Returning to the Village, the Fifth Hokage?

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

He was also worried that the other "decoys" might be attacked, so he turned and headed for the Safe Houses where they were hiding.

Shisui and Ryosuke found Sanhe and Miyuki as quickly as they could.

Without explaining much to the two of them, they raced toward the border of the Land of Fire.

To avoid any surprises, however, they chose a route different from the one marked on the map.

At last, a day later, they crossed back into the Land of Fire.

Sanhe and Miyuki collapsed beneath a tree, too exhausted to get back up.

They had barely rested all day and night, let alone eaten or drunk anything. Their bodies and minds were severely depleted.

Ryosuke was also exhausted, but he was in relatively better spirits.

As for Shisui, he looked only slightly tired. His chakra had almost fully recovered along the way.

That was a "memento" left to him by the wars he had fought.

Shisui sent Shadow Clones to scout in every direction for quite some time before finally deciding that everyone could rest there for a while.

"Teacher Shisui, what exactly happened? Why were you and Ryosuke in such a panic?"

Sanhe couldn't help asking.

"We ran into the Fourth Raikage."

Shisui said no more, but that was enough to make Sanhe and Miyuki's eyes widen.

"You're kidding, right? Would the Raikage really come after us personally?"

Sanhe glanced back the way they had come, afraid the Raikage might still be following them.

"He wasn't after you. He was after Teacher Shisui—and possibly Ryosuke too. Looks like you made quite a commotion this time."

Miyuki sounded both pleased and worried.

Otherwise, why would the Raikage have shown up?

Their original plan had been to make Kumogakure suffer a cost it couldn't bear, forcing it to negotiate peace with Konoha.

But it seemed Kumogakure had indeed been hurt. Instead of asking why, though, they had decided to strike back.

Shisui glanced at Ryosuke, then said to Sanhe and Miyuki, "We only accomplished half of our plan, but it looks like that was enough."

"I just want to know how you survived. The Fourth Raikage is a terrifying man," Sanhe said, his face full of fear.

"This time, we have Ryos—"

"It was all thanks to Teacher Shisui that we escaped."

Ryosuke cut Shisui off. This wasn't the time for him to take credit.

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

But if word of this reached the Uchiha Clan—or even Konoha—he would only find himself in greater trouble.

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

Shisui glanced at Ryosuke but didn't continue what he'd been saying.

"As long as we made it back, that's what matters. I guess we're war heroes now, right? Teacher Shisui, should we head back to the village?"

Sanhe looked to Shisui for an answer.

Shisui considered it briefly, then nodded.

"Right. We've done everything we can. If this still can't change the village's original plan, then nothing we did will have mattered."

"And if it comes to that, we... we won't have any reason to fight for it anymore."

Uchiha Shisui had experienced war. He knew how precious peace was, and the Third Hokage had deeply influenced him. After everything that had happened, he finally began to doubt Konoha.

Sanhe and Miyuki fell silent at his words.

Their parents had taught them from childhood to put the Uchiha first, but even so, they didn't think breaking with Konoha was a good idea.

Ryosuke sighed inwardly. He didn't know whether he should feel relieved.

Because of his arrival, Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha Clan's tragic prodigy, might have been given a new destiny—but the price was so high.

The four rested for an hour, then set off again.

This time, though, they didn't need to hurry.

The closer they got to the village, the more shinobi they encountered.

Among them were two squads from the Uchiha Police Force.

But the way they looked at Team One was far from friendly.

Sanhe and the others were confused. Had something happened in the village during the few days they'd been away?

When they were about a mile from Konoha, Shisui stopped.

"Wait here. I'll go back to the village and check on the situation."

"Teacher Shisui, is that really necessary? We were sent on a mission by the Hokage," Sanhe said, puzzled.

Miyuki punched him.

"You idiot. After everything that's happened, you still don't get it? The village may have betrayed us. Teacher Shisui is only trying to protect us."

"Oh, right, I get it. Could you stop hitting me on the head? I'm already dumb enough as it is," Sanhe said, clutching his head.

Shisui watched them, but he couldn't smile.

"Stay hidden and protect yourselves. Don't trust anyone. Wait for me to return."

With that, Shisui vanished.

The three of them immediately climbed into the trees.

"Ryosuke, was Miyuki telling the truth?"

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

"We'll know once Teacher Shisui gets back."

"Can we go back to our own village now?" Sanhe asked again.

"No. You saw it yourself just now—the village's Police Force has already been deployed, and they weren't exactly friendly toward us."

Ryosuke answered.

"You're being too sensitive. We Uchiha have always been aloof," Sanhe retorted.

"Sanhe, you're wrong this time," Miyuki suddenly said.

"All right. Let's just wait for Teacher Shisui," Sanhe said, his mood sinking.

Shisui returned to Konoha's main gate and found twice as many shinobi on guard as usual.

Without drawing their attention, he used the Body Flicker Technique to slip into the village.

He soon reached the Hokage's office building.

Then he appeared soundlessly outside the office door.

"Shisui, is that you? Come in."

The Third Hokage's voice came from inside.

Shisui pushed open the door and entered.

"Lord Hokage, I need an explanation."

Shisui spoke with a grave expression.

"Right. You deserve one."

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

"Shisui, if you were the Fifth Hokage, how would you protect the village?"

"What?" The Third Hokage's question took Shisui by surprise.