Shisui Missing

Although Ensei Uchiha had accepted the mission to hunt down Obito Uchiha, he had no intention of actually carrying it out; he held zero trust in the high-ranking officials of Konoha.

Even though the man who had been the greatest scapegoat in Konoha was now dead, Ensei Uchiha still had every reason to suspect that if he left on a mission, he might return to find the Uchiha Clan gone.

Beyond that, there was also the possibility that he might not return at all.

However, Ensei Uchiha had overlooked one person: Kakashi Hatake.

"Get out. The Uchiha Clan does not welcome you."

Watching Kakashi Hatake barge into his home uninvited, a flash of annoyance crossed Ensei Uchiha's eyes.

He didn't know if Kakashi Hatake was acting under the orders of Hiruzen Sarutobi, but the man had been sticking to his side lately like a piece of stubborn adhesive plaster.

"I am waiting for you to execute the mission with me. Although you are still young, according to the Ninja Code..."

Upon seeing Ensei Uchiha, Kakashi began to drone on about something or other.

After swatting him away with a single slap, Ensei Uchiha retrieved a book from the table and began to read it seriously.

As for Kakashi Hatake, who had been sent flying by a Chakra arm, he was secretly recording intelligence about Ensei Uchiha in his mind.

Meanwhile, a Shadow Clone of Ensei Uchiha was busy cloning Hashirama Cells.

The small piece of flesh obtained from Danzo's arm had already been broken down, and the cultivation of the Hashirama Cells was complete.

But what truly interested Ensei Uchiha was a different, special type of cell.

These cells originated from one of Orochimaru's test subjects, possessing a unique constitution that could perfectly adapt to any bloodline.

Ensei Uchiha remembered that the guy should be named Shin, and he was likely still alive.

In the original plot, he had popped up to make his presence known after Naruto became Hokage.

He had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and called himself Shin Uchiha, yet he possessed absolutely no Uchiha bloodline.

He was, for all intents and purposes, a lunatic with a broken brain.

Setting aside all the messy details, for a researcher, this was indeed an excellent piece of raw material.

Unfortunately, Ensei Uchiha did not want to alter his own bloodline; he wanted to study the principles behind this special constitution, which made the matter quite difficult.

Do not be fooled by the fact that Ensei Uchiha had successfully cloned the Byakugan; the so-called cloning was merely replicating the existing developmental path of the cells. Ensei Uchiha had simply intervened in the process to reduce unnecessary consumption.

In essence, the cloning experiments Ensei Uchiha conducted were all about shaping a new life, though many things were discarded in the process.

If he changed his method of operation, could he perhaps grow a normal human with a limited lifespan?

Probably, but although Ensei Uchiha knew this, he did not care.

So-called ethics and morality were merely shackles developed by humans to protect their own species.

Ensei Uchiha felt no sense of belonging to this world, so naturally, he felt no guilt.

After reading for a while, Kakashi Hatake limped back to Ensei Uchiha's side, but this time he simply waited, not daring to urge him any further.

"If you have anything you want to ask, I can give you an answer."

"But once you have your answer, you are not to bother me again."

Ensei Uchiha had always known what Kakashi was trying to do, but he had been unwilling to pay him any mind. Now that he was being pestered beyond his limit and it wasn't convenient to burn all bridges, he had no choice but to speak up first.

"Is Obito really the culprit who killed the Fourth Hokage?"

In Konoha at this moment, very few people knew that Minato Namikaze was not yet dead.

At the very least, the two people currently speaking did not know that news.

"Yes, it was him."

"He was brainwashed by Madara Uchiha and believes in some nonsense about leading all of humanity into a beautiful, eternal illusion."

"What a load of crap. If he wants to trap himself in that kind of illusion, I'd be happy to support him, but what right does he have to drag the whole world into it?"

"Not to mention, all of this is just another conspiracy."

"Utterly foolish."

Ensei Uchiha spat out a few words of disdain, then looked at Kakashi Hatake and continued, "Anything else you want to know?"

Kakashi Hatake's expression was somewhat dim, but he steadied his emotions and asked on behalf of Hiruzen Sarutobi: "How will the Uchiha Clan develop? Will it replace Konoha?"

Hearing this question, Ensei Uchiha was so amused he laughed.

"How interesting. Konoha was founded jointly by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan."

"If it were the Senju Clan, they might have the right to say such things to the Uchiha, but Hiruzen Sarutobi is nothing. Does he really think that being Hokage makes his authority supreme?"

"The Sarutobi Clan was nothing back then, and now they come running to put on airs with me."

"Not to mention that I have no interest in being Hokage, even if I did, what reason would you have to stop me?"

"Or is it that in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart, the Uchiha Clan is no longer considered part of Konoha?"

"Your brain..."

Ensei Uchiha launched a fierce round of mockery, but Kakashi Hatake showed no reaction to these taunting words.

Even when Ensei Uchiha brought up the former White Fang of the Leaf, he did not display any emotion.

From this perspective, he was indeed a qualified ninja.

After his conversation with Kakashi Hatake, he finally stopped coming, though it was unclear whether Hiruzen Sarutobi had reached a new assessment of him.

Ensei Uchiha continued to stay busy, conducting various experiments while also setting aside time to learn some ninjutsu that piqued his interest.

Having demonstrated his power, Ensei Uchiha returned to his usual life, though the volume of supplies the Ninja Cat Clan transported into the Uchiha compound increased significantly each day.

At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected they were strategic supplies, but upon discovering they were merely large quantities of nutrient solutions and laboratory equipment, he simply left them be.

In fact, to ease tensions, Hiruzen Sarutobi even took the initiative to send a significant amount of Root laboratory equipment to the Uchiha clan.

For a time, the village appeared exceptionally peaceful.

Shisui Uchiha finally saw the scene of peace between the village and his clan that he had longed for.

But unfortunately, this superficial peace did not last long.

One month later, the Uchiha clan received a piece of classified intelligence.

While out on a mission, Shisui Uchiha had been ambushed and captured, though he was not yet dead.

As for the location of his mission... it was, naturally, near Amegakure.

Upon learning this news, Fugaku Uchiha prepared to dispatch a cleanup squad, but was stopped by Ensei Uchiha.

"It is obvious that this is a trap aimed at me."

"There are only a handful of people in the ninja world currently capable of capturing Shisui."

"I will go; we cannot allow Shisui's eyes to fall into the hands of others."

Hearing these words from Ensei Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha immediately voiced his opposition, firmly stating that he would lead the team himself.

But then, Ensei Uchiha uttered a single sentence that silenced Fugaku Uchiha's objections.

"Who said I was going myself? It is clearly a trap, so why would I step into it? I am only sending some test subjects and a Shadow Clone."

After seeing Ensei Uchiha's test subjects with his own eyes, Fugaku Uchiha turned and left without looking back.

He... was truly a little afraid.

The next day, Ensei Uchiha's Shadow Clone arrived at the village gate and saw Kakashi Hatake already waiting there.

"It seems you are truly impatient to see Obito Uchiha."

"But unfortunately, he has no desire to see you."

With a complex expression, Kakashi Hatake spoke, "I know, I just... wanted to try."