The next afternoon, Kurozawa Ren located Shisui's residence using the directions given by Fugaku.
"So this is Shisui's place? Not bad at all."
Shisui's house was slightly smaller than Ren's, yet it was still a luxurious villa by Konoha standards. Judging by the elegant layout and modest grandeur, it was evident that Kagami—Shisui's grandfather and a former disciple of the Second Hokage—had left behind considerable wealth.
Knock knock knock!
Ren rapped on the door.
"Coming!"
A cheerful voice responded, and soon the door swung open.
Standing in the doorway was a boy wearing a Konoha forehead protector, with wide eyes, a round nose, and a tanto strapped to his back—Uchiha Shisui.
"I didn't expect Sasuke to already be practicing the Body Flicker Technique," Shisui said, smiling as he greeted him. "You're working harder than your brother, Itachi."
Kurozawa Ren didn't look embarrassed—after all, Shisui wasn't wrong.
"I appreciate your help today, Shisui-senpai," Ren said politely.
"No problem at all. I may not be able to teach everything, but when it comes to the Body Flicker Technique, I've got you covered," Shisui replied with calm confidence.
The two made their way to a wooded training ground within the Uchiha district. The area contained training posts, target boards, and the scars of frequent sparring—evidence of many intense training sessions.
"This is where Itachi and I used to train," Shisui explained, touching one of the wooden targets gently. "But ever since you started walking, he doesn't come here much anymore."
There was a trace of playful bitterness in Shisui's tone, as though he were blaming Ren for stealing away Itachi's time.
"Ahem… Shisui-senpai, why don't we begin?" Ren coughed lightly to change the subject.
"Alright then. Tell me the problems you've been having with the Body Flicker Technique."
Ren thought for a moment before speaking. "After I apply chakra to the soles of my feet, there's no sudden burst of speed. My movement doesn't change at all."
Shisui rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm… could it be that you're applying too much chakra? For standard flicker movements, you don't need a large chakra output. If you overdo it, your chakra might cling to the ground—just like what happens when you mess up tree-walking."
He paused, then added with a chuckle, "Oh wait… do you even know how to tree-walk yet?"
"It's fine. My father already taught me," Ren waved it off.
"That makes things easier," Shisui said. "The Body Flicker Technique actually requires very refined chakra control—similar to tree-walking, but more advanced. When walking on trees, you regulate chakra to cling to vertical surfaces. With Body Flicker, you have to lay down a chakra path—a track—across the terrain where you intend to move, and then instantly accelerate along that path."
"If you apply too much chakra, you'll stick to the ground and slow down. The key is precision."
Shisui paused and added, "Of course, that's for the basic terrestrial-type Body Flicker. There are other variants, including elemental flickers and even space-time displacement types—but that's way beyond your current level."
Ren listened carefully. The explanation suddenly made a lot of sense. When he tried to use Shunpo—the flash step technique from the Shinigami training system provided by his mysterious power—it never worked right. The system's cultivation notes had stated, "Extend spiritual energy from the feet to create a path", but he hadn't understood it.
He had mistakenly tried to enshroud his feet entirely with reiatsu, rather than laying down a directional path ahead.
"So that's what it means…"
As he spoke, Ren tried again—this time channeling his spiritual energy in a thin line just beneath his feet and extending it about six meters forward. Then, he lightly infused the soles of his feet with a small amount of reiatsu.
Zhoom!
His body blurred and instantly reappeared six meters ahead. He stumbled a bit on landing—his first successful use of Shunpo.
"I did it! I actually did it! HAHAHA!"
Ren couldn't hide his excitement. After months of zero progress, he had finally pulled off Shunpo in less than three minutes with Shisui's guidance.
Zhoom! Zhoom! Zhoom!
Delighted, Ren began flashing across the training ground, vanishing and reappearing as he darted between the trees.
Shisui blinked in astonishment.
What's going on? Isn't the Body Flicker Technique chakra-intensive? How is he using it over and over without tiring?
Even for someone as skilled as Shisui, rapid-fire use of Body Flicker would quickly drain his chakra reserves. Creating and sustaining those chakra pathways required significant energy.
But in Ren's case, he wasn't using chakra at all—he was using spiritual energy. And this wasn't the traditional Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). It was Shunpo, a movement technique from the Soul Society.
Thunk!
"Ow!"
One minute later, Ren's fun ended with him crashing face-first into a tree.
"Thanks for the training, Shisui-senpai," Ren said sheepishly, rubbing his reddened nose.
"Haha, no problem—just make sure to lend me your brother a few more times, alright?"
Ren shrugged helplessly. "It's not that I don't want to. Itachi just clings to me so much these days—I can't shake him."
Shisui scratched his cheek, somewhat embarrassed by the sight of this younger Sasuke look-alike talking so maturely.
"When Itachi returns from his mission, tell him to come find me. I have something important to discuss."
Shisui's tone grew serious.
Ren tensed slightly. In the original timeline, Itachi's decision to annihilate the Uchiha clan was influenced in part by Shisui's words and actions.
Since taking over Sasuke's body, Ren had told Itachi many stories—some about family loyalty, others about regret—hoping to change the outcome. So far, it seemed to have strengthened Itachi's ties to the clan.
But if Shisui started whispering in his ear again…
"How do you view the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village?" Ren asked cautiously.
Shisui blinked. He didn't expect such a deep question from a child, but he answered seriously.
"The clan is the foundation of the village. And the village is the protector of every clan. They rely on each other."
"The clan should support and contribute to the village. Likewise, the village should shelter and respect its clans. It's like the bond between tenant and landlord—but deeper, like family."
Ren was surprised. Shisui's answer was more balanced than he'd expected. He wasn't blindly siding with the village, nor was he excusing the clan's actions.
Ren pressed further: "What if a clan can't integrate? What if there's friction?"
Shisui looked at him, then spoke firmly: "Then that clan needs to reflect, make changes, and do what it can to reintegrate. At the same time, the village should exercise tolerance. No loyal clan should ever be cast aside."
"…Uncle Fugaku put you up to this, didn't he?" Shisui said with a knowing smirk. "Tell him this: even if I've joined the Anbu, I'm still Uchiha. That won't change."
With that, Shisui turned and walked away.
Ren remained behind, deep in thought.
Shisui's answers had eased his worries—somewhat. But he had also accidentally made his father take the blame for a question he asked himself.
Cough cough… well, it's not really my fault. Shisui's imagination is just too active.
Ren scratched his head.