When the Border Anomaly report reached the Hokage Building, the paper still bore the red seal of an urgent dispatch.
Near an old outpost on the northwestern side of the Land of Fire, unidentified ninja activity had been detected.
The parties involved were suspected of possessing information about reforms to the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force.
A ninja skilled in tracking and assessing genjutsu was recommended for a covert investigation.
Those few lines looked perfectly normal.
So normal that, half a month earlier, Shisui would have accepted without hesitation.
Skilled in tracking.
Skilled in assessing genjutsu.
Able to make the round trip quickly.
Not many people in all of Konoha met those conditions.
Shisui Uchiha was certainly one of them.
But now, the report first went through the High-Risk Mission Witness Registration process.
Shisui did not simply take it and leave.
He placed the report on the table.
"Gen."
Uchiha Gen's heart had already sunk a little when he saw the red urgent-dispatch seal.
He did not read the contents first.
He examined the paper first.
The paper came from the border intelligence transfer office.
The red seal was genuine.
But at the bottom right of the reverse side, there was a very faint smear of medicinal powder.
Its location closely resembled the residue on the Fake Meeting Notice.
Uchiha Gen handed the paper to Uchiha Makoto.
"Make a copy and seal the original."
Shisui looked at him.
"You think something's wrong?"
"It fits too well."
"What fits too well?"
"The requirements fit you too well."
Uchiha Gen circled several lines in the report.
Skilled in tracking.
Assessing genjutsu.
Covert investigation.
"This wasn't written for Konoha."
Gen looked at Shisui.
"It looks like it was written for you."
Shisui fell silent.
This time, he did not rush to say he