As Yuzuru drew ever closer to the depths of the forest, the flow of chakra in the air became more apparent.
At last, he followed the chakra to a dark brown tree.
With careful sensing, he discovered that the chakra was actually seeping slowly underground.
Yuzuru's eyes snapped open.
"Found it!"
Looking beneath the tree, Yuzuru suddenly stopped.
He needed as many strong people around him as possible. Sakumo and Kakashi were already a certainty; they were family to begin with.
Shisui and Itachi were variables, but given the Uchiha's stubborn nature, coupled with the new ideas Yuzuru had brought Shisui, their course was essentially set as well.
Still, they were not enough.
Uchiha Hikari, the strongest Uchiha in history, with the potential to activate Infinite Tsukuyomi all on her own, was the highest priority.
The problem, however, was that Uchiha Hikari was deeply disappointed in the entire world. Her experiences had filled her with hatred for everyone, and Yuzuru's only worry now was whether, after he undid the seal, she would hit him with Yachihoko first thing upon emerging.
With that in mind, Yuzuru decided to give up for now. Finding the exact location meant this trip had not been too much of a loss. To withstand Uchiha Hikari's Yachihoko and Tsukuyomi, he at least needed the ability to resist genjutsu completely.
After burying a Flying Thunder God Kunai in the ground, Yuzuru chose to leave and return once he was strong enough.
His next task was to devote all his effort to sensing natural energy.
Before he knew it, Yuzuru had been away for over a year.
During that time, something else happened in Konoha: Tsunade left, taking Shizune, who had graduated from the Ninja Academy, out of Konoha with her.
Shisui Uchiha had also graduated early three months ago and begun his life as a ninja.
Today was his first time leaving the village on a mission.
The mission was to help villagers deal with the bandits in the surrounding mountains.
Shisui was excited and met up with his team early that morning. Their chunin instructor led the three of them out of the village.
Their journey was fairly uneventful until they were nearly at their destination, when they came under attack for the first time.
It was a group of bandits carrying shoddy weapons.
The vicious bandits charged at Shisui and the others with no regard for their own lives.
Unfortunately for them, ordinary people were still ordinary people, no matter how powerful their weapons were. Any one of a ninja's taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu could take care of them.
Without any surprises, the bandits were all killed, and the group arrived at the village.
However, although the village appeared to have several dozen households, only some elderly people and infants still in swaddling clothes greeted them.
Every one of them looked sallow and sickly, and the children were nothing but skin and bones.
At the sight, the smile froze on Shisui's face.
Suddenly, Yuzuru's voice rang through his mind. "Where do you think the money for ninja mission fees comes from? Ordinary people trade everything they have for it. Ninja are tools for amassing wealth, weapons of war. The ninja villages, daimyo, and nobles are the ones who reap the benefits without lifting a finger."
At that moment, a boom went off in his head, as though it had exploded. Everything fell into place.
Shisui suddenly felt his throat go dry. He approached an old woman and asked, "Granny, where is your family?"
"My daughter and the child's mother were both sold to the geisha district. My son went to find work at a noble's estate. He said he would find ninja to deal with the bandits nearby. It looks like he succeeded. It's just a shame he hasn't sent anything home for months, but that's understandable. The bandits have been running far too wild, after all. Once you've dealt with them, life will get better."
Hearing this, Shisui fell silent. Looking at the child in her arms, he took out some rations and gave them to her.
"Thank you, Lord Ninja. This child hasn't had proper food for two days."
Shisui went on to question the other elderly villagers, and the answers were all the same. The young women had all been sold, and the young men-or rather, any men who still had strength left-had gone away to earn a living.
A while later, Shisui sat alone on a rock at the village entrance, silently gazing at the desolate village. At that moment, he felt lost.
They were residents of the Land of Fire, so why were their lives harder than those of the villagers in his clan's records of the Warring States Period?
His chunin instructor saw Shisui in his daze and thought he had been frightened by the killing earlier. He gently patted his shoulder.
"That's what being a ninja is like. Sooner or later, you have to spill blood."
Shisui said nothing and instead looked at his instructor.
"If we wipe out the bandits, will they really be able to live good lives?"
The question silenced his instructor.
Seeing this, Shisui already knew the answer.
"Let's go. It's time to deal with the bandits."
Without saying anything more, he took the initiative to stand and said those words.
The four then arrived at the bandits' hideout. Their instructor stayed where he was and had Shisui and the others try gathering intelligence. These were all essential skills for a ninja.
Without wasting words, the three immediately split up.
Shisui caught a bandit who was relieving himself and frightened him into submission with a genjutsu, then said coldly, "I ask, you answer!"
"Y-yes, Lord Ninja. Go ahead."
"Why did you become bandits?"
Shisui asked with a kunai held to his neck.
"Why did we become bandits?"
At the question, the bandit before him froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. But the more he laughed, the more tears flowed.
"Yes, why did we become bandits? What a funny question. If we could live with full bellies and warm clothes, who would want to be a bandit, putting our lives on the line and spending every day terrified that you ninja will come to kill us?"
With that, the bandit suddenly drew a short blade from his waist and thrust it viciously at Shisui.
"Die! Ninja and nobles are all the same! You all deserve to die!"
Shisui immediately retreated, but the next second, a kunai flew over and pierced the bandit's head, killing him on the spot.
"Shisui, your performance disappoints me greatly. As a ninja, you must never be softhearted during a mission, especially when facing villains like these."
His instructor arrived just then and spoke to Shisui.
"They're villains, but who made them into villains?"
Shisui looked at him.
"Who knows? It wasn't us, anyway."
"We've confirmed the situation. There were eleven bandits in total. We've dealt with one, so there are ten left. There are also three female corpses inside. They're already dead."
"Understood. Deal with them as quickly as possible. I won't intervene unless you're in danger."
Shisui said nothing. This time, he did not hesitate and quickly dispatched the four bandits before him.
After returning to Konoha, Shisui looked at the payment he had received. It really was not much-at most, enough to buy four ordinary kunai. Yet it was everything those people had.
On his way back to the Uchiha Clan, Shisui saw Kakashi standing by the street with his arms folded, looking at him.
"Senior Kakashi."
"I'm not your senior. I'm not a ninja."
Seeing the confusion in Shisui's eyes, a trace of amusement flashed through Kakashi's eyes. Then he shook his head and said:
"Come with me."