"See the Uchiha's true…—the dead."
When Shinju's words fell, the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine went dead still—then burst into stifled laughter.
"Dead? Hah! Has this brat lost his mind?" Yatsushiro, finally shaking free of the terror from that earlier pressure, braced himself on the table with a twisted grin. "Who does he think he is? Rikudō Sennin (Sage of Six Paths)? Can he summon the dead?"
"Nonsense! Fugaku, this is the Namikaze you fear? I see a lunatic spouting delusions!" another elder added with scorn.
Fugaku didn't laugh. That calm—terrifyingly calm—look in Shinju's eyes sank his heart to the bottom.
He remembered the miracle no one had explained—the Fourth Hokage's return from death. A ridiculous notion rose in him, unstoppable.
Itachi's body jolted at the word "dead." His heart hammered out of control. He thought of a single person—his life's greatest regret, a name he hardly dared recall.
Impossible… absolutely impossible…
He told himself that again and again, yet his eyes locked on Shinju, refusing to miss even the smallest motion.
Shinju ignored the laughter around him. He didn't even glance at the hawk elders driven half-mad. He only lifted his head, gaze seeming to pierce the stone above and look straight into the night sky over the shrine.
In his mind, he issued the command to his system.
[Ding! Legendary spirit 'Shunshin Shisui' locked. Greatest regrets detected: 'Failed to stop the clan's extermination,' 'Eyes stolen.' Consume Revision Points for perfect revival?]
"Confirm." Shinju's intent held not a shred of hesitation.
The instant he confirmed, a vast power surged from within him—unseen, roaring into the heavens.
Outside the shrine, Izumi and the younger clansmen kneeling on the steps sensed it first.
The wind stopped.
In the night sky, the bright moon was veiled by a layer of strange, crimson clouds from nowhere.
From directly above Naka Shrine, an unfathomable chakra descended—so immense it made the heart quail.
"Wh-what… is that?" Izumi stared up, terrified, at the massive crimson vortex forming in the sky.
In the chamber below, the laughter cut off at once.
Every Uchiha felt it—the chakra that stirred something deep in their blood, making them tremble by instinct.
"This chakra… Sharingan?!" Fugaku blurted. "No—stronger than anyone's! This ocular power…"
Boom!
A muffled thunder rolled from overhead. The whole cavern shook violently; dust sifted down in sheets.
Everyone staggered, faces stamped with shock.
"Outside!" Fugaku bellowed, sprinting for the exit first.
When the Uchiha executives burst from the chamber into Naka Shrine's courtyard, they froze, dumbstruck by the sight.
Above the shrine, the colossal crimson chakra vortex had fully formed. It turned slowly, bathing the entire Uchiha district in ominous red light.
Pure, ultimate ocular might of Uchiha bloodline poured from the vortex's heart, stabbing pain into the eyes of every clan member who had awakened their Sharingan—like standing before the sovereign of their blood.
Shinju walked out from the chamber, calm as ever. He stood atop the highest stone step, lifted his chin to the sky's phenomenon, as if admiring a masterpiece he'd personally directed.
He raised a hand and pointed to the vortex core.
Then, in a voice that rang across the shrine, he called the name.
"Come forth!"
"Uchiha's crimson revenant—Shunshin Shisui!"
As his words echoed out, the vortex spun wildly.
A figure began to take shape at its center.
A young man's silhouette.
He wore the Uchiha's high-collared uniform; short black hair ruffled in the streaming currents of power.
On his face was a smile everyone knew—gentle as a spring breeze.
When that figure stepped from the vortex and drifted down to the shrine's highest roof—
All the hawk elders' arrogance and disdain curdled into raw terror. They stared at that familiar, impossible figure, legs giving out as they collapsed to the ground.
"Sh—Shisui…?"
"Shunshin Shisui… how… he was already…"
Fugaku's body went rigid. His mouth fell open; his mind went blank.
As clan head, he had personally confirmed Shisui's death. The genius who cast himself into the Naka River—the Uchiha's hope—how could he…
And Itachi—at the instant he saw that figure clearly—could no longer dam the flood within.
Tears broke like a burst levee.
His life's dearest friend, the only light on his path through darkness. He had watched that light go out with his own eyes and borne endless pain for it. Failing to save Shisui was his deepest regret; not even in dreams had he imagined seeing his friend again—let alone like this.
Now that light burned anew, in a way he could not comprehend.
The man on the roof—Shisui—slowly opened his eyes.
What kind of eyes?
In the pitch-black pupils, a four-bladed windmill pattern turned, shining with an eerie, overwhelming radiance.
The Mangekyō Sharingan famed for the strongest genjutsu—Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods).
Untouched. Perfect.
Both eyes—perfectly whole.
That fact shook the Uchiha even more than his return from death.
They all knew: one major reason Shisui had chosen death was that one of his eyes had been stolen by Danzo.
But now—both eyes were flawless.
This was no mere revival.
This was a miracle.
A god's hand had wiped away the regrets of the past and returned a legend in his most perfect form.
Standing upon the roof, Shisui flexed his fingers in mild confusion, feeling the peak—no, beyond-his-lifetime—power flowing in his eyes.
His gaze swept across the faces below—stunned, terrified, exultant.
Finally, his eyes settled on the figure in the crowd whose cheeks were already streaming with tears.
Shisui's smile warmed from the heart.
He leapt lightly from the roof, landed, and walked to Itachi.
"It's been a while, Itachi."
His voice was as gentle as ever.
"Looks like you ran into a lot of trouble while I was gone."
(End of Chapter)
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