The Uchiha Clan's Mission

"Boss, two okonomiyaki, please!"

"Coming right up, just a moment—"

Uchiha Uruchi wore an oil-stained apron, her spatula dancing across the hot griddle.

The batter sizzled, while shredded cabbage, shrimp, and tempura scraps turned golden and crispy under a coating of savory sauce.

Her movements were as fluid as a dance, a faint smile always playing on her lips.

The reason was simple: Uchiha Yatsuhashi, who usually left early and returned late, was here.

He wasn't at the laboratory tonight, but instead sat quietly on a small stool in the corner of the shop.

Though he was only organizing small sauce jars, to this mother, it was a rare and precious moment of happiness.

"See that? That's my son!"

She took advantage of a gap in packing orders to gesture toward a regular customer, the corners of her eyes crinkling with joy.

"He specifically stayed behind to keep me company today."

The regular customer teased, "Won't Teshoyaki get jealous?"

"Him? He spends all day busy in the shop, then collapses the moment he gets home. He wouldn't even notice."

Uchiha Uruchi complained, but her eyes were brimming with laughter.

She packed the two okonomiyaki for the customer, then turned to grab an egg from the pantry, cracking it gently against the edge of a bowl.

"Yatsuhashi, are you hungry? Mom will make you one with an extra egg."

"Mom, I'm not hungry." Yatsuhashi looked up, his hands pausing in their work with the sauce jars.

"Eat even if you aren't hungry. Look how thin you've gotten."

Uchiha Uruchi poured the batter onto the griddle without waiting for an answer, adding a double portion of shrimp and minced meat.

"That Orochimaru is really something, always making you pull all-nighters... Oh, that's right, why haven't you mentioned Orochimaru today?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's fingers tightened slightly.

He lowered his eyes and went back to fiddling with the bottles and jars. "Recently... the experiments have reached a stopping point, so it hasn't been as busy."

"That's good." Uchiha Uruchi didn't notice the strangeness in her son's tone, focusing instead on flipping the okonomiyaki.

The golden pancake traced a beautiful arc in the air.

"Your father was saying, once this month's rush is over, the three of us should go stay at a hot spring inn for a couple of days. You never liked public baths when you were little, so this time we'll get you one with a private tub..."

Uchiha Uruchi chattered on about daily life.

Her voice blended with the sizzling of the griddle and the laughter of the customers, wrapping around Yatsuhashi like a warm cocoon.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi listened in silence.

The anxiety in his heart, sparked by the sealing of the laboratory and his inability to dilute the Hashirama Cells, slowly began to settle.

But it was replaced by something far heavier.

He knew this peace would soon be shattered.

The news of Orochimaru's defection was still being suppressed by the village, but paper could not wrap up fire forever.

And as an assistant who had followed Orochimaru for years and participated in the experiments throughout, his situation was precarious.

Although Konoha had already ended the Third Shinobi World War.

The village remained in a state of wartime readiness, meaning no ninja in the village was truly idle.

Beyond voluntarily accepting missions at the assignment desk, one could also be directly dispatched for specific tasks by the village.

It was worth noting that after Uchiha Yatsuhashi became a genin, he had been specially recruited by Orochimaru as a laboratory assistant.

Therefore, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had never actually performed a single mission.

Now that Orochimaru's laboratory had been sealed, he would likely be assigned a mission by the village very soon.

Combined with the questioning by Danzo and his men earlier today, the interrogation had been far too lenient compared to the strict questioning others faced.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi suspected he might be sent on a suicide mission.

That way, he could be quietly eliminated without anyone being the wiser.

What's more, he was currently hiding a vial of First Hokage Cell Serum on his person.

Without professional equipment for dilution, it had become a scorching hot potato.

"Here, eat while it's hot."

Uchiha Uruchi's words pulled Uchiha Yatsuhashi's thoughts back to reality.

"The okonomiyaki your mother makes is the best in all of Konoha..."

After saying this, Uchiha Uruchi placed the freshly made okonomiyaki on the small table in front of him.

The thick pancake was drizzled with a generous amount of sauce, sprinkled with bonito flakes and seaweed powder, while the soft-boiled egg in the center still trembled slightly.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi sighed in his heart; he hoped that everything was just his own conjecture.

He picked up his chopsticks and poked the egg yolk.

The golden liquid flowed out, seeping into the crevices of the pancake.

With just one bite, the salty-sweet sauce and the crispness of the vegetables exploded in his mouth.

It was the familiar taste, the flavor of "home" that had been etched onto his taste buds since he could remember.

Across from the pancake shop, in the shadow of the eaves, a figure wearing a cat mask had been standing for three hours.

Uchiha Shisui leaned against the wall, his gaze piercing through the sparse flow of people on the street and landing on the warmly lit pancake shop.

He could see Uchiha Uruchi smiling as she spoke to customers, and he could see the young genin named Uchiha Yatsuhashi, sitting quietly in the corner, eating his mother's special okonomiyaki bite by bite.

It was a very ordinary, everyday scene.

But Uchiha Shisui knew that in these turbulent times, such things were incredibly precious.

The order he received today was clear: monitor Uchiha Yatsuhashi and assess the extent of his connection to Orochimaru's defection.

"Uchiha Yatsuhashi..."

Uchiha Shisui whispered the name under his mask.

Born to commoners of the Uchiha Clan, his parents ran a pancake shop.

A special genin recommended by Orochimaru, with poor ninja talent, he was recruited as an experimental assistant by Orochimaru due to his research aptitude.

Since becoming a genin, he had never performed a field mission.

On the last night before Orochimaru's defection, this person had stayed in the laboratory until the early hours of the morning.

A very clean, yet very suspicious resume.

What was more troublesome was that an hour ago, news came from the clan: the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, wanted to see Uchiha Yatsuhashi and had ordered him to bring the boy over.

Thus, the mission had become even more complex.

He was both an Anbu of Konoha, ordered to monitor a suspect, and a ninja of the Uchiha Clan, required to obey the clan head's orders.

These two identities could usually be balanced, but at such a sensitive moment, it was like walking on a tightrope; one careless step and he would fall.

Shisui exhaled softly.

He waited until Uchiha Yatsuhashi had almost finished eating before removing his mask and stuffing it into his ninja tool pouch.

"Auntie."

Uchiha Uruchi looked up, her eyes lighting up when she saw who it was.

After all, this was the dazzling genius of their clan.

"Oh my, it's Shisui!"

"Same as usual, want an okonomiyaki?"

Shisui smiled, his expression gentle, completely unable to be seen as the person who had been monitoring this place from the rooftop just minutes ago.

"No, I'm here for Uchiha Yatsuhashi."

Hearing this, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's body visibly tensed.

Their gazes met briefly in the air.

"Alright, our Yatsuhashi will be in your care..."

In Uchiha Uruchi's eyes, Uchiha Shisui was the genius of their clan.

Although Uchiha Yatsuhashi was currently only a genin, if he could spend more time with Uchiha Shisui, perhaps Uchiha Yatsuhashi could also become like Uchiha Shisui, and become an excellent ninja.

It wasn't until Uchiha Yatsuhashi followed Uchiha Shisui out of the shop door

that Uchiha Shisui finally spoke, "The clan head wants to see you, now."

"See me?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi felt a distinct sense of surprise.

He knew that back when he had wanted to see Uchiha Fugaku, he had been rejected.

Yet now, how had things suddenly reversed?

"Why?"

"Some clan matters."

Uchiha Shisui spoke politely, but anyone could hear the refusal to be denied in his tone.

The night in Konoha was very quiet, the moonlight stretching and shortening the shadows of the two men.

Shisui walked in front, with Yatsuhashi following three paces behind.

There was a perfectly measured distance between them.

Neither of them spoke.

There were only the sounds of footsteps, one after the other, steady and unhurried, treading on the bluestone path and emitting rhythmic, soft clicks.

Throughout the journey, Uchiha Yatsuhashi simply followed silently behind Uchiha Shisui.

He understood the principle that saying too much leads to mistakes, so he waited for Uchiha Shisui to take the initiative to speak.

It was not until they passed through a small grove that they reached the outskirts of the Uchiha Ancestral Land.

Uchiha Shisui stopped abruptly.

"Uchiha Yatsuhashi?!"

"Hmm?"

Uchiha Shisui turned around.

The moonlight shone from behind him, hiding his face in shadow, making his expression impossible to see.

But Uchiha Yatsuhashi could feel it.

The air began to grow heavy, the temperature dropped, and even the chirping of insects in the surroundings suddenly vanished.

Then, he saw those eyes.

The bright red three-tomoe slowly rotated in the darkness.

There were no hand seals, no warning signs, not even a fluctuation of chakra.

In just an instant, Uchiha Yatsuhashi felt his consciousness dragged into a world of blood red.

Genjutsu!

And an extremely sophisticated one, cast without a sound.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi had not even noticed when Uchiha Shisui had activated his Sharingan.

In the blood-red space, there were only him and Shisui.

No, it was not the real Shisui.

It was a consciousness construct shaped by the genjutsu, completely controlled by Shisui.

This Shisui wore no forehead protector and no Anbu uniform, just a simple Uchiha clan outfit, but those eyes were particularly striking.

"First question."

Uchiha Shisui spoke, his voice echoing in the blood-colored space.

"Are you a spy planted in Konoha by Orochimaru?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi opened his mouth, wanting to refute.

But his body had already reacted on its own.

"No... I am not..."

The words spilled from his mouth, uncontrolled.

It was not that he wanted to say it, but his brain, his subconscious.

The most truthful knowledge from the depths of his memory was forcibly extracted and translated into language.

This was the terrifying nature of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

"Second question: Before Orochimaru left, did he entrust you with any research materials or items that needed to be kept secret? If so, do you intend to leak them to anyone outside of Konoha?"

"Yes... a scroll... but I do not intend to leak it..."

"What is in the scroll?"

"A culture of the First Hokage's cells..."

"The First Hokage's cells?"

"Where is the scroll now?"

"Taken by Danzo..."

The blood-red space rippled slightly.

Uchiha Shisui fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly digesting this information.

"One last question." The voice of the illusionary Uchiha Shisui grew colder.

"Do you have any intention of betraying Konoha? Even if you've only thought about it?"

This time, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's answer was faster and firmer: "No."

He only wanted to ensure that he and his parents would not be caught up in the night of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation.

Deep down, he truly had no thoughts of betraying Konoha.

"Even if the Uchiha Clan and Konoha come into conflict, would you still stand on the side of Konoha?"

"..."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi fell silent.

It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but the answer to this question was inherently blurred in the depths of his consciousness.

In his mind, the arrogant or indifferent faces of his clansmen appeared.

So did the smiling faces of his parents.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi could abandon his clansmen, but he could not forsake his own parents.

The blood-red space began to destabilize, ripples spreading along its edges.

Uchiha Shisui frowned.

He could feel the struggle in Uchiha Yatsuhashi's consciousness, but it wasn't the clear stance of a traitor; it was the wavering of an ordinary person caught between loyalty and blood ties.

That was enough.

The genjutsu was released.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi dropped to one knee, gasping for air.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

Although the genjutsu had lasted only a few dozen seconds, the mental exhaustion was immense.

Uchiha Shisui stood before him, having returned to his usual appearance.

Those Sharingan had reverted to ordinary black.

"My apologies." Uchiha Shisui reached out to pull him up.

"Routine procedure. The situation is sensitive lately; everyone connected to Orochimaru must undergo screening."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi used his strength to steady himself, though his fingers were still trembling slightly.

"...So, are you done with the screening now?"

"The preliminary assessment is complete."

Uchiha Shisui took a scroll from his robes and handed it to him. "Take this; consider it compensation for just now."

"Sealed inside are some ninja tools I used in the past."

Uchiha Shisui pressed the scroll into his hand. "You might find these useful in the future."

The scroll felt heavy in his hand; sealing scrolls were high-end goods.

Even a rough estimate told Uchiha Yatsuhashi that the ninja tools inside were likely worth no less than a million ryo.

"I will write everything that just happened into a report and submit it to the Hokage..."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi didn't say much more, as his strength was low.

He was only curious whether the Hokage Uchiha Shisui referred to was the Third Hokage or the recently appointed Fourth Hokage.

Uchiha Shisui turned around and continued walking toward the ancestral grounds.

"When you see the clan head later, just tell the truth. I will be standing behind you."

His tone grew noticeably heavier on the final sentence.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi watched his retreating back, his brain spinning rapidly.

That was close!

It was fortunate he hadn't pressed further as to why Orochimaru would leave him a sealing scroll containing First Hokage Cells.

However, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had also gained a lot of useful information just now.

He was Anbu, loyal to the Hokage.

Therefore, using genjutsu to interrogate himself was merely fulfilling his Anbu duties.

And that last sentence was a disguised reminder to Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

He would also include the upcoming conversation in the report to be submitted to the Hokage.

On the gates of the Uchiha Ancestral Land, the fan crest shimmered with a cold, metallic luster under the moonlight.

Guards from the Uchiha Clan stood on both sides of the gate.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Yatsuhashi, they merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment and did not block their path.

Uchiha Fugaku was kneeling in the main seat of the tea room, currently brewing tea.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, his gaze passing through the swirling steam to land on Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

"Clan Head," Uchiha Shisui bowed slightly, "I have brought him here."

"Mm." Uchiha Fugaku set down the teapot and gestured for Uchiha Yatsuhashi to sit.

Uchiha Shisui stood behind him at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

"Drink some tea." Uchiha Fugaku pushed a cup of tea forward.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi took it but did not drink, merely holding it in his hands.

"I heard you came looking for me earlier," Uchiha Fugaku began, his voice steady and devoid of any emotion.

"You wanted me to support Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage?"

"...Yes."

"Why?"

"Because Orochimaru can change the current predicament of the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Fugaku picked up his teacup and blew on the steam: "Oh? What predicament?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi looked up, meeting the gaze of the Uchiha Clan Head directly: "The predicament of being ostracized and suspected; the Clan Head should know this better than I do."

The tea room fell silent for a few seconds.

Uchiha Fugaku slowly took a sip of tea and set the cup down with a soft clink.

"You are quite bold," he said, "but you are wrong. The Uchiha Clan's situation does not require an outsider to help change it."

"Although our clan has declined..."

Uchiha Fugaku's voice gradually rose, and a fanatical light began to emerge in his eyes.

"But since the Warring States period, the Uchiha Clan has been the strongest in the ninja world.

We founded Konoha together with the Senju, and we should have governed this village together.

But Senju Tobirama weakened us with conspiracies, Hiruzen Sarutobi hollowed us out with hypocrisy, And now, even a commoner with no foundation like Minato Namikaze can ride on our heads—"

"Clan Head."

Uchiha Shisui, standing behind him, spoke up suddenly. His voice was calm but extremely stern.

"Those words of yours are incorrect, and please show respect to the Fourth Hokage."

Uchiha Fugaku's words came to an abrupt halt.

He looked at Uchiha Shisui, his expression darkening for a fleeting moment.

Hmph!

If it weren't for yesterday's jonin confidence vote, where fewer people voted for me than for him.

Who would be the Hokage right now is still up for debate!

But recalling that Uchiha Shisui had still cast his precious vote for him, Uchiha Fugaku's expression quickly returned to calm.

He picked up his teacup again and changed the subject: "Before Orochimaru defected, did he leave any research materials with you?"

Here it comes.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi felt a tightening in his chest.

"Yes," he said truthfully, "a culture of First Hokage Cells."

"First Hokage Cells?"

Uchiha Fugaku leaned forward, showing intense interest.

However, before he could speak, Uchiha Yatsuhashi added in a timely manner, "They were already confiscated by Danzo today."

"That is truly a pity..."

Uchiha Fugaku leaned back against his cushion in disappointment, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"First Hokage Cells... if the Uchiha could obtain that kind of power, we would have no trouble restoring the former glory of the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi did not respond.

Although he had been mentally prepared, he still felt immense pressure from Uchiha Fugaku asking him these questions directly in front of the Anbu member Uchiha Shisui.

Deep down, he felt a renewed sense of profound disappointment toward this so-called clan head.

The tea room fell silent once more.

Only the faint bubbling of the kettle on the stove remained, with steam rising in curling wisps to form a thin veil between the two men.

After a long while, Uchiha Fugaku spoke again.

"Uchiha Yatsuhashi, although you come from commoner stock, the blood of the Uchiha Clan flows through your veins. Restoring the former glory of the Uchiha Clan is the mission of every member of our kin..."

"Now that Orochimaru has left, and given your knowledge and aptitude for research, the clan has need of someone like you."

Uchiha Fugaku continued, "Even though you are merely a genin, if you are willing to contribute to the family, I can arrange for you to join the Military Police Force."

The offer was incredibly tempting.

So much so that Uchiha Yatsuhashi's grip on his teacup tightened bit by bit.

Yet, feeling the gaze of Uchiha Shisui behind him, Uchiha Yatsuhashi hesitated for only a moment.

"The Military Police Force is also a part of Konoha; no matter where I am, I am willing to dedicate my strength to Konoha..."

The water in the kettle reached a full boil, bubbling and whistling.

The smile on Uchiha Fugaku's face slowly faded.

He had not expected that a special genin recommended by Orochimaru would dare to speak to him in such a manner.

Suddenly, a massive surge of chakra erupted from Uchiha Fugaku's body.

The pressure of this chakra made it difficult for Uchiha Yatsuhashi to catch his breath.

Fortunately, in the next second, a powerful aura manifested behind him as well.

Before the two forces could even clash, Uchiha Fugaku withdrew his pressure first.

It had all happened in a flash, appearing and vanishing in an instant.

Yet, it left Uchiha Yatsuhashi feeling deeply shaken.

This was the absolute suppression of a genin by a jonin.

The mere release of chakra had been enough to make him feel as though he were suffocating.

However, thanks to the subtle warning Uchiha Shisui had given him earlier, and coupled with the fact that he held no real affection for the Uchiha Clan, he had been able to refuse Uchiha Fugaku.

Refusing Uchiha Fugaku was his way of demonstrating his resolve to Uchiha Shisui and the Hokage.

Uchiha Fugaku stared at Uchiha Yatsuhashi for a long time.

Then, as if shooing away an annoying fly, he waved his hand.

"You may go."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi stood up, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.

But just as he was about to turn and leave the tea room, the oppressive, warning voice of Uchiha Fugaku came from behind.

"Every drop of Uchiha blood is precious. Do not forget your mission as a member of the Uchiha Clan..."

Uchiha Shisui followed him out, and neither spoke until they had left the clan grounds.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's actions just now had left him equally shaken.

Even he, Uchiha Shisui, an Anbu member loyal to the Hokage, often felt torn and conflicted whenever the interests of the clan and the village diverged.

Yet, this genin before him had made a choice far more firmly than he ever could, even when faced with an olive branch from the clan head.

Though they were both of the Uchiha Clan, this man was able to break through the barriers of his lineage.

He was not loyal to a specific clan, but entirely loyal to Konoha...

Was this not the Will of Fire, the very ideal of the First Hokage to "break down clan barriers and build a village together"?

Indeed!

Ninjas may be divided into jonin and genin, but the Will of Fire knows no such distinction.

Uchiha Shisui took one last deep look at Uchiha Yatsuhashi's retreating figure.

Then, he donned his cat-faced mask and vanished into the thick of the night.