Chapter 55: Kagami Uchiha, The man who long dead

The setting sun painted the sky in hues of orange and crimson, casting long shadows over the clearing. Itachi stood still, his keen gaze fixed on the horizon.

Shisui was late.

His instincts whispered of danger, of something gone terribly wrong. His thoughts ran fast, dissecting possibilities—Had the Uchiha elders detained him? Had Danzo made a move?

Just as he was about to leave and search for his friend, he felt it.

A familiar chakra signature.

Shisui.

Itachi turned—and his stomach twisted.

Shisui stumbled toward him, his breathing uneven. His body was weary, his face streaked with dried blood where an eye had once been… but—

Both of his eyes were there.

For a split second, Itachi's sharp mind struggled to process it. He had seen injuries like this before—eyes torn out, never to return. And yet…

Shisui still had both of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

How?

Shisui managed a weak smile before his legs gave out.

"Shisui!"

Itachi caught him, lowering him gently to the ground.

"What happened to you?" His voice remained even, but underneath, there was something rare—genuine worry.

Shisui exhaled shakily, his fingers tightening around Itachi's sleeve.

"Danzo…" he whispered. "He tried to take my eye."

Itachi's expression darkened. He had expected as much.

"Then how…?" Itachi's gaze flickered to Shisui's fully intact Sharingan.

Shisui's lips curled slightly.

"I got it back."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of those words hung in the air.

Danzo never failed when he took something. But somehow, Shisui had reclaimed what was his.

And that meant—

Someone else had interfered.

Itachi's grip on Shisui's shoulder tightened.

"Who helped you?" His voice was quiet, but laced with intensity.

Shisui exhaled, his gaze drifting toward the fading sun.

"A ghost."

Itachi's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Shisui chuckled softly, though it was laced with exhaustion.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

And for the first time in years, Itachi had no idea what to say.

The battlefield was silent.

Root ANBU lay motionless on the ground, their bodies fallen in eerie stillness. The once overwhelming squad had been reduced to nothing.

And standing amidst the wreckage—was a ghost.

"Tch."

Naruto, still disguised as Kagami Uchiha, scoffed as he surveyed the aftermath. His sharp eyes flickered to the treeline.

Danzo was gone.

"That old fossil ran the moment he realized he couldn't win." Naruto muttered, shaking his head.

For all his talk of sacrifice, Danzo feared death like no other. And yet, the number of shinobi who had fallen because of his schemes?

Uncountable.

Naruto exhaled. "Hypocrite."

He could sense Danzo's chakra fading into the distance, disappearing into the dense foliage of the forest. The man was running. Of course, he was.

Naruto smirked beneath the illusion of Kagami. "Run all you want, old man. But ghosts have a way of haunting the living."

Danzo's mind, however, was in turmoil.

Impossible. This is impossible.

Kagami Uchiha was dead.

He had ensured it himself.

And yet—

That voice. That face.

The exact same presence that once stood beside him in the war.

Danzo clenched his fists, his breath uneven.

"Kagami… you should not exist."

Yet, no matter how much he told himself that—he couldn't deny what he had seen.

The past had come back to haunt him.

And for the first time in a long time—Danzo truly felt fear.

Naruto stood unmoving, his form shifting as the illusion unraveled. The disguise of Kagami Uchiha melted away like mist under the setting sun, revealing the truth beneath.

Vibrant red hair.

The color blazed, catching the dying sunlight—a testament to his Uzumaki bloodline.

Danzo had escaped. But not because Naruto was too weak to stop him.

No—Naruto simply had bigger priorities.

If he chased after Danzo, Shisui would die.

And Naruto wasn't about to let that happen.

But there was another problem.

He looked down at his hand.

A crawling sensation.

Tiny, sinister bugs writhed under his skin, burrowing into his chakra network like leeches. The Aburame shinobi he had killed had made his last move—a trap.

The moment Naruto had touched him, the insects had latched onto him like a curse.

But he didn't panic.

Instead, he exhaled sharply and muttered, "Aurora, got a fix for this?"

Aurora's voice crackled in his head.

[Idiot! You should've been more careful! You're already a step away from death!]

Naruto chuckled, completely unbothered.

"Because I know you got my back."

Silence.

Then—if Aurora had a face—she would've been red.

[S-Shut up!] Aurora stammered, her voice suddenly high-pitched, almost… flustered.

Naruto blinked.

"Wait, what?"

His brain stopped working.

Aurora? The snarky, all-knowing system AI? The one who called him an idiot like it was her birthright?

Naruto could almost see the question marks floating around his head.

"Did you just—"

[FOCUS ON NOT DYING, MORON!]

He grinned.

"Alright, alright! But damn, Aurora, you sounded kinda cute just now—"

[I SWEAR TO THE SAGE OF SIX PATHS, NARUTO—]

He laughed. "Fine, fine! Now, what's the solution?"

Aurora huffed.

[Those insects are feeding off your chakra, right?]

Naruto's eyes sharpened. "Yeah."

[Then stop feeding them.]

A smirk curled his lips.

"A chakra shockwave, huh?"

[Bingo.]

Naruto raised his arm, focusing his chakra control to its peak.

The insects were parasites—they needed stability.

What would happen if he gave them chaos instead?

With a fierce grin, Naruto clenched his fist.

"Try eating this, you little freaks."

BOOM!

A violent pulse of chakra exploded from his body—not just a release, but an erratic, unstable surge.

Wild. Unpredictable. The exact opposite of what the insects needed.

And just like that—they dropped, shriveling into dust.

[Hmph. Took you long enough.] Aurora muttered.

Naruto rolled his shoulders, feeling completely fine.

"Tch. That was barely a warm-up."

His red hair burned under the fading light. His identity was no longer hidden. The Uzumaki bloodline—powerful, relentless, and undeniable—stood tall once more.

Danzo had run away like a rat. But next time?

Naruto would end him.

Naruto moved swiftly, his cloak shrouding him in an unseen blur as he chased after Shisui.

But by the time he reached the cliffside—

He froze.

Because the scene before him…

He had seen this before.

Naruto Shippuden.Itachi's backstory.The birth of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

It was happening right in front of him.

Shisui, standing at the edge.His body battered, his spirit crumbling.

Then—he fell.

Itachi's eyes widened in horror.

Naruto reacted instantly.

"Damn it—Shisui!"

With a burst of chakra, he leapt off the cliff, cutting through the air like a falling star. His cloak billowed, its invisibility flickering, but he didn't care.

His arms snapped out—

And he caught Shisui's unconscious body, holding him close.

The weight of history itself was in his grasp.

Above, Itachi's world shattered.

His eyes bled, burning with grief, rage, and power.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was born.

Naruto barely had time to process before he twisted mid-air, reaching for the edge—

His fingers dug in.

With a grunt, he swung himself up, Shisui still in his arms.

By the time he reached the top—

Itachi was gone.

Vanished into the darkness, burdened by a pain that would shape him forever.

Naruto clenched his jaw.

This was wrong.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Shisui was alive—and now, Naruto had to make sure he stayed that way.

The future had already changed.

And he was just getting started.