Anbu

Swoosh--

The woods on both sides of the mountain path were silent, with only the rustling of leaves on the ground when a breeze blew through them.

Several dark figures ignored the flat, muddy ground and instead carefully hopped across the tree trunks, their anxious movements suggesting that they were being chased by ghosts.

Call...

After advancing for a while, several more figures leaped out from the crevices in the rocks on the side of the mountain and quickly landed in front of the advancing team. Neither side seemed surprised, and they appeared to be quite familiar with each other.

"Qingkui, how's the situation in the village now?"

Both teams wore hideous ghost masks, and the team leader Kishi, who jumped out, asked urgently.

"Most of them are finished..." A clear and melodious female voice came from beneath the Kishi mask, but the tone of her voice was filled with gritted teeth.

"The Konoha Ninja are extremely cruel. Our main force was no match for them. Only we and another team escaped through the secret passage."

"Damn it!" Kishi gripped the hilt of his sword and slammed it onto the grass, his hand turning pale. "Now we can only hide. Luckily, the village wasn't completely unprepared."

"I've developed some connections in the Underground Black Market. Let's switch identities and take on missions, especially those involving assassinating Konoha Ninja..."

"Oh ho, looks like I've chosen the right person to follow."

Suddenly, mocking words came from nearby, instantly startling both teams. "Who goes there?"

Long swords and short swords were drawn, and everyone assumed a defensive stance, turning to face the side.

A purple-haired youth stood on a half- Takagi, looking down at Kishi and Qingkui.

"Takeda Shuichi!" The Hannya Clan were devastated. Why was it this guy who had come after them?

"To wipe you all out in one fell swoop, I've deliberately slowed down my attack." Shuichi hand.

"As I expected, you will definitely prepare some escape routes."

"Furthermore, I also wanted to know how many ninjas were still out on missions and hadn't returned, to prevent them from hiding in the shadows and causing trouble for Konoha in the future. It seems I've come to the right person."

"Don't be so arrogant, let's fight him!" Kishi wasn't ruthless enough to stab himself in the head; he was unaware of the vast array of Ninjutsu techniques employed by the great ninja village.

If he really does that, he might give Shuichi rare opportunity to fail in his pursuit.

Bang bang bang--

Several ice bullets shot from behind the Hannya Clan, accurately hitting the brains of several team members, completely disrupting the attack that had just begun.

Kishi and Qingkui stopped in surprise. The Ice Clone that had been luring them from the tree suddenly appeared, rapidly closing in. Its left and right hands flashed out, and slender ice spikes abruptly pierced their abdomens. The biting cold instantly dissipated all their strength.

Shuichi himself calmly approached from behind, easily grabbing the enemy by the neck and knocking him unconscious.

Besides these two teams, Shuichi also sent out Shadow Clone to track several other baits. By the time he returned to the Land of Forests, the Konoha Ninja had already completely occupied the area.

Seeing that he had captured the escaped remnants of the Hannya Clan Anbu's ANBU, the Yamanaka Clan ninjas immediately went over to read their memories, determined not to let any escapees get away.

Three days have passed since the suppression of the rebellious Land of Forests in Konoha. Shuichi once again meets with the Third Hokage in the Hokage Building to report on the mission.

He didn't mention Yan's matter. Anyway, he had done his best. He couldn't tell anything unusual from the other person's face, so it was hard to judge the specific situation.

"Maybe he survived?"

While guessing in his Shuichi also spoke about the general plan that Sunagakure had for the Land of Forests.

What makes a ninja a ninja is their ability to endure pain that ordinary people cannot.

The Fourth Raikage, knowing full well that Ōnoki and the Iwagakure were his father's killers, still allowed Ōnoki to ride on his back for a bromance when dealing with Madara. As a Kage, one must put the village's interests above personal gain; this is an essential quality for a leader.

The Third Hokage certainly wouldn't launch a large-scale retaliation against Sunagakure, even if his son were indeed killed by them.

The opponents also gained their benefits at the cost of many nameless ninjas; this was simply the common fate of ninjas.

Therefore, the two discussed changes in future foreign policy. They could continue to suppress the development of the Land of Wind, but they shouldn't push the other side to the brink. Without sufficient military funding, the frequent attacks by Sunagakure would only be a short-sighted solution.

"Lord Shuichi!"

As Shuichi emerged from the office, the Anbu member Yamanaka Sa, immediately followed behind and called out to him, "We are extremely grateful for Shuichi En's situation... If you hadn't arrived in time, he probably wouldn't have survived."

"Hmm? It's nothing, the ninjas from the same village will do their best to help."

Shuichi turned around and carefully observed his expression behind the mask. His calm face revealed no joy. "May I ask a question? How is Senior Yan's health these days?"

"Sigh... it's not good." Sae looked somewhat sad. "He might have a few more years to live, but... he won't last much longer..."

Shuichi. Although the Medical Unit's Healing and Regeneration Technique had not failed, Yan's injuries were too fatal. Even if his life was successfully saved, he would be almost a cripple.

Because his lungs were punctured, he couldn't move around vigorously in his daily life, and it seems he'll be confined to a wheelchair for several years before passing away. It's estimated... he'll die before the Third Hokage.

After exchanging a few more casual words, Shuichi quickly said goodbye to Sae.

This mission won't take long. In two days, it will be the day that Haku graduates from the Ninja Academy. As his teacher and "adoptive father," I will definitely go to celebrate.

His talent was also widely recognized by the teachers at the Ninja Academy. He graduated more than a year later than Itachi simply because he lacked the early accumulation of experience from a large clan.

Of course, he was much more popular than Itachi. After all, with his looks... he wouldn't arouse jealousy among boys even when he was surrounded by girls. In fact, he could even arouse the protective instincts of his companions when he was in a group of boys. Shuichi and Kakashi were never this popular.

As he returned to his doorstep, a boy of average height was standing ramrod straight, waiting for him. Upon seeing Shuichi, the boy immediately came over to greet him, "Captain Shuichi..."

"Let's go inside and talk," Shuichi said to Shisui, pointing to the rooftop terrace of the Villa.

"..."

Leaning on the railing, Shuichi spoke first, "I know you accepted the Third Lord's invitation to join the Anbu. I'm quite satisfied with your progress over the past few years, and you're certainly qualified to be an Anbu Squad Leader. However, I don't really approve of you joining the Anbu."

The Homura Squad was actually one of the luckier ones; the other two Anbu had already been completely buried near the Land of Forests.

Because of the manpower shortage, the Third Hokage began to extend invitations to outstanding young people in the village, and Shisui, who had been trained by Shuichi, was the first to be invited.

"Why?" Shisui was somewhat taken aback. "This is an invitation from the Lord Hokage, I..."

"I remember you also joined the Uchiha Guard, right? Considering your former teammates, you'll be on missions at an astonishing frequency, which isn't a good thing for a young ninja," Shuichi reminded him.

"But you seemed to be even busier than me back then, participating in a major war at the age of just over 10 and achieving unparalleled results. Your great achievements have always spurred me on."

Shuichi was speechless and interrupted his flattery in an annoyed tone, "That was all out of necessity. If I could, I'd rather sleep Tenten."

"Fine, to tell you the truth..." Shuichi moment, "The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan is not limited to the Three-Tomoe. If they are given a strong stimulus, they can go further and develop into the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"However, the stronger the Dojutsu, the easier it is to lose oneself. I don't mean to stop you from going further, but the environment of the Anbu is full of dark things, and the Sharingan feeds on negative emotions."

Obsessing over the pleasure derived from increasing power will lead a ninja step by step down the path of darkness.

In reality, Shuichi worried that Shisui's Kotoamatsukami would turn into something like Amaterasu.

He speculated that the fact that the other party's eyes were Kotoamatsukami in the original work was mainly influenced by two factors: his desire to mend the rift between his family and village, and his most skilled technique being Genjutsu.

The relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha is not nearly as tense as it was in the original story, and Shisui himself loved the village and his clan extremely, with his strongest wish always being for the two to live in peace.

Therefore, Shuichi wasn't greedy; maintaining Kotoamatsukami with just one eye was enough.

He felt that after witnessing more darkness during the mission, the other party might develop lofty ideals such as "I want to change all of this," and it was hard to say what abilities the Mangekyo would have when it awakened.

"Do you know why the Second Hokage established the Uchiha Guard? It was because he was worried about someone like Uchiha Madara appearing..."

Shuichi revealed some secrets to him. "The Uchiha Clan Warring States Period was immersed in blood and fire, and the deeper their hatred and darkness, the stronger they were in battle. That style is very unsuitable for today's era, and it's very easy to hurt the people around you."

Shisui remained silent for a long time, overwhelmed by the amount of information he had received. He hadn't expected the Uchiha Clan to have so many secrets.

But this time his determination was firm. He looked directly at Shuichi and said, "Senior, I've made up my mind. The Uchiha needs an Anbu to contribute to the village. We are fellow villagers just like the other clans."

"With my current strength, it's easier for me to protect my teammates, so I'm asking you to continue supervising them. If I really can't control myself from going astray, I'll have to trouble you to pull me back!"

"You don't need to make this so serious." Shuichi waved his hand casually. "Now that things have come to this, can I stop you? Just be careful. There are still many strong ninjas in the Shinobi World."

Thank you for your understanding...