Shisui! For the Village!

Inside an inconspicuous office of the Konoha Military Police Force.

"Brother Yoru, everyone in the village is saying that the Uchiha Clan relies on its status as one of the Noble Houses to arrest and punish civilian ninja whenever they make mistakes, while turning a blind eye to the major noble houses within the village. The Konoha Military Police Force has long since become corrupt."

Shisui was clearly feeling stifled and aggrieved. After hearing this, Uchiha Yoru put on a melancholy, worried expression, before it finally turned into resolve.

"Shisui, you need to understand that all this is for Konoha's stability."

Upon hearing that, Uchiha Shisui's young face showed even more frustration. He could not help but lower his voice. "Brother Yoru, why are there so many of these... these Root missions that can't see the light of day?"

After talking for so long, Uchiha Shisui still could not bring himself to say it. Uchiha Yoru merely sighed faintly. "Shisui, you need to understand. The village is going through difficult times right now. Special circumstances call for special measures."

Among these clandestine missions, major cases were handled to the bitter end. As for wrongful convictions? All they could say was sorry. Root issued the assignments; whether they were right or wrong was not his concern.

Where there was light, there was shadow. No matter how selfless and impartial the Third Hokage was, how could there be light without darkness?

Did people really think the Sarutobi Clan becoming a corps later on was just empty boasting? Without years of accumulated gains, there would have been no Sarutobi Corps.

"Shisui, the Third Hokage's Sarutobi Clan needs this right now, so there are some things you only need to understand and swallow."

Konoha's pie was only so large. For the Sarutobi Clan to grow, it had to encroach on others' interests.

With Uchiha Yoru involved, the nature of certain missions naturally began to change. For instance, there was Unno Ki, whom they needed to deal with in secret.

Chūnin Unno Ki had once been captured by the Land of Grass for half a month during a mission. He was suspected of leaking secrets and becoming a traitor.

Those two words—"suspected of"—were enough, especially when he was merely an ordinary Chūnin. Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip through. Wasn't that exactly Root's style?

This was a Root mission, but in Yoru's hands, its nature changed slightly.

Unno Ki owned three shops. After all, nearly everyone in the Nine-Tails' family had died, so there was naturally a sizable inheritance left behind.

Unno Ki was being eliminated on suspicion, so his assets needed to change hands. Yoru did not want to enrich the enemy—Root—so he came up with this method.

"Shisui, secretly give these three shops to Sarutobi Hizuki. Publicly, under the Konoha Military Police Force's cover story, Unno Ki had already defected while in captivity, and his assets were confiscated."

"Leave two hundred thousand from the seized assets to his nephew, Umino Iruka, and confiscate the rest. Root's research requires a large amount of funding!"

As he said this, Uchiha Yoru's eyes held a profound darkness. He felt not the slightest guilt over abusing his authority for personal gain. If he did not do it, his clan would be finished sooner or later anyway. While he still had the chance, he needed money! Money! More money!

Shisui naturally understood what that meant. It was precisely because he understood that he gave a bitter smile. So-called Root research funds simply meant Lord Orochimaru needed funding.

"Make sure it is clearly stated that after the three shops are given to Sarutobi Hizuki, half of their future income will belong to us Uchiha."

To profit through authority, he naturally needed a reasonable way to shut everyone up. Since the shops were being given to a Sarutobi Clan ninja, they had to drag someone else into this filthy affair. The Sarutobi Clan, which held the Hokage seat, was perfect for that.

By using Root as a banner, he could say that he had completed their mission and given the larger share of the benefits to the Sarutobi Clan. Wasn't that another form of goodwill?

In the end, the Uchiha Clan received only half the shops' income. Root merely had to move its mouth, while the Sarutobi Clan sat at home as money fell from the sky after Root's mission was completed.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan did the dirty, exhausting work and rightfully received its mission reward.

Of the three parties, only the Uchiha did any work. What more could anyone ask for?

"Sarutobi Hizuki was the squad captain who carried out the mission in the Land of Grass."

A glaring detail in the files caught Shisui's eye. As the mission squad captain, Sarutobi Hizuki had returned alive, while his team members were either dead or prisoners. Unno Ki was among those prisoners.

Seeing this, Shisui could not help but fall into deep doubt. If Unno Ki was suspected of betrayal, was it possible that Sarutobi Hizuki wanted to erase this stain from his ninja career?

As though seeing Shisui's doubts, Uchiha Yoru lowered his voice and spoke gravely. "Shisui, ninja are weapons. Weapons do not need emotions. That is what the Ninja Academy teaches. Yet ninja also need emotions. I do not know what is right or wrong, and no one tells us."

"But all I know is this: even if we Uchiha do not do it, other ninja will. So, for the Uchiha Clan, for Konoha."

For Konoha? Once, those had been words of immense pride. Yet after seeing so much darkness, the conviction in Shisui's heart began to waver.

Was all this truly for Konoha? Why were the Uchiha the ones doing the dirty work, Root the ones being ruthless and merciless, while the Sarutobi—who seemed to do nothing and know nothing—were the ones who ultimately benefited?

Inside the dim cell, the barrier ensured that not a sound could be heard outside, while miserable wails echoed within.

"Haha, you Uchiha bastards! I knew it! I only got drunk and disturbed the peace a little—how did it become this? So you and Sarutobi Hizuki are in cahoots!"

At that moment, the eyes of an Uchiha ninja from the Konoha Military Police Force gleamed coldly. As he continued administering torture, he said in a low voice, "Be obedient. As long as you personally write this confession and agree to hand over those three shops to Sarutobi Hizuki as compensation, I'll give you a quick death."

"Pah." Unno Ki revealed a savage smile and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

But just as the torture was about to continue, the cell door opened. The sudden light made Unno Ki squint uncomfortably, while the Uchiha ninja beside him respectfully rose to his feet.

"Captain Shisui."

The one who entered was naturally Uchiha Shisui. With a wave of his hand, the ninja in the cell understood his meaning. He nodded lightly, turned, and left, while the cell door shut again behind him.

Unno Ki raised his head. His swollen, bloodshot eyes looked at the Uchiha ninja before him, and he immediately revealed a mocking smile.

"Well, if it isn't Shisui, the Uchiha Clan's Genius Ninja. What, has even a genius fallen so low? Become Sarutobi Hizuki's lapdog?"

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

Then, within the silent cell, Shisui spoke one sentence, and Unno Ki repeated one sentence, leaving behind his handwriting and fingerprint on the confession.

The meaning of the confession was simple. After Unno Ki had been captured in the Land of Grass, he had failed to withstand the pressure and chosen to divulge the village's secrets, causing the mission to fail. As the mission's captain, Sarutobi Hizuki had naturally been implicated.

Overwhelmed by endless remorse, he was willing to give the three shops under the Unno name to Captain Sarutobi Hizuki as compensation.

Looking at the confession in his hand, Shisui gave a self-mocking smile. Then, after the cell door opened, Shisui left behind one sentence and departed.

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

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