Shisui! For the Village!

In an unremarkable office within the Konoha Military Police Force.

"Brother Yoru, the whole village is saying the Uchiha are throwing their weight around because of their noble birth—cracking down on civilian ninjas for every little mistake, punishing every crime, but turning a blind eye to the major clans in the village. The Military Police Force has already started to rot."

At this, Shisui was clearly holding back frustration. Uchiha Yoru, upon hearing this, put on a look of melancholy and worry, but it eventually hardened into resolve.

"Shisui, you have to understand—this is all for the stability of Konoha."

Hearing this, the young Uchiha Shisui's face showed even more resentment. He couldn't help muttering, "Brother Yoru, the Root's shady missions—why are there so many of them! So many!"

After hemming and hawing, Shisui still couldn't get the words out. Uchiha Yoru let out a quiet sigh. "Shisui, you need to understand—the village is in a tough spot right now. Special times call for special measures."

Among those shady missions, almost all of them were about handling major cases with lethal finality. As for wrongful convictions or false charges? All he could say was, sorry—the orders came from Root. Whether they were wrong or not wasn't his call.

Where there's light, there's shadow. Even if the Third Hokage was the most selfless man alive, without the shadows, where would the light come from?

In the later parts of the anime, the Sarutobi Clan managed to form a military force—did people really think that came out of nowhere? Without years of accumulated resources, the Sarutobi Corps wouldn't have existed.

"Shisui, right now the Third Hokage's Sarutobi Clan has needs. So for some things, you just have to understand and swallow them down."

The Konoha pie was only so big. If the Sarutobi Clan wanted to grow, they had to take from others' interests.

With Uchiha Yoru in the picture, the nature of certain missions naturally began to shift. For example, the case of Unno Ki, which they were now supposed to handle quietly.

Chunin Unno Ki had been captured by the Land of Grass for half a month during a mission. He was suspected of leaking information and becoming a spy.

Just that word "suspected" was enough—especially since he was just an ordinary chunin. Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one escape. Wasn't that classic Root behavior?

That was a Root mission. But in Yoru's hands, its nature changed a bit.

Namely, Unno Ki owned three shops. Since the Nine-Tails' family had been nearly wiped out, a lot of inheritance had come down. Unno Ki was being eliminated on suspicion, so those assets needed to be moved. And Yoru didn't want to hand them over to Root—so he came up with this plan.

"Shisui, secretly give those three shops to Sarutobi Hizuki. On the surface, the Military Police Force's cover story is that Unno Ki already betrayed the village during his capture, and his assets are confiscated."

"As for the proceeds, leave 200,000 for his nephew, Umino Iruka. The rest gets seized. Root's research needs a lot of funding!"

As he said this, Uchiha Yoru's eyes held a deep, calculating gleam. He felt no guilt about abusing his power for personal gain. If he didn't do this now, the clan would be finished later anyway. He had to take the opportunity to make money! Make money! Keep making money!

Shisui naturally understood the implication. But precisely because he understood, he could only force a bitter smile. So-called Root research funds just meant Lord Orochimaru needed money.

"Make sure it's clear—after giving those three shops to Sarutobi Hizuki, half of the future income from those shops goes to our Uchiha."

To abuse power for personal gain, you had to shut everyone's mouths properly. Giving the shops to a Sarutobi clan ninja meant dragging them into the dirt too. The Hokage's own Sarutobi Clan was perfect for that.

At the same time, he was using Root's authority. He completed the mission for them, then gave the Sarutobi Clan the lion's share of the benefits—wasn't that a roundabout way of currying favor?

In the end, the Uchiha only got half the shop income. Root just had to give the order, the Sarutobi Clan sat at home doing nothing, and the Root mission was completed while money fell from the sky for the Sarutobi.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha did all the dirty, hard work and got their rightful mission pay.

Three parties, and only the Uchiha actually worked. What more could you ask for?

"Sarutobi Hizuki—the squad leader on the mission in the Land of Grass."

The glaring detail in the documents caught Shisui's eye. As the squad leader, he came back alive. His subordinates were either dead or captured. Among the captives was Unno Ki.

Seeing this, Shisui couldn't help falling into deep suspicion. This "suspected betrayal"—could it be that Sarutobi Hizuki wanted to erase this stain from his ninja career?

As if reading Shisui's doubt, Uchiha Yoru lowered his voice and said firmly, "Shisui, a ninja is a tool. They don't need emotions. That's what they taught at the Ninja Academy. But at the same time, a ninja does need emotions. I don't know what's right or wrong, and no one's told us."

"But everything we're doing now—I only know this! Even if our Uchiha don't do it, some other ninja will. So for the sake of the Uchiha, for the sake of Konoha."

For the sake of Konoha? That phrase once filled him with pride. But having seen too much darkness, the firm belief in Shisui's heart was beginning to waver.

Was all of this really for Konoha? Why was it the Uchiha doing the dirty work, Root being ruthless and merciless, and the Sarutobi—who did nothing and seemed to know nothing—ending up as the ultimate beneficiaries?

In the dim prison cell, a barrier ensured no sound leaked out. Inside, however, miserable screams echoed.

"Hah, you Uchiha bastards! I knew it! I just got drunk and disturbed the peace—how did it come to this? So you're all in cahoots with Sarutobi Hizuki!"

An Uchiha ninja from the Military Police Force had cold light flickering in his eyes. As he continued the torture, he said in a low voice, "Listen. If you write this confession yourself and agree to give those three shops to Sarutobi Hizuki as compensation, I'll give you a quick death."

"Pah." Unno Ki bared a savage grin and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Just as the torture was about to continue, the cell door opened. The light made Unno Ki squint uncomfortably, while the Uchiha ninja beside him stood up respectfully.

"Captain Shisui."

The one entering was naturally Uchiha Shisui. He waved his hand, and the ninja in the cell understood the signal. With a slight nod, he turned and left, and the cell door closed again.

Unno Ki lifted his head. His bloodshot, swollen eyes stared at the Uchiha before him, and he broke into a mocking grin.

"Oh, if it isn't the Uchiha's genius ninja, Shisui. What, has the genius fallen too? Become Sarutobi Hizuki's lapdog?"

Shisui's calm face showed no reaction. In an instant, blood-red Three Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his eyes, and the other man's expression began to go blank.

Then, in the silent cell, Shisui spoke one line, and Unno Ki repeated it, all while leaving his handwriting and fingerprints on the confession.

The confession was simple: he, Unno Ki, had failed to withstand the pressure after being captured in the Land of Grass, chose to leak the village's secrets, causing the mission to fail. As the squad leader, Sarutobi Hizuki was naturally implicated.

Overwhelmed by endless regret, he was willing to give his three shops under the Unno name to Squad Leader Sarutobi Hizuki as compensation.

Looking at the confession in his hands, Shisui let out a self-deprecating laugh. Then, as the cell door opened, he tossed out a single line and left.

"Let his family come see him one last time."