"Even if they were just here to make up the numbers, it was still contributing to Konoha! But the Hyuga Clan? Not a single person in sight! What are they trying to do?"
"Scorn the Will of Fire? Or do they think the Hyuga Clan is above all of Konoha? Is it the Land of Hyuga over Konoha?"
Makoto's rapid-fire words were like stones frantically hitting the calm water surface, stirring up layer upon layer of ripples.
Hearing this, Shisui subconsciously raised his hand and touched his garlic-bulb nose, his voice drifting.
"Isn't it... the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's eldest daughter's third birthday, holding a celebration..."
Hearing this, Makoto supported his forehead with his hand, his knuckles rubbing his temples, his tone somewhat helpless.
"By that logic, if there's another Shinobi World War in the future, and our clansmen take turns having birthdays, can we all just stay home and rest, no need to go to the battlefield?"
Hearing this, Shisui opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. He realized he had misspoken.
He truly had no way to refute what Makoto said.
The night wind, carrying bamboo leaves, swept over the bluestone, the rustling sound stretching the silence long.
The three stood in the moonlight, their shadows cut into fragments by the branches and leaves. The two figures at their feet lay motionless, like two pieces of rusted wood.
A branch suddenly shook. A dead leaf drifted down onto Itachi's shoulder.
He raised his hand to brush off the leaf, his gaze shifting between the Kumogakure's Shinobi and Makoto's face, his brows knitting into a shallow furrow.
"Makoto, how did you knock him unconscious? Was anyone around who saw?"
Hearing this, Makoto pulled out that kunai from his waist, his hand gripping the spot marked with the Succubus Mark.
"I told him the tip of my kunai had some dust on it and asked him to come closer and take a look for me."
He paused, a mischievous smile curling his lips, his eyes full of seriousness: "Then he came over to look, and I just stabbed it in. Don't worry, no one was around to see."
Makoto's tone was as relaxed as if he were commenting on the nice weather tonight.
Itachi's frown deepened, but he didn't say more. If his younger brother didn't want to talk, asking was useless.
He would tell him what he wanted him to know.
"There are people that naturally airheaded?" Shisui clicked his tongue.
As the words fell, the surroundings fell silent again for a while, only the sound of the wind moaning through the small forest remained.
Shisui, looking at the silent two, scratched his head and laughed, also tacitly approving the plan.
"The Hyuga Clan's Main Family is heavily guarded, especially the Great Elder's residence, which is deep inside." Itachi broke the silence, his voice deepening, "It's very difficult to deliver this person inside."
"Leave that to me. Don't worry."
Shisui suddenly straightened his back, a confident light igniting in his eyes. His short sword spun in his palm, the cold light sweeping past with a light sound.
Seeing this, Makoto nodded.
With Shisui's current strength, though he hadn't awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan yet, he definitely belonged to the top tier in Konoha.
He's among the strongest below Kage-level, and one of the best even within that group.
Even if the Hyuga brothers joined forces, facing the not-yet-old Shisui in a head-on fight, the two of them wouldn't even be able to run away.
Shisui and Itachi's talent and strength were both as if they had cheated, extremely outrageous.
Seeing Makoto nod, Itachi stepped forward half a step, crouched down, and gripped the back of the Kumogakure's leader's neck.
Crack!
A crisp sound, like snapping a dry twig.
The man's head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle, completely lifeless. Blood droplets splattered on Itachi's cheek. He didn't even blink, raising his hand to wipe it with his sleeve, the movement as clean as brushing off dust.
"Just breaking the neck isn't enough," Shisui, who had been watching all this, suddenly spoke, his voice deeper than before, the gentleness in his eyes fading slightly.
"Konoha has clans skilled at extracting memories from the dead. Leave this to me to handle. Don't worry."
Although Shisui was occasionally a bit naturally airheaded, when it came to serious matters, he became exceptionally reliable.
Then, turning to look at the unconscious Hinata on the ground, Shisui reached out to press on her neck.
Seeing this, Makoto interrupted: "Not this one. She's been unconscious the whole time, she doesn't know anything."
"Use Genjutsu to hypnotize her, implant a segment of memory, and send her back together. Having a survivor will help the Hyuga Clan confirm this matter. Kumogakure will also exert pressure."
"For the Main Family's Great Elder, don't use Genjutsu, to avoid adding more troubles. Just disguise the Kumogakure's Shinobi's wound properly."
Hearing this, Shisui used Genjutsu to hypnotize Hinata. Then he took a deep breath and completely destroyed the Kumogakure's Shinobi's brain through Genjutsu.
He took out an ordinary kunai. The kunai flashed under the moonlight.
The next scene was bloody enough to make one frown, but his movements were extremely fast. The kunai rose and fell swiftly, disguising the previous wound as an ordinary kunai injury, as clean as performing a precise surgery.
The honest man who kills without blinking, Uchiha Shisui.
Makoto, looking in the direction of the Hyuga Clan's compound, suddenly said: "I know the locations of the Police Force's hidden posts today."
He had seen them in Fugaku's study earlier. Thinking they might be useful, he memorized them. Now they sure enough came in handy.
As Makoto spoke, Shisui listened and memorized. After a moment, he glanced at Itachi and Makoto, showing a reassuring expression.
He bent down, picked up the two people, and his figure swayed, vanishing rapidly like a black streak of light.
His speed was like a gust of wind, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye, without even giving the bamboo leaves time to shake. Shunshin no Shisui lived up to his reputation indeed.
Only Makoto and Itachi remained in the small forest.
The wind, carrying leaves, landed on Makoto's shoulder. He watched Shisui's retreating back, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
'The Uchiha crisis? Let the Hyuga Clan shoulder it for now. Let the Hyuga suffer a bit, the Blame Kage will bear the blame.'
'If it weren't for their Uchiha Clan taking the front line, the Hyuga Clan definitely wouldn't be this relaxed, even somewhat arrogant.'
'They must taste the dark hand of the Darkness of the Shinobi World.'
"Don't take such risks in the future."
Itachi stood in place, his brows still not relaxed. His voice was gentle, as if soaked in warm water: "No matter what it is, you can tell me."
He paused, his gaze falling on Makoto's sleeve, where a bit of un-cleaned bloodstain remained, like a wilted small red flower, and on his slightly pale face.
"This time... you worked hard."
The sincerity in his tone was like warm water overflowing the heart.
His younger brother usually seemed flighty, not serious, but what filled his heart was the village and the clan.
'To resolve this seemingly unsolvable conflict, he must have pondered over it many nights. Carrying such a heavy mission at such a young age.'
'He really had it hard.'
Thinking of this, Itachi's gaze towards Makoto grew even softer.
'That incident with Orochimaru's defection must have hit him hard...' Thinking of this, Itachi couldn't help but feel resentment towards Orochimaru.
Orochimaru: "?"