"I've been looking forward to it for a long time too."
Jiraiya scratched his head and finally let out a breath.
No matter what—Kai had agreed.
That meant his chances of prying out Amegakure's secrets just jumped up by a whole tier.
He paused, then added:
"Then get ready. We leave at dawn tomorrow."
With that, he turned and left.
He'd been away for years—there were people he had to see, and things he had to handle.
Behind him, Kai watched Jiraiya's retreating back.
A strange excitement flickered deep in his eyes.
Amegakure.
Pain's Six Paths. The Rinnegan.
And that one hiding behind the curtain…
Obito.
One's a early-game boss.
One's a late-game "tool."
Kai really wanted to see it for himself.
Was Shinra Tensei stronger…
…or was his three-meter repulsion zone stronger?
With that thought, Kai turned and gave a few more instructions, then vanished toward the Uchiha compound.
Konoha probably wouldn't fall into chaos.
But "probably" wasn't good enough.
He decided to add one more layer of insurance.
Not long after—
Uchiha compound, outer edge.
Inside a pitch-black wooden hut.
Clatter.
The door opened.
At the doorway sat a bandaged youth in a wheelchair, quiet as if he'd known someone would come today.
Hearing the movement, he lifted his head toward the entrance.
His bright, open expression only loosened by a fraction.
"You came."
"Yeah." Kai nodded. Shisui being able to predict this didn't surprise him at all.
This was Uchiha Shisui—one of the clan's true prodigies.
Sasuke aside, Shisui's talent, mind, and instincts were terrifyingly sharp.
…His emotional intelligence, however, was a disaster.
But Shisui's next words still caught Kai a little off guard.
"You're leaving?"
Kai blinked.
"…You even guessed that?"
"The commotion outside is that big," Shisui said calmly. "There's no way I wouldn't hear it."
Kai tilted his head.
"Hear it? Why not go look yourself?"
Shisui gave a bitter smile.
He wanted to.
But his legs were crippled.
And his eyes… weren't right either.
So he could only sit here.
But as that bitter smile formed—
A warm sensation suddenly covered his hand.
"…What?"
Shisui froze, about to speak, then stopped.
That warmth spread from his palm.
It surged through his limbs in an instant, washing over his entire body.
If he'd been able to see clearly, he would've noticed—
his whole body was glowing with a faint green sheen.
This was the healing field from Kai's three-meter zone—
amplified by the Tailed-Beast Cloak.
Tailed-Beast Cloak + three-meter zone.
Double insurance.
Kai grinned and looked straight at Shisui's head.
"I can't exactly resurrect the dead or regrow bones out of thin air…"
"…but treating a brain? That shouldn't be a problem."
As he spoke, a tiny figure flashed through Kai's memory—Sarutobi Mirai, from a different future.
So, without thinking, he muttered softly during the healing:
"Shisui… will you really protect the future?"
"I will."
Shisui nodded, lifting his head toward the boy whose outline was still a little blurred to him.
And inside his heart, he added:
If the future has you in it… then yes.
Ten minutes later—
"I… I'm healed?!"
Shisui stared blankly.
He lowered his head at his legs, eyes wide.
His mouth fell open so far he looked like he could swallow—
He hadn't expected it.
Not even for a second.
But his injuries really were gone.
And more than that—
Shisui blinked his right eye and looked at the slowly sharpening silhouette in front of him.
A tidal wave rose in his chest.
Not only were his legs restored…
Even the right eye he'd lost—
had grown back.
Because his other eye was with Itachi, Shisui had been "missing one" for days.
But then Shisui felt something was off.
It was clear—yes.
But there was… rejection. Slight friction.
His expression tightened and he pressed a hand to his eye.
"This eye…?"
Kai shrugged like it was nothing.
"I ripped it out of Danzō."
"…There's a good chance it's your ancestor Uchiha Kagami's, you know."
Shisui's hand froze.
Ancestor?
Uchiha Kagami?
He got hard-stunned for a full ten seconds.
Then his fingers loosened, slowly.
After a moment, Kai patted his shoulder.
"Alright. Once you adapt, come with me."
"I'll introduce you to two new partners."
New partners?
Shisui narrowed his eyes and followed.
Not long after, in another guest room inside the Uchiha compound—
Two small figures came into view.
And when Shisui saw the pale-skinned, unnervingly handsome boy—Sai—
his eyes instinctively narrowed.
Especially when he noticed something "wrong" in the way Sai looked at Kai.
This kid…
…was off.
"Kai. Who are they?"
"Big brother, who is he?"
Shisui and Sai spoke almost at the exact same time.
And both tones carried a faint edge.
Kai blinked.
"…Huh?"
Their reaction actually made Kai confused.
What's this?
Why are they about to start a fight the moment they meet?
The original story never said Sai and Shisui were incompatible.
But—
Shisui was trained under the "sunshine, open-hearted big brother" archetype.
Even if Kai's influence was slowly pushing him toward something darker—
Shisui still suppressed his emotions quickly.
He lifted the corner of his mouth and extended a hand.
A perfect, textbook fake smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Uchiha Shisui."
"From today on, I'll be the one guiding you."
Fake smile, huh…
Sai took a slow breath.
When it came to fake smiles, he didn't think he lost to anyone.
So he narrowed his eyes slightly, curved his lips even more perfectly, and shook Shisui's hand.
"Hello, Uncle Shisui."
"My name is Uchiha Sai."
Kai: "???" Since when did Sai take the Uchiha name?!
Shisui: "???" Since when am I an uncle?!
Just like that—
a bizarre trio formed: one older, two younger.
With Shisui supervising, Kai finally felt at ease that Sai wouldn't "grow crooked."
He waved his hand, leaving the three behind to "bond."
Kai himself slowly climbed onto the wall outside the clan head's courtyard.
Moonlight spilled over him.
His heart was quiet.
Tomorrow—
they would set off for Amegakure.
And it was time to witness, up close…
…the true ceiling of early Naruto power.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL