Qianyu went straight to the point, piercing through Uchiha Shisui's true purpose.
For a brief moment, even Shisui was caught off guard.
It seemed this man was far more than a reckless extremist.
"You really are clever," Shisui said.
Qianyu replied coldly,
"Compared to you, I'm obviously much cleverer."
The two Jonin behind Shisui stirred again, anger flashing in their eyes.
Shisui, however, merely smiled.
"If that's the case, then I'd like to hear the teachings of someone so 'clever.'"
"Fine," Qianyu said. "Are you hungry?"
Shisui froze.
"…What?"
"Uchiha Teyaki's pancake shop. I'll give you the honor of treating me to a meal."
Without waiting for a response, Qianyu walked toward the shop.
"Lord Shisui, this bastard is far too arrogant!"
"Who does he think he is? Just a mad dog that bites everyone!"
Shisui shot them a sharp glance.
"Enough."
"Do not underestimate that man."
"A person the Clan Head is willing to protect at all costs—even standing firm against the Hokage…"
"And someone the Hokage personally ordered us to go 'discipline'…"
"How could he possibly be simple?"
"You two wait outside."
"…Yes, Lord Shisui."
Shisui followed Qianyu into the pancake shop.
The elderly couple, Uchiha Teyaki and Uchiha Geng, froze in surprise.
"Not only Captain Qianyu—Lord Shisui as well?"
"What a lively day…"
"Captain Qianyu, the usual?"
"Yes."
"And Lord Shisui?"
"The same."
"Understood."
Shisui glanced around.
He remembered Itachi mentioning this shop—
not just for the food, but for the warmth and humanity of the old couple.
Now he understood.
"Are you a regular here?" Shisui asked.
Before Qianyu could answer, Teyaki chuckled.
"Not exactly a regular—but he's our benefactor."
"Oh?"
Geng's voice hardened.
"There used to be a gang of thugs who came here every day."
"They ate without paying, bullied customers, fought constantly, smashed tables, even nearly burned the shop down once!"
"We reported them to the Police Force—they were locked up for a few months."
"But when they got out, it only got worse."
"They knew we'd reported them."
"They came every day to beat us, humiliate us… we couldn't survive like that."
Teyaki smiled gently.
"Then Captain Qianyu came."
"He happened to be here that day."
"He killed them all. Every single one."
"After that, the shop finally knew peace again."
He placed the pancakes in front of Qianyu with both hands.
Shisui frowned.
"They were just street thugs," he said slowly.
"Despicable, yes—but…"
"Surely their crimes didn't warrant death?"
The old couple's bodies stiffened.
"Lord Shisui," Geng said coldly,
"if they didn't deserve to die, did we deserve to die?"
"That's not what I meant—"
"Oh, we understand you perfectly."
"If everyone thinks like you—arrest them, release them, arrest them again—"
"Sooner or later, they would've beaten us to death."
"Yes," Teyaki added quietly.
"They weren't guilty enough to die."
"But when they finally killed us… who would answer for our lives?"
Shisui fell silent.
He had no answer.
He had seen darkness.
He had seen war.
He had charged into battle, killed enemies, earned glory.
But the murky, tangled evil of everyday life—
This gray zone of suffering—
Was something he had never truly faced.
"Here."
Bang.
Geng placed the pancake roughly in front of Shisui.
Qianyu ate silently, washing it down with a mouthful of soup.
Shisui stared at the table.
Could it be…
That this man's way was actually right?
No.
It couldn't be.
On the battlefield, killing was justified.
But inside the village—
There had to be gentler solutions.
"There may be logic in what you do," Shisui finally said.
"But why must you be so extreme when it isn't absolutely necessary?"
"Once you kill someone, all possibilities end."
"What if you kill the wrong person?"
"What if it's a miscarriage of justice?"
"What if they could've repented?"
"Who gives them that chance?"
Qianyu didn't look up.
"When you kill enemies on the battlefield," he asked,
"are you this hesitant?"
Shisui shook his head.
"That's different."
"How is it different?"
"There are no rights or wrongs on the battlefield. Only positions."
"If I don't kill them, they kill me."
"And it's to protect the village."
Qianyu scoffed.
"So in the end, it's about your survival."
"Or the greater interests of the village."
"Then tell me—why does your life outrank theirs?"
"Why does Konoha's interest outrank other villages'?"
Shisui thought for a moment.
"It doesn't. But again—it's a matter of position."
"People love themselves first, then those closest to them."
"My family, my clan, my village—naturally matter more."
"And it's the same for our enemies."
Qianyu said,
"So there is no justice—only position?"
Shisui shook his head.
"Aggression and invasion are unjust."
"Wars fought to resist them are just."
Qianyu asked quietly,
"Then was Amegakure just or unjust?"
"What?"
"In the last Great Ninja War, Amegakure was forced to become the battlefield for Konoha, Iwa, and Suna."
"They didn't invade anyone."
"But when three great nations poured war onto their land without asking—"
"Was Konoha just, from Amegakure's perspective?"
Shisui hesitated.
"But Hanzō declared war on the entire shinobi world—"
"That wasn't a declaration of war."
"That was forced self-defense."
"If you were Hanzō—if your land was trampled, your people displaced, your civilians slaughtered—what would you do?"
Shisui was silent.
"In the end," Qianyu said calmly,
"your 'no right or wrong, only position' is nothing but the arrogance of great nations."
"When Amegakure resisted, the great powers painted Hanzō as a madman."
"They never considered this—"
"Since Konoha's founding, the shinobi world has suffered three Great Wars."
"And every single one was initiated by the Five Great Nations."
"Now tell me."
"Is there truly no right or wrong?"
"Is your justice really justice?"
Shisui remained silent for a long time.
"…But I am a ninja of Konoha."
"That origin wasn't my choice."
"So naturally, I view things from Konoha's position."
"If I had been born in Amegakure…"
"Perhaps I'd see the world very differently."
Qianyu pointed at him.
"Exactly."
"Admit it."
"The justice you believe in is nothing more than survival of the strong."
"Amegakure had no justice—only because they were weak."
Shisui felt restless.
He had come to warn this man.
Yet now—
His own convictions were beginning to crack.
Could it be…
That everything he had believed in…
Was wrong?