Uchiha Shisui

"It seems the battle is over."

Uchiha Shisui was still standing there, feeling the inexplicable phantom pain, when Kakashi and Tenzo walked over.

Both of them were deeply impressed, and Tenzo couldn't help sighing in admiration.

"You're really amazing. You actually took down this 'Byakugan Killer.'"

Ao was an elite jōnin of Kirigakure and had already made a great name for himself during the Third Shinobi World War.

Especially after he killed a member of the Hyuga Main Family and obtained a Byakugan, his strength had improved tremendously.

Yet such a powerful shinobi had actually fallen to a newcomer in the Anbu—and a member of the Hyuga Branch Family at that.

How could they not be amazed?

"No wonder you took the initiative to propose dealing with him. You're quite impressive."

Kakashi spoke softly. The battle plan had indeed been proposed by Hyuga Makoto.

He would deal with Ao, allowing Kakashi and Tenzo to quickly take care of the others before providing support.

The reason was simple: only a Byakugan could deal with a Byakugan more effectively!

But those words made both of them twitch at the corners of their eyes.

What kind of nonsense is that? Isn't that supposed to describe the Sharingan?

After considering everything, they had still reluctantly agreed.

However, they had kept an eye on him throughout the battle, afraid something might go wrong.

They had truly never expected Hyuga Makoto to accomplish this much!

"Actually, this was all thanks to the captain and senior."

Hyuga Makoto was quite modest. As he sealed the Byakugan, he said with a smile,

"You put too much pressure on him and made him panic. That was what gave me the opportunity."

He really wasn't flattering them. They had ambushed Kirigakure and caught them completely off guard.

Ao was worried about his companions and wanted to rely on the Byakugan to quickly subdue Hyuga Makoto so they could all retreat safely.

Unfortunately, the Byakugan had encountered the Tenseigan...

On top of that, the nonsense Hyuga Makoto had spouted during the battle had further affected his state of mind.

Moreover, even if the Moon Ōtsutsuki bloodline had some "minor flaws," its "stats" were by no means low!

The information gap, his unbalanced state of mind, and the "stats" right there before him had already sealed Ao's fate.

"That's not quite how I'd put it..."

Tenzo scratched his head awkwardly, while Kakashi said seriously,

"You don't need to be so modest. If he hadn't been outmatched, no matter how panicked he was, you couldn't have taken things this far."

Kakashi had seen Hyuga Makoto's battle very clearly.

There was no denying that they had affected Ao's state of mind, but Hyuga Makoto's strength was the key!

Especially the terrifying suppression Hyuga Makoto exerted over Ao, which gave Kakashi a strange thought.

Could it really be as he said? Is the Byakugan better at dealing with the Byakugan?

Kakashi couldn't quite figure it out, but Uchiha Shisui finally came back to his senses.

"Senior, you are..."

He had recognized Kakashi long ago, but unlike Might Guy, he wouldn't just expose his identity outright.

Even though everyone knew...

"Sorry. I know this is your mission, but we discovered this fellow Ao."

Kakashi glanced at Shisui and took the responsibility upon himself.

After all, Hyuga Makoto was the kind of person who could say, "Companions are always the ones most worth cherishing." Kakashi had a favorable impression of him.

"So we acted on our own. If we caused you any inconvenience, I sincerely apologize."

"No, we should be thanking you, senior."

Uchiha Shisui glanced at Ao. Through his Sharingan, he already knew Ao's condition.

His Chakra was in disarray, and his internal organs had probably been shattered. It was obvious he wouldn't live much longer.

That situation made the corner of his mouth twitch involuntarily.

"I'm just worried that, after suffering such a loss, Kirigakure probably won't behave themselves in the future..."

According to his plan, he had intended to knock them out with genjutsu and let Kirigakure choose to retreat on their own.

That way, no one would suffer any losses, and it would also prevent Kirigakure from using this as an excuse to cause Konoha trouble in the future.

It would also give him time to deal with the other life-threatening problems.

But now the entire squad had been wiped out by the Anbu, making it difficult for him to feel at ease.

"Senior Shisui..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hyuga Makoto, who had just finished sealing the Byakugan, looked at him strangely.

"Why would you have such a strange idea?"

"Strange?"

Shisui was baffled. Hyuga Makoto nodded and asked,

"Don't you know that when you harbor any fantasies about an enemy, the only one who ends up suffering is yourself?"

"But if we go this far, what about the consequences for the village..."

"In which Shinobi World War did Kirigakure not attack Konoha? And even after such a long ceasefire, they haven't stopped causing trouble, have they?"

"But..."

"Besides, this fellow Ao stole the Byakugan and has extraordinary strength. If you let him go back, can you guarantee he won't come back again in the future?"

"This..."

Uchiha Shisui was left struggling to respond by Hyuga Makoto's words. Having personally experienced war, he naturally understood that reasoning.

But Konoha needed to recover at present, and the village was hardly peaceful either. Shouldn't they avoid causing trouble whenever possible right now?

"If that's the case, I'd like to ask you a question, senior."

Uchiha Shisui had yet to figure things out when he heard Hyuga Makoto's voice. He nodded almost instinctively.

"Go ahead..."

"Senior, you can't guarantee that he won't come back, and you know that he stole the Byakugan. Isn't your way of thinking being too irresponsible toward the village and your companions?"

"!?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Uchiha Shisui immediately sucked in a sharp breath!

Irresponsible toward the village and his companions?

Me?

"Now that you mention it, he really is a little irresponsible."

As luck would have it, Tenzo delivered another blow from the side.

Having come from Root, he naturally supported Hyuga Makoto's actions. He also felt that Uchiha Shisui was acting strangely.

"Please don't misunderstand. That's not what I meant. I only..."

Shisui immediately tried to explain, but he stumbled over his own words.

Because when he thought about it carefully and followed the Anbu member's line of reasoning...

He really had been extremely irresponsible toward the village and his fellow villagers!

At that thought, even his face began to pale.

"Enough. Stop talking. The mission is over."

Kakashi's eyelids were twitching as he listened, and he had no choice but to interrupt their conversation.

"Hurry up and check on those Kirigakure shinobi. Don't forget, we still have another mission!"

"Yes."

Hyuga Makoto and Tenzo obediently stopped. Although they had taken the initiative and pulled off something huge during an escort mission,

They hadn't forgotten that they still had an even more important mission!

Before Hyuga Makoto went to check on the Kirigakure shinobi, however, he couldn't help glancing at Uchiha Shisui, whose face was pale and whose body was drenched in sweat.

He couldn't help sighing inwardly. He finally understood why Shisui had acted so foolishly in his memories.

So he really was foolish!

It would be more accurate to say he was somewhat naive, and far too idealistic...

Actually, when he thought about it carefully, which of the Uchiha's many heroes didn't have some issues?

For example, Madara's luck, Obito's intelligence, Fugaku's fighting spirit, Sasuke's composure, and Uchiha Itachi's world-shaking schemes...

Being a little too idealistic was nothing serious.

At worst, when his ideals shattered, he could just jump into a river and kill himself!

All while primarily relying on Uchiha Itachi's wisdom...

Hyuga Makoto had no ill will toward Shisui. In fact, he felt that he was helping him!

After this incident, Shisui should be able to think a little more clearly when handling certain matters in the future, right?

Whether he actually becomes clear-headed or not has nothing to do with me. And you don't need to thank me either, because...

As he pondered, he had already walked in front of the barely breathing Ao, and a line of information quietly flashed across his eyes.

[Side quest completed: Eliminate all Kirigakure shinobi]

[Reward obtained: A portion of Uchiha Shisui's Yin Release]