Part I – A Change in the Air
The leaves were turning red that week.
Ishi noticed it from the rooftops as he returned from another medical evaluation. The air smelled of coming rain, sharp and metallic . Every few minutes, a flicker at the edge of his senses — a chakra signature appearing and vanishing before he could pin it down.
Someone's watching.
He didn't alert anyone. Suspicion was an old friend; panic, a waste of breath. He walked the narrow ridge of the Hokage's mountain face, the village sprawling below him like a painted map.
The wind tugged at his blindfold, and for a moment, he almost gave in — nearly looked. Instead, he whispered to the air, "Whoever you are, at least buy me dinner first."
A single feather drifted down in answer. Black. Iridescent.A crow's.
Part II – Itachi
In the forest beyond the village, a man knelt beside a small flock of crows. Their eyes glimmered red before fading back to black.
Itachi exhaled slowly, fingers brushing the bark of a tree. He had watched many things in silence, but this one—this boy—was different.
His chakra had the pattern of something ancient. It bent the air around it like light around glass.
"He doesn't belong here," Itachi murmured.
Beside him, a single crow tilted its head.
"He interfered once," Itachi continued. "And time shuddered. That is not a power meant for mortals… nor for shinobi."
The crow croaked softly — a sound halfway between agreement and warning.
"I'll test him," Itachi decided. "And if he's dangerous…"He didn't finish the thought. He didn't need to.
Part III – The Crow Appears
It began with whispers. Low. Distant. Too faint to make sense.
Ishi was walking home when the world bent.
The sound of footsteps, the scent of smoke, the sky dissolving into gray static — the same feeling that came before time stopped. But this time, someone else was controlling it.
The alley stretched longer than it should have. At the far end stood a silhouette, still and calm.
"Beautiful night," the stranger said softly.
The voice was smooth, quiet,t — and wrong. Every syllable carried the weight of something practiced, deliberate, almost kind.
Ishi's heartbeat quickened. "You know, people usually start with a hello."
Itachi stepped into view, Sharingan glowing like a red eclipse.
"I wanted to see the eyes that warped time," he said.
"And here I thought I had a fan club."
"Hardly."
Itachi's expression never changed. "You shouldn't exist."
Ishi laughed — dry and sharp. "Neither should you, technically. Family massacre and all that. But here we are."
The faintest flicker crossed Itachi's eyes. Then, without warning, the world tilted.
Part IV – The Genjutsu
Ishi blinked — and he was standing in a different place.
A corridor made of mirrors stretched endlessly. Each one reflected him — dozens, hundreds of Ishis — all wearing the same blindfold, all whispering different words.
At the end of the corridor stood Itachi, hands folded behind his back.
"This is my world," Itachi said. "A genjutsu to read the truth behind illusion."
"Bold of you to assume there's any truth left in me," Ishi said.
He lifted a hand to his face. The blindfold melted away like smoke.
Golden-black eyes flared open.
The mirrors screamed. Cracks split across the thcorrr r. Itachi staggered back, clutching his head as his own Sharingan spasmed in protest.
"What—?" he gasped.
Ishi's voice echoed from every direction."You wanted to see. Be careful what you wish for."
The mirrors reflected not Ishi anymore, but Itachi — every regret, every version of him that had killed, savefaltered ed. A child weeping beside his brother.A man soaked in blood.A ghost who could never die.
Ishi stepped closer."You and I are cursed with sight, Uchiha. We see too much. We live in rewinds and echoes."
For the first time in years, Itachi felt fear — not for himself, but for what looked back through Ishi's eyes: something older than any human, peering out through a fragile mask.
The mirrors exploded.
Part V – Aftermath
The genjutsu broke with a sound like glass shattering underwater.
Itachi wwasgone Only crows remained, scattering into the night.
Ishi stood alone in the empty alley, breathing hard. Blood trickled from beneath the blindfold.
"Well," he whispered, wiping his lip, "that was rude foreplay."
Above him, a single crow perched on a lamppost — staring, unblinking. Its voice was Itachi's now, disembodied and quiet.
"Your eyes defy nature. Be careful, or they will consume you."
Ishi smiled faintly. "Too late."
The bird cawed once and vanished into the shadows.
Part VI – Observation
Later, Kakashi found him sitting on the Hokage Monument again, blood still drying on his collar.
"What happened?" Kakashi asked.
Ishi's answer was distant. "Met a ghost with perfect vision. We compared curses."
Kakashi sat beside him, silent.
"Tell me," Ishi murmured. "If a man sees every future — even the ones where he dies — can he ever really live?"
Kakashi didn't answer.
The wind shifted. Somewhere in the forest, a crow cried once.
Part VII – Threads Entwined
Deep underground, the woman of the Veil smiled.
"So," she murmured, "the Uchiha has glimpsed the Threadbearer. Excellent. Let them dance a little longer."
She touched the shimmering tapestry — where two threads now pulsed side by side: crimson and gold-black.
"When one seer meets another," she said, "the loom begins to fray."
End of Chapter 7 – The Whispering Crow