Resignation Letter

At those words, the white-haired Anbu froze.

What kind of joke is this?

The clan head had changed?

When had that happened? If he remembered correctly, today—no, it was already past midnight, so yesterday—yesterday, Fugaku Uchiha had still delivered documents to the Hokage as the Uchiha Clan Head and chief of the Police Force.

Did the Uchiha Clan handle things this... recklessly? A dignified clan head could just be replaced at will?

And was the position of Police Force chief something that could be handed over in private?

What was worse, Uchiha Sōken had inherited the position of clan head. Recalling the order personally issued by the Hokage, the face hidden beneath the double concealment of a fox mask and black face covering revealed a trace of difficulty and hesitation. This situation was completely outside expectations.

But the Hokage's orders had to be carried out.

And for this mission, he had not been granted the authority to adapt to changing circumstances.

The Hokage had probably never expected such sudden upheaval within the Uchiha Clan. In the blink of an eye, the Uchiha Clan had changed regimes entirely!

"Chief Uchiha."

The same form of address now referred to a different person.

"By order of the Hokage, um... the submitted application has been approved. In light of the recent manpower shortage in the Border Defense Force along the eastern coast, the Hokage hopes your clan can send the personnel on the list to take up their posts with the Border Defense Force as soon as possible."

The white-haired Anbu tried his best to gloss over certain troublesome terms, then handed the document in his hand to Sōken.

"...Heh! Interesting!"

Sōken took the document and opened it. His own name sat prominently at the very top, with a bright red seal deliberately stamped over it.

He had been certain the Third would approve Fugaku Uchiha's application and send a troublemaker like him far away. Otherwise, he would not have seized power in such a hurry. He had originally planned to get the Police Force settled for the night, then draw lines and contend with the Third and that group of elderly men in the morning.

Who would have thought

those elderly men would be so impatient that they could not even wait one night.

Was this what old people meant by time waiting for no one?

After turning the matter over several times in his mind, Sōken chuckled softly and shook the thin document in his hand.

"Please tell the Hokage that unfortunate circumstances have arisen. A small disturbance has occurred within our clan, so this document... may be impossible to carry out. Please allow me to explain the details to the Hokage in person tomorrow."

With that, Sōken stuffed the document back into the hands of the white-haired Anbu before him.

Or rather, he returned it to Kakashi.

Though he was in the Anbu, he had never changed that exceedingly conspicuous head of white hair. Combined with his deliberately concealed left eye... no wonder the Third had sent him running errands to deliver messages. He simply did not look suited to carrying out covert missions.

"I understand. I will truthfully report the situation here to the Hokage."

Kakashi agreed without raising any objection.

He was no fool incapable of reading the room. This was Police Force territory, and under the watchful eyes of so many powerful Uchiha. Whether he had objections in his heart or not, he had to have none at this moment. He obediently put away the document and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Sōken stopped Kakashi just as he lifted his foot.

"There is one more thing I need you to deliver to the Hokage." He turned his gaze toward the clansmen crowded onto the rooftop and called out, "Who is good with paperwork? Step forward. Quickly—I need someone to write something for me." At Sōken's words, a bespectacled clansman immediately stepped forward.

"Write me a Resignation Letter."

"Eh?"

The clansman who had stepped out was dumbfounded. He did not know who it was for, nor which department it was being sent to. How was he supposed to start writing something so out of the blue? He could only ask cautiously, "Um, Chief... who is this for?"

"Uchiha Shisui. He is leaving the Anbu."

Sōken blurted it out.

Then, "...Sōken, what are you doing?"

This time, Shisui was the one left dumbfounded. He had never said he wanted to leave the Anbu... Well, he had not been happy in the Anbu. With his gentle, cheerful personality, he had never been particularly suited to the Anbu's cold and deadly style.

Still, that did not mean he wanted to leave the Anbu.

He had joined the Anbu to ease the conflict between the village and the clan, yet he had achieved nothing. Was it reasonable for him to be kicked out just like that?

In his haste, he even forgot to address Sōken as clan head or chief.

"What am I doing? I am helping you escape the mire. Shisui, staying in the Anbu cannot resolve the conflict between the clan and the village. On the contrary, the Anbu has now become a cage that limits and restrains you. Besides... this is an order from the clan head. Are you planning to disobey my order?"

Sōken said unhurriedly.

"You..."

"That settles it. Go write it, quickly. Do not keep this Anbu friend waiting too long."

Sōken settled the matter without giving anyone a chance to argue.

The bespectacled clansman was quite capable as well. He pulled out paper and pen from his pocket, lay sprawled on the rooftop floor, and began writing furiously by moonlight. In less than a minute, he had finished a standard-format, properly worded Resignation Letter. All that remained was for Shisui to sign his name at the bottom.

"Can't I really stay in the Anbu?"

Pen in hand, Shisui still tried to make one last stand.

"What would you stay in the Anbu for? To wait for someone to target you and cut off one of my arms?" Sōken did not care in the slightest that Kakashi, who had failed to slip away, was still standing nearby. He said bluntly, "The Anbu isn't a place for Uchiha. Do you think staying in the Anbu will change those old men's prejudice against the clan?"

Kakashi played deaf and dumb, standing there motionless like a scarecrow.

Shisui was speechless as well.

With Sōken and so many clansmen watching, he could not bring himself to say something against his heart.

"But if you stay with the clan, you'll have the chance to change the clan. If the two of us join forces, we can turn around the clan's reputation in the village. Konoha isn't one person's village—it belongs to all its villagers. Compared to winning the favor of such a tiny handful of people, gaining the recognition of the majority is far more important. That is the only way for the clan to truly integrate into the village."

Sōken rattled off a load of nonsense.

Of course, it was not entirely made up. His upcoming plans did include reforming the clan and the Police Force.

Still, compared to trivial matters like improving the clan's public reputation, he was more worried that Shisui would be schemed against. Whether it was Danzo or the Third, when those people resorted to plots and tactics, they were not opponents Shisui could withstand.

Even Sōken himself would not dare claim that he could weather the schemes of those old foxes.

Yet Sōken could foresee that conflict between the clan and the village would inevitably erupt next. It might not truly reach the point of fighting to the death, but if Shisui remained in the Anbu, there was a ninety-percent chance he would be deliberately targeted. If things went wrong, it was entirely possible that he would stumble and lose his life.

In the original history, Shisui had been plotted against by Danzo, lost one of his eyes, and in the end, driven to despair, thrown himself into the river...