When Did the Anbu Not Report Directly to the Third Hokage?

At night, after finishing his work at the Police Force, Hayato and Shisui walked slowly toward the clan grounds after dinner.

Watching the diverse villagers and the bustling scene around them.

A trace of envy flickered in Shisui's eyes; when would the Uchiha clan ever be like this within Konoha?

Thinking it was one thing, but Shisui asked it aloud as well.

"Don't be impatient, Shisui." Hayato laughed upon hearing this. Although the Uchiha clan possessed the power of the Mangekyo, their mental state was not much better off.

Clearly, Shisui, who had awakened the Mangekyo, was currently suffering from the Uchiha clan's madness to some degree.

It was just that his usual philosophy kept him from being as prominent as the others.

Shisui stared deeply at Hayato upon hearing this, then nodded. "Fine. But there are some things—don't you think you should tell me in detail?"

"Such as?"

"About Orochimaru, and the high-ranking officials you mentioned to me before."

A ripple of emotion appeared on Shisui's face. He had asked before, but Hayato had always maintained that dismissive attitude.

However, as their relationship grew closer, Shisui felt that perhaps Hayato should tell him now.

"Alright."

Hayato responded.

"It's like this again." Shisui muttered to himself first, then looked at Hayato with a slightly stunned expression. "What did you just say?"

"I said if you want to understand, you can."

Hayato did not stop his pace. The two had already left the central area of Konoha, and the closer they got to the Uchiha clan grounds, the more secluded it became.

Suddenly, Hayato stopped walking and looked ahead. "You've been following for so long, time to come out, right?"

Shisui, who was deep in thought, was taken aback, then looked around with vigilance.

He had been thinking about things just now and truly hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"Who goes there!"

Whoosh—

Ten figures emerged from the surroundings, all of them ninjas wearing animal masks.

The leader glanced at Hayato only once before turning his gaze to Shisui beside him. "Uchiha Shisui, Lord Danzo has ordered you to come with us."

"Anbu?" Shisui's expression tightened as he looked at their attire.

Yo.

So, I'm being ignored.

Hayato narrowed his eyes, watching the ten Root ninjas slowly approaching them. "Could you lot stop acting like rats in the dark? Those who know will call you Anbu elites; those who don't will think you're some pathetic imitators."

"By the way, isn't the Anbu directly under the Hokage? Danzo—I don't know him."

Before the words had even faded, several Root ninjas had already used the Body Flicker Technique to close in, the cold glint of their blades particularly piercing in the night.

"Unstable elements, eliminate them!"

One of them shouted directly, his tone filled with malice.

"Hayato, who are these people?" Shisui still didn't know who they were, but seeing them attack, he immediately stood back-to-back with Hayato in a defensive stance.

"I'm not sure, but they are definitely not Anbu." Hayato didn't say much more; stating they weren't Anbu was meant to let Shisui unleash his full strength.

Sure enough—

Hearing Hayato say this, Shisui composed his expression and quickly formed hand seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"

The moment Shisui spat out the flames, he threw over a dozen shuriken. The flames clung to the flying shuriken, causing them to carry intense heat as they attacked the incoming Root ninjas like scattered phoenix flowers filling the sky.

Hayato activated his Sharingan, glancing sideways to record Shisui's hand seals, while he himself formed seals rapidly. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A massive, imposing fire dragon spiraled into the perimeter, swallowing the few Root ninjas who were dodging Shisui's Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson.

Since they were here to take their lives, holding back would be the greatest disrespect to himself.

Seeing this, Shisui only frowned slightly. His intention had been to take prisoners, but since Hayato had already dealt with these few, he couldn't hesitate any longer.

The two dispersed at the same time, heading toward the remaining Root ninjas not far away.

Both were individuals who had awakened the Mangekyo; even if they didn't reveal it, these Root elites were no match for them at this moment.

Relying on the ghostly nature of the Body Flicker Technique, Shisui arrived directly behind them and took down two men within a few moves. However, he left them alive.

As for Hayato, he was even more direct. Any Root ninja who dared to look him in the eye fell into a genjutsu the next moment, and he used that gap to slice through their throats with the kunai in his hand.

Thud, thud, thud!

Three figures fell to the ground like bowling pins, their masks sliding off to reveal expressions of utter disbelief.

Hayato looked at the two unconscious men at Shisui's feet and walked over.

"Wait, Hayato."

Shisui hurriedly stopped Hayato from continuing. "They have already lost the ability to resist; if we strike again, it will be hard to explain."

Hayato sheathed his kunai upon hearing this. It wasn't that he agreed with Shisui's logic, but rather that he had other ideas, and besides, the commotion they had just caused had already been discovered.

He turned his head to look behind him, seeing several figures leaping across the rooftops in the distance, reaching their vicinity in mere moments.

The leader, sporting short silver hair and a mask, felt his pupils constrict at the sight of the corpses on the ground.

The Anbu members behind him had already assumed a defensive stance.

The silver-haired Anbu raised a hand to stop his subordinates, then looked at Hayato and Shisui. "You had better have a reason that can convince me, otherwise I will be forced to take you into custody."

"A reason?"

Hayato glanced at the corpses of the Root ninja on the ground and replied, "They intended to attack fellow villagers. I don't know who these people are, but they mentioned Lord Danzo."

"We Uchiha have kept to the outskirts of the village; since when is the Anbu no longer under the direct command of the Third Hokage?"

Having said that, he looked at the silver-haired Anbu—none other than Kakashi—with an expression of feigned innocence.

Upon hearing this, Kakashi's single visible eye beneath his mask narrowed as he studied Hayato, then he gave an order: "One of you, go to the Hokage Building to report this immediately."

Hayato interjected, "If you would be so kind, our clan leader needs to be notified as well."

Since a trip to the Hokage Building was now unavoidable, he had to bring Fugaku along; otherwise, there was no telling if he and Shisui might be framed for defecting from the village later on.

Most importantly, he needed to gauge the extent of Fugaku's changes.

Kakashi said nothing, merely waving his hand again.

As a member of his late best friend's clan, this was the most he could do.

"Then, the two of you will come with me to meet with Lord Third Hokage," Kakashi said.

"Naturally." Hayato patted Shisui on the shoulder, signaling him not to worry too much. "Rest easy, we are simply going to demand an explanation."

Kakashi showed no reaction to this, merely gesturing for the two to follow.

"You lot, stay behind to clear away all the bodies, then join us as soon as possible."

With that, he led Hayato and Shisui in the direction of the Hokage Building.