"Teacher, I'm back. I brought you lunch."
Shisui lifted the tent flap, holding grilled fish and roasted chicken, his face bright with a smile.
"Judging from that expression, I assume things went smoothly."
Sima Yi had been reclining with his eyes closed. At Shisui's voice, he opened them and smiled faintly.
"Hehe, nothing escapes you, Teacher."
Shisui set the food down and helped him sit up before eagerly recounting the morning's events.
"At the meeting, I had Brother Hikaru strike first, just as you instructed. As expected, the blame for the Mist's attack was pushed entirely onto Mito Gate…"
He spoke animatedly, recounting the entire scene in detail.
Sima Yi listened quietly while eating, nodding from time to time, clearly reflecting on more than what was said aloud.
"That commander is a clever one," Sima Yi remarked at last. "He avoids taking sides lightly, yet acts decisively when required."
"Jōnin Suzaku?"
Shisui paused, carefully reconsidering his teacher's assessment.
"Before Brother Hikaru could escalate things, he intervened. Then he stripped Mito Gate Shōgo of his post and placed him under custody. That was decisive… but as for not taking sides…"
After thinking carefully, Shisui added, "The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans have always supported the Third Hokage. Yesterday, he was the one who requested the prisoners from me. Doesn't that mean he was supporting Mito Gate?"
Sima Yi looked at Shisui with mild surprise.
In the span of a single morning, the boy had begun to think more deeply.
"That you've begun to question things is good," he said calmly. "But your vision is still too short."
"The Third Hokage is the Third Hokage. Mito Gate is Mito Gate."
"The exchange of prisoners at the end of a war is standard procedure. He merely reminded you—he did not forcibly take them last night. And during the verbal clash between Hikaru and Mito Gate, he did not interfere."
"That alone shows he had no desire to be involved."
"Then why protect Jōnin Shōgo at the end?" Shisui pressed.
Sima Yi's gaze sharpened.
"Your thinking has become too harsh."
"…Huh?"
Shisui froze, caught off guard by the rebuke.
"Do not demand that others meet your personal expectations," Sima Yi continued sternly. "If you wish to see the truth, you must learn to think from their perspective. Only then can you grasp their interests and calculations."
"From their perspective…"
Shisui lowered his gaze, thinking.
If he were Nara Suzaku, what would he have done?
"He's the eastern front commander," Shisui murmured slowly. "If he had allowed Brother Hikaru to incite the other jōnin into action, it would have caused chaos. That would have been his failure."
His eyes gradually cleared.
"Jōnin Shōgo belongs to the Mito Gate clan. Suzaku didn't want to inflame public anger, but he also didn't want to offend the Mito Gate family. So he transferred him to the Third Hokage instead!"
"Correct." Sima Yi stroked his beard approvingly. "But you've overlooked one more thing."
"Please enlighten me, Teacher."
"His allegiance has always been with the Hokage. And the Hokage's objective remains the suppression of the Uchiha."
"He would not allow the Uchiha to build prestige among the other shinobi. That is why he stopped Hikaru at the final moment."
"Furthermore… do you recall today's assignment concerning the Uchiha?"
Shisui nodded.
"I am to lead the Uchiha in remaining behind as the rearguard, monitoring the remaining Mist forces to prevent any last-minute threats."
He hesitated.
"But… what's wrong with that? The Uchiha have always been the last to leave the battlefield. It shows trust in our strength."
Sima Yi fell silent.
He looked deeply at Shisui and sighed.
"The road ahead is long indeed."
"Eh?"
Embarrassed, Shisui scratched his head and shrank back slightly.
Sima Yi stood, his expression solemn.
"There is an old saying: only titles and authority must never be casually given to others."
"You will lead the rearguard. Meanwhile, the main forces will return to Konoha in formation and receive the people's welcome."
"When you return later… will anyone hold a ceremony for you?"
"…No."
Shisui's voice softened.
This was not his first time on the battlefield.
Every time they returned, only their families awaited them. Only their clansmen.
Never the village.
"In such circumstances," Sima Yi continued calmly, "who will remember the Uchiha's merit? Who will feel gratitude for the Uchiha's sacrifice?"
"Given time, there will be resentment—but no gratitude."
"How then can the Uchiha endure?"
"No."
Shisui lifted his head, eyes burning.
"We are shinobi. Shinobi are the nameless ones who support peace from the shadows!"
This was his ninja way.
The belief he had upheld all his life.
Sima Yi did not argue directly.
Instead, he asked quietly,
"Were the two Mist shinobi yesterday shinobi?"
Shisui blinked at the abrupt shift.
"Yes."
They refined chakra. They used ninjutsu. They held official ranks within the Hidden Mist.
How could they not be shinobi?
"Is the Fire Daimyō a shinobi?"
"No."
"What is the difference between them?"
"The difference… the Mist shinobi…"
Shisui's pupils contracted.
What was the difference?
His first instinct was simple:
The Mist shinobi could use chakra and ninjutsu.
Not that they upheld his so-called ninja way.
"Because the Mist shinobi can refine chakra and use ninjutsu, while the Daimyō cannot. Correct?"
Sima Yi stepped closer, a faint smile on his lips.
"If we set aside chakra and ninjutsu, there is no essential difference between the Mist shinobi and the Daimyō."
"Now tell me—what are chakra and ninjutsu?"
"…Tools for killing."
Shisui lowered his head.
His hands trembled slightly.
Chakra. Ninjutsu.
Even these eyes of his—
To him, they had always been tools.
Tools to kill.
Tools to mend the fracture between village and clan.
"So," Sima Yi continued coolly, "because one wields a blade or a hoe, must he bind himself with shackles of identity?"
"To define himself by that tool?"
Reputation. Honor. Prestige.
All consumables.
To let them bind you—
That was folly.
Shisui fell silent.
He knew Teacher was speaking about him.
Because of chakra.
Because of ninjutsu.
Because of an academy examination long ago—
He had accepted the identity of "shinobi."
Accepted the belief that shinobi must be nameless sacrifices in the dark.
But who had defined that?
When had he first embraced such an idea?
He could no longer remember.
His pupils trembled.
He wanted to defend Konoha.
To defend the Third Hokage.
To defend himself.
To defend the very concept of shinobi.
Yet no matter how he searched—
He found no answer.
Yes.
Teacher was right.
A shinobi was called a shinobi simply because he could refine chakra and use ninjutsu.
Nothing more.
Shisui let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes.
His ninja way—
The path he had upheld and practiced—
Was shaken.
Not by his teacher.
By himself.
Still too young.
Sima Yi shook his head inwardly.
His argument was sophistry.
This shinobi was not the same as that shinobi.
But Shisui had been guided, step by step, into dismantling his own convictions.
Given time, he might realize the inconsistency.
But Sima Yi would not grant him that time.
"Now," he said quietly, "tell me this."
"If we discard the label of 'shinobi,' then the Uchiha and the others are all citizens of Konoha. No different."
"So why are the Uchiha repeatedly suppressed?"
Shisui's eyes snapped open.
"Because… because the Third Hokage wants to suppress the Uchiha!"
Sima Yi smiled faintly.
"Heh. Exactly."