After the conversation ended, Naruto left Uzushio Village with Hozuki Mangetsu and Zabuza.
He handed all matters, great and small, in Uzushio Village over to Shisui, telling him to consult Homura when uncertain about internal affairs and Elder Ashina when uncertain about external affairs, becoming a completely hands-off boss.
Shisui did not resist much. He took part in building the village and watched it improve step by step.
This had been his wish ever since he became a ninja.
Lord Menma's entrustment itself represented trust. He would not betray that trust and let the Uchiha lose their last place of refuge in the ninja world.
However, Shisui had also noticed that Lord Menma was not without desires.
Lord Menma had enemies and rivals—the Masked Man who had once caused Nine-Tails Night and was now controlling the Fourth Mizukage. As it happened, Shisui's enemy was also the Masked Man, so they shared the same interests.
Outside Uzushio Village, the newly freed Hozuki Mangetsu and Zabuza were not as happy as they had imagined they would be.
They had indeed regained their freedom, but Naruto was following twenty or thirty meters behind them. His clumsy disguise left them unsure whether they should expose him.
If they did, they feared he would become angry out of embarrassment and lock the two of them back up in the Land of Whirlpools prison.
If they did not, it would practically be an insult to their professional standards as ninja. Their entire bodies felt as though ants were crawling over them, leaving them profoundly uncomfortable.
After agonizing over it for a while, Hozuki Mangetsu and Zabuza decided to maintain the status quo.
Because strength really did let one do whatever one pleased. Against a Kage-level powerhouse like him, even Kirigakure at its peak would not