Chapter Text

The Will of Fire

Prologue

Death

"Fear. That is what we live with.
And we live with it every day.
Only in death are we free of it."

Early on, as a child sitting at his father's bedside, watching him pass away miserably and in excruciating pain, Shisui realized that nothing less than a similar, pathetic fate awaited him.
Ever since, the young man had been thinking of his own demise, which he had come so close to on so many occasions: in the face of tough adversaries or on perilous missions.

But little did Shisui know that death would come from his own allies.

And so here he was, trapped in an old shelter in the middle of the forest, probably far from the village, in the hands of the head of Konoha's High Council himself. Immobilized by the poison, held on a wooden table by two henchmen, he wanted to struggle, to find a way to get up, to do something, anything, but no matter how hard he tried, his limbs refused to move.

The gravity of the situation hit him hard when suddenly a scalpel was thrust into his right eye, the icy blade causing unparalleled pain. Questions raced through the shinobi's mind, but he couldn't put them into words. Had Danzō planned this all along? What did he intend to do with him, now that he had him at his mercy?

"Shisui, you must understand that there's no way to stop your clan, no way to save it. Sooner or later, I'll have to protect the village from the Uchihas, and I'm going to need your eyes for that difficult task." As if reading his victim's thoughts, the Root leader calmly explained, carefully finishing to remove the eyeball. 

With each gesture, Shisui let out an inner howl, a complaint echoing through his consciousness, a scream, continuous and heart-rending: one could have thought it was death itself.
The young man could never have foreseen that the one he respected and admired so much, the one he held in such high esteem, the one he had trusted so much in the past, would one day decide to turn against him.

Was this the end? Was he really going to disappear like this?

"Well, I've removed the eyeball. All that's left is to cut the optic nerve."

Shisui barely had time to register his elder's words before a burning sensation took his breath away, so intense that he almost lost consciousness. Only, in a macabre irony of fate, the shock also had the effect of ending his state of paralysis. The young man realized this, but forced himself not to move immediately, or Danzō's men would realize it too.

He had to have a plan first, which was no easy task, as his mind, clouded by suffering, was unable to concentrate. Back when he still possessed enough chakra, perhaps he could have taken advantage of this moment to escape. But the Scourge, as people liked to call it, had completely changed the course of things. Now, reduced almost to an ordinary man, none of his old tactics would serve him.

And because he'd never been in such a state, because he'd never found himself in such intense panic as he was at that very moment, Shisui was gradually losing all his faculties. He'd already been badly wounded, brutally tortured, but his eye was one of the most precious things he owned, and the suffering its loss caused was like no other... 
So, little by little, survival took over, insidiously, without warning. It stifled his anguish, silenced his final thoughts, and awakened a furious instinct in him. Danzō stepped back to clean his scalpel. Soon, it would be the second eye. Shisui tensed. By reflex, his hands clutched the table and began to scrape the wood, as discreetly as nervously, since the pain was unbearable. His fingers rubbed and rubbed, unable to stop themselves, wounded by the splinters sinking into them, and in the space of a few seconds, they were already bathing in their own blood.

But then a miracle happened. The young shinobi felt something brush against his index finger, something cold, metallic and a little rusty around the edges. It was a screw, which he had inadvertently dislodged from its holder. Shisui had a flash of insight. The discovery, small as it was, had snapped him out of his trance, making him realize that this was his last chance.

He had to act. Immediately. 

With an agile gesture, the Uchiha took hold of the screw and moved it between his index and middle fingers, appreciating the state of the shaft and then the tip against his skin. It wasn't perfect, but satisfactory enough for what he intended to do. Turning the tool vertically, he checked that the tip was pointing upwards, and once he was sure that it was, he planted it suddenly and firmly into the wrist of one of his captors. 
Obviously, the screw wasn't long and piercing enough to seriously injure anything, but the surprise was enough to trigger a reflex, forcing the man to let go briefly. Shisui didn't wait a single second. Taking advantage of the limited mobility available to him and his perfect dexterity forged by years of training, he managed to free his arm.

Then, in an almost animal-like gesture, he grabbed the guard's throat...

* * *

"Lady Kushina? How is she?"

The old Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly in sorting through his papers, before looking up at his wife, Biwako. 

"Unfortunately, Lady Tsunade has informed me that Kushina's condition continues to deteriorate despite our numerous attempts." he replied in a tone intended to be as neutral as possible.

"Why is she getting worse?" exclaimed the midwife. "When the hospital has already been treating her for a week, when our best doctors are at her side?"

"I don't know, Biwako. Nobody knows."

"But what does Lady Tsunade say?"

"Lady Tsunade herself can't explain what's happening to her..." With this last sentence, the hokage's voice wavered slightly.

It was already two months since Kushina Uzumaki, the beloved wife of former hokage Minato Namikaze and mother of little Naruto, had fallen ill. What was at first thought to be a simple flu seemed to subside, but in reality worsened in the space of just three days, to such an extent that the young woman had to be rushed to hospital. And since then, no intervention or treatment had succeeded in improving her health.
Tsunade, sent to see her, quickly realized that the illness was much deeper than she could explain. But she could neither identify it, nor define it... It was as if something was devouring Kushina from the inside, slowly but surely, killing her little by little.

"Hiruzen, I've got to get back to work at the hospital, otherwise..." began Biwako.

"Biwako," Hiruzen interrupted, "take a look at your condition. You're constantly weak and tired. You'll do nothing but kill yourself."

The old wife crossed her arms in displeasure, but she knew her husband was right. Since the Catastrophe, she seemed to have no energy left, so much so that the simple act of carrying out simple daily tasks exhausted her. Was it the fact that she'd been deprived of so much of her chakra, or was it because of the emotional impact the situation was having on her?

Either way, she no longer recognized the person she used to be, as if she'd become a shadow of her former self.

* * *

Shisui awoke with difficulty, his body aching from the effort. Long gone were the days when, following such a critical situation, his chakra would have enabled him to recover without too much trouble.

His memory was still hazy, scattered. But he remembered fighting, the blood spattering his face and tissues, then running, running a lot, before everything went dark. When the survivor finally opened his lids, his only eye was blinded by a bright glow, while he could feel a thin cloth covering his empty eye socket on the other side. It was only after many long minutes that he began to perceive the mysterious blond figure, sitting comfortably under a tree.

"How are you feeling right now?" asked a voice.

The intonation was low, yet unusually gentle, warm, almost reassuring. It seemed to belong to a young boy around his own age. However, one detail stood out: his accent was foreign, and indicated without a doubt that he was not from Konoha.
Upon analyzing this information, Shisui stood up abruptly, causing the figure to recoil slightly. The sudden gesture aroused immense pain in him, but he forced himself not to show it.

"Who are you?" Shisui growled, assuming a defensive stance.

"I'm a doctor from Suna."

"From Suna, you say?"

In response, the stranger attempted a slight smile, raising both hands to his sides as a sign of peace. Now he was clearly visible: a very pretty androgynous face, with pale skin and fine features, a candid air, contrasting with darker, melancholy purplish pupils, all this framed by medium-length blond hair, a few centimeters above his shoulders. And although he wore large clothes, his body was slim, if not frail for his size.

He looked like a real doll.

But Shisui wasn't fooled by these young soldiers with their innocent expressions and angelic smiles. So, suspiciously, he confiscated his "hostage" from his satchel and weapons, without once breaking eye contact.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Yashamaru. My name is Yashamaru," the blond boy smiled in reply. "What's your name?"

"Shisui."

"Shisui, are you feeling better?"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by the question, then remembered the cloth that protected his eye socket when he woke up.

"Did you...?"

"Yes, I did. I've also taken care of the wounds on your torso and wrists, so don't play with your bandages for the time being, and don't move around too much."

Yashamaru smiled once more, and despite himself, Shisui felt his guard drop. He knew it was important to remain wary, however, this Suna ninja had treated him, and seemed no threat. Did he really have any choice but to trust him, even if only temporarily? He was in a pitiful state, weakened, half-blind, with physical traumas still far too fresh and painful for him to risk moving.

He couldn't afford to engage in a fight he knew he couldn't win.

* * *

Kushina stared at the wall in silence. She could hear her son's cries echoing in the next room, as well as the bustle of the nurses trying to care for him, but her mind was elsewhere. Lately, memories of the catastrophe kept coming back to her. The sudden pain in her belly, the panic that had overtaken her, and Kurama, now free, intent on destroying everything. She remembered how tightly she clung to her own clothes, silently begging her husband to come back alive. But he never did.

Despite Lady Tsunade's reassuring words and the promises made to her, she knew full well that her body was dying, slowly but surely. She remembered the precise moment when she'd realized it...

At the beginning of that day, however, she felt fine. She coughed less and less, and hardly blew her nose at all. The energy she'd lost a few days earlier seemed to be returning to her. The first sign, however, was Naruto's complete refusal to latch on. He, who used to nurse so eagerly, withdrew almost immediately from the nipple his mother had offered him. After that, he didn't want to touch it again. Kushina tried to pump the milk manually, but nothing came out, so she just went and prepared a bottle for him.

She thought at the time that it was probably just the remnants of her condition.

In any case, Kushina was already grateful to no longer be bedridden and wanted to take this chance to get some fresh air. So she installed her son in a stroller and decided to go for a walk. The air was good, Naruto was chirping happily, and the locals were smiling at them as they passed.

That's when everything started to unravel.

Kushina remembered it had taken her only a few minutes' walk before the Nara couple crossed her path and came to ask about her. They had talked a lot, about the future of the village and the unborn child the couple were expecting. As they parted, Yoshino took her hands in a comforting gesture of support for Minato's death.

This was the second sign.

She remembered the moment the soon-to-be mother retracted her gesture: “Your hands are frozen! Are you all right?”. Shikaku initially laughed in response, not considering his partner seriously. “Come on, now! You're exaggerating! It must be the hormones or something!” he had retorted. 

She remembered him grabbing her hands, widening his eyes in turn. It was at that moment she realized something was up. 

Kushina remembered. Physically, at least, she felt fine, but as she watched the caretakers bustle and excite themselves around her, her head started to spin, her thoughts fogging over.

And when, a few days later, Lady Tsunade came personally to announce that Naruto would henceforth be cared for by professionals, Kushina became struck by the gravity of the situation. She tried to retort, to promise that she was still able to take care of her baby, but her voice was hoarse with emotion and panic, and nothing Tsunade said was able to calm her down. 

Was she panicking because the child she loved had so suddenly been taken away from her? Or was it because a terrible realization was gradually blossoming in her mind?

She wasn't sure.

* * * 

Darkness was beginning to fall over the endless forests of Fire Country. The wind was picking up, causing the trees to shake and their foliage to rustle in a pleasant whistle.

Yashamaru had installed Shisui in a clearing, allowing them to enjoy the last rays of sunset. The vegetation was even more luxuriant than in the rest of the woods, with pretty pink and blue flowers dotted around the most exposed corners, adding a colorful touch to the otherwise green landscape.

"So you claim that you found me unconscious, hidden under a bush?"

"Yes, I was on my way to the village of Konohagakure when I came across a trail of blood. Out of curiosity, I tracked it down and found you."

"And why didn't you take me back to Konoha with you?" asked Shisui.

"Because your wounds were far too serious, I couldn't afford to let you lose any more blood." Yashamaru replied, as he finished changing a dirty bandage. "Also, carrying a seriously wounded person over long distances without the proper equipment is highly unwise. So I just took you to a safer place."

"I understand."

"And you, what has happened to you?"

The Uchiha hesitated for a moment. He couldn't afford to tell him everything, but he also had to act quick, not only to warn Itachi, but also because Danzō might return for him at any moment. In his current state, he could barely move.

"I was attacked by men who were after me." he stated after a second thought.

"Which men?"

"People from my village, people I trusted."

Lying by omission remained the best tactic for the moment. Not saying too much, while making sure that nothing he reported could be used against him later.

Yashamaru nodded, continuing to bandage and clean the wounds one by one, as Shisui watched him take care of him.
His single eye followed the slender fingers dancing across his torso, working with a speed and precision that only a skilled healer could have. But something was bothering him. At first glance, he didn't know what, and it wasn't until he concentrated on the touch itself that he realized...

The fingers were icy cold.

They weren't cold, they were frigid. Every time they brushed against his skin, Shisui could feel a shiver run through his entire body, an uncomfortable, unpleasant sensation. He didn't dare say anything to Yashamaru, having no idea what kind of reaction he might provoke, but he refused to look at his fingers again.

He felt as if he was being touched by a corpse.