"I really didn't expect that your strength would be so unfathomable, Kei-kun."
Shisui's voice carried no sarcasm, only quiet admiration.
"Frankly, I don't have anything left to teach you about Wind Style or Taijutsu."
He took a step closer, studying Kei with perceptive eyes. "But it's clear you're aiming for all-around development. Body Flicker Technique, Genjutsu, Fire Style, Uchiha-ryu Kenjutsu... which do you want to learn first?"
Kei caught the implication instantly. Not what Shisui offered—but how he offered it.
'He said first. That means he plans to teach me all of it.'
That simple realization sent a ripple of warmth through him. He didn't show it, of course—he was used to playing things close to the chest—but his hands relaxed at his sides.
'This is trust. Shisui trusts me.'
Though the earlier spar had been earnest, Kei understood Shisui had held back. No illusions. No Mangekyō Sharingan. If Shisui had decided to use those tools, Kei wouldn't be standing here now.
He still had much to learn.
"Let's start with the Body Flicker Technique," Kei said calmly.
Shisui grinned. "Then I'll teach you mine."
He dropped into a stance beside Kei, no longer a jounin observing a prodigy, but a mentor ready to pass down his secrets.
"First, stabilize your chakra at your soles. Feel the flex in your calves? That micro-tension—that's your trigger."
He walked Kei through each principle: channeling chakra through specific muscle groups, controlling micro-movements, manipulating air resistance, compressing and expanding breathing rhythms in perfect sync with chakra bursts.
It wasn't flashy. It was exact.
Meanwhile, Itachi quietly excused himself. Not because he felt left out—far from it. He'd seen Kei's rate of learning before. Better to prepare materials ahead of time. Scrolls. Training tools. Instructional diagrams.
He was gone in an instant, like mist fading at dawn.
Shisui taught. Kei absorbed.
Sometimes they spoke, sometimes not. Occasionally Shisui would correct a hand seal or nudge Kei's elbow, but mostly, he let the rhythm of repetition settle in.
After about ninety minutes, Kei narrowed his eyes, focused his chakra, and—
Vanish.
He reappeared ten meters away, silent as a whisper.
Shisui blinked. Then chuckled—low and disbelieving.
"Three months," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "It took me three months to do that. Even Itachi needed forty-seven days…"
He trailed off with a wry smile. "The rest is muscle memory. Practice until your body forgets how to move slow."
Kei nodded. "What next?"
"Genjutsu."
Shisui's expression shifted—lighter now, but more deliberate.
"Genjutsu is the art of manipulating chakra to alter the five senses. But it's more than tricks and illusions. To master it, you must understand how chakra flows through the brain."
He tapped his temple.
"And how to disrupt it."
Kei followed every word. Unlike the Body Flicker Technique, which relied on motion and timing, Genjutsu was internal—subtle, invasive, and theoretical. It wasn't a craft for brute strength or flashy displays. It was an art of finesse and control.
Hours passed.
Shisui spoke about the chakra pathway system, the flow through the cerebral meridians, the feedback loops that turned perception into reality. He explained the weakest points in enemy sensory circuits, and how even a flicker of unbalanced chakra could trigger hallucinations.
Kei didn't just listen. He annotated everything in his mind.
By midday, Itachi returned, scrolls tucked under his arm and a quiet meal prepared. Hayate barked once from the shadows, while Shadow circled above before swooping down beside them, wings fluttering silently.
Kei fed Hayate a strip of meat while Shisui stole a bite off Itachi's plate. The air was easy. Familiar.
"Did you overdo it again?" Itachi asked Shisui dryly.
"I'm not dead yet," Shisui replied around a mouthful of rice.
After lunch, lessons resumed.
As the sun fell behind the rooftops, painting the sky in streaks of amber and violet, Kei exhaled slowly.
"I think I understand the theory now."
Shisui regarded him carefully. "You do. You're not ready to cast a full illusion, but you'll feel it when the moment comes."
Before they parted, Itachi handed Kei a sealed scroll. "Inside is everything I could find—chakra system maps, Uchiha sensory flow patterns, and Fire Style scrolls."
Kei bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Itachi."
"Until next time."
"Goodbye."
And with that, Kei stepped out into the night, the scroll tucked under one arm.
Hayate padded quietly beside him, and Shadow perched on his shoulder.
Above, the sky shimmered with stars.
But inside his mind, it was not the sky he saw—it was a battlefield.
Silent. Calculated. And in it, he saw himself—vanishing, reappearing, commanding illusion and fire like tools.
One step closer.