Chapter 170: Everything You Desire Is Nothing But An Illusion
The sharp pain of reality and illusion overlapping erupted violently!
On the hospital bed, Shisui Uchiha’s body arched violently as if struck by high-voltage electricity!
A suppressed to the extreme wail, like that of a dying beast, burst from deep in his throat.
The bandages wrapped around his eyes were instantly soaked by surging blood beads mixed with tears, spreading two glaring patches of dark red.
His temples felt like they were about to explode, his eyeballs like being pierced and stirred by countless red-hot steel needles at the same time!
That pain pierced deep into the marrow, straight to the soul!
The bloody hell of clan extermination in the illusion, the tearing pain of eyeballs in reality—two forces collided and tore madly in his fragile visual nerve center!
Buzz—!
As if some invisible shackle was forcibly broken open by violent power!
A cold, violent eye power carrying an aura of destruction, like a ferocious beast breaking free from its cage, suddenly awakened in his eyes!
His originally blurry vision instantly became crystal clear, even able to “see” through the eye-covering bandages, clearly perceiving the cold air flow in the ward, the faint flickering lights on the instruments, and…
That black shadow that had appeared at the door at some unknown time, standing silently!
Shisui Uchiha’s gaze pierced through the bandages, firmly locking onto that figure: the familiar black robe, broad white fur collar on the shoulders, face covered by that iconic, cold and ruthless white three-eyed fox mask.
Shura!
The moment Shisui Uchiha saw Shura, applause carrying a hint of mockery and appreciation suddenly rang out in the silent ward.
Clap… clap… clap……
Shura leaned against the cold metal doorframe, clapping his hands unhurriedly, the gaze behind the mask holes like appreciating an exquisite work of art, focused on the blood-and-tear-soaked bandages over Shisui Uchiha’s eyes.
“Splendid.” Shura’s voice transmitted through the mask, low and magnetic.
“Worthy of being Konoha’s current strongest Uchiha ninja—under such stimulation, the transplanted cloned one-tomoe Sharingan actually evolved directly to three-tomoe Sharingan.”
“This talent, this will… tsk, no wonder that old thing Danzō is so obsessed with your eyes, treating them as treasure yet dreading them like a viper.”
His tone carried undisguised admiration, yet reveals a cruelty that saw through everything.
Shisui Uchiha panted rapidly, his chest heaving violently.
Every breath tugged at the sharp pain deep in his eyeballs; the three-tomoe Sharingan under the bandages spun uncontrollably and madly, the cold violent eye power nearly overflowing.
He endured the tearing pain,
The questioning voice was filled with a mixture of shock and anger, along with the immense fear brought by the clan extermination illusions that had yet to dissipate.
Shura slowly lowered his applauding hands, his posture relaxed as if discussing the weather: “Nothing much, just letting you see in advance… the final script that the Konoha High Council meticulously prepared for your Uchiha Clan.”
His voice suddenly turned cold, like a cold current sweeping through the ward: “A… final solution to eliminate hidden dangers and prevent future troubles forever.”
“What nonsense!!” Shisui Uchiha suddenly gripped the bedsheet beneath him tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the bloodstains soaking through the gauze deepened.
The Third Hokage’s benevolent face, the promise to him, and Itachi Uchiha’s clear and resolute eyes flashed through his mind. He could not believe it, much less accept it!
“The Third Hokage won’t allow it! Itachi… How could Itachi possibly do such a thing! You won’t succeed in using such despicable Illusion Technique to sow discord! This is your conspiracy!”
His voice trembled due to excitement and sharp pain, yet it carried a stubbornness on the verge of collapse.
“Conspiracy? Heh heh heh.” Shura seemed to have heard something extremely ridiculous and laughed lowly. The laughter echoed in the empty and cold hospital room, filled with sarcastic meaning.
He tilted his head slightly, and the gaze behind the mask’s openings seemed to pierce through the gauze, staring directly at Shisui’s three-tomoe Sharingan that was spinning madly due to anger and pain.
“Danzō dug out your eyes…… Was that also my conspiracy?”
“The turmoil of the Night of the Nine-Tails…… This is also part of my script?”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce. That masked man I just showed you is the true culprit who created the Night of the Nine-Tails, a guy wandering outside who harbors extreme hatred toward the Uchiha Clan.”
Shisui Uchiha’s pupils trembled slightly, and in his mind flashed the mysterious ninja wearing the tiger-patterned one-eyed mask that he had directly seen earlier through the Illusion Technique.
‘The true culprit of the Night of the Nine-Tails?’
“Could it be another Mangekyo?”
‘Damn it, why are there so many Uchiha Clan Members outside……When did they get scattered abroad? How does Shura know all this?’
Shisui Uchiha was utterly baffled.
Shura stepped forward, the hem of his black robe silently gliding over the cold ground.
An invisible, heavy oppression instantly spread, enveloping Shisui on the hospital bed.
The Illusion World he created using the Book of Crimson Moon did indeed incorporate some personal additions.
For example, on the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, it was Danzō who bypassed the Third Hokage to issue the command to Itachi Uchiha, and Itachi found the mysterious masked man at the Naka River Shrine, who was Obito.
Asked him to help with the clan slaughter.
On the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, Itachi Uchiha primarily slaughtered the elderly, weak, women, and children in the Uchiha Compound, while the Uchiha jonin of the Konoha Military Police Force were primarily dealt with by Obito.
There must definitely be Root members surveilling the Uchiha Compound from the outskirts, but at least in the original plot, Kakashi, who was already the Anbu Captain, along with Yamato and other Anbu members, was personally brought by the Third Hokage to check the situation only after the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall had occurred.
But this doesn’t matter; the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall has already become a foregone conclusion.
“The Konoha you protect has long regarded the Uchiha Clan as a malignant tumor that must be excised.”
“The Third Hokage you trust, indecisive, repeatedly acquiescing to Danzō’s dirty actions.”
“The Itachi Uchiha you placed high hopes on and regarded as a close friend and brother…” Shura’s voice deliberately paused for a moment, carrying a cruel amusement.
“He chose the village, chose the so-called ‘greater good.’ For this, he personally raised the butcher’s knife. The entire Uchiha Clan, thousands of lives, including the parents who raised him, all became obstacles that must be cleared on his path to ‘protect Konoha.'”
“Oh, right, perhaps they would leave behind a young Sasuke as the ‘anchor’ for him to bear hatred and continue living?”
Every word was like a red-hot dull knife, viciously gouging into Shisui’s blood-drenched heart.
The scene depicted by Shura overlapped perfectly with every bloody detail he had seen in the Illusion World.
The numb emptiness in Itachi Uchiha’s eyes as he swung the blade, the calm resolution of Fugaku and his wife as they bared their necks for slaughter, the cold surveillance of the Anbu outside the walls…
These scenes madly assaulted the crumbling fortress of his beliefs.
“The peaceful coexistence you desire, the fusion of family and village you firmly believe in…” Shura’s voice rang out like the death knell of final judgment, cold and cruel.
“It’s merely a beautiful bubble woven by the high-level officials to placate naive strong practitioners like you. With just a gentle poke, all that’s left is…” He raised his finger and pointed at the two glaring bloodstains above Shisui’s eyes.
“……This world full of blood and despair.”
A deathly silence filled the hospital room, leaving only Shisui’s heavy and pained breathing, along with the monotonous, cold ticking of the medical equipment, as if counting down.
“No…… It can’t be…… Itachi, he……” Shisui’s voice trailed off, carrying a weakness that even he himself could not convince.
The words of rebuttal got stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken out again.
The despair and bloodiness in the Illusion World, so real it was suffocating, poured into his chest like cold molten iron, freezing his blood.
Shura’s words, like the most vicious curse, precisely nailed into the most fragile crevice of his belief, prying at that cornerstone already riddled with cracks.
He still believed in the Third Hokage and believed in Itachi Uchiha.
But what about Danzō?
Just like how Danzō bypassed the Third Hokage to ambush him, if Danzō bypassed the Third Hokage and issued the order to exterminate the clan to Itachi…
Is there anyone who can stop it?
Thinking up to this point, Shisui’s heart had already wavered.
