Carrying Out Root's Dirty Work for Orochimaru

Konoha.

The armed law-enforcement system of Konoha, in the Land of Fire, consisted of the Hokage Faction's five departments—the Anbu, Root, Intelligence Department, Medical Department, and Barrier Department—along with the Military Police Force. Collectively, they were known to the outside world as Konoha's Six Departments.

Ordinary shinobi merely carried out assigned missions. During wartime, they were organized into ninja legions, but in peacetime, they held no law-enforcement authority within the village. Even jonin were no exception, unless they encountered spies or similar matters.

The Anbu and Root respectively handled classified missions and the village's dirty work. The current Anbu Captain was the Third Hokage's Eldest Daughter-in-law. (The records noted that the Third Hokage's eldest son and daughter-in-law were both Elite Jonin in the Anbu, a husband-and-wife pair who served as Hiruzen Sarutobi's right-hand aides.)

There was no need to mention Root's captain—the old schemer, Shimura Danzō.

As its name suggested, the Intelligence Department was responsible for intelligence. It also had three subordinate divisions: the Interrogation Squad, Torture Squad, and Code Squad. Its current head was Inoichi Yamanaka.

The Medical Department had been founded by Tsunade, one of the Sannin. Though Tsunade was no longer in the village, Konoha's Medical Department was unquestionably the strongest in this field throughout the Shinobi World.

The Barrier Department was a mysterious and relatively obscure department, mostly stationed within the village. Yet it was also extremely dangerous, as it bore the responsibility of sealing tailed beasts and maintaining the village's defenses.

Those were the five major departments of Konoha's Hokage Faction. The sixth was the Uchiha Clan's Military Police Force.

The Military Police Force had been established during the Second Hokage's rule. It could be said to be the formalization of the Uchiha Clan's private power, and Uchiha voices dominated the department.

At the same time, the Military Police Force possessed terrifying authority, including independent law-enforcement powers. In other words, it did not need to report to the Hokage and had the right to act first and report afterward.

True to its name, the brightly lit Military Police Force carried an oppressive atmosphere—at least, to outsiders.

The Military Police Force had its own Interrogation Squad, Intelligence Squad, Logistics Squad, Armament Squad, and more. It had everything it needed, practically a miniature Political System.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru could not help muttering to himself. This was practically approaching one country, two systems. It was clear just how deep the foundations of the Uchiha Clan, the foremost of the shinobi Noble Houses, ran.

"Brother Yoru, here's the information you wanted."

As the Uchiha Clan's most outstanding genius, Shisui had become a jonin at only thirteen. Now fourteen, with his Three Tomoe Sharingan, he was no weaker than an ordinary Elite Jonin, and he held considerable status within the Military Police Force.

After carefully verifying the intelligence in his hands, Uchiha Yoru finally showed a relieved expression. He carefully set the documents aside, then looked up and noticed that Shisui was clearly in low spirits.

"Shisui, you're fourteen this year, right?"

Seeing Brother Yoru ask in such a reflective manner, Shisui froze, thoroughly confused, before nodding. "Yes, Brother Yoru."

Uchiha Yoru suddenly let out a faint sigh and shook his head. "Shisui, there's no doubt about your strength. No one thinks you're inferior to the genius Kakashi. But you're still too young. Perhaps exposing you to this darkness all the time will harm you."

A look of guilt immediately appeared on Shisui's face. Brother Yoru was only a year older than him, yet had he not been exposed to even more darkness? He now even served as the bridge between the Uchiha and the Hokage.

At that thought, the melancholy and dissatisfaction in Shisui's heart vanished without a trace. Was Brother Yoru under any less pressure than him? Had he encountered any less darkness? What right did he have to run away?

"Brother Yoru, don't worry. Shisui definitely won't disappoint you!"

Determination shone on Shisui's face. Uchiha Yoru smiled and shook his head. "Shisui, that's not quite right. We're all doing this for the clan, and for Konoha."

Without drawing attention to it, he pushed the documents forward. When Shisui saw the person named in them, his brow immediately furrowed.

Meanwhile, seated behind the desk, Uchiha Yoru lowered his head slightly, leaving his eyes in shadow. He seemed faintly dispirited.

"Unno Ki!" Looking at the documents, especially the fact that only one nephew, Umino Iruka, remained among his relatives—and that his parents had died during Nine-Tails Night—Shisui's hand could not help trembling.

"Brother Yoru, what did this Unno Ki do?"

Shisui lowered his voice, which carried a hint of hoarseness. This was simply an ordinary Chūnin family. His entire family had been ordinary Chūnin, nearly all of whom had died during Nine-Tails Night. Only one nephew remained, still attending the Ninja Academy. Unno Ki himself was merely a Chūnin.

Seeming to see Shisui's reluctance, Uchiha Yoru took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, the two tomoe in his blood-red Sharingan spun, carrying an oppressive air.

"Shisui! A shinobi's duty is to carry out missions. The rest is none of your concern."

Yet upon hearing that, Shisui could not help curling his lips into a self-mocking smile. "Another dirty mission for Root?"

An oppressive silence filled the office. In the end, Yoru spoke first. Looking at Shisui's dejected expression, he shook his head. "Shisui, this is all for Konoha."

"Handle Unno Ki, the one the Military Police arrested a few days ago, cleanly. Transfer the shops under his name to Sarutobi Hizuki's name. And remember, don't leave too many assets for Umino Iruka."

The implication was clear: leaving too many assets behind would instead bring harm to Umino Iruka, who was about to graduate.

Shisui had clearly not done this for the first time, but every time was a torment to him.

"Brother Yoru, how much longer do we have to keep doing this?"

This time, Shisui finally could not hold it in any longer. In less than three months since returning to Konoha, he had already carried out far too many missions that could not see the light of day.

"Brother Yoru, do you know how people in the village have been talking about us Uchiha lately?"

Ever since they had returned to Konoha with Orochimaru, Orochimaru had practically been sidelined. But as a member of Root, Orochimaru still had many missions that needed to be carried out. Naturally, a large portion of the dirty Root missions that had been in Orochimaru's hands were taken over by the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans.

After all, Orochimaru's status was what it was. Even if he had been sidelined, they could not casually send him out on missions. Moreover, his position in Root was equivalent to that of the second-in-command, so he naturally had to oversee the execution of some dirty work.

Those missions were then taken over by the shinobi clans aligned with Orochimaru. With Yoru in the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha naturally received the largest share.

But these dirty assignments were clearly oppressive, especially as they constantly challenged and shattered Shisui's moral boundaries.

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