade, but murderous intent brewed beneath the surface.

"As you can see, it's been taken," Shisui turned around, revealing the hollow socket where his right eye had been, a self-mocking smile playing on his lips.

He continued, "The Uchiha coup can no longer be stopped. If a civil war breaks out in Konoha, other nations will surely seize the opportunity to invade, sparking the Fourth Shinobi World War. I had hoped to use Kotoamatsukami to prevent the coup, but Danzo took my right eye."

"I was too naive. Danzo has never trusted anyone. He'll protect the village in his own way, even if it means sacrificing everything."

"Unfortunately, in the end, all my efforts were in vain, and I was merely paving the way for someone else's gain."

"At the moment when Danzo took my right eye, a mysterious figure appeared and severed Danzo's left arm. His speed was incredible, beyond even what my Body Flicker Technique could achieve. Now, I fear my left eye has become his next target. Danzo won't give up."

With that, Shisui pondered for a moment before removing his remaining left eye. "So, before my left eye is taken as well, I plan to entrust it to you for safekeeping."

"Shisui." Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi, who normally remained stoic, could no longer hide his emotions. His eyes glistened, and he spoke with difficulty.

"After all, you're the only friend I can trust with this. You must protect the village and our clan." Uchiha Shisui smiled, relieved, and extended his left hand, revealing his bloodied eye. At that moment, he had resolved to meet his end.

Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes in sorrow, summoning a crow to take Shisui's eye. "I have taken your eye. What will you do next?"

"If I die, things will change. The Uchiha coup will falter. I've left behind a suicide note." Uchiha Shisui slowly stepped backward toward the edge of the cliff.

"Wait. Shisui!" Seeing this, Uchiha Itachi could no longer remain composed and reached out to stop him, but Shisui said, "Don't stop me, if you still consider me a friend."

With that, Uchiha Shisui leaned back and let himself fall from the cliff, his figure slowly vanishing into the darkness below.

(End of this chapter)