Greed and Ambition

The next day.

When Hayato appeared at the Police Force Building with Shisui, everyone looked surprised.

Seiichi glanced at Shisui, then walked over to Hayato. "It's time to go on patrol."

"Okay. Shisui's on our team."

Hayato nodded, then took Shisui to the equipment room to change.

Behind them, Seiichi wore a complicated expression, but said nothing.

Training with the clan had shown Seiichi another side of Shisui, but old grievances were not so easily forgotten.

Hayato walked down Konoha's main street with Shisui and Seiichi, paying no attention to the gazes around them.

Shisui, however, experienced more of it. He watched Hayato walking ahead of him.

So this was what Hayato had been enduring all along?

Shisui wondered if he could remain as gentle as Hayato, day after day, under the weight of such stares.

Yes, during this time, Shisui had come to see Hayato as a very gentle person.

He could clearly feel how deeply Hayato cared for both the clan and Konoha. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to follow Hayato's lead.

After experiencing a day in the Police Force, Shisui waited outside the Police Force Building for Hayato to come out.

Hayato came out after changing, nodded to Shisui, and led Seiichi along with him. The three of them headed toward the Uchiha Compound.

Shisui experienced the feeling of walking against the flow of people heading home, and something in his eyes gradually shifted.

As they passed the Ninja Academy, it happened to be dismissal time.

Shisui, who had been looking down, was called by a voice. "Shisui, big brother!"

The clear child's voice held a hint of maturity. Hayato turned around and couldn't help but pause.

Uchiha Itachi.

"Hm? Itachi?" Shisui turned and saw Itachi hurrying over to him. Looking puzzled, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm heading home."

Uchiha Itachi calmly looked at Hayato and Seiichi standing beside Shisui.

Shisui pointed to Hayato and Seiichi and introduced them to Uchiha Itachi. "These are my teammates, Hayato and Seiichi."

"This is the clan leader's son, Uchiha Itachi."

Hayato nodded, studied Itachi for a moment, then looked away.

Itachi had clearly noticed how highly Shisui regarded Hayato when introducing him, and began observing Hayato discreetly.

Hayato didn't mind. When he spotted a Dango Shop by the roadside, he went over and bought a few skewers. He handed one to Itachi. "Here. You just got out of school, so you must be hungry."

Then he handed the rest to Seiichi and Shisui and polished off his own skewer in one bite.

Too greasy.

That was Hayato's only thought after eating a skewer of dango.

Itachi, on the other hand, ate slowly, as if the Three-Color Dango in his hand were the greatest delicacy in the world.

Seeing this, Shisui couldn't help smiling.

Once they reached the Uchiha Compound, Shisui left with Uchiha Itachi. Before going, he seemed to remember something. "By the way, Hayato, want to train with me tomorrow?"

Hayato smiled and nodded. "Sure."

After saying goodbye to them, Hayato headed home.

Life alone was always uneventful, but Hayato didn't mind.

After clearing away the dishes and chopsticks, he slid open the door and sat in the small courtyard, gazing at the moon.

Just then—

[Warning: Intrusion into the clan compound detected. Micro chakra lifeforms detected!]

[Enemy source: Root · Aburame Torune.]

[Threat level: Medium (reconnaissance, with some offensive capability)]

[Root Concealment Detection activated automatically: Can see through the swarm's movements and sever their chakra at any time, annihilating the insects!]

"Danzō, you really can't hold back."

Hayato's expression turned cold. He'd thought Danzō would lie low for a while.

He hadn't expected him to lose patience so soon after Orochimaru had just defected from the village.

It seemed Orochimaru had thoroughly erased all the previous data before leaving.

"You want to spy on the Uchiha? Then I'll make sure you never come back!"

Root Concealment Detection could directly eliminate this kind of surveillance, which saved him the trouble.

In the next instant, nearly every insect that had landed in the Uchiha Compound was wiped out.

In Root's underground base, Aburame Torune, who had been directing the swarm, suddenly went pale.

"What's wrong, Torune?"

Yamanaka Fu saw this and stepped forward to support Aburame Torune, asking in confusion.

"All the Surveillance Bugs I sent out were dealt with at the same time."

At that, Yamanaka Fu grew wary. "Were they discovered?"

"Doesn't seem like it. If they'd been discovered, they couldn't have all been dealt with at the same time."

Aburame Torune shook his head. Although he had sent out a lot of insects, they were spread throughout the Uchiha Compound. No one could have eliminated them all in such a short time.

Thump!

Danzō came over, leaning on his cane. Seeing Aburame Torune's expression, he frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu respectfully dropped to one knee and explained what had just happened again.

Danzō's expression remained indifferent. He could only think of one possibility: Mangekyo!

As Root's founder and a veteran of several Ninja World Wars, Danzō had learned many things about the Uchiha Clan from documents he had secretly studied, including their awakening of the Mangekyo.

Only the Mangekyo could grant such an ability.

Greed surfaced in Danzō's eyes. The Mangekyo—he hadn't expected anyone in the Uchiha Clan to possess it now.

Who could it be?

Uchiha Fugaku? Or Uchiha Shisui?

Those two were Danzō's first suspects. Fugaku had withdrawn into the clan ever since the Fourth Hokage's time. Unless a meeting in the village was absolutely necessary, he kept to himself.

As for Shisui, he was a talented young shinobi who had awakened the Three-Tomoe at an early age in recent years. He was a likely candidate.

Danzō rubbed the head of his cane, his thoughts racing.

He had to get it!

Whoever this person was!

He had to take that person's eyes. It was all for Konoha!

By now, Danzō had abandoned the idea of taking his time. That had never been his way.

Hayato sat in the courtyard and waited quietly for a while before receiving a notification from the panel. He raised an eyebrow.

He smiled calmly. "If you're coming, then I hope you bring everything you've got, Shimura Danzō!"

His gaze fell on the distant, indistinct Kage Rock. So, Third Hokage, would you choose the same old approach this time?

Or would you let Konoha go through the pain of change—and welcome a new beginning?

Hayato suddenly wanted to see everything the future held. He'd had this feeling ever since awakening his Mangekyo.

He knew that awakening the Mangekyo had only made him a little stronger than the average person. But with the system's harvests, he would soon grow rapidly.

As for the Mangekyo's blindness, Hayato was confident.

Even if the system didn't offer such a reward, he would choose certain people and devise a strategy to reap their Bitter Fruit, to see if he could attain the Eternal Mangekyo.

That was his ambition!