"Sir, I'm Uzuki Yugao. Please take care of me from now on."
At that moment, beneath Uzuki Yugao's innocent and youthful appearance, she showed thirty percent excitement, forty percent uncertainty, and the remaining thirty percent helplessness. She looked exactly like a rookie ninja fresh out of the academy.
Though Uchiha Yoru showed nothing on his face at the sight, a storm surged in his heart.
Uzuki Yugao! No wonder she looked so familiar. Beneath that long purple hair was a still-youthful, shy face. Uchiha Yoru pondered silently. Something's wrong.
"Brother Yoru, Uzuki Yugao comes from a civilian family. She graduated last year with perfect marks in her academic courses. She's meticulous and can assist with the Konoha Military Police Force's work."
It was obvious that beneath Uchiha Shisui's easy smile, he was finding Yoru an assistant—a so-called clerical secretary. To put it bluntly, someone to run errands in the office.
After all, every department and squad had assistants. Most assistants handling documents and records were women, while those in charge of combat were elite ninja.
Seeing Shisui's well-meaning expression, Uchiha Yoru smiled as well. Looking at the still-young Uzuki Yugao, who had only graduated recently, he said, "Good. Go familiarize yourself with the work first."
"Thank you, sir." Uzuki Yugao immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle, her face filled with an excited smile and anticipation for the future.
Yet the instant Uzuki Yugao stepped out and closed the door, Uchiha Yoru's smile gradually turned cold. At the same time, the innocence vanished from Uzuki Yugao's eyes outside the door, while Shisui noticed nothing at all.
The first page of the personnel files was Uzuki Yugao's. Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes as he read the information. She had left the Ninja Academy at eleven and had graduated for over half a year. Her team leader was an ordinary Chūnin, and her teammates were all civilians. Her evaluation described her as meticulous, with a basic grasp of Medical Ninjutsu. Her greatest specialty was swordsmanship.
"Brother Yoru?" Shisui looked puzzled as he watched Uchiha Yoru continually flip through the files.
However, after reviewing all the files, a cold glint flashed in Uchiha Yoru's eyes. He raised his head and stared at Shisui with a grim expression, startling him.
"Shisui, the Seventh Division of the Konoha Military Police Force really has been infiltrated like a sieve."
"What?" Shisui was still completely bewildered, but Uchiha Yoru irritably slammed the files of three people onto the desk.
Uchiha Shisui might have lacked political awareness, but he was still an Elite Jonin. When he saw his brother pull out those three files, his expression darkened as well. One of them was Uzuki Yugao's file. He had specifically selected her himself. Not only was her background clean, but he had even placed her file right on top.
"Brother Yoru, should we?" After doing so many dark deeds for Root, Shisui was no longer as naive as before. A cold light shone in his eyes, as though he were asking whether they should slit their throats.
But seeing this, Uchiha Yoru rubbed his brow in frustration. He stared fixedly at the three files before finally shaking his head. "I only happened to learn about these three from Teacher Orochimaru. As for how many others are lurking in the shadows, no one knows. Keep a close eye on these three, Shisui, and secretly investigate everyone else as well. Don't alert the enemy."
"Just have people secretly watch Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate. As for Kabuto Yakushi, he belongs to Root."
Kabuto Yakushi, Gekko Hayate, and Uzuki Yugao—those were the three files he had picked out. He only knew because of his knowledge; otherwise, who could have found them? But after hearing this, anger rose in Shisui's heart, and his dissatisfaction with Root deepened further.
The Uchiha Clan had practically separated the Seventh Division from everything else. It was entirely Lord Orochimaru's faction and Root's secret dirty glove. Yet while we handled all the dirty and exhausting work, they still didn't trust us and secretly sent spies. That was what angered Shisui the most.
Uchiha Yoru shook his head as well, though he sneered inwardly. Once you knew, it was no longer frightening. What was truly frightening was what you did not know.
"Shisui, the calluses on Uzuki Yugao's tiger's mouth just now prove that she's practiced swordsmanship since childhood. That matches the information in her file. After all, she's a civilian ninja. As for which faction she belongs to, don't dig too deeply. Just keep watching them in secret."
"Brother Yoru, you—" Seeing that Uchiha Yoru would not let him investigate further, Shisui hesitated. But Yoru's expression immediately turned solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Shisui! Follow orders!"
"Yes!" Uchiha Shisui answered reflexively, but his heart was filled with a question. Why wouldn't Brother Yoru let him continue investigating? And when he saw the identities of those three, Brother Yoru's eyes had been full of disbelief and pain. Could it be? Could it be...
The more Uchiha Shisui thought about it, the more frightened he became. He did not dare think any further and could not help lowering his head. Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he had told Shisui outright, the effect would have been halved. The more he forbade him from investigating, the more it would itch at him. Once he secretly discovered the person behind it all, he would understand everything.
From the beginning, he had pretended to be pained and shocked so that Shisui would see that he already knew who those three worked for. Yet for the sake of the village and the clan, he had directly ordered that there be no investigation. Once Shisui learned the full truth, he would only feel how heavy a burden Yoru carried.
For the Uchiha Clan, he had truly gone to great lengths. After all, he did not want to personally experience the Night of the Massacre a few years from now.
Though Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate were a tragic couple, the original story made it clear that both were Anbu. But when did the Anbu begin training them?
He did not know, but there was one thing he could be certain of: Konoha was currently short on manpower, and the Third had returned to power. He would definitely make a major effort to train and expand the strength of his own faction.
Anbu agents? Uchiha Yoru sneered inwardly. Sending them to infiltrate at such an age was indeed the easiest way to make people lower their guard.
During the Chunin Exam, both of them had been Special Jonin. Gekko Hayate was understandable, since he was a Kekkei Genkai ninja. But wasn't Transparent Escape the ideal ability for an infiltrator? That meant Uzuki Yugao was merely an ordinary civilian.
Discovering promising seedlings and secretly grooming them early on was the Anbu's usual trick. As for Kabuto Yakushi, there was no need to mention him. Everyone knew he was from Root.
"Brother Yoru, should we casually send them away? Or arrange for them to work at the Prison?"
Now that he knew they were spies sent by factions within the village, Shisui felt that if they were not going to act against them, then they should at least be assigned to some marginal post.
But Uchiha Yoru put on an exhausted, mentally drained expression. He waved a hand and sighed. "You can guard against them for a while, but not forever. Let's pretend we don't know. Since you've already assigned Uzuki Yugao to my side, don't alert her. As for these two..."
"Gekko Hayate's file is very ordinary, so follow the normal procedure and assign him to the Patrol and Security Force. Kabuto Yakushi's file says he's rather skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, so put him in logistics. Remember, don't alert any of the three."
"Understood."
Uchiha Yoru chose not to alert the three of them. Since he already knew their backgrounds, pretending not to know was sometimes the best choice. Otherwise, if they sent more spies, they would be completely in the dark.
"Shisui, continue investigating in secret. See how many more problematic people there are among this batch of recruits."
Uchiha Yoru did not believe there were only these few. There had to be more. Hearing this, Shisui's expression turned grave, and sorrow filled his heart. They were all from the same village, so why were they so wary of the Uchiha Clan?
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