Hatake Satoru and Shisui had worked all night, and finally managed to transplant the Sharingan into Shisui's eyes.
The two of them slept straight into the afternoon and missed most of the rumors that were going around.
Shisui was adjusting well to the new eyes, but he couldn't handle bright sunlight yet.
He sat in front of a mirror, a little amused as he looked at his new look.
His curly hair had been straightened and now fell neatly on both sides of his face. His long lashes had also been trimmed by Hatake Satoru.
A small bandage covered the bridge of his nose, hiding the rounded Uchiha-style nose he used to have.
He was also wearing Hatake Satoru's casual clothes—a plain black shirt.
He looked almost nothing like a ninja now.
"It's still me, but... I don't really look like myself anymore."
"You're amazing, Satoru."
Hatake Satoru was standing by the window, looking outside. After everything that happened overnight, he had no idea what the outside world would be like now.
The moment he heard Shisui compliment him in front of the mirror, he immediately got smug and pointed a thumb at himself with a big grin.
"Of course! It's me we're talking about."
"So? Looking like this, don't you think you'd fit right in at your own memorial service?"
Shisui couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.
"My own memorial service... That just sounds weird."
"I mean, I'm still alive. I can't tell Itachi yet, but I still worry about him."
If he were really dead, then that'd be it—whatever Itachi did next would be out of his hands.
But since he was still alive, he had to check on Itachi.
Shisui was the most talented ninja in the Uchiha clan. There was no body, but there was a suicide note.
As far as everyone was concerned, he was already dead.
Fugaku, being the clan head, had to take charge of the whole thing.
The memorial was mostly just for show. People would come, maybe bring some flowers, just to keep up appearances.
After all, the only person who was really close to Shisui was Itachi.
As soon as they got near the Uchiha district, the heavy pressure in the air became obvious—it was hard to breathe.
Everyone looked serious and hurried, moving quickly. Shisui held a bouquet of flowers meant for his own memorial and awkwardly turned his head.
"I know my death is a big deal, but I didn't think the mood would be this heavy."
Hatake Satoru, as usual, didn't match the mood at all. He looked around excitedly, completely unaffected by the atmosphere.
"Don't sell yourself short."
Just as Hatake Satoru finished speaking, a loud angry voice came from outside Itachi's house.
"If you dare betray the clan, we won't let you off easy!"
The two of them stopped in their tracks, still holding the flowers, as three figures were suddenly thrown out from behind the wooden door, landing hard on the ground.
Itachi slowly walked out from the entryway, his bangs hanging low and covering part of his face.
His lips were pressed tightly together, and he stared coldly at the three men on the ground. The air around him was full of killing intent.
"You keep talking about the clan like it means everything, but people like you are full of yourselves."
"You didn't even bother to understand me, that's why you ended up beaten like this."
One of the men on the ground struggled to get up and shouted at Itachi.
"How dare you attack us!"
"You spend every day with Shisui—if he really killed himself, how could you not know?!"
"If it wasn't because of you—"
Before he could finish, a kunai flew past their heads and stabbed deep into the wall behind them.
The wall cracked around the kunai, forming a deep dent at the point of impact.
The unfinished words got stuck in their throats, and the three of them looked in confusion toward the two people nearby.
Neither of them wore forehead protectors, and their clothes didn't look like ninja uniforms.
They just looked like regular villagers.
But the kunai had clearly come from somewhere between those two.
What the hell was going on!?
Itachi paused, then turned toward Hatake Satoru and Shisui, who were standing to the side.
Shisui's hands holding the bouquet were still trembling slightly. The wounds hidden under his clothes had started to reopen, and a bit of blood had soaked into the bandages.
Shisui kept his head low, his face mostly hidden behind the flowers.
"Well, since they forced their way out, it's best to get inside and lay low~"
Hatake Satoru wrapped his arms around both Shisui and Itachi's shoulders and pushed them into the house together.
Then he kicked the sliding door shut.
The three outside touched their chests, still shaken, and looked up at the kunai in the wall.
Even though they were upset, they had to admit those two were stronger than them.
If Itachi attacked them, maybe the clan leader would step in and make him apologize.
But those two outsiders? They had no way to complain.
They couldn't win in a fight, and they couldn't argue either. The three of them just glared at the tightly shut door, then quietly left with their tails between their legs.
"Sorry you had to see that."
Itachi sighed and took the flowers from both Shisui and Hatake Satoru.
He knew he'd probably get scolded by his father later for kicking those guys out.
Satoru showing up wasn't surprising—they'd talked about family stuff together before, after all.
Itachi glanced at the unfamiliar face standing nearby. He looked him up and down. He did seem a bit familiar...
But Itachi was sure he had never met this person before.
"Who's this guy?"
"Oh, that's Mochizuki. He was my classmate back then."
Shisui felt a chill from Itachi's stare, afraid he might recognize him.
Luckily, Itachi wasn't really paying much attention to him. After a few polite words, the two of them walked off.
Once they left the Uchiha district, Hatake Satoru dropped the polite act and leaned in toward Shisui with a raised eyebrow.
"So, how was it?"
"What do you think about everything that happened after you 'died'?"
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