Chapter 307: The Truth

"Expelling Chakra from my body?" After hearing Yu's response, Shisui's already dazed eyes became even more bewildered. What kind of concept was that?

"Has your strength really reached this level now?" Staring blankly at Yu before him, Shisui realized at this moment that he had never truly understood this young man. But he knew he had been thoroughly defeated.

"I won't kill you, nor will I return to Konoha with you."

"Don't appear in front of me again. This is the last time I will consider you my friend."

In the silent outskirts of the night, disregarding Shisui's vacant gaze, Yu passed by indifferently. "Since the moment you used Genjutsu on me, our bond has been severed."

After saying this, the dark purple patterns of Sage's face on Yu gradually faded away. The pitch-black Armament Haki on his body also dissipated into nothingness. Checking his remaining stamina and Chakra, he walked away without looking back, heading into the distance.

"Yu, it's Danzo."

After standing alone in silence for a long time, Shisui finally clenched his fists. As if making a significant decision, he turned around with great difficulty and spoke.

"Danzo?"

Hearing this name from Shisui's mouth, Yu halted in his tracks. Wasn't that old man Danzo brutally killed by him, to the point that even his shape was obliterated? How could it be...

Wait... could it be?

Suddenly recalling something, Yu turned around with a hint of surprise and looked at Shisui.

"Yes, you guessed it right. He survived with the First Hokage's Wood Release cells saving his life..."

Seeing that Yu seemed to have already figured out the answer, Shisui smiled bitterly with a hint of helplessness on his face. "But after you caused such a disturbance before leaving Konoha, his situation in the village was already in ruins. The Third Hokage even directly imprisoned him, and Konoha's Interrogation Division ninja interrogated and tortured him day and night..."

"Afterward, the two Elders, advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, intervened and pressured the Hokage-sama to temporarily release him from the Konoha prison."

"Mitokado Homura? Utatane Koharu?"

"Those two reckless old geezers again?"

After hearing Shisui's explanation, Yu's icy eyes narrowed slightly. If it weren't for respect towards the Third Hokage, he would have dealt with these two old guys when he left Konoha.

"Later, Danzo approached me. On one hand, he told me that Konoha needed your strength to protect it. On the other hand, he promised me that if I brought you back to Konoha, regarding the village and the Uchiha Clan's situation, he and the other two Elders would stand on the same side as the Third Hokage-sama..."

"Most importantly, there's another aspect... After you suppressed the Uchiha Clan's intentions of revolt and seizing power before, those ambitions began to stir once again after you left Konoha..."

"So, I thought of using Kotoamatsukami to change your mind, to make you come back with me to protect Konoha. This way, you can continue to protect the orphans in the orphanage, and I can continue to protect my comrades and clan members, preventing any tragedies from happening."

After finally speaking out the words buried deep in his heart, Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Over the years, the escalating conflicts between the clan and the village had increasingly weighed on him. Acting against his own convictions, he had accumulated more and more guilt. Now, after being decisively defeated by Yu, he found a secret relief in his heart. At the very least, he had done his best. Being defeated by Yu's absolute power meant he no longer needed to witness things happening against his will.

"Preventing any tragedies from happening? Is that really what you believe?"

After listening to Shisui express his naive wish, Yu silently shook his head as he looked at him. "You're too naive, Shisui. I think you're really like someone—Konoha's First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Both of you like to interpret others and the world based on your own simple ideas..."

"The only difference between you two is—Senju Hashirama had the power to end chaos and pacify the Warring States, so he turned his naive ideas into reality..."

"After all, you're just a poor soul caught between the clan and Konoha, trying to preserve both sides. But in the end, the outcome often ends up not catching either side..."

After saying this, Yu deeply glanced at the stunned Shisui opposite him, turned around without looking back at him again. "Goodbye, Uchiha Shisui... Perhaps after this time, we may never have a chance to meet again..."

Could it be...

Was my thinking really too naive...

Watching Yu's back as he walked away, Shisui stood there as if struck by lightning, completely stunned and murmuring to himself as if he had lost all his strength...

"Who would have thought that what I said when I left Konoha would come true..."

"That old Danzo relied on the Wood Release cells of Senju Hashirama to cling to life, and he even attempted to control me through Shisui..."

"And those two old folks, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, it seems that next time when I return to Konoha, there will be two more pieces of garbage to deal with..."

After bidding farewell to Shisui, under the cold and clear moonlight that blanketed the night sky, Yu suppressed the intense urge to kill that arose in his heart. He gathered his thoughts and took a step forward, walking towards a path obscured from view...

...

"The assassination failed?!"

"What a bunch of useless idiots!!"

Early the next morning, as the faint light of dawn began to illuminate the sky, the Raikage's office in the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning echoed with thunderous roars.

Upon receiving the news that the elite assassination squad sent out had all perished, the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage A, with his dark and muscular arms, smashed his desk with a single punch.

"I-I'm sorry, Raikage-sama..."

"The Ninja we sent out were no match for Scarlet Yu..."

Facing the enraged Raikage-sama before him, the Cloud Ninja kneeling in front trembled as he spoke out the truth, barely daring to breathe.

"A, why didn't you consult with us beforehand about sending Ninja to assassinate Scarlet Yu?"

The Cloud Ninja under his command dared not speak, but nearby, several Hidden Cloud Elders began to challenge the Fourth Raikage A.

"Now that the Five Great Shinobi Nations have just signed a peace agreement not long ago, although Scarlet Yu has left Konoha, Konoha has not yet issued a wanted notice branding him a rogue ninja. Acting rashly like this will only give others ammunition."

"Moreover, with Scarlet Yu's strength, even if you send out more Ninja, it will be a waste of lives. Added to that, his vengeful nature—if provoked and turned against Hidden Cloud, the consequences will be unimaginable..."

Having killed his own father, the Third Raikage, and previously disrupted Hidden Cloud to steal Konoha's Byakugan plan, Scarlet Yu now free from Konoha, all the Hidden Cloud Elders present knew the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage A wouldn't stand for this. So they had no choice but to emphasize the pros and cons to him.

"That's enough! You old folks, stop it!"

However, the enraged A directly interrupted the persuasion of several Hidden Cloud Elders. On his dark and rugged face, a fierce hatred surfaced.

"If that brat Scarlet Yu dares to target Hidden Cloud, it suits me just fine. I've been wanting to meet that guy for a long time now..."

"I'll crush every bone in his body, one by one, and then pay them as tribute to my father!!"

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