Orochimaru's intelligence-gathering ability ranked among the very best in the shinobi world.
That said, time and place mattered.
At present, he was one of Konoha's most unwelcome individuals. If he wanted to move around the village, he had to be extremely cautious—at the very least, he'd need to disguise himself.
Hagoromo, on the other hand, was different.
While Konoha could not exactly be called his territory, compared to Orochimaru, he possessed a clear home-field advantage.
More importantly—
He had help.
A high-frequency "radar" that covered nearly the entirety of Konoha.
So it came as no surprise that Hagoromo found Shisui's location first.
Only—
Shisui was no longer there.
Standing in his place was another ANBU operative.
Hagoromo couldn't see the face beneath the mask, nor the expression it wore.
But he could easily imagine what kind of eyes lay behind those two hollow apertures.
Uchiha Itachi.
The young shinobi who still earned the title "Uchiha prodigy" even while living under the shadow of Shisui of the Body Flicker.
"…That was close."
Hagoromo sounded as though he were speaking to Itachi—
Yet also as though he were talking to himself.
This situation truly qualified as a hair's breadth from disaster.
Hagoromo raised his right arm, clenched his fist, and brought his forearm horizontally in front of him.
From the pitch-black night, a jet-black crow emerged, flapping its wings before landing on his arm.
This was no ordinary crow.
In its left eye socket, there was a three-tomoe Sharingan.
Itachi had hidden Shisui's left eye inside a summoned crow.
Under normal circumstances, this was an extremely secure method of concealment.
But now—
It was not secure enough.
In an instant, control of the crow was stripped away.
When Hagoromo said "that was close," he meant that he had nearly lost this eye as well.
In the end, however—
Every instance of Kotoamatsukami had been reclaimed.
With that, Hagoromo's most fundamental objective in the entire Uchiha incident had already been achieved.
"Why are you able to control my crow?"
Itachi naturally knew who stood before him.
His nerves were stretched taut.
More troubling than the loss of control was the fact that—
His connection to the summoning beast had been completely severed.
"That's a question I can answer," Hagoromo replied calmly.
"And the answer is simple."
"I used a sealing technique on it."
As he spoke, Hagoromo didn't pause.
He brought together his left index and middle fingers, pressing them along with his thumb against the crow's eye socket.
With a slight exertion of force—
The eye was removed.
It sounded grotesque to say it aloud, but Hagoromo's honest impression was—
…The texture was oddly springy.
No wonder some people enjoyed gouging out eyes.
It was disturbingly addictive.
To be precise, the technique he had used to nullify the summoning contract was known as the Contract Seal.
Hagoromo placed Shisui's left eye beside the right one he already possessed.
With both eyes gone, Shisui's fate was self-evident.
Uchiha Shisui was, without question, a tragic loss.
Talent, character, strength—he had it all.
Yet he still met such an end.
That said, from Hagoromo's standpoint, regret changed nothing.
Even if he had not intervened, he could have been no more than a spectator.
Rescue was never an option.
It ran counter to logic.
Hagoromo did not know how Shisui's fate should have unfolded originally.
But Shisui choosing suicide struck him as difficult to understand.
Was death truly a solution—
Simply to protect one eye?
Perhaps the words left behind in Shisui's final note held some truth:
"I'm tired of missions. At this rate, the Uchiha have no future. I no longer wish to walk this path."
Giving everything to the village, only to receive betrayal and distrust—
Anyone would grow weary of that.
Was Tsunade's departure from Konoha not rooted in similar reasons?
"Protecting Shisui's eyes… was the final task he entrusted to me."
Itachi looked at the two Sharingan in Hagoromo's possession.
He immediately understood that both belonged to Shisui.
Based on Shisui's final words, the eyes should have been taken by Danzō—
But Itachi did not ask why they were now with Hagoromo.
His thoughts were simpler.
Retrieve them.
They were Shisui's final legacy.
—or—
Itachi removed his mask, revealing his face.
Now Hagoromo could see his eyes.
Every Uchiha's awakening was written in blood and tears.
Through his own death, Shisui had entrusted not only his will and ideals to Itachi—
But also awakened Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"You're mistaken," Hagoromo said.
"Leaving these eyes with me is the best possible outcome—for everyone."
"If you want them back…"
"Even though you've awakened new eyes, until you can fully control the power within them, you cannot fight me."
What Hagoromo called "the best outcome" was, of course, something only he would agree with.
"I don't see it that way," Itachi replied calmly.
"Recovering the eyes would be ideal—but you're right."
"At present, I cannot take them from you."
Hagoromo had already secured Shisui's eyes.
Itachi was capable of accurately assessing the difference in strength.
He was not naïve enough to believe that awakening the Mangekyō made him equal to the White Yaksha.
But inability to win did not mean inability to kill.
For a shinobi, power and combat effectiveness were separate concepts.
"Shisui's power is too dangerous," Itachi said.
"If it cannot be recovered, then these eyes…"
"…should be destroyed."
The decisiveness of that judgment was startling.
Correct—so correct it bordered on inhuman.
To discard, without hesitation, the final legacy of one's closest friend—
That was not something ordinary people could do.
Itachi closed his left eye.
Blood gathered in his right eye socket, then flowed silently down his cheek.
"Amaterasu."
The black flames of the sun goddess—
The embodiment of burning all things to ash—
Resided within Itachi's right eye.
The activation delay of such a technique was its greatest flaw.
At peak reaction speed, it could be dodged.
But—
Hagoromo did not dodge.
Black flames instantly engulfed his body.
By all common sense, he should have screamed.
He did not.
Because there existed stronger laws than ninjutsu:
Universal Law #1:
The inextinguishable black flames never actually kill anyone.
Universal Law #1 – Revised Addendum:
They can't even kill snakes.
Amid the burning flames, Hagoromo transformed—
Into a scroll, unfurling in spiraling layers and floating in midair.
The black flames were then drawn into it as though swallowed by a vortex.
From the shadows behind, another Hagoromo stepped forward.
His hands formed a seal outside the traditional twelve hand signs—
Arms crossed, index fingers extended and aligned.
"…This, too, is sealing."
He volunteered the explanation.
Which, frankly, explained nothing.
After absorbing Amaterasu, the scroll rolled itself up and returned to his hand.
The proper name of the technique was:
Fire Sealing Method.
In that moment, young Itachi was taught a universal truth by Brother Hagoromo:
Master sealing techniques early, and the shinobi world holds no terror.
"Your power is ineffective against me," Hagoromo said calmly.
"I advise you not to make further pointless attempts."
Itachi's talent was undeniable.
He had already begun controlling his Mangekyō.
But against Hagoromo—
It was nowhere near enough.
The Hagoromo who stood behind him now—
Those eyes of impossible, iridescent color—
Gave his words unquestionable authority.
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