---
[Nanhe River, outskirts of Konoha]
Ye Dou took Shisui's right eye, placed it carefully into the storage vial he had prepared in advance, and sealed it within a summoning scroll.
With the procedure done, he tossed aside his broken ninja blade—yet another one ruined—and drew a new one from his back. He barely had time to adjust his grip when his mongoose companion warned him in a sharp voice.
"Ye Dou, we have to go! Someone's coming!"
Ye Dou's expression darkened. "He's dead. I can still get the other eye."
After so much preparation and risk, walking away with only one of Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan felt like a failure.
But the mongoose barked urgently, "We can't stay! Two squads inbound—one's ANBU, the other's Uchiha Itachi!"
That name froze Ye Dou in place. He clenched his newly drawn sword, torn between greed and caution.
But finally, he gave a subtle nod to a shadow clone hiding nearby—his signal to retreat. He wasn't reckless enough to fight Itachi and ANBU under Danzo's command at the same time.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the next instant, dozens of smoke bombs and flash tags detonated across the Nanhe River basin. The area was swallowed by an off-white haze.
"Don't let him get away—report his position!" shouted Shimura Danzo from within the chaos.
He immediately formed hand seals and released a powerful Wind Release: Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough), blowing away the thick fog with a single burst of air. He refused to give up the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But the sensor-type ninja behind him suddenly cried out.
"He—he's in the sky!"
"What?!"
Danzo looked up just in time to see a figure gliding above the fog, seemingly floating mid-air before vanishing into the treetops at high speed.
"Damn it! Where's Uchiha Shisui?!"
"He's headed toward the Uchiha clan's ancestral shrine!"
"Why aren't you pursuing?!"
"We can't, Lord Danzo—the ANBU are arriving! Led by the Third Hokage himself!"
Danzo's face turned pitch-black with fury.
Just as expected, moments later, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with several elite ANBU in tow, his flak jacket donned over his usual robes.
"I need an explanation, Danzo," Sarutobi said coldly.
This was Uchiha territory. And tonight, of all nights, the clan was holding a critical internal assembly. The presence of Root operatives here was suspicious at best—and criminal at worst.
Danzo scoffed, unbothered. "I need an explanation. You let an enemy infiltrate the village, and now you're questioning me?"
He didn't mention the Mangekyō Sharingan. Not a word about trying to steal Shisui's eyes. Instead, he shifted all blame onto the mysterious attacker—Ye Dou—claiming he was merely trying to protect the village.
Hiruzen stared at him, unconvinced. He knew Danzo too well to believe that.
But the scene was covered in Root corpses, the metallic scent of blood saturating the air. The evidence, at least for now, forced Sarutobi to acknowledge that something violent had indeed taken place.
[Scene Ends]
---
[Meanwhile, deep in the forest]
Unaware of the clash between Konoha's top officials, Ye Dou slipped through the woods like a phantom. After escaping the trap, he erased his trail—washing off blood and removing his mask. He scattered special powders to disrupt scent tracking, making it impossible for the Inuzuka clan's ninken to pursue him.
Just as he was nearing Might Guy's residence—his temporary shelter—the effects of Potential Release (a forbidden technique he'd activated earlier) wore off. Without warning, his body collapsed.
Thud!
It felt like every single one of his 130 trillion cells was screaming in agony. The recoil hit like a tidal wave, his muscles spasming uncontrollably. His vision dimmed. He nearly blacked out.
"Ye Dou! Get up!" the mongoose shouted, visibly panicked.
Tonight's chaos would throw the entire village into high alert. The Hokage's forces would turn over every stone. If Ye Dou was found unconscious here, he'd be finished.
"Get up! You can sleep at home, but not here! You'll catch a cold on the forest floor! Hanabi said she'd cook a feast tomorrow—you have to survive till then!"
"Shut up... shut up... you stupid cat…" Ye Dou groaned, teeth gritted in pain.
But the nagging worked. Barely conscious, he forced himself to rise. He used his sword as a makeshift crutch and limped forward, one agonizing step at a time.
"I won't die..."
His entire body was trembling. Every nerve felt raw. His skin burned. Even keeping his eyes open was a struggle.
"Yeah, yeah, people like you don't die that easily. Scourges last forever!" the mongoose kept rambling, voice never stopping.
By the time they finally reached the house, Ye Dou felt like his throat had turned to ash. But he didn't stop to speak. Bloodied and broken, he staggered straight to the bedroom, collapsed into bed...
And didn't wake up.
---
[Elsewhere — atop a waterfall on the Nanga River]
Uchiha Shisui regrouped with Uchiha Itachi, who had come to extract him. He couldn't fly like Ye Dou, but with his mastery of the Body Flicker Technique, he evaded the chaos and slipped away unnoticed.
Even so, his expression was grim.
"The Uchiha coup can't be stopped anymore," Shisui muttered, grief etched into his voice. "If Konoha descends into civil war... the other hidden villages will strike. A world war is inevitable…"
---