The mission to investigate the border anomaly had not been canceled.
Many clan members could not understand why.
Uchiha Toru was the first to show his disbelief.
"We know full well they're targeting Shisui, and we're still letting him go?"
Uchiha Gen spread out the mission filing.
"If he doesn't go, they'll replace the intelligence with something more convincing."
"Then he keeps refusing to go."
"And that becomes the Uchiha shirking risks to the village."
Uchiha Toru shut his mouth.
He could now recognize this kind of trap.
It was not a question of whether to go.
The other side had framed every choice to work against the Uchiha.
If Shisui went, he might end up out of his witnesses' sight.
If he did not, the Uchiha would be accused of protecting only themselves and ignoring the border anomaly.
So they could not simply dismantle the trap.
They had to light the path.
Uchiha Gen pointed to the filing form.
"Define the mission objective clearly. Confirm the anomaly around the old outpost's perimeter. Do not go deeper into the border forest."
Uchiha Makoto lowered his head and took notes.
"Who will accompany him?"
"Shisui, one member of the Hokage's Anbu, and Uchiha Toru as the perimeter witness. Itachi will only record the departure and return times. He will not enter the mission area."
Itachi looked up.
"I can't go outside the old outpost?"
"No," Fugaku said flatly.
Itachi did not argue.
"Understood."
He wrote it down in his little notebook.
Do not enter the mission area.
Uchiha Gen saw it.
That was good.
Knowing where he could not go mattered more than knowing where he could.
Shisui studied the route map.
"What about the return checkpoint?"
"You must return to the first witness checkpoint before noon."
"What if there's a