Shisui: "So, Yorin-nii… just letting him go like that—is that really okay?"
After Obito left, Shisui dropped from a treetop and asked Yorin.
With all that Wood Release and Kamui commotion just now, there was no way Shisui would stay put and do nothing.
[Love the Mission or Love Your Brother]
For Shisui, that wasn't even a question.
Even if leaving put the caravan undefended and the mission failed, Shisui knew what mattered more.
A mission is a mission; a brother is a brother. If helping a brother makes the mission fail, then let it fail.
And if anyone wanted to spin that into a smear campaign—well, the New Konoha Times isn't just for show.
Feed the ninja cats extra silvervine and have them work overtime printing stories about Danzō, the Third, and the other higher-ups' blunders—let's see what they say then.
Blame Shisui for failing the mission because he protected his comrades? Try to frame him like they framed White Fang?
Where do you get the face for that?
If you insist, we can have that conversation.
Back then, you only got out alive because the Second Hokage stayed behind to cover your retreat.
The man who invented Flying Thunder God, a genius who—mortal as he was—could defeat the Mangekyō Sharingan. He died because he protected you.
Tell me—was White Fang's "crime" bigger, or was yours?
White Fang took the blame and killed himself. How do you old codgers still have the gall to be alive?
…
"Thanks, Shisui. Let's head back—we can talk on the way."
They hadn't ended up fighting, but Yorin still thanked Shisui—instead of backstabbing him like White Fang's teammates had.
Shisui nodded and set off. Yorin gave him the short version of what happened.
After listening, Shisui was speechless. He didn't even know how to respond.
"So his girlfriend died, and now he resents the world… Obito really is…"
Yorin: "The key is—you've seen the clan stone tablet, right?"
Shisui: "…"
"…Yeah."
"Whatever you read, don't bother with it anymore. That tablet's text was altered long ago. Infinite Tsukuyomi won't make a perfect world; it'll destroy the ninja world."
"Then why… not just tell Obito that?"
"You can't reason with someone who's lost the plot."
"…Mm." In truth, Shisui had been there for the second half and heard it all. Obito looked lucid—not like he was crazy.
But if not "crazy," how else do you explain a clown like Obito? How big would your heart have to be to empathize with him? Right, Naruto-kun?
…
The brothers walked back to the caravan heavy-hearted—and met the caravan master's deeply aggrieved stare.
While Shisui left to back up Yorin, the boss had prayed to every god he could name, desperate that no bandit-nin "respawn" while they were gone.
Otherwise, it'd be GG for the whole family in the middle of all this "joy."
Luckily, that didn't happen.
Sure, Rain has lots of rogue-nin—but they aren't fields of scallions you harvest endlessly.
Yorin and Shisui had already cleared out the nearby gangs along the route. The rest of the way, nothing attacked them.
Yorin had worried they might run into Akatsuki heavy hitters.
They didn't.
Neither Nagato nor Konan had any interest in intercepting them.
Yorin figured it was because they were hauling luxury goods—pretty, but not edible. For Rain's civilians, those are useless. So they let Yorin and Shisui pass.
Either way, that's… good news, probably.
Shisui grudgingly accepted Yorin's plan—not to poke the hornet's nest by raiding Ame, needling Hanzo or Akatsuki.
The pair wrapped an A-rank mission cleanly, returned to Konoha, and headed straight to the Hokage Tower to turn it in.
The several hundred thousand ryō were the easy part; the problems were the Land of Rain's unrest—and two giant headaches: Akatsuki and Obito.
The former are the Fourth's "senpai classmates." The latter is the Fourth's student.
Both have their eyes on Minato's wife—planning to rip the Nine-Tails out and let Minato hit the "three great joys of middle age."
You don't need to be Minato to get a headache from that—Yorin felt it on his behalf.
To keep Minato from rolling his eyes into a hospital bed, Yorin decided to open with a bit of sugar—good news first.
"The good news: Hanzo the Salamander is completely washed. He's a shut-in who doesn't want to do anything."
Minato let out a long breath.
Ame's a small village, but Hanzo's Kage-class—borderline above. Back in the day, he started fights as a small nation—Konoha, then Suna, then Iwa—and he could fight.
The "Legendary Sannin" (jokingly, the "sex–gambling–drugs" trio) went in together and still couldn't beat him.
Hearing that kind of monster has gone full shut-in and won't stir trouble—of course Minato felt relieved.
That's more like it.
If everyone just behaves, the world stays peaceful.
Minato: "Mm. Good news done—what's the bad?"
"The bad news is…" Even Shisui felt sorry for him now.
"The bad news is: that thing you asked us to look into—we confirmed it.
The ones who killed and sent Danzō fleeing back then are the same people who Anbu haven't been able to find a whisper about lately…
Thanks to Danzō, their opinion of Konoha is awful—basically hostile."
Yorin told him about Akatsuki, Danzō's botched collusion with Hanzo, and how it all backfired—switching Minato from relief to anxiety in a heartbeat.
"I see… that's bad. I knew Danzō was a bastard, but I didn't know he was that much of a bastard. Akatsuki used to be neutral—maybe even liked Konoha thanks to Jiraiya-sensei. Danzō bungled it so hard we're now facing two Kage-class threats."
Yorin knew Nagato is actually beyond Kage-class, and with the Six Paths of Pain he's way, way beyond. But it's hard to picture what you've never seen.
If he told Minato Nagato's full power, Minato probably wouldn't buy it—he'd wonder:
"What, Nagato alone equals seven Kage? You expect me to believe that?
Be honest—did Akatsuki pay you off to shill for them, Uchiha Yorin?"
Slaughtering dozens of Anbu and sending Danzō and Hanzo running was enough to make Minato stress for half a day.
At this rate, he'd be shedding hair—fast—going from Yellow Flash to mirror-shine bald.
"It is a lousy development… I'll send envoys and shinobi to sound out their intentions. Any other bad news? Tell me all at once—I can take it."
"You say that, but…"
"Maybe take a breather first?"
Yorin and Shisui traded a look—both worried about Minato's state.
Akatsuki is bad, but not that tied to Minato. Everyone could agree to dump that mess on Danzō.
But Obito? That hits Minato directly.
That's his own pupil—his closest protégé. And he wants to kill his teacher's wife, rip out the Nine-Tails, and smash Konoha flat.
If Danzō learns that and confronts Minato, can Minato say, "I… didn't know"?
He wouldn't even believe himself.
Imagining Danzō using that to attack him—even tattling to the Fire Daimyo, forcing him to "take responsibility," reenacting White Fang's tragedy—Minato felt ice in his gut. His head buzzed; for a second, he thought he might black out.