Uchiha Jun still looked grim when he handed in the record.
"I didn't chase him."
He said it as though he were admitting defeat.
Uchiha Gen took the clipboard and read it carefully.
"You did the right thing."
Uchiha Jun frowned.
"He was right in front of me."
"That's exactly why you couldn't chase him."
Gen set the clipboard on the desk.
"If you'd chased him, he might have led you into a blind spot. By not chasing him, you gave us time to investigate the merchants, the route, and why he dared make contact outside the Resettlement Zone."
Shisui nodded too.
"Holding back is harder than charging in."
Uchiha Jun said nothing.
For the first time, he realized he was being praised not for drawing his blade, but for leaving it sheathed.
It felt awkward.
Yet it also put him at ease.
The next day, the operations documentation group was divided into three squads.
One squad helped move medicinal supplies in the Resettlement Zone.
One accompanied the Konoha Military Police Force to document visiting merchants.
One learned the basics of sealing and archiving documents.
At first, the young clan members complained a great deal.
"We're shinobi, not porters."
"What's the point of writing all this down?"
"If an enemy really comes, are we supposed to fight with pens?"
Uchiha Gen offered little explanation.
He simply had them read the records of the previous incidents.
The fake interview summons.
The purge list.
The unnumbered mission.
The impostor Anbu.
In every case, even one missing record could have changed the outcome entirely.
Uchiha Jun read more intently than anyone.
He disliked paperwork.
But he had already experienced firsthand what others could make him out to be when there was no record.
That afternoon, Itachi was assigned to the same group as