Early the next morning, the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force received a new recommendation for cooperation with the investigation.
The wording on paper was mild.
It was not an order.
Nor was it a punishment.
It merely recommended that, until the incident at the old border outpost was fully investigated, Shisui Uchiha temporarily reduce his involvement in the Konoha Military Police Force Reform, especially avoiding documented proceedings involving the Hokage's Anbu, sensitive patrol duties within the village, and meetings of the clan's leadership.
The reasons were beautifully phrased.
To protect Shisui.
To prevent misunderstandings from escalating.
To keep the investigation impartial.
After reading the recommendation, Fugaku's expression did not change. He simply handed the paper to Uchiha Gen.
Gen took it and skimmed it.
Then he smiled.
"So it finally came."
Several of the clan's jonin were seated in the room, along with Shisui, who had just returned from patrol.
Shisui said nothing.
He looked at the paper, his gaze a little darker than usual.
If they merely wanted him to take fewer missions, he could accept that.
If they merely wanted a higher standard of witnessing, he was willing to cooperate with that, too.
But what this recommendation truly sought to cut off was not his missions.
It was his place.
Uchiha Gen set the paper on the table and lightly tapped one line with his fingertip.
"Look here."
Everyone's eyes moved to it.
That line read: temporarily suspend his involvement in the Konoha Military Police Force Reform.
Gen said, "They don't need to prove Shisui guilty. All they need is to remove him from the reform records, and every change that follows will have one fewer key witness."
One of the clan's jonin frowned.
"But Shisui is just one man."
"Precisely because he's just one man, he's easy