Shisui Was Acting on Danzo's Orders!

He didn't bother hiding his voice.

"?"

Fugaku froze for a moment. Clearly, he knew this was unlikely.

As clan head, he knew a great deal. In all these years, Uchiha Madara was the only one in the Uchiha Clan to have such a special ability.

But then he saw Uchiha Gin give him a meaningful look, so he didn't press the matter.

Between Shisui and Gin, he naturally chose to trust Uchiha Gin.

"Seal off Konoha immediately. No one is allowed to leave. Capture Uchiha Shisui!"

So he issued the order at once, directing the clan members to take action.

The Anbu were bewildered too. They didn't know whether they should act alongside the Military Police Force, but someone hurried to inform Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The Military Police Force members were furious. They couldn't understand why Shisui would do such a thing. Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan should have been a good thing, yet instead of working for the clan, he had attacked one of its members.

All of Konoha was thrown into a state of unrest.

"You're saying Uchiha Shisui ambushed Uchiha Gin, failed, and is now being pursued by the Military Police Force?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened as he listened to the Anbu's report.

I only asked you to be a spy, gather intelligence on the Uchiha, and keep a closer eye on Uchiha Gin.

How did you end up risking your life like this?!

And you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan without telling me. Were you plotting something?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts were in turmoil. He couldn't understand why so many troublesome things had happened lately.

"Lord Hokage, should we help the Military Police Force capture Uchiha Shisui?"

An Anbu member asked Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

He was beginning to doubt Uchiha Shisui's trustworthiness. Was the boy really as easy to manipulate as he'd thought?

Could this situation have been staged for his benefit?

"Keep watch from the sidelines. Confirm what the Uchiha are doing, investigate whether this is true, and find out what caused it."

"If Uchiha Shisui escapes the Military Police Force, find a way to contact him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen made his decision at last.

Shisui's credibility in his eyes had now dropped to zero. He hadn't even told him about awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan. Clearly, Shisui had his own plans.

Besides, Kotoamatsukami had taken effect. If this had happened earlier, he would have tried to help Shisui escape, then found a way to control him and gain more from him. But now, he felt he couldn't afford to spend too much effort on the Uchiha.

The Uchiha were troublesome, but Uchiha Madara, hidden in the shadows, was even more dangerous.

"Yes!"

After receiving Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders, the Anbu member left to make preparations.

Konoha was now in a state of partial chaos, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had to arrange for shinobi to keep order.

After all, the Nine-Tails Incident was still fresh in everyone's minds. They were all like startled birds and couldn't possibly forget it so soon.

"Shisui is over there!"

"I found him here!"

"Over here!"

All night long, people shouted Shisui's name from every direction.

But they immediately collapsed, easily taken down by Shisui's genjutsu.

Shisui showed no mercy. He knew that if he failed to escape, the plan would be ruined, and it might cause even greater trouble. So he couldn't afford to be careless.

However, everyone caught in the genjutsu was an Uchiha, with strong mental resistance. They only passed out and suffered minimal mental damage. A little rest would be enough for them to recover.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin provided cover for Shisui, creating opportunities for him by using wide-area ninjutsu to block everyone's line of sight.

At last, Shisui reached Konoha Gate. He used the Body Flicker Technique to dart past the two clan members guarding it, then smashed the gate with a punch from Susanoo's skeletal arm before flashing away.

"Die!"

Uchiha Gin entered Susanoo's semi-complete form and hurled three Magatama as a ranged attack.

Using his ability to see the future, he controlled the blast's power so that it wouldn't reach Shisui. It erupted into a massive mushroom cloud, obliterating the traces of Shisui's escape and disrupting the other pursuers.

Chapter 36: Shisui Was Acting on Danzo's Orders!

The commotion lasted all night before finally coming to an end.

Uchiha Gin led the pursuit for about two hundred kilometers beyond Konoha before stopping. Going any farther would exceed the Military Police Force's jurisdiction, and Sarutobi Hiruzen might criticize him for it.

"Captain Gin, are we not going to keep pursuing him?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin stop, a nearby member of the Military Police Force asked in confusion.

"We can't catch up. He's injured, but he's fast. We have almost no chance of catching him."

"Besides, this happened so suddenly. We shouldn't keep chasing him and risk another incident in the village."

Uchiha Gin gave a couple of perfunctory explanations, then led his people back to Konoha.

His familiar, Blue Star, had already spotted Anbu nearby, so Uchiha Gin wasn't going to get further involved.

He would have Blue Star keep watch from the sky and leave behind a Shadow Clone to respond, then simply confirm what happened next.

Shisui had a few wounds on his body, but none were life-threatening. After all, there were places he couldn't protect while breaking through the encirclement.

If he hadn't been fast with the Body Flicker Technique, escaping would have been extremely difficult.

"Once I leave the village, there won't be anyone I can trust!"

"I must fulfill my duty of keeping watch over Konoha on my own and become its hidden protector!"

Shisui looked back toward Konoha, his gaze resolute.

As soon as Uchiha Gin returned to Konoha, the Anbu ordered him to go to the Hokage Building to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Fugaku, who had been waiting at the gate, went with him as well.

The village gate had been smashed, so the Military Police Force had stationed a squad there to guard it. Fugaku was also directing the Military Police Force members there, since the force was responsible for the safety of the entire village.

They also needed to prevent spies from other villages from causing trouble. That was why only Uchiha Gin's squad had gone after Shisui.

When Fugaku saw that Shisui wasn't among those returning, he guessed that Uchiha Gin had probably arranged this sudden turn of events.

He had seen Shisui and Uchiha Gin spending a lot of time together several times. He didn't believe Shisui would attack Uchiha Gin for the sake of the Eternal Mangekyo.

But since the two of them were heading to the Hokage Building together, Fugaku didn't ask.

The two entered Sarutobi Hiruzen's office. Besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, the two Hokage Assistants, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, were also there.

"Can you explain what happened with Uchiha Shisui in detail?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's manner was stern.

The two Hokage Assistants also watched them with scrutinizing eyes.

The sudden incident made them wonder whether the Uchiha had staged the whole thing.

"Last night, the Uchiha held their regular monthly meeting to deal with some trivial clan matters."

"Afterward, Uchiha Shisui said he had something important to discuss with me, and took me to a spot near the forest in the Uchiha Clan Compound."

"Then he suddenly started talking about Uchiha Madara. I was immediately drawn in. After all, Uchiha Madara had caused the Uchiha Clan to suffer unjust suspicion. People in the village suspected the clan was behind the Nine-Tails Incident. When Shisui said Uchiha Madara might be in the Akatsuki and that he'd once tried to contact him, he ambushed me with genjutsu!"

Uchiha Gin spoke with a completely straight face.

Fugaku would have believed him if he hadn't already sensed something was up.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others heard that Shisui had contacted Uchiha Madara, their pupils contracted in shock.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen soon dismissed the possibility. He thought Shisui attacking Uchiha Gin on Konoha's orders was more likely than Shisui contacting Uchiha Madara.

After all, Shisui was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha!

Sarutobi Hiruzen approved of the boy's Will of Fire, though that was partly because Shisui held a high position in the Uchiha Clan and was also a genius shinobi.

"What happened next?" Utatane Koharu asked.

She naturally wouldn't take Uchiha Gin's word at face value. But hearing part of the story from him would help her piece together the whole picture.

"When Shisui used genjutsu to control me, he tried to gouge out my eyes with both hands."

"But I was always somewhat on my guard and had taken a few precautions. I came to before Shisui could touch me. Maybe my mental strength was greater because I had the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Then we fought. Shisui kept saying all sorts of nonsense about how he was the Uchiha Clan's true genius, and that handing over my eyes was the only way to save the clan. Naturally, I refused. The Will of Fire flows through my veins."

Uchiha Gin lied without batting an eye.

Fugaku's toes curled slightly as he listened. Even a shinobi's patience had its limits.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other two couldn't help wanting to hit him. He invoked the Will of Fire more often than they did. Could he at least remember who he was?

"So Uchiha Shisui wanted to take your eyes and become as powerful as Uchiha Madara, is that it?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen summed up.

He had heard about the incident the previous night, but hadn't been sure what to make of it. After hearing Uchiha Gin's account today, it seemed quite possible.

"I think so," Uchiha Gin replied.

"But according to the Second Hokage's research, eye transplants should only work between biological brothers. Taking your eyes wouldn't help Shisui, would it?"

Mitokado Homura asked with a frown.

He suspected there was more to it and asked outright.

"Perhaps Uchiha Madara found a new solution. After all, the Uchiha Clan shares the same bloodline, and Shisui and I are close relatives—cousins."

"Also, I suspect Shimura Danzō had something to do with this. Uchiha Shisui has long been in close contact with some high-ranking figure in the village. Maybe it was Shimura Danzō. Perhaps Uchiha Madara manipulated Shisui into doing this!"

Uchiha Gin had prepared these answers in advance. It was easy enough to pin the blame on Uchiha Madara, and he could throw in Danzo as a suspect too.

Leaving them some uncertainty would give them something to puzzle over and make them hesitate to act rashly.

"I ask you, Third Hokage, to designate Uchiha Shisui an S-rank missing-nin. He possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan and is not under anyone's control. He could pose a serious threat."

Seeing how things stood, Fugaku knew enough had been said, so he stepped forward and spoke.

Though he didn't know why they were doing this, following procedure was the right move.

Shisui hadn't caused any damage to the village, but he was dangerous enough to qualify as an S-rank missing-nin. Besides, Uchiha Gin had often told him to follow the rules. If anyone tried to deny them, he should simply say the Hokage had made the rules.

If there was trouble, they could pin it on the Hokage. The Uchiha were just doing a job; they knew nothing.

"Are you sure?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

After hearing Uchiha Gin's account, he couldn't help wondering whether Danzo had recruited Shisui and placed him near Sarutobi Hiruzen as a pawn.

He hadn't expected the Uchiha to issue a wanted order against Shisui so decisively. It seemed there really was something between him and Danzo!

"Yes."

"Alternatively, you could issue an S-rank mission. The Uchiha Clan will send people to pursue Uchiha Shisui themselves."

Fugaku replied without hesitation.

The Uchiha rarely went on missions outside the village. Lower-ranking Genin and Chunin sometimes got the chance, but a Three Tomoe Jonin would usually only be assigned to a mission if the Uchiha Clan was the best fit for it.

That was also a policy established by the Second Hokage. He knew that another shock might cause a Three Tomoe wielder to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, so he kept those shinobi in the village to reduce the risk.

"I understand."

"But let's leave this to the Anbu. Several things have happened in the village recently, and the other shinobi villages are watching us closely. The Uchiha Clan should focus on finding the spies hidden among us."

Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to issue the wanted order.