Chapter 55

The night of the Nine-Tails incident—An unknown Uchiha clan member controlled the Nine-Tails and caused chaos. Due to multiple factors, the young Fourth Hokage was killed, and the Uchiha clan was plunged into a five-year-long winter. It wasn't until recently, when Rēn rose to power and took down Danzō, that the clan finally saw the dawn of spring.

When this matter came up, Shisui also frowned.

The Uchiha had been searching for clues about this unidentified Uchiha ever since five years ago. But to this day, they'd found nothing. They couldn't even confirm whether such a mysterious Uchiha really existed out there somewhere.

"Rēn, did you discover something?"

"That's right."

Rēn nodded. "I haven't confirmed that person's true identity yet, but I'm certain he has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, just like us. And his dojutsu is a strange space-based ability. If you encounter him in the future, be extremely careful. If you get a chance to use Kotoamatsukami, use it. I don't want to hear news of your death someday."

"Space? Time-Space Ninjutsu?"

"Exactly."

"I can't believe… it really exists!"

A murderous glint flashed in Shisui's eyes. It was because of that sneaky bastard that the Fourth Hokage had died, creating a rift between the clan and the village—one that could not be easily mended. Though Shisui had a mild temperament, people like that were the scariest when they got angry.

At this moment, Shisui felt his rage boiling inside.

If that sneaky bastard dared show his face, Shisui would definitely go all out to kill him.

Seeing the change in Shisui's expression, Rēn nodded in satisfaction. He'd shared this intel with Shisui, and even used Samehada to help him recover his eyesight, all to guard against Uchiha Obito. The recent unrest in Kirigakure showed that guy's attention had shifted back to Konoha, and odds were high that the Uchiha would be his target.

It was only right to make preparations in advance.

Thankfully, while Obito's "Kamui" was powerful, it was far from truly invincible.

Given Shisui's abilities, as long as he had prior knowledge about Kamui's mechanics, even if he couldn't kill Obito, he could at least protect his own life. With time, Shisui's speed with his Body Flicker might even rival the Yellow Flash.

"Just keep this in mind. Don't let it slip. An enemy with time-space techniques isn't something numbers alone can handle. Rather than dragging others into it, it's better if we figure out how to deal with him ourselves."

"You're not going to tell the village?"

"I have no evidence, and I can't prove that the unknown Uchiha has no ties to our clan. If I speak up recklessly, it'll only give the Third and the others an excuse to crack down on us. It won't help anything. Also, that's an order from the clan head—so shut your mouth."

Shisui fell silent.

He hoisted the half-dead Mist ninja and followed Rēn out of the Police Department, heading toward the Hokage's Office. To be honest, as the Director of the Legal Affairs Division, he felt like he was practically Rēn's secretary at this point. Oh, and just before they left, Rēn had kicked the Mist ninja's limbs to pieces, declaring confidently that it was payback for frightening Fujika.

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The Hokage Building:

They went to the same room as last time.

It had been more than half a month since the last meeting. Konoha's construction team had long since repaired the Hokage Building. Walking through the circular hallway, one could no longer tell that this place had once been smashed to rubble. Led by long-waiting staff, they arrived at the conference room without any obstruction.

This time, Shisui wasn't told to wait in a side room.

He brought the Mist envoy and followed Rēn directly into the large conference room.

Unlike last time, when he didn't even get a seat, this time a proper seat had been set aside for the Uchiha clan head and the Police Department Commander—right up front, directly across from Hyūga Hiashi, and just behind the Hokage and the two elders.

As for Danzō, the Hokage's advisor—He was still lying in the hospital.

And rumor had it his condition was deteriorating by the day. Even after more than half a month of effort, the experts at Konoha Hospital still had no idea how to treat him. At this rate, it probably wouldn't be long before he was dead.

Because of this, many people were looking at Rēn with strange expressions: awe, disgust, gratitude, fear…

"Commander Uchiha,"

The Third Hokage greeted.

"Hokage-sama, apologies for arriving late."

Rēn sat in his seat and offered a half-hearted apology.

"No matter."

The Third responded with an equally indifferent tone.

Once Rēn was seated, he continued, "Now that everyone is here, let's get straight to the point. Today's meeting is to discuss how we should respond to Kirigakure's provocation. For the specifics… Homura, I'll leave it to you."

Everyone's eyes turned to Homura Mitokado.

"About half an hour ago, the deputy envoy from Kirigakure arrived at the Hokage Office and delivered a declaration of war. Because the Police Department arrested their chief envoy, the remaining Mist envoys saw it as an insult to their village. They're demanding a satisfactory explanation from us, or they'll send an army to attack the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire."

As he spoke, he gently pushed the scroll in front of him forward.

That was clearly the declaration left by the Mist deputy envoy.

"Just some rabid dogs barking at Konoha! Hokage-sama, you should've broken their legs the moment they said that nonsense and thrown them out of the village. They need to understand that Konoha isn't a place that some island-dwelling frogs can afford to provoke."

Just as the other department heads and clan leaders remained silent, Rēn was the first to speak up.

The moment he did, Everyone turned to look at him.

Damn it...This guy really had no sense of restraint.

Wasn't the Mist envoy just captured by the Police Department? Now he was hanging from Shisui's hand like a dead hog. Anyone could see what had happened to his twisted limbs. Word about what had gone down had already spread through the village. The well-informed clan leaders had all done their homework before coming to the meeting.

"Commander Uchiha, please don't treat war like a game. Do you know how many people would die if we really went to war with Kirigakure?"

Koharu turned to him in displeasure.

"If you're scared to die, then go ahead and curl up like a turtle." Rēn scoffed, giving no room for Koharu to respond. He raised his voice, "Back in the Third War, we kicked the Mist back into the sea to eat their fish and shrimp. So what if they come again? When did these nobodies become worthy of our concern?"

"Besides, everyone—hold off on assigning blame for now. Before we talk about who's responsible for triggering war, I want to share something interesting I learned while interrogating the Mist envoy. Clan Head Yamanaka, I need your help reading his memories."

Rēn fixed his eyes on Yamanaka Inoichi, who was sitting a short distance across from him.

Inoichi, who had just been relaxing and spectating, suddenly froze. What the hell had he run into today? With so many people attending this meeting, why did the trouble fall to him? As soon as he noticed Rēn's gaze, a chill ran down his spine. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to make eye contact.

After all, look what happened to Danzō.

Better safe than sorry.

Even if the Yamanaka clan had no past grudges with the Uchiha, his body's instincts told him to avoid Rēn's gaze.