Shisui Uchiha’s Death Explained: Could He Be Alive?

The Uchiha Clan is very specific in the world of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto. It was massacred by its own kin and left only with a few surviving members. Itachi Uchiha massacred his own clan, sparing only his younger brother, Sasuke. But there’s also Shisui Uchiha, another member of the Uchiha Clan and a very important character in the series, regardless of the fact that he did not play a major role in the story. In this article, we are going to focus on Shisui Uchiha’s death and tell you whether there is a possibility that Shisui Uchiha is alive in the series.

Shisui Uchiha committed suicide because he could not stop the planned Uchiha coup d’etat. He destroyed both of his eyes in order to halt any fights for them after his death and, according to the note, jumped in the Naka River and was able to completely erase his existence, as his body was never found. Although some fans assume that he might be alive, it is highly unlikely that he is.

Shisui Uchiha’s fate is one of the most complex questions in the Naruto lore, and we are going to try and explain what happened to him. As far as it is known, Shisui Uchiha is dead in Naruto, and the chances of him being alive after so much time are quite slim unless Kishimoto decides to do a Deus ex machina in Boruto and miraculously bring him back after a very long time.

What episode does Shisui die in?

Shisui Uchiha died sometime before the beginning of the main story of Naruto. He was an important background character whose story was connected to Itachi Uchiha’s. But, it wasn’t until Naruto: Shippuden that we actually received this information and that we actually saw the events surrounding Shisui Uchiha’s death in the series. As for the anime, the death was elaborated on in Episode 358 of Naruto: Shippuden. It was titled “Coup d’État,” and it premiered on April 10, 2014.

Did Itachi kill Shisui?

Well, before we actually get into the details, we have to state that Itachi Uchiha did not kill Shisui Uchiha. Itachi killing Shisui would have made sense, seeing how Itachi was responsible for the death of all the Uchiha Clan members, save for Sasuke and Tobi, but he did not actually kill Shisui. Namely, Shisui was the one who was supposed to do the same task that eventually fell on Itachi, but he could not do it and because of that, Shisui actually killed himself. In our upcoming sections, we are going to explain that in more detail.

Why did Shisui kill himself?

Shisui was Itachi’s best friend, they both belonged to the most talented shinobi from the Uchiha clan, and Shisui managed to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan at an unknown time. He was in the ANBU unit and once fought Ao, who remembered Shisui’s chakra and recognized it years later when the Kage met. After Itachi joined the ANBU unit, he started acting strange. The Konoha police force, run by the Uchiha clan, no longer trusted Itachi and they hired Shisui to keep an eye on his friend.

Shisui learned of his clan’s plans and that the elders in Konoha were considering taking action against the Uchiha clan. Danzō Shimura then extracted Shisui’s right eye. To avoid further conflict over his eyes, Shisui gave his left eye to Itachi and afterward made it look like his eyes were lost forever. After that, Shisui committed suicide. Itachi helped his best friend with his plan and thereby received his Mangekyō Sharingan. His body was later found, supposedly, in the Naka River, but that was a lie, as Shisui’s body had never been found. The clan later suspected Itachi of killing Shisui and confronted him. A short time later, Itachi was given the task of exterminating the entire Uchiha clan.

According to the other Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha was one of the strongest of the clan. Shisui has short black hair. His eyes are conspicuously rimmed, and he has always been shown with his Sharingan activated. As an ANBU, he wore a gray protective armor that protected the upper body, while the arms and shoulders were free for more freedom of movement. Beneath this armor, he wore a shirt with a high collar.

Shisui is said to have shared the same ideals as Naruto Uzumaki. He has put his own good below his clan’s views as he is assigned to watch his best friend, Itachi Uchiha. But he doesn’t seem to care as much about his clan’s views as he does about the peace in Konohagakure. Thus he believes that in order to protect the peace, a true shinobi must sacrifice his own self. He died to keep the peace and gave one of his eyes to Itachi in hopes that Itachi would protect Konoha.

Shisui had an extraordinary Dōjutsu, so Danzō took out his right eye and implanted it in himself. Shisui gave his left eye to Itachi just before he died.

Before his death, Shisui had his right eye taken by Danzō Shimura. After his death, Danzō also transplanted his right shoulder and arm. Through the Sharingan Eye, Danzō was now also able to use Shisui’s special Dōjutsu, allowing him to control other humans. Danzō also had the Shodai Hokage’s DNA implanted in him, allowing him to use the Kotoamatsukami more often. Since Shisui’s eyes seemed to have been destroyed when Shisui died, it was unknown for a very long time that Danzō had Shisui’s eyes. How often Danzō uses his Sharingan is unknown. At the Kage meeting, Danzō uses the Kotoamatsukami to control Mifune, causing him to propose an alliance and Danzō as their leader.

Shortly before his death, Shisui gave his left eye to his best friend Itachi Uchiha. Itachi implanted this eye in a raven. He let Naruto Uzumaki swallow this raven. He should help Naruto to get Sasuke back on track. In the Fourth Shinobi World War, Itachi was revived by Kabuto Yakushi through Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei. He encountered Naruto, and when he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, the raven came out of Naruto again. The raven activated the Kotoamatsukami. This was previously programmed by Itachi to activate when Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan activates in front of him. Also, Itachi programmed it to control the opponent to defend Konohagakure.

How old was Shisui when he killed himself?

Shisui’s exact age in the story is not known. It is known that he is around five years older than Itachi (give or take two years), and this data is something we have deduced thanks to Itachi’s age. Based on the information we have, Shisui Uchiha was somewhere between 16 to 18 years of age when he committed suicide, possibly a year older than that, but definitely not younger. As we have said, this is all we have on Shisui, as his age was never revealed; we know that he was born on October 19, but no additional information about his age has been provided.

Could Shisui be alive?

Now, Shisui’s suicide in Naruto was executed quite well. A solid explanation was given, and it made sense from a plot-driven perspective. Shisui Uchiha failed to stop the coup d’etat, and he knew that he would not be able to live with that fact; he picked Itachi as his successor and then proceeded to commit suicide, explaining his reasons in a note. Before he died, he destroyed both of his eyes and then seemingly jumped into the Naka River, where he ultimately died.

Now, there are two theories surrounding Shisui’s death. One of them states that Shisui actually survived the fall. Supporters of this theory claim that Shisui was too skilled a shinobi to simply die in such a manner and that he would have definitely found a way to survive the fall, and that the suicide was simply a trick. Also, supporters of this theory claim that Shisui’s body was never seen in the series, and in the world of anime and manga, that usually means that a character is not dead and that he will come back at a later point in the series.

The second theory states that Shisui is actually dead. His death made perfect sense from a plot-driven perspective, it was elaborated nicely, and it gave Shisui a meaningful role in the series. His suicide was basically inevitable based on the events surrounding it, and it makes perfect sense, which is why it wouldn’t really make sense for it to have been a fake suicide.

First of all, it would ruin Shisui’s arc completely as all the events surrounding his suicide would become meaningless, and he, as a character, would become significantly less relevant. Secondly, Kishimoto never seemed to have any larger plot in the plan for Shisui, which is why bringing him back would make absolutely no sense and would raise the question of why he was not present in the series for so long. Thirdly, his death happened so long ago that returning him now would be useless.

Based on everything we have said, we think that it is highly unlikely that Shisui Uchiha is still alive. It is not completely impossible, but it wouldn’t make sense for Kishimoto to bring Shisui back in Boruto. It is unclear how Shisui would fit into the current plot, and bringing him back now would be a silly Deus ex machina moment that would completely destroy his whole story. This is why we honestly think that Shiusi is not alive and that we won’t see more of him in the story.