Itachi, There Is an Uncrossable Wall Between Humans and Beasts

Upon returning to Konoha, Uchiha Itachi did not hurry back to the Uchiha Clan compound. Instead, he first went to the Hokage Building.

He first sought out the Third Hokage.

Knock, knock, knock—

After Uchiha Itachi knocked on the office door and heard Sarutobi Hiruzen's rather weary "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open with his two subordinates and entered.

"Lord Hokage."

With his hands hanging at his sides, Uchiha Itachi said earnestly, "The mission you assigned has been successfully completed. Uchiha Itachi, Hyuga Daisawa, and Sarutobi Uwa have returned to the Anbu."

"...Itachi."

Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his head slightly, trying to force a smile, but he simply could not manage one.

He said, "You didn't lose a single teammate. Well done."

Uchiha Itachi keenly sensed that something was off about the atmosphere.

He could also tell that the Hokage's mood was strange.

"Lord Hokage, did something happen in the village?"

He took the initiative to ask.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a long while before saying, "The funerals for Shinosuke and many Anbu Ninja will be held this afternoon. Itachi, Daisawa, Uwa—you three have returned at just the right time. If you wish to attend the funerals, go back and change first, then gather at Konoha's Public Cemetery."

He did not say what had happened, but the information in his words still left Uchiha Itachi stunned for a moment.

Shinosuke... and the funerals of many Anbu Ninja...

The former name sounded familiar to him. As for the latter, what kind of incident could have caused the deaths of so many Anbu?

Uchiha Itachi considered it, but ultimately did not press further.

Since the Hokage did not wish to speak of it, he surely had his reasons.

Itachi did not overstep.

"Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave first," Uchiha Itachi said.

"Mm."

After leaving the Hokage Building, Uchiha Itachi prepared to return to the Uchiha Clan compound.

Along the way, he suddenly heard several people discussing something.

He silently walked over to them.

After casually listening for a while,

he finally understood why the Hokage had seemed so despondent. He also finally realized why the name "Shinosuke" had sounded so familiar—he was the Hokage's eldest son!

"Uchiha Chisen... killed many Anbu, and he also killed the Hokage's eldest son... And it all began because Senior Shinosuke did many things he should never have done... Indeed, Uchiha Chisen is not someone who can tolerate such 'mistakes.'"

Itachi suddenly fell silent.

Uchiha Chisen...

That name stirred up some unpleasant memories.

Like Shisui, that man had once been hailed as one of the Uchiha Clan's "Twin Genius Stars." Even on the battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War, his reputation had been no less than Shisui's.

Yet such a Uchiha genius seemed utterly out of place with the entire Uchiha Clan—and even with all of Konoha!

At first,

Uchiha Itachi had thought that Uchiha Chisen was the same kind of person as him, because they both seemed so out of place.

However...

—"You and I are not the same kind of person. There is an uncrossable wall between humans and beasts, Uchiha Itachi."

For some reason, those icy words Uchiha Chisen had once spoken surfaced in Uchiha Itachi's mind.

—"Shisui, if you protect him, you'll regret it."

Those words had been spoken by Chisen after Shisui appeared in time to save Itachi when he had nearly died at Chisen's hands.

A trace of complexity flickered through Uchiha Itachi's calm eyes.

Of everyone in the Uchiha Clan,

the one he understood least was probably Uchiha Chisen.

On the other side of Konoha.

"Lord Chisen, we've got a case! Meow!" Kijiro crouched slightly, then leaped onto Izumi's head. After licking his paw, he said to Uchiha Chisen, "My children found something incredible in the village sewers, meow!"

Izumi weakly raised her hand in protest. "Senior Kijiro, when you're reporting a case to Senior Chisen in the future, could you please not jump onto my head..."

"Meow, rookie, I'm testing your reaction speed! Once you can dodge me, you'll at least be a Jonin!"

Uchiha Chisen expressionlessly interrupted the person and cat. "Be specific. And lead the way."

As he led the way, Kijiro hurriedly explained, "Human bones, meow. But the remains are badly fragmented, and there are only a few pieces. Based on my experience, this should be part of a human jawbone."

"My children searched all through the sewers and found other bones elsewhere too. They're also from part of a body, possibly from the same victim, meow."

"But they couldn't find anything more. It may have been washed away, or it may be hidden somewhere else."

Izumi shuddered. "D... Dismemberment?!"

Izumi suddenly thought of something and hesitated. "Since they're already bare bones, the victim must have been dead for a long time. Could they be fragments from some ninja from another village during the war? After all, if a body fell into the sewers, perhaps the village didn't have time to clean it up?"

"Oh? You've learned to analyze things, rookie!" Kijiro patted Izumi's head. "You've improved!"

"We'll know once we go down and take a look."

Uchiha Chisen said calmly.

Not long after,

the Ninja Cat Kijiro led Uchiha Chisen and Izumi to a relatively secluded street within Konoha.

He jumped down from Izumi's little head, and she quickly took the chance to straighten the hair he had mussed up.

"It's here."

Kijiro pointed at the uncovered sewer manhole.

Two Ninja Cats stood guard beside the manhole cover.

"Lord Chisen! Lord Kijiro!" ×2

The two Ninja Cats greeted them in human speech.

"Lord Chisen, should I have my children bring the bones up... Huh?" Before Kijiro could finish, Uchiha Chisen jumped straight into the sewer without another word.

"Lord Chisen, wait for me! Meow!"

He immediately followed.

"Huh? Senior Chisen, wait for me!" Izumi hurriedly jumped in as well.

"...It smells awful." The moment Izumi jumped down after them, she felt just a tiny bit regretful.

She could not describe the stench filling the air.

The pitch-black surroundings made her even more uncomfortable.

Suddenly,

she saw a glimmer of light. In the blink of an eye, it filled her entire field of vision.

Hiss! One of Senior Chisen's hands had turned entirely into Magma!

That light was the glow of Magma!

"Lord Chisen, this is it." As Kijiro's voice fell, Izumi hurriedly leaned over and looked closely.

"This is..." Izumi saw a palm-sized white bone laid out on a relatively clean patch of ground.

She also saw Senior Chisen directly pick up the bone.

"The time of death was no more than five years ago."

Uchiha Chisen said indifferently, "It has nothing to do with the war. This is a case of murder and dismemberment. It likely happened sometime between three and five years ago."