Third Lord, Shisui Wronged Me!

"Your proposal? Then I'm curious. Why not assign ANBU to keep watch? It's tough, exhausting, and thankless, but isn't that what ANBU are for?"

There had never been a better time to fan the flames, and Retsuo was worried that Dark Slime might not be able to take it. Still, he had to turn up the heat. "Or is it because you didn't want to take on the trouble, so you suggested replacing them with cameras?"

Shisui exploded after being accused for no reason. "That's enough! ANBU are a special tactical assassination force, not babysitters! Besides, keeping watch on a Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai clan that large for an extended period? Are you even a ninja?"

"Wouldn't that still be better than having the cameras discovered? People are alive, so they can make excuses."

"This whole mess happened because of you! Things had finally started improving. If the clan faces even more hostility because of this, it'll all be your fault!"

At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen came down from upstairs, one step at a time, each footfall ringing out. The Hokage Guard and ANBU followed close behind, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Although he said nothing, the Third Hokage continued supplying an exceptionally high-quality stream of negative emotions. To Retsuo, it was as easy as turning over his hand.

Perfect timing. Looks like today is going to be a huge haul...

He darted in front of the Third Hokage, dropped to one knee, and put on the aggrieved expression unique to children as he wailed, "Third Grandpa, Shisui wronged me!"

Uchiha Shisui, Konoha's adored prodigy, felt his chest grow feverishly hot. A mass of Fire Release swelled out of control inside him, ready to explode!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was so dark it looked ready to drip, and his negative emotions had reached their peak. Retsuo knew he couldn't push things too far. Knowing when to stop was the way of kings, so he immediately flipped his wrist and presented a camera. "After I discovered this, I took it apart and brought it straight to you. My clansmen just thought I was having a fit and had no idea what was going on."

Strictly speaking, these cameras were also Chakra ninja tools, and extremely high-end ones at that, because there were cameras but no wires.

If the Uchiha Clan had a circle of wires wrapped around them and still failed to notice, they might as well gouge out their own eyes.

Therefore, when Retsuo said he had destroyed the crime scene and brought the evidence over, the dignified Third Hokage suddenly burst into tears.

Could we really have wronged Retsuo? he thought, but he immediately realized something was off!

"Retsuo, why did you do this?"

"Why wouldn't I? Anyone who suddenly discovered that someone had installed a camera in their home would take it down, wouldn't they?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face flushed red. Is that what I was asking?

"I'm asking why you said in front of the camera that even electronic devices couldn't escape your eyes."

"Ahahaha, that's only because it's a saying of the Uchiha Clan, but I'd never had a chance to say it before."

At that moment, the negative emotions surged! It wasn't only Sarutobi Hiruzen—even the ANBU and guards behind him collectively spat blood. We thought you were just putting on an act, but you really were showing off!

And you even dared to admit it? This is ridiculous!

Suddenly, Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed that Shisui, standing behind Retsuo, had already turned bright red.

He needed to calm Shisui down.

It was hard to say what that bastard Retsuo was thinking, but Shisui's heart held nothing but Konoha. Just look at him. Danzo had insisted on installing the cameras, yet Shisui had somehow taken the heavy blame onto himself. He had done everything for the village!

But then Retsuo spoke again. "Third Lord, you didn't install only one camera, did you?"

Shisui jolted and immediately used Body Flicker, vanishing from the spot. The Third Hokage didn't need to give him any instructions. If Uchiha Fugaku saw what Retsuo had done and got inspired to imitate him, that would be truly disastrous!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was speechless. Things like scrubbing the statues on Hokage Rock or making Danzo unhappy suddenly seemed unworthy of discussion.

As for Retsuo, he began tallying up his gains the moment he left the Hokage Building.

Today, he hadn't merely gained twice the happiness. He had also gained hundreds of times more Chakra...

The bottleneck holding back his Bloodline cultivation was now only Chakra. Once that bottleneck opened, his cultivation progress would surge like a breached dam. The cultivation time originally expected to take years had been reduced to months.

As for his popularity...

Sigh, forget it. I'm already an Uchiha, so this sort of thing can't be forced.

It was impossible for him to claim every good thing in the world. Besides, in Konoha, it was enough to maintain a good relationship with Grandma Cat.

The next day, Minazuki summoned his three team members with a bitter expression. He had received a mission that required them to leave the village.

"Leave the village? Teacher Minazuki, can we really accept a mission to clear out bandits already?"

Tenma was utterly incredulous. It felt like they had only become Genin a few days ago, yet they had already received a C-rank mission.

Shinji wore a strange grin. "Maybe Third Lord gets a headache whenever he sees Retsuo and hurriedly sent him away?"

Minazuki felt that was probably exactly what had happened. Retsuo seemed to have caused an unbelievable incident yesterday, and everyone who knew about it was being extremely tight-lipped.

In theory, his relationship with the ANBU and Namiashi Raidō's group was excellent. He had been only one step away from becoming a Hokage Guard. Yet yesterday afternoon, everyone looked at him with the same expression one would use for a mentally disabled person and told him not to ask any questions.

"In theory, Genin can be promoted to Chūnin after completing eight missions, and they can also leave the village." Minazuki knew every rule by heart, which only made him more confused. "Retsuo, did you perform a great service for the village yesterday? I saw that your ninja record now includes the completion of an S-rank mission."

"Oh, really?" Retsuo tilted his head and thought about it. That seemed to be what they had agreed on at the end of yesterday. Giving him credit for one mission wasn't unreasonable. "How many ryō is the completion reward for an S-rank mission?"

Minazuki didn't want to answer him and roared unusually, "Is this about money? I'm a dignified Special Jonin, and I've never completed an S-rank mission!"

But I'm the one losing out here!

As he followed Minazuki in the ninja run, Retsuo calculated the losses in his head. The camera itself could sell for at least a million ryō. If S-rank missions didn't pay any money, he had lost out twice over.

Does Sarutobi Hiruzen know I got twice the happiness, so he's retaliating with twice the losses? His thinking is too narrow!

Just as Retsuo was letting his mind wander, his Yin Release Barrier suddenly sounded an alarm!

Retsuo frowned. How far have we even gone from the village? Root is being way too brazen!

It was true that accepting a mission outside the village was practically an invitation for Root to cause trouble. It was true that Minazuki being ignored was perfectly normal. It was true that... Wait, this alarm!

Retsuo suddenly stopped dead without warning, turned around, and ran back. Minazuki, Tenma, and Shinji were caught off guard, and the distance between them widened instantly.

But then the space in front of Retsuo began to twist. A Masked Man stepped out and blocked his path.

Behind him came a sudden scream—the scream of Minazuki...