If the Family Falls, So Does the Village!

Following Shisui, the two of them arrived at Shadow Leaf Lake.

It was the small lake where Uchiha Fugaku had taught Itachi and Sasuke the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

"You know?"

Shisui looked at Roy and asked with mild curiosity.

"I know."

Roy figured Shisui had taken an interest in him because of the attack a few days ago.

Otherwise, a talentless nobody like Roy wouldn't have caught the attention of a clan prodigy.

"Then why..."

Shisui was somewhat surprised.

After all, that was the Uchiha Clan's temperament.

If they found out they'd been attacked—and that the culprit was someone from their own village—how could they remain so calm?

And after seeing Roy's performance at the training grounds, Shisui had grown even more curious about him.

"Then what does Lord Shisui think I should do?"

"Report it to the clan head and refuse to let it go, demanding that Konoha give me an explanation?"

"Or expose the whole affair directly, so everyone in the village finds out?"

Roy couldn't help giving a sardonic laugh.

Shisui was indeed a genius, but only when it came to talent for training.

In other respects...

"That's true..."

"I'm too weak."

Before Shisui could finish, Roy cut him off, speaking with a serious yet helpless expression.

He felt helpless not only about his own weakness, but also about the Uchiha's strength going unused.

Shisui and Fugaku, the two Mangekyō Sharingan wielders in plain sight, had both kept compromising with the village.

And the newly risen Uchiha prodigy, Itachi, was already turning against his own clan.

"Too weak?"

"But strength isn't what solves this problem."

Shisui sounded despondent.

By now, he had the strength of a near-Kage.

After awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, he would possess power directly on the level of a Super Kage.

The Mangekyō Sharingan technique he wielded was no ordinary ability.

But... what good did that do?

It couldn't change the clan or the village.

Looking at Shisui's dejected face, Roy began plotting.

Getting someone like him to stand firmly on the clan's side would be difficult.

After all, the clan as it stood now... was hardly something anyone could rely on.

"Lord Shisui, you didn't bring me here just to say all that, did you?"

Roy changed the subject and asked quietly.

"You... Roy, has the clan head spoken with you?"

In the end, Shisui asked what he'd wanted to know.

"No."

Roy shook his head.

From Roy's answer, Shisui could more or less guess what Uchiha Fugaku was thinking.

Probably the same thing he was.

Something like this had happened before.

With Roy still alive, there was no need to cause trouble for the village leadership.

"I understand."

"Roy, you won't get far if you let hatred consume you."

After saying that, Shisui prepared to leave.

He still had many things to do—not only managing relations between the Uchiha and the village,

but also carrying out some special missions.

He wanted to show the village that the Uchiha weren't a threat, but an asset.

It was the best solution Shisui could think of.

"The clan is on the verge of collapse. Lord Shisui, which side will you stand on?"

Roy murmured softly.

His voice wasn't loud, but to Shisui it exploded like thunder.

"What do you mean?"

Shisui turned around, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan already activated.

He stared intently at Roy.

He even suspected that Roy had spoken at the clan head's behest,

to find out where Shisui stood.

This wasn't the first time he'd been tested like this.

That made sense. He was the Uchiha's greatest prodigy and a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder.

Neither the village leadership nor Uchiha Fugaku could possibly ignore him.

Especially since he had even told the leadership and Fugaku about his Mangekyō ability.

"I mean exactly what I said."

"Lord Shisui, I may be just an ordinary shinobi in the Uchiha Clan,"

"but I understand one thing."

"If the family falls, so does the village."

Roy raised his head, revealing a bright, open smile.

His smile was so guileless that he seemed like a completely different person from the one who'd just said those words.

"If the family falls, so does the village..."

Uchiha Shisui murmured, his expression shifting.

"You're in Captain Natsume's squad, right?"

"I'll go finish the mission I'm working on. I'll come find you again soon."

"When I do, don't complain that I'm bothering you."

After saying that, Uchiha Shisui vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Ding. Random quest progress: 50%. You may abandon or save the random quest [30 days]."

Just then, the system notification sounded in Roy's ears.

Only 50% progress?

That meant his words had planted a seed in Shisui's mind.

Even without completing the quest, that was already a great result.

He didn't have Kotoamatsukami—or a silver tongue.

After choosing to save the quest progress, Roy returned home.

Next came his usual training and his duties with the Konoha Military Police Force.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

"Roy, you're off duty tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Have you gotten used to working in the Military Police Force these past few days?"

Uchiha Natsume called Roy into his office and asked with a smile.

"Reporting to you, Captain, it's been good."

"But there's something I don't understand. Why do we in the Military Police Force always have to glare at the villagers?"

Roy asked, looking curious.

In truth, he knew the answer perfectly well and had complained about it countless times in his mind.

The Uchiha's arrogance meant they always acted superior when dealing with the villagers.

On top of that, they were the Military Police Force, often sent to handle conflicts and disputes in the village.

The more often that happened, the more fed up the Uchiha became, while the villagers' attitude toward them grew worse.

The village's history only made matters worse, leading to the situation they were in now.

Roy asked because he wanted to test Uchiha Natsume's attitude.

As an elite Uchiha jonin, Natsume had a certain amount of influence in clan meetings.

"We're the Military Police Force. When people break the law and resist, of course we're not going to treat them kindly."

Natsume replied with a smile.

He'd been a squad leader for over three years, and this was the first time anyone had asked him something like that.

Natsume found it rather amusing.

"I see."

"Captain Natsume, I'll head back now."

After saying that, Roy turned and left the Military Police Force.

Although the clan's district had been moved to the edge of Konoha, the Military Police Force was still in the village center.

As he walked through Konoha's streets, he looked around.

"Boom!"

Just then, an explosion rang out.

A powerful surge of chakra appeared not far from Roy.

"Near Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Who would cause trouble there?"

With that thought, Roy immediately rushed over.

Whether as a member of the Military Police Force or out of curiosity about Otsutsuki Ichiraku, he had to go check it out.