A World Full of Lies

"Two eyes? Is the other eye really not with you, Itachi?" The Third Hokage murmured softly.

The moment he saw the intelligence, he had sent a secret letter to Uchiha Itachi.

But the reply he received was that Shisui Uchiha's eye was not with him.

"Now that one eye is in my hands, I can at least ensure my own safety." The Third Hokage's pipe kept tapping against the desk as he calculated something in his heart.

"What about the Uchiha Clan survivors? How is the investigation going?" The Third Hokage set down the intelligence report that had been read until it was worn out. The information hidden behind this report was what he truly cared about.

Some time ago, the Daimyo's residence had brought several Land of Fire nobles to take over the Uchiha Clan's shops in Konoha. The key was that they had even produced genuine contracts.

A conflict had erupted over it, and in the end, he could only yield.

Everything pointed to the possibility that the Uchiha Clan had survivors of considerable influence.

Whether it was one person or a group, they were all destabilizing factors.

Being Hokage was truly exhausting!

"Hokage-sama, the battle within the Uchiha Clan was far too intense. Many traces were erased by that explosion, so there is very little intelligence to be found.

Near the end of the battle, Konoha's barrier was breached for a period of time.

The Uchiha Clan survivors most likely escaped at that time.

At almost the same moment, Might Guy saw a black shadow flying away through the breach while he was training.

Aside from that green monster, traces of Wood Release also appeared at the scene."

Kakashi took out the latest investigation report as he explained. Attached to it was Might Guy's statement regarding the matter.

Uchiha Feng had not expected that, while the Anbu were on guard, Might Guy would be training in the middle of the night and spot traces of his departure.

"Might Guy?" The Third Hokage did not take the report. He already had the same report in his hands; what he was considering was how to handle it.

Wood Release had already appeared in Itachi's intelligence report. It was the masked man's ability, and Itachi was currently investigating that organization.

"The source of the bounty house's intelligence cannot be confirmed, but it first appeared in the Land of Iron. This time, you and Might Guy will investigate together. If you find any Uchiha Clan survivors, bring them back!"

The Third Hokage finally gave Hatake Kakashi his orders.

"Yes!" Kakashi immediately replied respectfully.

Inside a bounty house in the Land of Iron.

Using Dumpling's appearance, Uchiha Feng had arrived here with a Shadow Clone.

Fujiwara Ichiro, with his goatee, respectfully invited him into a private room.

The previous transaction had made him a fortune and earned him praise from his superiors. This time, he was even more respectful toward Uchiha Feng, his god of wealth.

At the same time, intelligence about the Uchiha Clan had been selling like mad.

And now, it was time to reap another harvest. It all depended on whether Uchiha Feng knew what was good for him.

"Honored guest, I have finally been waiting for you. This is the money from selling the intelligence this time, ten million ryo in total. Please accept it."

Before even sitting down, Fujiwara Ichiro smiled and pushed the ten million ryo over.

"Looks like you have already confirmed the intelligence's authenticity. I have intelligence regarding Shisui Uchiha. The price is also ten million ryo."

Uchiha Feng did not care about such a small sum at all. He stuffed it into his clothes without even counting it.

Then, he tossed a scroll to Fujiwara Ichiro.

Fujiwara Ichiro was equally delighted. With the previous deal as a foundation, and seeing Uchiha Feng act with such confidence, he could imagine how important this intelligence was.

"Shisui Uchiha? What use is that?~~"

The intelligence before him made Fujiwara Ichiro frown slightly. A man who was already dead—no matter how important he had been, how could he be worth ten million ryo?

But the content that followed forced him to take this intelligence seriously.

"The Blood Mist Policy? It was actually controlled by Shisui Uchiha?"

Fujiwara Ichiro could not help doubting the authenticity of this information.

The first half of the report recorded Shisui Uchiha's movements. He had appeared in the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water many times and used [Kotoamatsukami] to influence the Mizukage, which was how the Hidden Mist Village's Blood Mist Policy came to be.

"This... I cannot guarantee it for you. Both parties involved are already dead. Intelligence that cannot be verified is not worth that much."

Fujiwara Ichiro remained rational in the end. Once this news was released, it would cause a massive upheaval in the ninja world and might even trigger a war.

As a neutral country, the Land of Iron also understood why the Land of Water had closed itself off. The harm that the Blood Mist Policy had inflicted upon the Land of Water had yet to fade even now.

"In that case, our transaction ends here!"

Uchiha Feng saw Fujiwara Ichiro's apprehension. No one would dare casually sell intelligence that might spark a war between two nations.

Changes began to occur in Dumpling's clone's eyes. His two-tomoe Sharingan emerged, strikingly clear.

Fujiwara Ichiro had been watching Uchiha Feng's every change. The moment he saw the Sharingan, he froze briefly.

After confirming that Fujiwara Ichiro had seen the Sharingan, Uchiha Feng changed them back into Dumpling's beady eyes.

Having done all that, Uchiha Feng did not linger and turned to leave.

This time, Fujiwara Ichiro did not rise to see him off either. He was still immersed in the shock of the Sharingan he had just seen and the intelligence in his hands.

"Just how much of this intelligence is true? Those were clearly the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."

His hands clenched tightly around the scroll. Clearly, this intelligence was not as worthless as he had claimed.

Uchiha Feng arrived at the bounty house's main hall.

Looking at the bustling hall, he stopped using the Flying Technique and walked slowly instead.

The ten-million-ryo banknotes he had received from Fujiwara Ichiro "accidentally" fell from his clothes onto the ground.

Putting on a frightened expression, Uchiha Feng hid by the entrance, in an obvious spot where others could tell that he had dropped the banknotes.

For an instant, the previously noisy hall fell silent. The bounty hunters were the first to react, scrambling for the banknotes.

Those who seized them were ecstatic, while those who failed to get any looked devastated.

Several people fixed greedy gazes on Uchiha Feng's clone.

When the profit was great enough, every rule became meaningless.

As usual, Uchiha Feng's clone headed toward the exit of the bounty house, paying no attention whatsoever to those greedy stares.

The bounty hunters seemed to reach some sort of agreement. Rather than being hostile toward one another, they formed a loose alliance.

Their target was Uchiha Feng's clone.

Upon reaching a forest.

Uchiha Feng's clone stopped.

"Come out!" Dumpling's childish voice sounded like that of a lamb awaiting slaughter.