Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair while Homura Mitokado occupied what used to be Danzo's seat. Both listened carefully as a Shadow Guard Team member knelt on one knee, reporting.
"...Rogue ninja Murakumo Kurama has been spotted in Tianyuancheng. Black Hawk is currently tracking and locking onto him, requesting immediate backup."
Hiruzen took a deep puff of his pipe before slowly asking, "Confirmed it's Murakumo Kurama? What about Danzo's whereabouts?"
The kneeling Shadow Guard replied, "Black Hawk has confirmed Murakumo Kurama's identity, but we haven't found any trace of Danzo yet."
After hearing the report, Hiruzen was quiet for a beat before turning to Homura.
"Homura, what do you think?"
Frowning, Homura said, "Danzo knows too many secrets. His existence has always been a huge threat to Konoha. However, Tianyuancheng lies close to Kyoto. If too many Konoha ninjas appear there, it might provoke the Daimyo's dissatisfaction."
Hiruzen nodded, taking two more puffs from his pipe. "Looks like we'll have to go with an elite squad then!"
After speaking, he tapped on the desk.
The Shadow Guard members guarding the Hokage's office quickly appeared inside, kneeling on one knee before the Third, awaiting orders.
Hiruzen's gaze lingered briefly on the leader before shifting away.
"Shisui, Aoya, Yuufang—stay. The rest, dismissed!"
In a single 'swish' sound, the other Shadow Guards vanished instantly.
Approaching the three, Hiruzen addressed them. "Shisui, Aoya, Yuufang—you're the best Jonin among the Shadow Guards. Now I have an arduous mission for you!"
The trio responded, "Please speak, Third Lord!"
Hiruzen spoke aloud, "Danzo's subordinate, rogue ninja Murakumo Kurama, has surfaced in Tianyuancheng. I want you to proceed immediately and support the Shadow Guard currently tracking him. Once you've rendezvoused, capture and interrogate Murakumo Kurama to uncover Danzo's whereabouts, then bring him back to Konoha...dead or alive!"
He paused and then asked, "Are you willing to take on this critical mission?"
Lifting their heads to meet Hiruzen's trusting gaze, they answered in unison, "Yes!"
Nodding, Hiruzen continued gravely, "This concerns the village's very survival, so please treat it accordingly."
Then he waved his hand dismissively, saying, "You've both stood guard all day. Get some rest now. Prepare yourselves. Assemble at Hokage Tower at six tomorrow morning!"
"Hai!" they acknowledged.
As the three rose, Hiruzen reminded them, "This mission information is top secret—do not leak it!"
Soon after Shisui and the others left, Homura also exited the Hokage's office.
Moments later, a ninja wearing a dog-faced mask suddenly appeared within the empty office.
Hiruzen spoke, "Nobusuke, what did you need to see me about?"
From behind the mask came a firm voice, "I wish to participate in this mission!"
Hiruzen shook his head. "Right now, only when you're by my side do I feel secure."
Nobusuke was silent for a moment before replying, "With just those few men, how could they possibly stand a chance against Danzo?"
"Several individuals from Tianyuancheng were never weak to begin with. Aoya and Yuufang are also veteran Jonin, while Shisui..." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "He's 'Shisui the Teleporting Flash' who once fought six Jonin alone on the Hidden Cloud battlefield and killed two of them!"
Nobusuke fell silent upon hearing this. Even a squad formed by the weakest Jonin would be extremely difficult to deal with. At most, his strength could handle an ambush by four average Jonin.
Hiruzen continued, "Other than them, there will still be others helping you. Don't worry."
"But..."
Seeing that Nobusuke remained unconvinced, Hiruzen spoke gently, "Minaeko is already pregnant. You should take fewer missions this year and spend more time accompanying her. I'm getting old now, and today my greatest wish is to witness the birth of my own grandson."
"Yeah!"
Thinking about his wife's slightly bulging belly, the voice behind the mask softened.
...
Snow blanketed the rooftops.
Moonlight spilled across the eaves, emitting a faint white glow.
Making his way through the snow, Shisui quickly returned to the Uchiha Compound.
As he approached the house, he saw the warm lights and smelled the delicious aroma of cooking meat. Today, he walked into the courtyard without hesitation or fear.
When he entered, he didn't hear his younger brother's usual greeting, causing him to pause briefly—this silence felt unfamiliar.
Walking into the living room, Shisui noticed the messy table covered in leftover dishes.
Aozora came out from the kitchen, saw Shisui, and said, "I invited some friends over for dinner tonight."
Then he added, "I saved some food for you! Let me clean up the table first!"
Shisui helped Aozora tidy up and asked, "Who exactly did you invite? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"Inabi, Tetsuka, Genya..."
Hearing both familiar and unfamiliar names, Shisui realized indeed he had grown up—not only in terms of power and position, but also in social connections.
"You're still hoping to be the bridge between the clan and the village, right?"
Aozora complained, "You've distanced yourself from other clan members these past few years. I originally planned this gathering to help you reconnect with your relatives."
More than just showing off his cooking skills, this was truly Aozora's true intention in organizing the party.
Shisui paused, realizing he had drifted far from the clan since leaving the Police Force—his old friends had barely heard from him either.
"Forget it," Aozora sighed, then continued, "How was work today? Did you see Grandfather Torifu? If Hokage is busy, you should find time to visit him. Even if you can't learn anything, try building a closer relationship with him—he's also part of the higher-ups..."
Observing his brother's look of concern, Shisui finally decided to speak honestly.
"The main mission of the Shadow Guard Team is to protect Hokage's safety; we normally don't have much free time."
"What?!"
Aozora's eyes filled with surprise, "Isn't Hokage supposed to be the strongest ninja? Shouldn't the Shadow Guard Team be protected by Hokage instead? I remember that during the old days, it was The Second who covered the retreat of the Shadow Guards!"
Upon hearing this, Shisui stood speechless—what Aozora said seemed correct, yet something definitely felt off.
Aozora began speculating on his own, "Could it be that Hokage has gotten too old, so now someone must protect him?"
But considering how old he is now, shouldn't he be thinking about cultivating the next Hokage instead?..."
Shisui's heart sank. The image of The Third in his mind was slowly fading away.
Fortunately, when the table was cleared and Aozora went to the kitchen for more dishes, he finally got a chance to breathe easier.
Once he had gotten his emotions under control and saw a feast spread out before him, Shisui said, "You don't need to prepare dinner for me tomorrow, nor should you make it this elaborate again!"
Thinking about not being able to eat such delicious meals in the future, Shisui felt some regret, but more importantly, a sense of relief.
Aozora looked up in surprise, "You're going out on a mission tomorrow?"
Shisui nodded, a smile spreading across his face.
While guarding the Hokage was incredibly important, he still longed to take on crucial missions and do his part to shine brightly for the village. Since he'd recently joined the Shadow Guard Team yet had already been given such an important assignment, he believed it was proof of the Hokage's trust in him.
Seeing that Shisui refused to talk further, Aozora knew this mission must be confidential.
Aozora wasn't particularly interested in prying into the details of Shadow Guard missions in general, but since Shisui was involved, he wanted to know more—partly out of concern for Shisui's safety, and partly worried that Hiruzen Sarutobi might use Shisui to harm the Uchiha clan.
He didn't ask directly but instead chatted idly with Shisui over their meal.
"So soon on a mission! Seems like the Hokage really values you."
After complimenting Shisui, he casually asked, "What kinds of missions does the Shadow Guard usually handle?"
Shisui shook his head.
Aozora huffed, "It's not even classified information! You won't even tell me? And here I am cooking for you every day."
Shisui thought for a moment—this indeed wasn't a secret. It would be bad to hurt his little brother's feelings over something so trivial.
"You're absolutely impossible!"
Shisui sighed helplessly before explaining, "The Shadow Guard normally handles assassination of key enemy targets, protection of our own critical personnel, and capturing dangerous rogue ninjas who have defected..."
Aozora quickly analyzed in his mind: assassination and protection missions were frequent during wartime, but with the New Year approaching, both Hidden Cloud (Kumo) and Konoha had tacitly agreed to a ceasefire. These types of tasks were unlikely right now.
He suddenly interrupted, "This time, you're going after someone, aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, Shisui glanced at Aozora but made no outward response.
Yet under Aozora's incredible powers of observation, he noticed Shisui's chopsticks hesitate for a moment, and when he looked up, his pupils slightly constricted.
Aozora knew his guess was correct.
He deduced seriously, "Assuming you're going after someone, who could possibly warrant the involvement of the Shadow Guard?"
Looking straight at Shisui, he slowly continued, "Only S-Rank rogue ninja: Shimon, Orochimaru, and Danzo."
Shisui met Aozora's gaze calmly, consciously controlling his expressions and movements.
But Aozora no longer needed to study his micro-expressions; the answer was obvious.
"Although Shimon and Orochimaru have committed serious crimes, those were past events and there was no urgency. Danzo, however, possesses the latest and most critical intelligence about the village—he's the rogue ninja most urgently needing capture right now."
Shisui put down his chopsticks, staring blankly at his perceptive younger brother, unsure what to do.
Shisui hadn't said a word, yet somehow, he had still let classified information slip.
"Wowww—hahaha—"
Aozora suddenly slammed the table laughing. "It's just a hypothesis. Why are you taking it so seriously? Did I actually guess right?"
Shisui forced a smile and said, "Who do you think you are? Guessing correctly on the first try?"
Inside, Aozora shook his head secretly—Brother, in terms of acting skills, you can't even compare to newcomers!
After guessing Shisui's mission target correctly, Aozora felt somewhat relieved.
Although Danzo was the one who seized his older brother's eyes in the original storyline, that was because Shisui had complete trust in Danzo without any suspicion.
Now that Danzo's right arm had been exposed, Shisui felt only hatred toward him—there was no room for trust anymore.
Still, Aozora provided Shisui some intelligence through conversation as a precaution.
"Big bro, if you really run into Danzo, you gotta be careful! His strength isn't that far below the Hokage's—at worst, he might even surpass him!"
"No way?"
"First, his [Wind Release] ninjutsu is peerless; secondly, he has a powerful summon creature—the Yumemamushi. Most importantly, his right arm."
Shisui spat bitterly, "I know—the right arm possesses [Wood Release] abilities, and it's embedded with a [Sharingan]."
Aozora nodded, "[Wood Release] needs no explanation. But what worries me is that I suspect he mastered our Uchiha Clan's secret technique—[Izanagi]."
"Huh? How could that be?"
Shisui sounded shocked—he himself had merely heard of this jutsu but had never learned it.
Aozora made something up on the spot, "The [Wood Release] attack during his escape didn't distinguish friend from foe. I clearly saw branches piercing his body, yet afterward he still managed to escape. I don't believe the [Sharingan] on his arm is just decoration."
Shisui remained silent for a moment, then said, "Don't overthink it. I'm not going after Danzo anyway."
Aozora finished relaying the information and followed Shisui's tone, "Yeah, you're just a rookie anyway. How many days have you even been in the Shadow Guard Team? You haven't even finished your initiation training yet!
Even if the Shadow Guard Team assigned you such a dangerous mission, they'd definitely want you to train more with your teammates and improve your coordination first.
Don't you agree?"
Shisui let out a quiet "Tch" but didn't reply, instead hurriedly eating his meal.
Could it be that Hokage-sama truly trusts me to assign such an important task?
Maybe it was just fortunate timing. I shouldn't think too much about it.
After finishing his meal, Shisui said, "I'm done eating!"
Then, chopsticks down, he left the table like he was fleeing, quickly returning to his room.
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