Qianyu went straight to the point, exposing Uchiha Shisui's true purpose in a single sentence, leaving Shisui momentarily taken aback.
It seemed this man was far more than the reckless extremist he appeared to be.
"You really are a smart man," Shisui said.
Qianyu replied flatly, "Compared to you, of course I am."
The two jōnin behind Shisui bristled at once, clearly angered.
Shisui, however, merely smiled, unfazed.
"Since that's the case," he said calmly, "I'd like to hear what advice a 'smart man' like you has to offer."
"Sure," Qianyu replied. "You hungry?"
Shisui froze.
"…What?"
"There's an Uchiha-run pancake shop right here. I'll give you the honor of treating me to a meal."
Without waiting for a response, Qianyu turned and walked toward the shop.
"Lord Shisui, this bastard is far too arrogant!"
"He really thinks he's someone important—he's just a rabid dog that bites anyone he sees!"
Shisui shot the two men a sharp glance.
"Enough."
"Do not underestimate that man."
"For someone the clan head is willing to protect at all costs—even standing firm against the Hokage—and someone the Hokage personally ordered us to 'test'…"
"How could he possibly be simple?"
"You two—wait outside."
"…Yes, Lord Shisui."
Shisui followed Qianyu into the Uchiha pancake shop.
The elderly couple running the shop froze in surprise.
"Not only Captain Qianyu, but Lord Shisui too?"
"Today's really lively…"
"Captain Qianyu, the usual?"
"Mhm. Sorry for the trouble."
"And Lord Shisui?"
"The same as him."
"Alright."
Shisui glanced around the shop. He remembered Uchiha Itachi mentioning this place before—how much he liked it.
Not just because the food was good, but because of the warmth and human feeling this elderly couple carried.
Now that he saw it for himself, Itachi hadn't been exaggerating.
"You come here often?" Shisui asked.
Before Qianyu could answer, the shop owner chuckled.
"Not often—but he's our great benefactor."
"Oh?"
The old woman spoke with lingering anger.
"There used to be a group of thugs—vagrants—who came here every day causing trouble. Eating without paying, bullying customers, fighting all the time, smashing tables and chairs…"
"One time they nearly burned the whole shop down!"
"After reporting them to the police, they were only locked up for a few months. When they got out, it got even worse."
"When they found out it was us who reported them, they came every day to retaliate—beatings, insults, humiliation…"
"We simply couldn't survive anymore…"
The old man smiled gently and continued.
"Then Captain Qianyu came by one day. He ran into those thugs."
"No questions asked. Not one spared."
"He beat every single one of them to death."
"After that, the shop finally returned to peace. Business slowly recovered…"
He placed the pancakes on the table in front of Qianyu with both hands.
Shisui frowned.
"But they were just thugs," he said slowly. "Despicable, yes, but…"
"Their crimes weren't worthy of death, were they?"
The elderly couple stiffened, their expressions changing instantly.
"Lord Shisui," the old woman said trembling, "if their crimes weren't worthy of death—then were we supposed to die?"
"I—I didn't mean it like that…"
The old man's voice hardened.
"We understand what you mean. But if everyone thought like you—catch them, release them, catch them again—sooner or later, the ones beaten to death would have been us."
"That's right," the old woman added bitterly.
"They weren't worthy of death. But when they finally beat us to death, when they finally became 'worthy'—who would we go to for justice then?"
Shisui fell silent.
Their words left the young man—who had never experienced such cruel corners of life—utterly speechless.
Shisui knew darkness.
He had seen war. He had witnessed massacres far worse than this.
He charged into battle, killed enemies bravely—an undeniable hero of Konoha.
But the gray zones of civilian life, the endless tangled sins of everyday survival—
He understood none of it.
And had no solution.
"Here."
Bang.
The old woman slammed the pancakes down in front of Shisui, clearly irritated.
Qianyu ate in silence, taking a large sip of soup.
Shisui, however, fell into deep thought.
Was the man in front of him… actually right?
No. That couldn't be…
Killing enemies on the battlefield was justified.
But inside the village, surely there had to be gentler ways…
"Qianyu," Shisui finally said, "perhaps your methods have their own logic."
"But I still believe that unless absolutely necessary, there's no need to be so extreme."
"Once you kill someone, you erase all possibilities."
"What if you kill the wrong person? What if it was a false accusation? What if they still had a chance to repent? Who gives them that chance?"
Qianyu kept eating, not even lifting his head.
"When you kill enemies on the battlefield," he asked calmly, "are you this gentle and hesitant?"
Shisui shook his head.
"That's different."
"What's the difference?"
"There's no right or wrong on the battlefield—only sides. Either you die, or I do."
"If I don't kill them, they'll kill me."
"And that's for the village's greater good."
Qianyu chuckled softly.
"So in other words—you kill to ensure your own survival, or the greater利益 of the village."
"Then tell me—why is your life worth more than theirs?"
"Why does Konoha's利益 override other villages' lives?"
Shisui paused.
"…It doesn't," he admitted. "But I already said—this is a matter of position."
"People love themselves first, then those close to them. Interests have priorities. Affection has distances."
"My family. My clan. My village. Naturally, they come before others."
"The same applies to enemies."
Qianyu looked at him.
"So there is no justice—only position?"
Shisui shook his head.
"Active expansion, invasion, harming others' lands—that is injustice."
"Wars fought to resist such injustice are just wars."
Qianyu asked calmly, "Then was the Hidden Rain Village just—or unjust?"
Shisui froze.
"In the last great ninja war, Rain was forced to become the battlefield for Konoha, Iwa, and Suna."
"They never invaded anyone. But the great nations silently turned their land into a slaughterhouse—without ever asking their opinion."
"From Rain's perspective—was Konoha just?"
"But Hanzō later declared war on the entire ninja world—"
"That wasn't a declaration of war," Qianyu cut in.
"That was forced self-defense."
"If your homeland were turned into a battlefield, your people displaced, your civilians slaughtered—what would you do?"
Shisui fell silent.
"At the end of the day," Qianyu continued, "your so-called 'no right or wrong, only position' is nothing more than the arrogance of great nations."
"When Rain resisted, every great village painted Hanzō as a madman—yet never once questioned their own actions."
"Since Konoha's founding, the ninja world has suffered three full-scale wars."
"And every single one was initiated by the Five Great Nations."
"Now tell me—do you still believe there's no right or wrong?"
"Do you still believe your justice is true justice?"
Shisui was silent for a long time.
"…But I am a ninja of Konoha," he finally said.
"That origin wasn't my choice."
"So naturally, I view the world from Konoha's position."
"If I had been born in Rain, perhaps I would see things very differently…"
Qianyu pointed at him.
"Exactly."
"Admit it."
"The justice you believe in is nothing more than 'the strong devour the weak.'"
"Rain has no justice—only because it is weak."
Shisui grew increasingly agitated.
He had come to test this man—
Yet was now the one being shaken instead.
Could it be that everything he had believed in…
Was wrong?