tbd/under construction

--B A S I C . I N F O--
Name: Shisui Uchiha
Age: 16 (Shisui's age has never really been specified in canon so this is essentially an estimate going by the general timeline and official artwork :c )
Gender: Male
Height: 180 cm; 5' 10"
Weight: 68.9 kg
Blood Type: A
Birthdate: October 19

Canon: Naruto
Canon Point: Post-death

History: Link to Shisui's Wikia. (Information for Shisui has been compiled from the manga, anime, novels, databooks and games: UNSR and UNS4.)

--P E R S O N A L I T Y--
“Self sacrifice— a nameless shinobi who protects peace from within its shadow. That is the mark of a true shinobi.” These are words that Uchiha Shisui would live and die by.

Despite being known throughout the shinobi world by the moniker Shunshin-no-Shisui (Shisui of the Body Flicker or Shisui of the Mirage) and feared as such, Shisui proves to be a rather humble, practical and sensible sort of individual. The Uchiha Clan in general is well known for their powerful battle techniques, something that the clan takes quite a bit of pride in. They are also known for being fire elementals and having fiery personalities to match. Shisui himself is hailed as one of the strongest Uchiha at the time, especially being one of only a handful of Uchiha to ever awaken the Mangekyou sharingan. But even so, Shisui chooses to avoid the limelight and work in the shadows to try and ensure peace in his homeland. When told by the Hokage that he reminded him of his ancestor, Uchiha Kagami (who also happens to be something of a role model to him as far as ideals and toeing the gray area in politics go), Shisui is quick to shake off the compliment by stating that he is “nowhere near his (Kagami’s) caliber.” However, while being humble about his own skills and accomplishments, Shisui is not above telling others when they make mistakes.

Shisui also proves to be perceptive and intuitive even at a very young age, able to see through the emotional nature in others and pick up the slightest details around him. He demonstrates this ability particularly in how easily he reads Itachi, who happens to be an enigma to literally everybody else. Shisui proves to be the only person able to see right through Itachi’s stoic façade, using details from avenues besides Itachi’s facial expressions to note if he’s preoccupied with worry or struggling with a situation at home. He even has a bit of a thing for providing answers before asking questions when it comes to figuring Itachi out, because he knows all too well that Itachi wouldn’t really give anyone a straight answer, and even if he did, might likely downplay the severity of the situation. Shisui also manages to discern Itachi’s ambition: to become Hokage and change the state of the village and, in extension, the shinobi world to something far better than how things already were. He goes about doing this not by asking or confirming in any way, but by pledging his allegiance to Itachi, come what may, on the journey towards reaching that goal. Shisui’s keen perception and intuition also makes him a great tracker, giving him the ability to get into another’s shoes and think like them, especially in deducing when an enemy is trying to throw him off their tracks with decoys. Even in his final moments, Shisui isn't blind to the way people will react to news of his death and exercises prudence by choosing to commit suicide as his backup plan so that a) he wouldn't leave a trail of breadcrumbs that led straight to the murderer (i.e. Danzo and ROOT), thereby starting off a civil war earlier than anyone was ready for and b) he would ensure that Itachi awakened his Mangekyou so he was better prepared at fighting everyone on his own if it came to it. He also manages to erase his existence, leaving no corpse behind, and in doing so manages to prevent his body from being discovered, experimented on and/or used to betray Konoha.

Like his best friend and mentee Itachi, Shisui is a pacifist. Some of his earliest childhood memories are of a childhood stolen by the Third Shinobi War—one in which he also fights towards the end after his father is injured in battle. While Shisui might not carry any obvious battle scars on him, darkness imprints itself on him in more permanent, less visible ways. The war would eventually cripple his father (who later succumbs to these wounds) and force a very young Shisui to fight in it just to put food on the table. It is also soon after this war that Shisui awakens his Mangekyou after the death of his dear friend and rival. Shisui recalls to Itachi that the missions soon after the end of the Third Shinobi War were so difficult and extremely intense that at one point, exhausted of resources, completely trapped and devoid of any and all hope, his team had merely been “waiting to die”. Hence, having borne witness to how the war succeeded in tearing apart families and brought nothing but misery to everyone involved, Shisui doesn’t wish a repeat of it or its effects for the generations that come after.

Having come out of the worst, his experiences as a child of war has a strong impact on the way Shisui fights his battles. Despite his extraordinary prowess on the battlefield, Shisui prefers not to kill. For example, on one of his long missions, Shisui chooses to use a long range attack on a group of elite ninja from Kirigakure to frighten them off instead of wiping the floor with their faces. Of course it is remarked that Shisui could have easily killed them all, but it is clear that he chooses not to. Shisui’s solution to stopping the coup d’état planned by the Uchiha Clan is also a bloodless one: he chooses to use his unique genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, to change the mind of their leader, Fugaku, in order to prevent a civil war and eventual large scale international interference.

Also key to how Shisui sees the world and makes decisions accordingly is his open-mindedness. In tackling a situation, Shisui would always look at it in every possible angle before coming to any sort of conclusion. He is not, therefore, someone who lives in a black and white world. Instead, he is fully aware of the contradictory nature of the work they do as shinobi and how one cannot hide behind ‘justice’ if justice itself is its own antithesis: “I don’t even know if there is such a thing as justice in the shinobi world. We fight believing in our own justice. But if the enemy is doing the same thing, who’s right?”

This open-mindedness and flexibility of thought makes it easy for Shisui to be devoted and loyal to both clan and village, walking a gray area and following in the footsteps of Uchiha Kagami (his predecessor and fellow Uchiha who was held in high esteem among clan members as well as honored and trusted by the Second and Third Hokages). Shisui has always been an active member in clan politics, aware of the ins and outs, and proves his devotion to the clan so much so that they eventually ask him to shadow Itachi when they suspect the latter of going against them. So much was his devotion and his dedication to clan matters that the entire Konoha Military Police Force would deny his suicide and call it murder instead, unable to come to terms with how or why someone so loyal could write a suicide note so contradictory to who they were and just end things. But of course, the clan only chose to know one part of him, because Shisui has always been even more devoted to his village, Konoha.

Shisui extends a similar devotion and loyalty to his closest friend, Itachi, whom he sees as the ‘light’, a savior, and the answer to the problems between clan and village and, in extension, the shinobi world. His relationship with Itachi is more of a brotherhood, an intertwining of kindred souls than it is mere friendship. Interestingly, however, Shisui was not always this way…

Jealousy and rivalry as a young child (and genin) would stay his hand, ultimately preventing him from reaching out in the nick of time to save his friend and teammate on that fateful mission after the Third Shinobi War. This grief and loss would manifest itself as the Mangekyou, and the guilt manages to stay with him to his dying day.

Shisui doesn’t seem to repeat this behavior afterwards, because he teaches Itachi all he knows without holding back. He acknowledges the fact that Itachi is exceptional, a prodigy, and destined for great things, but nevertheless also teaches him to think like somebody who isn’t one. He does this with every realization that a gifted individual needs to learn a normal person’s thought process in order to blend in and understand how society, allies and enemies functioned.

Shisui’s devotion to Itachi may also come about as a sort of redemption or atonement of sorts, a chance to make things right again after the death of his friend (which he admits was the one thing that consumed him for months leading up to the day he first meets Itachi). It all works out when he finds out that their ideals align, that their wills are the same, and Shisui finds purpose in Itachi, vowing to stand by him and pave the way for Itachi’s dream. And working alongside his friend in this way, the void in Shisui’s heart eventually becomes a lot smaller. It’s easier to recover with a friend, when you have purpose. …When you have a reason to go on.

His devotion makes him utterly selfless and Shisui stops living for himself. Having known loss, his sense of family is especially strong. While he acknowledges Itachi as his little brother, he also recognizes the unique, deep bond between Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke lights up Itachi’s world, and Shisui makes it his life’s mission to do all he can so Itachi and Sasuke would never have their precious bond taken away and ripped apart due to politics.

Along with the selflessness, Shisui also has a knack for trying to shoulder every burden on his own, and this can be seen in the way the preparations for stopping the coup were handled nearly entirely on his own (even though Itachi was privy to what was going on, it was only Shisui who was given full permission by the Hokage to do the needful while Itachi focused on his career in the ANBU). This is not because he doesn’t trust his friend, but perhaps because he is driven by a deep sense of responsibility in needing to ‘fix’ things, especially after the death of his first best friend. In shouldering such responsibility, Shisui will also not really ask for help unless there is no way out of it and he's run out of options. Not always the best way to go about things but if it means there is a way of going about finishing a job without having to involve people (especially those he wants to protect) then he will exhaust those one-man options first. And in doing so, Shisui perfects the art of wearing a 'happy/everything-is-peachy' mask. He'd smile, gently laugh things off or offer a few words of reassurance so as to make something that's of grave concern slightly dampen its negative impact. A good example is when he catches Itachi worrying about the coup and Shisui merely smiles and tells him "Don't worry, everything will be fine." ...Only to wind up betrayed by Danzo and poisoned by ROOT before he ends up handing over his mission to Itachi and having to commit suicide just to avoid catastrophe.

Despite everything and especially the scary moniker, Shisui is rather affectionate, easy-going, and has a streak of humor to help things along. While Shisui is a mentor and friend to Itachi, he is also usually a bit of an annoying – but affectionate – older cousin to Sasuke. Gently yoinking Itachi’s ponytail even after Itachi’s initial (shocked) reaction becomes a bit of a playful habit. He also comes off a bit as a stop-and-smell-the-coffee sort of guy when he decides to take a break in the middle of Itachi’s very important ANBU entry training mission just to “have a meal with a friend.”

Key Character Traits:
Loyal
Self-sacrificing/selfless
Open-minded
Perceptive
Down-to-earth
Pacifist