Returning to the Village, Fifth Hokage?

Although the Fourth Raikage was furious, without Mabui's sensory and teleportation abilities, he had no way of knowing where Shisui and Ryosuke had fled.

Furthermore, he was concerned that the other "bait" might meet a similar fate, so he turned back to head toward the safe houses serving as decoys.

Shisui and Ryosuke moved at top speed to locate Sanhe and Miyuki.

Without offering the pair much explanation, they immediately set off at a sprint toward the border of the Land of Fire.

To prevent any unforeseen incidents, they chose a route different from the one marked on their map.

Finally, after a full day, they crossed back into the territory of the Land of Fire.

Sanhe and Miyuki both collapsed beneath a tree, too exhausted to stand.

They had gone nearly a day and a night with almost no rest, let alone food or water, leaving their physical and mental stamina severely overdrawn.

Although Ryosuke was also weary, his mental state remained relatively better.

As for Shisui, he appeared only slightly fatigued; in fact, his chakra had nearly recovered during the journey.

This was the "memento" left behind by his past experiences in war.

After Shisui used the Shadow Clone Technique to scout in every direction for a long while, he finally decided to let everyone rest here for a moment.

"Shisui-sensei, what exactly happened? Why were you and Ryosuke so panicked?"

Sanhe couldn't help but ask.

"We ran into the Fourth Raikage."

Shisui's single sentence caused Sanhe and Miyuki's eyes to widen in shock.

"You're joking, right? Would the Raikage really mobilize personally just to deal with us?"

Sanhe glanced back at the path they had taken, terrified that the Raikage might still be following them.

"Not to deal with you, but to deal with Shisui-sensei—or perhaps Ryosuke. It seems the commotion you two caused this time was no small matter."

Miyuki said, her tone a mix of relief and worry.

If that weren't the case, why would the Raikage have appeared at all?

Their original plan had been to force the Cloud Village to pay an unbearable price, hoping that would lead them to negotiate with Konoha.

But looking at it now, while the Cloud Village had indeed been hurt, their reaction wasn't to reflect on the cause of that pain, but to retaliate.

Shisui glanced at Ryosuke before saying to Sanhe and Miyuki, "Our plan was only half-finished, but as it stands, it's likely enough."

"I just want to know how you survived. The Fourth Raikage is a truly terrifying monster," Sanhe said, his face pale with fear.

"This time, thanks to Ryo—"

"It was all thanks to Shisui-sensei that we were able to escape."

Ryosuke cut Shisui off; he had no desire to be in the spotlight at a time like this.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Sanhe and Miyuki.

It was that if word of this reached the Uchiha clan, or even Konoha at large, he would only face greater trouble.

Whether it was Uchiha Fugaku, Danzo, or even the Third Hokage and the "Madara" lurking in the shadows, he feared they would all set their sights on him.

Shisui looked at Ryosuke and did not continue the sentence he had been interrupted in.

"As long as we made it back, that's what matters. Can we consider ourselves war heroes now? Shisui-sensei, should we head back to the village?"

Sanhe asked, looking toward Shisui.

Shisui pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Indeed. We have done everything we could. If this still isn't enough to stop the village's original intentions, then we must conclude that everything we've done has been utterly worthless."

"If it truly comes to that, then we... we have no reason to fight for it anymore."

Uchiha Shisui, a man who had experienced war, understood the preciousness of peace, and had been deeply influenced by the Third Hokage, finally began to harbor doubts about Konoha after this series of events.

Sanhe and Miyuki fell silent upon hearing his words.

Although they had been raised from childhood to prioritize the Uchiha clan above all else, now that they had reached this point, they still felt that a total break with Konoha was not a good thing.

Ryosuke sighed inwardly, unsure if he should feel fortunate.

Because of his arrival, Uchiha Shisui—the tragic genius of the Uchiha clan—might have found a new destiny, but the cost of that change was heavy indeed.

The four of them rested for an hour before setting off once more.

Only this time, they didn't need to rush.

As they drew closer to the village, they encountered more and more ninjas.

Among them were two squads from the Uchiha Police Force.

Yet, the looks they cast toward Team One were far from friendly.

Sanhe and the others were deeply puzzled; had something happened in the village during the few days they were gone?

One mile from Konoha, Shisui came to a halt.

"Stay here and wait for me. I am going back to the village to assess the situation."

"Shisui-sensei, is that really necessary? Aren't we just following the Hokage's orders to complete our mission?" Sanhe asked, looking puzzled.

Miyuki punched him straight in the arm.

"You idiot, so much has happened—do you still not understand? The village might have already betrayed us. Shisui-sensei is doing this for our own good."

"Oh, oh, I get it. Could you stop hitting my head? It's already slow enough as it is," Sanhe said, clutching his head.

Shisui watched this scene, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.

"Focus on staying hidden and protecting yourselves. Do not trust anyone. Wait for my return."

With those words, Shisui vanished from the spot.

The three of them immediately climbed into the trees.

"Ryosuke, is what Miyuki said true?"

Sanhe asked Ryosuke, who was standing on a branch above him.

"Whether it's true or not, we won't know for sure until Shisui-sensei returns."

"Then can we go back to our village now?" Sanhe continued to ask.

"No. You saw it yourself just now—the village's Police Force has already been mobilized, and their attitude toward us wasn't exactly friendly."

Ryosuke replied.

"That's just you being overly sensitive. We Uchiha have always been quite aloof," Sanhe countered.

"Sanhe-kun, you're wrong this time," Miyuki suddenly spoke up.

"Fine, fine. Let's just wait for Shisui-sensei," Sanhe said, his spirits instantly dampened.

Shisui returned to the gates of Konoha and found that the number of sentries on duty had doubled.

He did not alert them, choosing instead to use the Body Flicker Technique to enter the village.

He quickly arrived at the Hokage's office building.

He appeared silently at the door of the office.

"Shisui, is that you? Come in."

The voice of the Third Hokage drifted from inside.

Shisui pushed the door open and entered.

"Lord Hokage, I require an explanation."

Shisui said, his expression grave.

"Indeed, that is something you deserve."

The Third Hokage set down his pipe and walked over to the wall, stopping beneath the portrait of the Second Hokage.

"Shisui, if you were to become the Fifth Hokage, how would you go about protecting the village?"

"What?" Shisui was taken aback by the Third Hokage's words.