"My older brother has been acting strange lately, like he's become a completely different person."
"Before, when I asked him for something, he'd say no at first but always made time for me the next day. Now, he only says 'next time' but never actually follows through."
"I originally wanted to ask Brother Shisui about what's going on, but it seems like Shisui has disappeared."
"People in the clan say Shisui died during a mission, but I can tell they're hiding the truth from me..."
In class, Sasuke was troubled by these thoughts and quietly complained to Naruto in a low voice.
Naruto found it strange and looked at Sasuke in surprise — was this really the cold and aloof Sasuke he knew?
Feeling Naruto's gaze, Sasuke returned to his usual distant demeanor, pretending nothing was wrong and focusing on the lesson. As someone who saw Naruto as a rival, Sasuke refused to lose to him in any way.
Sakura, sitting nearby, noticed Sasuke's odd behavior and wanted to ask what was wrong but was stopped by a cold glance from him.
Confused and hurt, Sakura withdrew her hand, her face showing a hint of sadness. She couldn't understand why she seemed inferior to Naruto in Sasuke's eyes.
From the teacher's desk, Iruka watched the scene with some relief. Naruto had become much more normal recently.
He no longer treated classmates roughly, actively tried to make friends, blended in well, and didn't cause trouble for other teachers.
All this seemed related to the Uchiha and the ANBU.
The ANBU had become a hot topic, overshadowing the past Nine-Tails Night incident. The villagers cared more about the ANBU's violent attitudes because it affected their own interests.
What Iruka and Sasuke didn't know was that the Naruto sitting in class was actually a Shadow Clone.
---
Inside the Death Forest.
The Death Forest is a forbidden zone accessible only to ninja. It is full of beasts with strength comparable to lower-ranked Jonin, and outside the village, these creatures would easily threaten ordinary people's lives.
But for Naruto, who had already reached Jonin-level strength, this place was paradise.
No complicated human emotions, no surveillance from the ANBU, just show some of his power to keep the beasts away, and he could hunt and collect trophies from wild animals.
After the hunt, Naruto returned to his secret base carrying freshly hunted, bloody meat.
He casually cooked some vegetables and meat, enjoying the wild flavor while feeding the blind Shisui, ensuring at least the minimum energy needed to survive.
Blind and with limited sensory perception, Shisui could only gather information through smell, hearing, and touch.
From the humidity in the air, he guessed he was underground and still inside the Land of Fire. His captor was undoubtedly a skilled chef—the food smelled delicious.
Besides that, the intelligence he could gather was extremely limited.
He only confirmed the captor was a Jonin who had inherited both the Hyuga and Uchiha clans' techniques, and for now, had no intention of killing him.
But Hyuga and Uchiha were rivals within the village. How could someone master techniques from both clans? There was no record of Hyuga and Uchiha ever becoming friends.
Could it be someone from the ANBU or Root?
He wasn't familiar with ANBU, so he decided to ask Itachi about Root.
If Root had such a powerful member, they would have handed him over to Danzo already. Could it be some other faction within the village?
Even if he knew the captor's identity, in his current state, the only thing he could do was consider suicide.
Though suicide might solve his troubles, after a moment of impulse, he had abandoned the idea.
Because suicide wouldn't change anything. Whether alive or dead, it wouldn't resolve the conflict between the clan and the village. After decades of discrimination, the idea of rebellion was deeply rooted in every clan member's heart.
So he had to live. Only by living could he make a change. The first step was to escape.
But now blind and with blocked chakra pathways, how could he escape from Jonin guards? There might be others outside.
Shisui fell into deep thought again.
Unnoticed even by himself, after losing his Mangekyo Sharingan, his mind had become much clearer and more active.
---
After lunch, Naruto rubbed his slightly swollen belly and walked toward Shisui's cell. Standing outside, he stared silently for a long time before slowly speaking:
"After losing the desire to commit suicide, do you even know how to escape? Is this the resolve of Shunshin Shisui?"
Startled at having his thoughts seen through, Shisui looked toward the voice calmly and asked, "Who exactly are you? Are you the Jonin hidden by Captain Fugaku, or an agent of the Third Hokage?"
Naruto smiled and said, "Neither. If I had to say, I'm more of an outcast in Konoha."
Shisui, blindfolded with bandages, frowned: "An outcast?"
Naruto nodded: "Someone nobody cares about or notices. Even if they die in a corner, they're just forgotten."
Shisui changed the topic, hoping to gather more information from the conversation:
"Why haven't you killed me? You already have my eyes."
Naruto didn't expose Shisui's suspicions, instead smiling: "Because it's interesting. I want to see how others react when someone who should have died suddenly appears."
Shisui was a bit stunned: "Just for fun? You attacked me on purpose?"
Naruto shook his head, laughing: "Of course, there's more to it. But after losing your Sharingan, don't you feel the world has become clearer? The Sharingan was actually a hindrance—to you and the Uchiha."
Shisui fell silent. Losing his sight in recent days, he had indeed thought deeply about many things.
His views had changed significantly, but he hadn't lost his judgment because of Naruto's words.
Naruto was definitely here for the Kotoamatsukami. Other motives were unknown for now.
Shisui remained quiet, and Naruto naturally didn't waste time waiting. Instead, he turned and entered another room with a bed and a workbench filled with surgical instruments.
Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone and lay on a stone bed, preparing for surgery.
He had spent a great deal of time studying medical ninjutsu to prepare for transplanting Sharingan or Rinnegan eyes in the future. He knew well the power of a Sage's body combined with Sage Eyes—enough to easily crush the current Five Kage.
The surgery went smoothly.
Half an hour later, Naruto removed his own eyes and replaced them with the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan.
Through the Sharingan, the world appeared clearer, and everything seemed to slow down.
Naruto understood this wasn't the world slowing, but his perception improving qualitatively.
Looking away, Naruto glanced at a nearby mirror and saw the eerie Sharingan reflected back.
Similar to when Kakashi received a transplanted Sharingan, Naruto's eyes couldn't close—they remained active, consuming chakra that would leave a Jonin drained.
But when Naruto attempted to activate the Kotoamatsukami's techniques, the feedback from the eye stunned him.
---
(End of Chapter)