Shisui looked extremely battered at the moment, with numerous injuries on his body, and blood flowing from his right eye had dried on his face.
Shisui's body trembled, revealing a hint of a bitter smile.
"I'm sorry, Itachi, my mission failed."
"What, could it be Father...?"
"No, I didn't go to the meeting; instead, I was ambushed by Danzo's men, and he took my right Mangekyo Sharingan."
"!?"
Danzo!
Thinking of that gloomy-faced old man, a surge of anger instantly rose in Itachi's heart.
That man, why would he do this?
Wasn't he willing to sacrifice everything to protect Konoha?
Shisui's actions were meant for Konoha's peace, and should have aligned with his plans, right?
Why attack Shisui?
"I might no longer be able to stop the coup... I've come to understand that Danzo doesn't truly trust our Uchiha Clan. He will decide the future of the Uchiha Clan in his own way. And that future will certainly place the Uchiha Clan in peril."
Shisui calmed down.
"Then Shisui, you..."
"The Mangekyo Sharingan can unleash its full power only when both eyes are together. Root's people are hunting me, and Danzo will keep his eyes on my left eye. So, I plan to entrust this eye to you for safekeeping. Right now, you're the only one I can trust."
Shisui's hand left his left side, and the left eye was taken out, placed in front of Itachi.
Itachi looked at Shisui's empty, hollow expression after losing both eyes, imagining how the ambushed Shisui, now uncertain about the clan's fate, felt bewildered.
Itachi held back his heartache for his friend and took the Mangekyo Sharingan from Shisui's eye.
"I understand, I will keep it safe for you."
With Itachi's assurance, Shisui breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, then the smile disappeared, changing to another tone and said:
"There's one more thing you must know."
"What?"
"That is, in the past... I killed my own friend."
"?"
Holding Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi's mind went blank.
Kill a friend... What does that mean?
Shisui continued, "It happened before I met you. I had another close friend in the village, and from Ninja School days, I was always with him, growing closer. But I was also envious of his talents, as he could always outpace me in everything, whether in tasks or in any other abilities, he far surpassed me."
Itachi quietly listened to Shisui's recount, not interrupting him.
"After graduation, we were on the same team. During a dangerous mission, our team was ambushed by enemies. He sacrificed himself in that mission. The reason being that I didn't save him... Because of my jealousy of his talents during that mission, he died when he could have survived, due to my inaction."
Itachi hadn't anticipated such terrifying darkness hidden within Shisui's heart.
Jealousy?
So, killing a friend, that's what it means?
"When I returned to the village, the unaware village leaders praised me for escaping such a dire situation, calling me a hero, and my friend's parents also empathized with me, not blaming me... he actually shouldn't have died, if I had reached out a hand, he could have been saved, but I didn't... Since then, I have lived in the shadow of my friend's death. The village leaders' affirmation and my friend's parents' understanding made me feel even more ashamed. It was at that time my Mangekyo Sharingan awakened."
Shisui laughed self-deprecatingly, the hollow parts where his eyes used to be turned towards Itachi.
"I'm quite pathetic, aren't I? Because of such foolish jealousy, I let a friend die painfully in front of me; I can't forgive such a version of me. Even with the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan, I don't want to use such power. These eyes opened because of him, I have no right to use such power. However, for the sake of the clan, I must use these eyes. But now..."
It's all too late.
I am being pursued by Root, Danzo would do anything for this eye, even taking preemptive actions against the Uchiha Clan.
By then, if the Uchiha engaged in a bloodbath with the village leaders, Konoha and the Land of Fire would never find peace, and enemy nations would take advantage.
The peace bought by countless forefathers' blood would be completely ruined by his actions.
"It's not your fault..."
"Don't comfort me, Itachi. I am well aware of my own weakness, so, being able to meet you later, and you accepting me, I'm very grateful."
"Really?"
Itachi reminisced about the days when he met Shisui, not knowing what to say.
If Shisui, out of jealousy, only chose inaction in the past...
Then, during our interaction, was there also so-called jealousy?
Itachi shook his head, unsure why he was afraid to imagine further.
Shisui had already transformed; he was no longer the weak Shisui who envied others' talents.
Shisui learned from his friend's death how to manage himself, instead of relying on jealousy to make himself grow.
"This matter is regarding the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan awakening. Telling you this secret, I hope you can complete one final task for me..."
"What is it?"
"Kill me to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
Itachi's body trembled violently, looking at Shisui in disbelief.
"Please, Itachi, preserve the last reputation of the Uchiha Clan..."
As he spoke these words, tears were already streaming down Shisui's face.
Itachi didn't know why Shisui was crying.
But from Shisui's face, he saw boundless despair.
Why despair?
Even with Danzo stirring trouble, it wasn't yet the moment of complete failure; there was still a chance to save things, as long as they could persuade the Hokage to negotiate with the Uchiha, all would still have hope.
"Because of jealousy, I watched my close friend die, wavering between the village and the clan; now I've reached the end of my life..."
Unable to forgive himself for letting a friend die, unable to forgive himself for not protecting the clan, unable to forgive himself for starting to blindly follow the village, unable to endure the outbreak of war, witnessing countless innocent civilians become displaced, families torn apart...
Over the years, I've done a lot of foolish things.
Perhaps from the start, I shouldn't have interacted with the Third Hokage, nor should I have joined the Anbu.
I should have opposed Itachi joining the Anbu, avoided Itachi from interacting with the village leaders.
"Therefore, Itachi, after obtaining the Mangekyo Sharingan, you must live on, don't die..."
Even if you're all alone.
As long as you're alive, the Uchiha still have a hope of revival.
Harboring such despair at the last moment of life, Shisui thought of many things he didn't understand before, and finally understood everything.
Shisui recalled a phrase often said by many people.
The moment a person dies is not when the body stops moving, but the instant their faith collapses.
If possible, Shisui hoped Itachi would never understand the truth within.
Hold onto ignorance and affirm your own path.