Benefit of the Doubt

Early the next morning, the snow-covered mountains, which had been clear and sunny the day before, had once again returned to their wind-swept, snow-lashed state.

The sky was blanketed by dark clouds, so thick they seemed ready to sink down at any moment.

The convoy set off again, retracing its route toward the Land of Fire.

"Mr. Oda, I remember you mentioned before that you were from the Fire Capital, right?"

On the road, Xiu recalled his plans to acquire some property and decided to ask Oda Toru about it.

"Mm, strictly speaking, I'm actually from the Land of Lightning."

Oda Toru tugged at his beard as he recalled, "It's just that the Land of Fire lies at the center of the Shinobi World and has convenient transportation. After establishing my headquarters here, I settled down here as well. I still have some businesses in the Land of Lightning, though, so I often go back to take a look."

"What is it? Is there something you want to know?"

Xiu nodded. "Yes, I want to buy some property in the capital. I'd like to know which storefronts are in good locations."

"I see. Then I'll ask around after I get back. Whenever you have time to visit the capital later, just come find me at the company."

As Oda Toru spoke, he took out a business card and handed it to Xiu. The card bore his company's address.

He did not ask about Xiu's budget. Having witnessed the earlier battle, he had realized that Xiu had not been boasting before. With Xiu's strength, making money truly would not be difficult.

The fact that Xiu had asked this question meant he had most likely already gotten his hands on some money, probably from those people who had blocked their path yesterday.

There was no need to ask unnecessary questions. All he had to do was a small favor to earn the gratitude of a future powerhouse. Why not?

Besides, he had always been a sucker for good looks.

For someone like him, whose values followed facial features, even if Uchiha Shu was a rogue ninja, he was willing to help as long as Shu did not harm him.

The convoy traveled much faster on the return journey than it had on the way there, quickly leaving the snowy region behind.

After escorting the convoy to the Fire Capital, the group returned to Konoha as well.

Along the way, from registering at the gates to arriving at the Hokage's office to report on their mission, Kurenai Yuhi's brows remained tightly furrowed.

"Oh? You're back? Did the mission go smoothly?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked cheerfully as he watched them enter the office.

"The mission... went fairly smoothly." Kurenai paused, looking as though she wanted to say something but held herself back.

"Hmm..."

Seeing Kurenai's grave expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi put away his smile as well. "Did something happen?"

"Yes. We encountered bounty hunters from the Underground Gold Exchange in the Land of Iron. From them, we learned that someone had placed a bounty of ten million ryo on Xiu at the Underground Gold Exchange."

Kurenai stared directly into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "Did you know about this?"

"Ten million ryo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. In an instant, he guessed who had done it.

He looked at Uchiha Shu and saw that Shu seemed utterly unconcerned. Instinctively, he wanted to shift the blame onto another hidden village.

But when he noticed the undisguised suspicion in the other three's eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent again.

Judging by their expressions, they had clearly already guessed something.

If he truly dared to brush them off with such an excuse, one that treated them like fools, he would likely lose their trust completely.

Especially since three of them were Uchiha. Such a move might completely push Shu to the opposing side.

"Hmm... from the looks of it, the problem most likely originated within the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he chose his words. "I can roughly guess who did it, but... there is something I must make clear. As Hokage, a portion of my authority has in fact been divided away. This has left me without sufficient control over certain matters."

"I once hoped that this divided authority could protect Konoha in another way from the shadows. But now, it seems it may have become part of the darkness itself. It is simply buried too deeply for me to find a reason to reclaim it..."

At those words, Kurenai's brows knitted tightly. Though she had long known about this, hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi admit it himself as Hokage still shattered some of her illusions.

Uchiha Izumi gently tugged at her mother's clothes, a trace of unease in her eyes. Uchiha Hazuki, on the other hand, remained as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

It was not that she had no grievances. She simply believed that Shu was capable of handling all of this.

As his mother, all she needed to do was stand firmly behind him and give him her greatest support.

The atmosphere grew heavy for a moment. Kurenai was about to press for details when Xiu suddenly spoke, cutting her off.

"Can't reclaim it, or don't want to reclaim it?"

Uchiha Shu sneered. "This is the first time I've heard of a village's Kage being unable to take back authority. Use your Will of Fire to crush him, then. Isn't that what you higher-ups are best at?"

"As long as you bring up the so-called Will of Fire and all that nonsense about doing it for the village, there's nothing that can't be sacrificed. The Uchiha could be moved into a corner for the village's safety, so why can't you do it here?"

"What? Does the so-called Will of Fire mean burning others to light yourselves? No wonder Hatake Sakumo died, the Fourth Hokage died, and the Legendary Sannin either left or fled. That only you dried-up old fossils are left here waiting to die... turns out you were baked dry?"

For the first time, a crack appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's usually unflappable face.

His expression was complicated, seeming angry and humiliated, yet also as though someone had struck a sore spot.

But only a small part of that complicated emotion was displeasure at Shu's insults. Most of it was directed at himself.

He had never imagined that one day, he would become an old, power-hungry thief in the eyes of the younger generation!

Yet the truth was exactly as Shu had said. All the outstanding young people had died, while only old relics like them remained... it was hard to say whether they were supporting the village or blocking the younger generation's path forward.

At that moment, even Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind went blank.

Not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, even Kurenai Yuhi beside him was stunned speechless.

Then, once she realized what Shu had said, she suddenly snapped back to her senses and hurried forward to stop him. "Calm down, Xiu! Things may not be as you think..."

"I'm already very calm!"

Xiu slapped away Kurenai's hand as she tried to press it onto his shoulder. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were planning to... or perhaps have already informed that part of the darkness you mentioned about Shisui's ocular technique, right?"

As Xiu's words fell, his eyes turned crimson. Three Tomoe spun rapidly before finally transforming into sharp eight-pointed stars.

"This is... the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted. He had not expected Xiu to possess the Mangekyō Sharingan as well. Moreover, the sense of threat those eyes gave him was far stronger than even Shisui's Kotoamatsukami!

No, it wasn't merely the Mangekyō...

What was going on with this chakra?

Feeling the mountain-like pressure radiating from Xiu, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart tightened.

Such an outrageous amount of chakra was at least more than ten times his own!

Crash—

The office window suddenly shattered, and four Anbu members instantly appeared in the room, surrounding Uchiha Shu and the others.