CHAPTER 258: THE SIN OF POTENTIAL (PART-3) [TWO EYES, THREE VILLAGES, COUNTLESS CONSEQUENCES]

{From this Chapter onwards there would be no explanatory notes at the end of the Chapter because anything I might say would end up becoming a spoiler, so if you do have any questions then comment them please.}

~Leaf Village~

In the Leaf Village, far behind the grand Hokage faces carved into the mountain range, the evening wind howled softly against the cliffs. The view stretched endlessly toward the forests below, but at the edge of that cliff, two figures stood, one swaying weakly on his feet, the other frozen in disbelief.

The older of the two was clearly injured, his body trembling from blood loss. One of his eyes was shut tight, blood streaking down his cheek and dripping from his jawline. The younger boy, barely managing to hold back his emotions, stared at him with wide eyes filled with tears. His voice came out shaky and strained.

"Why did this happen, Shisui? Who did this to you?"

Shisui’s breathing was uneven, yet even in his battered state, a faint, almost teasing smile curved his lips. Slowly, he raised his hand and reached out, pressing two fingers lightly against the younger boy’s forehead.

"You shouldn’t cry, Itachi," he said gently, his tone still carrying a flicker of warmth. "You’re the future clan leader of the Uchiha. What would people think if they saw you crying like this, huh?"

A small, broken chuckle left his mouth, though it was clear the movement caused him pain. The humor faded quickly, replaced by a quiet seriousness that weighed down the air between them.

"Listen carefully, Itachi. What I’m about to tell you... the fate of both the clan and the village depends on it."

Itachi’s hands clenched at his sides, his body stiff, trying to stop his voice from shaking as he nodded. "I’m listening."

Shisui took a deep breath, his expression tightening. "Danzo Shimura, the Hokage’s advisor, he was supposed to stand trial in a few days. But he escaped." His jaw flexed slightly as he spoke. "He came to me in secret. Somehow... he found out about Kotoamatsukami, the power in my Mangekyo Sharingan. That’s how I lost my eye."

Itachi’s breath hitched, and his gaze darted toward the wound. Shisui continued, his tone steady despite the blood trickling down his chin. "Right now, Danzo has that eye. Which means he has access to my ability. With it, he could manipulate anyone, even the Hokage himself. You understand how dangerous that makes him, right?"

Itachi swallowed hard and nodded, eyes glistening. Shisui’s words carried a heavy finality, each one sinking deep.

"That’s why you can’t confront him alone, Itachi. Promise me you won’t."

The younger boy stayed silent for a moment before giving a faint, almost reluctant nod.

Shisui exhaled softly, some tension leaving his shoulders. "Good. At least you’re not alone. You have people you can rely on, the ANBU Commander, Yoru, and your friend Ren Senju." Despite his exhaustion, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "That’s... a small relief."

He looked up at the fading sky, then turned back toward Itachi. "Now, look at me."

Itachi blinked, confused, but raised his gaze.

Shisui’s remaining eye opened fully, the dark onyx shifting and twisting as the familiar three tomoe began to rotate. Within seconds, they reshaped into a distinct four-pointed pinwheel. The air around him seemed to still, heavy with chakra and unspoken meaning.

Itachi’s breath caught in his throat. He’d seen that form before, Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan. But this time, it felt different in a way he couldn’t understand.

Shisui stared straight into Itachi’s eyes, his single Mangekyo Sharingan glowing faintly in the dim light of dusk. His breathing had grown shallow, uneven, but his gaze still held that familiar warmth and resolve.

"Itachi," he began, voice hoarse yet steady, "I don’t have much time left now. I was hit with poison from one of Danzo’s subordinates... it’s already spreading through my body. So whatever happens next, it’s up to you."

Itachi froze, his breath catching in his throat. He could already see the bluish tint starting to form around the edges of Shisui’s lips and the subtle trembling in his fingers.

Shisui took a slow step closer, his voice softer but weighted. "Listen carefully. Decades ago, our ancestor must’ve hoped that the Uchiha could grow alongside the others of the village. That’s why he agreed to help create Konoha in the first place." His hand rested weakly on Itachi’s shoulder. "From that moment on, the village was meant to come first... and the clan second."

Itachi’s eyes widened slightly, conflict flickering across his face.

"But now," Shisui continued, his tone darkening, "that balance is breaking. Many in the clan have forgotten what we stood for, they believe the clan should come before the village. That’s a dangerous thought, Itachi. One that could destroy everything we’ve built. You’ll have to be the one to stop it."

Itachi’s lips parted, but no words came out. He just stood there, trembling slightly as Shisui’s eye began to glow with a deep emerald hue.

"Do you understand?" Shisui asked quietly.

The green light intensified as his Mangekyo pattern spun slowly. Itachi’s pupils flickered, turning faintly green in reflection. His expression softened, his body relaxing against his will, and then he gave a small nod.

"I... understand."

Shisui smiled faintly, relieved, though pain creased his expression. "Good."

Then, without hesitation, he raised his trembling hand to his own face. Itachi’s eyes widened in horror as Shisui dug his fingers into his left eye socket. Blood ran down his cheek in a dark, steady stream as he clawed the eye free. The sound was sickening. He winced but still managed to smile faintly, holding the bloodied eye out toward Itachi.

"Please, Itachi..." he said softly, voice barely above a whisper. "Protect the village. And the clan."

Itachi’s tears returned instantly, spilling down his cheeks as he stared at the eye in his friend’s palm. His hands shook as he took it, clutching it close to his chest.

A rustling sound came from the forest below. Shisui’s expression shifted immediately. He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Looks like... I’ll have to make you suffer a bit more, Itachi," he said with a strained laugh. "I’m sorry... please forgive me, if you can."

Before Itachi could react, Shisui gathered what little strength he had left. With one final smile, which was both tired and peaceful, he pushed himself off the ground and backward off the cliff.

"Shisui!" Itachi screamed, reaching out in desperation. His body surged forward, feet skidding across the dirt as his hand extended toward the falling figure.

"SHISUI! NOOO!"

But it was already too late. The wind swallowed Shisui’s body as it vanished into the mist below.

Itachi stumbled to the edge, his knees giving way as he collapsed. His hands clenched into the dirt, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

"Why..." His voice cracked. "Why did you..."

The tears kept coming, darker now, streaked with red. Blood dripped from his eyes as his anguish deepened, twisting into something unrecognizable.

A sharp movement behind him broke the silence. Two masked Root operatives appeared in a flicker, standing side by side, their tone cold and detached.

"Itachi Uchiha-" one began.

But before the second could finish, both of their heads slipped cleanly from their necks. Their bodies fell lifelessly to the ground, blood pooling at Itachi’s feet.

He stood motionless for a moment, kunai in hand, the blade slick with crimson. The wind carried the metallic scent as he stared toward the setting sun. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The familiar three tomoe began to spin, twisting and merging until they formed a sharp, three-pronged pinwheel that rotated smoothly within his pupils.

"Don’t worry, Shisui..." he whispered, voice low and steady. "I’ll always protect the village."

In the next moment, his form blurred and vanished into the trees.

A few seconds later, another figure flickered into the clearing, it was Yoru, the ANBU Commander.

He scanned the scene then with a single, silent motion, he raised one hand and flames erupted, engulfing the two Root corpses until nothing remained but ash.

He then turned toward the cliff where Shisui had fallen, his thoughts lingering for a long moment. Slowly, he bowed his head. "Good work," he muttered quietly.

Then, without warning, Yoru’s body tensed. He dropped to one knee, clutching the left side of his face as his breathing grew ragged. His voice came out strained, trembling between pain and restraint.

"This was already decided..." he muttered through gritted teeth. "This had to be done... Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment."

For several seconds, his body spasmed violently. Then it stilled. His breathing evened out again, and his usual composure returned.

A second later, Yoru vanished into thin air leaving behind only the faint smell of burnt blood and the echo of a tragedy that would change Konoha forever.

~~~

Back near the borders of the Land of Fire the encirclement had already been done.

The Stone contingent had taken up their positions, Kitsuchi had brought twenty-five jonin teams which meant he had twenty-five Jonin and seventy-five Chunin, making a neat hundred shinobi, arrayed in disciplined arcs and staggered intervals.

Opposite them the Cloud’s force fanned out under C’s direction, they brought, forty jonin teams, forty jonin and one hundred and twenty Chunin, a total of one-sixty moving like a single, disciplined organism.

When you add it all together the field around Ren held one hundred and ninety-five Chunin and sixty-five jonin, two hundred and sixty in total, plus Kitsuchi, C, and Yugito. Two hundred and sixty-three chakra signatures circled the ruined clearing like teeth.

Unseen to most of them, two other signatures lingered in the dirt and shadow, they were Obito and a Zetsu, working from the fringes.

Unlike the previously decided plan Zetsu began first because of the idiots that had taken up the work to kill Ren.

It slipped into the soil and unfurled its subtle craft, suppressing the space ripples as the encircled shinobi kept their auras deliberately obvious, as if daring Ren to react.

Obito’s own control over spatial fluctuation could stretch so far; it wasn’t enough to mask every body and every jutsu the allied army planned to throw. That gap fell to Zetsu, the ancient thing that had spent centuries honing the small arts of distortion and dispersion.

It took up the extra work with an almost disinterested efficiency; after all, this variable called Ren Senju mattered. His death was a tidy solution.

Both the Cloud and the Stone forces had their combination jutsus prepared, the kind of large-scale techniques that were usually reserved for war, not for hunting a single target. But this time, the target wasn’t ordinary, and everyone on the field knew it. No one dared to relax, not even for a second.

On the Cloud’s side, their formation was purely offensive, the [Lightning Style: Thunder Network Formation], a jutsu that nearly every shinobi from the Cloud Village was trained to use. It was designed for group combat; the more users there were, the stronger the technique became. Now, with more than a hundred and fifty shinobi contributing chakra simultaneously, the formation’s power had reached a level far beyond an S-rank jutsu. The entire Cloud division was practically crackling with electricity, arcs of lightning running between them as the chakra network stabilized.

The Stone side, on the other hand, had prepared something different. Their formation wasn’t focused on direct damage but rather on total battlefield control. The [Earth Style: Terra Dominion Formation] a technique that allowed its users to manipulate the terrain on a massive scale. Though its offensive capability wasn’t as destructive as the Cloud’s formation, its true value lay in creating an environment where the enemy had nowhere to run or hide. Now, with a hundred Stone shinobi channeling their chakra into the earth, and with Kitsuchi, one of the most renowned Earth Style users alive leading them, the scale of manipulation was unimaginable.

Once the pre-decided countdown reached zero, both sides began to form their seals in perfect synchronization. But the Stone shinobi were the first to act.

Their entire army moved like clockwork, units of four Chunin and two jonin knelt in tight formations across the field, while the remaining three Fuinjutsu masters stood at the rear to form the array one the time came. As the first group of four Chunin slammed their palms to the ground, the earth trembled faintly as their chakra sank deep beneath the surface. Then the two jonin in their team followed, their chakra interweaving with that of the chunin’s to form a stable network. One after another, every group did the same, their chakra threads merging underground into an enormous lattice.

Kitsuchi inhaled deeply, his hands flashing through a long, complex sequence of seals. He didn’t often get the chance to use this kind of large-scale technique, but now wasn’t the time to hold back. The final seal clicked into place, and he slammed his palm into the soil. Instantly, his chakra pulsed through the network and the entire formation came alive.

The ground quaked as if the land itself had woken up. Massive ripples ran across the terrain, hills rising where there had been plains, stone ridges bursting out of the forest floor. It looked as though the earth was breathing, bending to Kitsuchi’s will.

At the same time, on the opposite side, the Cloud forces had also finished forming their own seals. Their jutsu was different in nature, simpler in design, but overwhelmingly destructive. Each Cloud shinobi released a thin, lightning-conductive field around themselves, and as those fields overlapped, they connected to form one massive, pulsing web of chakra that covered nearly half the battlefield.

At the center stood Yugito, the one commanding the network. C had the best chakra control and sensory ability, but not nearly enough raw power to sustain a formation of this scale. Yugito’s chakra burned bright, her hair fluttering wildly in the rising static as she completed the last of her seals.

Her hand shot forward, lightning tearing through her arm like veins of light, and with a deafening roar a giant lightning bolt surged through the sky, slamming forward in a blinding wave that tore across the battlefield.

KRAKOOOOOM!

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