The Real Shisui
The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan was insufficient—Kotoamatsukami had entered its cooldown period.
After multiple tests, Naruto arrived at this conclusion, which made him briefly wonder if Shisui had used Kotoamatsukami on him when he was attacked in secret.
However, he showed no signs of being under genjutsu, and Kurama hadn't given him any warnings. If Shisui had the ability to control both Naruto and the Nine-Tails at the same time, he wouldn't have needed to struggle to save the Uchiha clan—he could have simply seized control and become the Fifth Hokage himself.
So the real question was: who had Shisui used Kotoamatsukami on?
Had it been the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi? Shimura Danzo? Or perhaps Uchiha Fugaku, the leader of the Uchiha clan?
Naruto pondered the possibilities but soon ruled them out. Hiruzen had stood by and done nothing on the night of the Uchiha massacre, while Danzo had actively orchestrated it. And if Fugaku had been under Shisui's genjutsu, he would have never planned the coup in the first place.
Pushing aside his diverging thoughts, Naruto brought the Sharingan he had obtained into his mindscape, eager to flaunt his newly acquired Mangekyō Sharingan.
As soon as Kurama saw the swirling Mangekyō pattern, his expression darkened. He bared his fangs and growled, "Naruto, I despise those eyes. Stay away. Did you attack that Uchiha just to use them against me?"
"Of course not. We're friends, after all," Naruto said with a grin, shaking his head. Then, meeting Kurama's gaze, he asked curiously, "But I am wondering—why do you, of all beings, fear the Sharingan so much?"
Kurama's expression twisted into something unreadable. "You don't understand the true power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. But since you now possess that eye, it won't be long before we leave this place."
"Yeah…" Naruto nodded. "But there's still a lot to do before then."
Kurama narrowed his eyes suspiciously but remained silent, waiting.
After showing off his new eye, Naruto left the mindscape. With Kotoamatsukami's Sharingan now in his possession, he would no longer be affected by Kurama's negative emotions, and he could make greater use of the tailed beast's chakra.
However, his top priority was determining who had been influenced by Kotoamatsukami.
Using genjutsu on Shisui himself would be the most effective way to extract the truth.
But the moment Naruto stepped out of the operating room and locked eyes with Shisui, he understood everything.
He finally realized why Danzo had intended to use Kotoamatsukami at the Five Kage Summit, why Itachi had never used it to control Konoha's higher-ups. The answer was simple—Shisui had already used it once.
And the target… was himself.
That was why, even after Shisui's eyes had been taken, his will and actions still reflected the effects of Kotoamatsukami.
Naruto's gaze shifted as he looked at Shisui. The supposedly most righteous and loyal Uchiha had turned out to be the most ruthless of them all.
Shisui frowned as he sensed the familiar coldness in Naruto's chakra.
Naruto didn't bother hiding the truth and spoke directly. "Shisui, your eyes were incredible. But now they're mine. And after transplanting them, I discovered something interesting."
Shisui's heart skipped a beat.
"Your Mangekyō ability, Kotoamatsukami, can alter a person's will without them realizing it. But once used, it has a cooldown period of around ten years."
Naruto's voice lowered slightly as he smirked. "But when I transplanted this eye, it was already in cooldown. So tell me, Shisui—who did you use Kotoamatsukami on?"
Shisui's face paled. At that moment, a splitting pain erupted in his head. He clutched his temples, fell to the ground, and writhed in agony.
After what felt like an eternity, he slowly got up, his face contorted in shock. He looked at Naruto as if awaiting judgment.
Naruto's voice was cold.
"You were the one who used Kotoamatsukami."
"And you were the one who was controlled by it."
Shisui's breath hitched. It felt like a boulder had been dropped into his consciousness, sending ripples through his mind. His voice trembled.
"I… used Kotoamatsukami on myself? That's… that's impossible! That's… impossible…"
Naruto remained silent, watching as Shisui slowly unraveled.
If Shisui had not been under Kotoamatsukami's influence, then all his strange behaviors—his willingness to die for peace, his decision to entrust everything to Itachi—could be explained.
The Shisui before him wasn't the real Shisui.
He was merely a version of himself that he had forcibly rewritten.
So then… what kind of person had the real Shisui been before awakening the Mangekyō?
Naruto was growing more and more curious. But he would have his answer soon.
Now that Shisui no longer had his eyes, the genjutsu's effects would weaken, allowing his original self to resurface.
And on Shisui's end, Naruto's words had shattered something inside him. Memories long buried by Kotoamatsukami surfaced, playing like a reel of film.
Shisui had never truly believed in the Will of Fire.
From childhood through his experiences in the Third Great Ninja War, he had scorned it, viewing it as an empty ideology devoid of meaning.
The so-called "protecting one's comrades" was a lie. People could only trust themselves. Everything in life had to be centered around self-preservation.
And so he had lived accordingly—until the day his best friend died in his arms due to his selfishness.
His dying friend had told him it wasn't his fault. That he didn't blame him for running away.
And in that moment, Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was also in that moment that he abandoned his original self.
He had used Kotoamatsukami on himself—altering his own will, forcing himself to embody the Will of Fire.
The real Shisui had vanished that day.
And from then on, he followed the path dictated by his rewritten beliefs.
Until the past few months, when everything had begun to crack.
The conflict between his original self and the false persona imposed by Kotoamatsukami had pushed him to the brink.
And in the end, unable to reconcile the two, he had chosen death—entrusting his ideals and Sharingan to Itachi.
Just as his best friend had once entrusted him with the Will of Fire.
Shisui remained silent for a long time. Then, he looked up at Naruto with a dazed expression.
"I had forgotten everything… You've already taken my eyes. Why did you have to expose me? Why force me to remember all this?"
His voice cracked as he staggered toward the bars of his confinement, gripping them tightly, his body trembling.
"Why couldn't you just let me die as my ideal self? Why do this to me?"
Naruto looked down at him and whispered,
"Shisui… the version of you that died that day wasn't the real you. It's time to face reality."
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