This Is Also an Opportunity for You

This Is Also an Opportunity for You

Sometimes, Uchiha Sou had to admit it.

"You wouldn't want..." might always have struck him as a little odd, but it sure was effective!

That line could make even a wife who deeply loved her husband cry, and it could also leave someone loyal to their village with no choice but to give in.

Under the sympathetic yet faintly gleeful gazes of Anko, Morino Ibiki, and Hyuga Tetsu, Shisui could only nod helplessly in the end.

"But, senior, is it really all right for you to do this?"

He glanced back at the cave, where black smoke continued to drift upward, then looked at Uchiha Shizuka, whom Anko was caring for. With a helpless expression, Shisui asked his question.

"We haven't received mission orders or approval from our superiors. Besides, shouldn't there be as few people as possible on a mission like this?

"And how do you plan to proceed, senior? Shizuka needs time to recover, doesn't she?"

"We'll take good care of your sister. As for our situation, exceptional times call for exceptional measures.

"After all, we're behind enemy lines and can't contact the people back home. All we need to remember is to complete the mission."

Uchiha Sou explained patiently enough. After all, Shisui was a powerful fighter, so he deserved some consideration.

"Also, you know who that woman is, don't you?"

As he spoke, Uchiha Sou pointed toward Anko, who was advancing in formation along their flank.

"A disciple of Lord Orochimaru—Mitaraishi Anko." As expected, Shisui only had to glance over to answer.

"Since you know who she is, and she's in my squad, do you still have any concerns?"

Uchiha Sou's words left Shisui with nothing more to question.

That was right. The entire village of Konoha knew she was Lord Orochimaru's disciple!

If she was here, didn't that mean she already knew about and approved of the situation? Or perhaps this was exactly what Lord Orochimaru wanted?

Shisui felt a little more at ease at the thought, though what reassured him most was Uchiha Sou's promise.

Since he'd said he would take good care of Shizuka, Shisui was willing to trust his talented senior, whether as a fellow villager or a fellow clan member.

Besides, he'd realized that he probably couldn't look after his sister on his own.

Especially if they tried to break through and return. His sister might well lose the life she'd only just been rescued from losing—

"It's been taken care of, sir."

Inside a medical tent at a Mist Ninja camp in the Land of Whirlpools, a shinobi in a Mist Ninja uniform spoke to the Anbu before him, looking worried.

This Anbu had arrived alone the previous day, looking utterly battered. His eye, in particular, had a frightening wound.

Faced with this situation, the camp's personnel hadn't dared to neglect him. They took him for treatment, while immediately notifying the other Anbu.

The Anbu of every village were highly unusual. Their members were not only powerful, but often had complicated networks of connections behind them.

That was because the Anbu were a special platform, one that connected the Kage with the major clans.

Apart from the death squads made up of orphans, almost all the other positions were given to members of powerful clans whom the Kage trusted.

Getting into the Anbu meant either that the Kage trusted you or that they needed to keep you appeased.

So when ordinary shinobi encountered Anbu, they handled things with the utmost care. No one wanted to invite unnecessary trouble because of one careless mistake.

"How is he?"

The Mist Ninja looked up slightly. Without his mask, his face was now fully visible.

If Uchiha Sou had been there, he would probably have recognized the man whose right eye he had blinded with a kunai.

He was the captain of the Fifth Mizukage's escort unit, the head of the sensory unit during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and a man who had survived being hit by the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. He was the Shinobi World's strongest scientifically modified human—and now a member of the Kirigakure Anbu: Ao!

Ao was wearing an eyepatch, covering his right eye. He was having a hard time getting used to it.

And for a shinobi, losing an eye was a devastating blow!

"I'm sorry. Your right eye..."

The Mist Ninja hesitated, but in the end, he could only say it plainly.

"We couldn't save it. The eye was completely pierced and had lost all function. We..."

"So that's how it is."

Ao sighed before the shinobi could finish speaking.

"You've worked hard. You must be tired, so go ahead and let me have some quiet, too."

"Uh..."

Hearing that, the Mist Ninja felt a little relieved. He immediately bowed.

"Then I'll take my leave."

With that, he turned and quickly left the room.

He'd clearly sensed it: the instant he said the Anbu's eye was beyond saving, the oppressive, suffocating atmosphere had nearly choked him!

But he could understand. What kind of situation did losing an eye leave a shinobi in?

After the Mist Ninja left, Ao sat alone in the medical tent, his head bowed and his lips sealed.

But his body had begun to tremble slightly. He would never forget the Uchiha boy who had suddenly appeared beside him and stabbed out his right eye with a kunai.

Those scarlet eyes, those three slowly revolving Tomoe—they were etched deep into his mind!

"Damn Uchiha!"

At last, unable to contain his rage, he slammed his fist down on the edge of the bed.

The bed couldn't withstand his strength. It shattered in an instant, and the fury building inside him only burned hotter.

He couldn't understand why the heavens favored Konoha so much, why they favored the Uchiha so much.

The man he'd been pursuing and the one who'd come to the rescue were both only teenagers.

Yet these mere children had gained power beyond the reach of countless people in their entire lives, all thanks to their bloodline!

He'd worked hard for so many years, yet had paid such a terrible price facing them. How could he accept that?

"Giving up on yourself like this? That's not the person I remember."

Just as Ao was drowning in grief and anger, a voice suddenly rang out. The next moment, several Anbu appeared inside the tent.

Standing among them was an old man holding a staff.

"E-Elder Genji?"

Ao immediately lifted his head at the sound. When he saw the old man, his whole body stiffened.

"This isn't the time to give up."

Genji shook his head slightly and studied Ao's face, especially the eyepatch over his right eye. After a long moment, he smiled.

"Besides, this might just be an opportunity for you."