Shisui! You Must Believe in the Will of Fire!

Konoha.

After half a year, Uchiha Yoruro, Shisui, and the others had finally returned to the village. Their minds had been constantly taut on the Front Line, but once they returned to the village, they felt a sense of relaxation instead.

This return was quiet and uneventful. In particular, Cold Lord Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, looked at the deserted Konoha Main Gate and revealed a hoarse smile, his tongue licking across his lips.

With that raspy laughter, Orochimaru slowly entered the village. Others thought nothing of it, but to Uchiha Shisui, it was filled with irony.

Lord Orochimaru was a hero! Ever since the Nine-Tails' Rampage last October, for a full half year, Lord Orochimaru had shouldered the pressure of facing two great nations and countless smaller ones alone. One could imagine the strain on the Front Line under such pressure, yet in less than half a year, he had already brought it under control.

Yet such a great hero had returned to the village in such a dismal manner. Without even realizing it, Shisui began to feel a trace of dissatisfaction toward Konoha's current Hokage leadership.

"Brother Yoru, how could the village treat Lord Orochimaru like this?"

On the way back, Shisui could not help lowering his voice as he confided in Uchiha Yoruro, whom he trusted.

Seeing Shisui like this, Uchiha Yoruro deliberately put on a grave expression and gave him a solemn look.

"Shisui! You must believe in the Will of Fire. Perhaps this is the thinking of certain rotten people, but it definitely does not represent everyone. You must believe in the village."

Though Uchiha Yoruro appeared solemn as he warned Shisui not to entertain dangerous thoughts, inwardly he was delighted. People were like this—the more you spoke, the more you forced the seeds in their hearts down and prevented them from venting, the more they would fester. If he vented alongside Shisui, then after venting, Shisui would naturally begin reflecting on his own earlier thoughts.

What he wanted now was to block every possible outlet for Shisui's frustration, forcing him to suppress every dangerous thought in the depths of his heart until the right moment came for it all to erupt at once.

"Brother Yoru, I—I don't. I've always firmly believed in the Will of Fire."

Shisui was clearly a Jōnin, yet before Uchiha Yoruro, a Chūnin, he seemed somewhat guilty. It was as though he truly had felt dissatisfaction toward Konoha's higher-ups just now, and was now speaking against his own heart.

Seeing Shisui like this, Uchiha Yoruro immediately smiled. He stepped forward, patted Shisui's shoulder comfortingly, and said, "Shisui, perhaps the pressure on the Front Line was too much for you. Now that you're back, take some time to relax. Don't keep yourself so tense. You must believe in the village, believe in the Will of Fire."

Shisui smiled at Uchiha Yoruro's comfort, but inwardly he was doubtful. Had he really begun to question the village's leadership? No! How could he think that way?

He had merely felt that Lord Orochimaru had been treated unfairly, but after hearing all that, he truly began to feel that the village had gone too far.

Human nature! Uchiha Yoruro was full of confidence in his grasp of human nature, and he smiled. He wanted Shisui to feel guilty. The more guilty Shisui felt, the more he would believe that he harbored evil thoughts. Once those thoughts were suppressed, they would be forever branded into his heart.

"Let's go. I haven't been back in half a year. I really miss home."

Walking alongside Shisui, Uchiha Yoruro wore a casual smile. Yet when Shisui wanted to say something, he saw the smile on Yoruro's face and suddenly did not know what to say.

While Uchiha Shisui was anxiously hesitating over how to speak, the two had already arrived at the Uchiha Clan's new compound after their relocation.

Their footsteps stopped! Shisui raised his head and looked at Uchiha Yoruro, whose smile had frozen on his face, seeming unable to believe what he was seeing. Shisui felt even more uneasy and awkward.

Over the past half year, Shisui had at least made several trips back and forth escorting supplies, so he naturally knew about the clan's circumstances. But Brother Yoru did not.

The Uchiha Clan's relocated compound could no longer be described as remote. They had practically moved into an uninhabited forest.

Surrounded by dense forest, with fresh air and birdsong, the brand-new Uchiha Compound occupied an area three times larger than before. Put nicely, it felt isolated from the world; put bluntly, they had been cut off from everyone else.

"Brother Yoru." After hesitating for a long while, Uchiha Shisui spoke, wanting to comfort his older brother. However, Uchiha Yoruro reacted first.

"So this is the new compound. I knew it—the village still trusts us Uchiha. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allocated such a large area to us. Hahaha."

He smiled casually, but the forced nature of it was obvious. Even when he mentioned the village again, he no longer had the confidence from before—only a sense of strained pretense. The sight made Shisui feel even more bitterly ironic.

Uchiha Yoruro forced a strained smile and stepped forward to pat Shisui on the shoulder. "Shisui, hurry and take me to see the house the clan assigned me. I've heard all about it from you. You said my house is no less impressive than the clan head's, and that you were so jealous of it back then."

Laughing and chatting, the two slowly entered the Uchiha Compound. The instant they stepped into the Uchiha Clan's territory, countless eyes filled with numbness and loneliness turned toward them, as if everyone were watching them. But when they saw that the two were ninjas of their own clan, smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

It seemed that only here was home. The Uchihas' cold gazes were merely a disguise before outsiders, concealing their loneliness.

"Haha, Shisui, is this the house the clan head rewarded me with? It truly deserves to be the place you envied so much. Such a large courtyard—Shisui, you'll have to work hard from now on."

Uchiha Yoruro's carefree laughter only made Shisui feel more guilty. It was obvious that Yoruro wanted to use his smile to hide the emptiness in his heart.

After all, before entering the village, Yoruro had sworn that he believed in the village and the Will of Fire. He had even warned Shisui not to have such frightening thoughts. Yet reality had slapped them in the face so quickly—the Uchiha Clan had clearly been isolated.

"Brother Yoru, the clan head and elders said that you made great contributions to the clan. They specially prepared this for you."

Shisui also pretended not to see Yoruro forcing a smile and changed the subject with a smile. Yoruro had rendered great service to the clan, and this was the clan's reward.

"Alright, alright. Shisui, hurry home. I need to take a good look at my new house."

He looked as though he were sending Shisui away, but that was what worried Shisui most. After hesitating, Shisui could not help showing concern as he looked at his older brother, who believed so deeply in the Will of Fire. "Brother Yoru, are you alright?"

Naturally, Yoruro saw that Shisui's words were against his heart. Uchiha Yoruro deliberately put on a determined expression, turned around, looked directly at Shisui, and said in a deep voice, "Shisui! You absolutely must not let your imagination run wild! You must firmly believe that once Teacher Orochimaru becomes the Fifth Hokage, everything will change. This is all only temporary."

Seeing Uchiha Yoruro's resolute expression, with a trace of warning and determination in his eyes, Shisui solemnly nodded. "Don't worry, Brother Yoru. I believe that once Lord Orochimaru takes over as Hokage, everything will change."

People were simply like that. The more you told them not to think wildly, the more their thoughts would run in the opposite direction.

Rest assured, everyone. The author writes full-time. As long as this book performs well, there will definitely be a massive update spree after it goes premium.