A Jade-Like Beauty Lies Within Books!

After Shisui received the recruitment offer from the Third Hokage, Danzo originally had no chance to lay his hands on that blade, but Shisui's choice to join the Konoha Police Force actually gave him an opening.

Through an accident, he could let this youth witness the evil of the Uchiha and see the rift between the village and the clan, then step in to exploit the situation and take him for his own use.

This should have been a foolproof plan, yet now, an accident had occurred...

"What is going on?!"

The ninja responsible for the report said:

"A freak has appeared in the Konoha Police Force recently. His style of conduct is completely different from the Uchiha, and his way of speaking and acting is more like a member of the Nara clan..."

Listening to his subordinate's report, Danzo quickly grasped the cause and effect of the matter. He furrowed his brows slightly and sneered:

"The Uchiha have actually produced someone with a brain; they've even learned how to retreat in order to advance."

Behind Danzo, Aburame Ryoma, wearing a hood and sunglasses, said coldly:

"Do you need me to handle it?!!"

After pondering for a moment, Danzo shook his head and said:

"There is no need. At the end of the day, he is just an ordinary Uchiha clansman. No matter how good his brain is, if his strength is insufficient, he won't be able to stir up any waves within the Uchiha."

"Besides, Hiruzen has recently recalled even Jiraiya and Tsunade; the next Great Ninja War is not far off. The priority of the Uchiha must be pushed back."

"At a time like this, intensifying the conflict with the Uchiha will only allow others to take advantage of the situation, and it will give Hiruzen an excuse to attack me."

"Yes!"

"Wait!"

Danzo looked down at the documents handed over by his subordinate, his gaze pausing on the photo of Uchiha Shingen, and added:

"Put this kid under surveillance. He might just be a pawn worth winning over."

"Yes!"

Early the next morning, Uchiha Shingen clocked in at the entrance of the Police Force right on time.

By the time he arrived at South District 4, the interrogation of yesterday's thief had yielded results.

According to the report provided by Tezaku, the man was indeed just a ninja who had lost his ability to work, and his actions were merely for the sake of survival.

Uchiha Shingen felt a bit suspicious.

A thief with a normal brain would never be arrogant enough to jump in the faces of the police; the man's actions yesterday seemed more like they were intentional.

But since Tezaku had even used genjutsu and still couldn't torture any useful information out of him, Uchiha Shingen had no intention of digging deeper.

He wrote a report detailing the situation and his doubts, handed it over to his direct superior Uchiha Yakumi, and then stopped worrying about it.

After all, in a job like this, it is better to remain ignorant.

If one could evade Tezaku's interrogation and the genjutsu of the Sharingan, even if there were someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, and even if he could actually find out who it was, it wasn't something he could handle—it would only be easy to invite a fatal disaster upon himself.

It was better to pass the buck as soon as possible.

Shisui, on the other hand, was quite devastated.

He had stayed up all night accompanying Tezaku in the interrogation, and early this morning, he had written out the cause and effect of yesterday's chaos on the bulletin board of the South District 4 Police Force, even posting a few photos of the thief and the recovered stolen money.

He had expected many people to come and watch, hoping to use this to wash away the shame of the Police Force and ease the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.

He never expected that after waiting for over an hour, apart from the members of the South District 4 Police Force, not a single person had come to look.

After yesterday's incident, even with Uchiha Shingen stepping in to resolve it, the reputation of the Police Force in Konoha had inevitably declined.

Passing civilians instinctively kept their distance from the Police Force, as if avoiding snakes and scorpions.

It wasn't until near noon that a few people tentatively approached. When Shisui asked, they were just the people who had come to report the crime yesterday, leaving him feeling incredibly frustrated.

The crowd on the street grew, bustling and noisy, shoulders brushing against shoulders, and from time to time, bits of gossip drifted into Shisui's ears.

"Did you hear? It was right here yesterday; those lunatics from the Police Force hurt people for no reason again!"

"Not only that, I heard the person who was beaten was a ninja who once fought for Konoha. He was covered in injuries, and the money on him was stolen too!"

"The First Hokage should never have handed such an important department as the Police Force to those Uchiha lunatics!"

"Do you have a death wish?!"

"Am I wrong? Ever since the war, they are the ones who have caused the most damage to the village!"

Shisui listened to the voices in his ears, looking at the notice board he had spent all night writing, which was now almost completely ignored—and even when one or two people did look, there was more malicious speculation than trust.

For a moment, he felt his mood was incredibly complex, and he walked with his head down, kicking at the dirt under his feet.

Suddenly, he discovered a large rice ball appearing before his eyes.

"Here."

"Lunch from the Police Force."

Uchiha Shingen shoved a large rice ball into Shisui's hand, then stood to one side and began to eat his own, his mouth bulging as he reminded him:

"You only have the strength to work and the energy to think about other things once you're full."

Shisui turned his head to look at Uchiha Shingen, then looked down at the rice ball in his hand, taking a fierce bite and venting all his inner frustration onto his lunch.

After finishing the rice ball, Shisui finally turned to look at Uchiha Shingen, and recalling the look in Uchiha Shingen's eyes last night, he couldn't help but ask:

"Captain Shingen, did you foresee this outcome all along?!"

"More or less."

Uchiha Shingen nodded:

"People only want to believe the truth they have already decided upon; no amount of clarification afterward carries any meaning."

"And right now, the truth they have decided upon is that the Uchiha are the ones bringing trouble."

"So we have to wait, and we have to do things by the rules and follow the procedures."

"Or, to put it in a language you can understand:"

"Before someone files a report and the Police Force opens a case, that person still has the chance to regret their actions. You can't just strip them of their right to be a good person, can you?!"

"The right to be a good person?!"

Shisui was stunned.

Although he felt inexplicably that something was still wrong, when put this way, it made Uchiha Shingen's approach seem correct.

And his own impulsive actions yesterday had, in fact, harmed the potential kindness of that thief.

So that was it?!

That's right!

That must be it!

Is this the Ninja Way of Senior Shingen?! To never strip anyone of their right to be a good person?!

Shisui's eyes lit up, and as he looked up, he caught sight of the cover of the Make-Out Hell in Uchiha Shingen's hand.

The once-revealing illustration now held a different meaning in his eyes.

Shisui muttered to himself:

"Senior Shingen said that the secret to becoming Hokage is hidden within this book. Should I..."

"Shisui, how could you have such thoughts... you're despicable!"

"But..."

"Buying a copy to read in secret shouldn't be a problem, right?!"

"No one will find out anyway..."

"Captain, don't you go brainwashing the kid until he's crippled!"

Tezaku, who had come over to mooch a meal, had heard most of their conversation, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently.