Three Decisions Regretted for Life

Uchiha Shisui obtained a piece of intelligence.

This was something he had secretly acquired while executing a support mission.

The intelligence from the spy ninja left him greatly shocked.

Chuanhe, a war orphan from the Thunder-Fire Battlefield.

Born during the Second Shinobi World War. Born in the 30th year of Konoha...

The self-made ninja tools he used were highly similar to a secret weapon of Kumogakure—an unknown chakra energy cannon.

He was suspected to be a sleeper agent for Kumogakure.

The spy ninja passed away shortly after informing him of all this.

Before dying, he urged Shisui to ensure the intelligence reached Konoha, stating this had nothing to do with the internal affairs of the Uchiha clan.

This matter was of great importance, and other ninjas were delivering the same intelligence.

This was the greatest crisis in the entire history of Konoha.

Uchiha Shisui's heart was in turmoil; he had lost his usual composure.

Even if he found it extremely difficult to believe the authenticity of this intelligence, he had to return to Konoha at this moment to ascertain the truth.

"If he really is a spy," Shisui whispered to himself.

He subconsciously touched his own eyes.

Even in the worst-case scenario, he still had a way to solve the problem.

He had to return to the village now to confirm the veracity of the intelligence.

Body Flicker Shisui displayed the reason for his moniker.

Without wind or dust.

One could only vaguely see a black line constantly fading away, connecting toward the direction of Konoha.

At this moment, he only wished to ascertain the truth of the intelligence before the high-ranking officials of Konoha received it from another team of spy ninjas.

Chuanhe's current ninja rank was Chunin.

As a Jonin, Uchiha Shisui easily accessed every searchable record of Chuanhe.

Identity background, ninjutsu intelligence, mission files, and so on.

Until the sun set, Uchiha Shisui, whose eyes were incredibly sore, still could not believe it.

The intelligence the spy ninja had died to obtain was indeed true.

Not a single detail was off.

In fact, Chuanhe's intelligence now appeared to have even more suspicious points to him.

Everyone who had known Chuanhe throughout his life had passed away.

Moreover, after he joined the Uchiha clan, the difference in his behavior before and after was extreme.

Flame Explosion Technique—although Shisui did not believe this was a ninjutsu that could be developed by Kumogakure.

However, compared to Chuanhe developing it alone, it was actually more reasonable.

How could someone spend their entire life lurking in Konoha? What kind of vicious curse seal had those people from Kumogakure placed on him?

Up to this point, Uchiha Shisui still could not believe Chuanhe was a spy, still holding onto a final shred of hope in his heart: that he had been coerced by those bastards from Kumogakure.

In order to seek the answer to this question, he arrived at the Hokage Building.

As a ninja of Konoha, he had to prioritize completing his mission.

Furthermore, even if he did not deliver this intelligence, if any other spy personnel delivered it, the situation would only be worse.

Thus, at night, Uchiha Shisui knocked on the door of the Hokage's office.

Shisui saw Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi inside the office.

Shisui knelt on one knee and reported to the two people in front of him.

"Third Hokage, Lord Danzo. I have important intelligence to report."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped his argument with Danzo, who was standing to the side.

He lowered his head slightly with a "smile" on his face, looking at Uchiha Shisui.

"Shisui, you should be executing a support mission. Is the contact ninja still alive, and is there any important intelligence to convey?"

Danzo appeared somewhat irritated, standing beside Hiruzen Sarutobi with a face full of anger.

"Third Hokage, I apologize, I was unable to save him. But I obtained a piece of important intelligence. The content of the intelligence indicates that Chuanhe is a spy from the Land of Lightning."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

"Impossible! I have watched that child grow up since he was small; he absolutely cannot be a spy for the Land of Lightning."

Danzo, standing to the side, fell into a strange, silent contemplation.

"Third Hokage, I find it hard to believe as well, but based on what I know now and the intelligence I have gathered, there is a very high probability that Chuanhe is a spy for the Land of Lightning."

"Shisui, you are a kind child. Although I do not know what Chuanhe's standing is within your Uchiha clan, I trust you. You would not do something to falsely accuse a fellow ninja of the village."

"Even though this is hard to believe, do you have any other evidence?"

Shisui fell silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, and continued.

"I apologize, Third Hokage. I could not believe it when I first received this intelligence either. My priority was to retrieve Chuanhe's records in Konoha."

"By cross-referencing the intelligence, I discovered numerous suspicious points..."

Shisui reported his findings from the day in detail to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into silence.

It was Danzo who spoke first: "Hiruzen, I told you long ago that Chuanhe had already defected from the village. Everything I have done has been for the sake of Konoha."

Hearing Danzo's words, Shisui sank into deep self-reproach, even though none of this was directly related to him.

Elder Danzo truly had "devoted his all" to Konoha.

Even when faced with criticism, he prioritized eliminating traitors.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled out his pipe once again, took a deep breath, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"The [Flame Explosion Technique]—this jutsu does not look like something those barbarians in Kumogakure could have developed."

"Shisui, you are right. Compared to the idea that Chuanhe alone could develop this technique, I am more inclined to believe it was developed by Kumogakure."

"So, how much does your Uchiha clan actually know about this technique?"

The truth was laid bare; Hiruzen Sarutobi had asked the question he wanted the answer to.

Shisui fell silent once more, gritted his teeth, and made his second decision.

"The [Flame Explosion Technique] has multiple versions. The one Clan Head Fugaku provided to the village is the S-rank difficulty version."

Shisui's voice paused, as if he were making another difficult decision.

"Currently, the Uchiha clan generally learns the A-rank difficulty version."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression did not fluctuate much.

"But the initial version of this technique has a difficulty rating of only D! It requires only 6 hand seals! And it can be used in conjunction with the Transformation Technique! If used by the original body, the power would be even more immense!"

Uchiha Shisui spoke with difficulty, his voice sounding as if it were being squeezed through his teeth.

"What?!!!!!"

The voices of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo echoed throughout the entire office.

If not for the sound-dampening barrier, the entire Hokage Building might have heard them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed the shock in his heart and signaled for Danzo to remain silent for the moment.

At this point, even he, the one who had initiated this, began to have doubts.

"Chuanhe... impossible. This absolutely cannot have been developed by Chuanhe."

"Shisui, do you know that the initial version of this technique—the A-rank version—must have a massive flaw?"

"If Chuanhe is truly a spy, I fear that every member of the Uchiha clan who knows this technique will eventually become a human bomb."

"Based on my current understanding of this technique and the statistics of the Uchiha clan members we know of, the entire Konoha would be razed to the ground in the future!"

"Chuanhe even gave the A-rank version of this technique to Naruto!"

Uchiha Shisui was still young, after all; he had given everything away far too easily.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continuously pondered the entire execution process of the various versions of the [Flame Explosion Technique]. He could not comprehend how this technique achieved such terrifying effects.

As a professor of ninjutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi discovered that both the A-rank and S-rank versions seemed to include a segment similar to Lightning Release ninjutsu.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had not obtained the initial version for comparison, he would likely still be kept in the dark.

There must be hidden circumstances he was unaware of; perhaps this part was a trap left behind by Kumogakure.

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi was even more convinced of his previous conjecture; he had indeed stumbled upon the "truth."

The guilt that had remained in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart vanished without a trace.

Perhaps it was also related to Shisui's current chaotic state of mind.

At this moment, he made his third difficult decision.

Uchiha Shisui gritted his teeth, clenched his hands into fists, and even dug his toes into the floor.

He activated his Sharingan, the three tomoe slowly aligning to form a pattern resembling a curved shuriken.

"Third Hokage, Elder Danzo. Regardless of whether Chuanhe is a spy or not, I will use these eyes to correct every mistake. This technique is called [Kotoamatsukami]..."

Outside the Hokage Building, dark clouds gathered. The wind blew more fiercely, shaking the tree branches and causing the streetlights to flicker.

The air was humid and stifling, carrying the scent of damp earth; it looked as if it were about to rain.

In the distance, thunder rumbled, and occasionally a flash of lightning illuminated the sky before quickly fading.

The entire world was restless, waiting for the downpour to crash down.