"So you are saying that even without my help, the two of you have already completely sealed that Mōryō?"
"Yes. Relying on the power of the Cursed Seal of Heaven you gave us, Fourth Mizukage, we easily weakened Mōryō's power and created the opening Priestess-sama needed to seal it…"
"Tch. I overestimated that thing. I originally estimated Mōryō to be a monster close to Tailed Beast level. I even properly finished all my work for this afternoon ahead of time, just so I could appear in time to rescue you if you ran into trouble… What a useless thing."
The summoned white snake lazily lay across Shisui Uchiha's neck.
From its mouth came Rei Kaguya's voice, which sounded obviously displeased.
In response, Shisui Uchiha, who had temporarily separated from the group with an excuse like going to the bathroom, revealed a rather helpless smile and whispered, "Um, Fourth Mizukage? Although Kisame and I successfully suppressed Mōryō by relying on the Cursed Seal of Heaven's restraint against it and our advantage in individual intelligence, for ninja without the support of the Cursed Seal's power, Mōryō's strength is actually quite dangerous…
"Especially that ghost army, which is almost impossible to destroy and can fight sleeplessly and tirelessly. It may even be more dangerous than Mōryō's own near Tailed Beast-level power…"
"It is just so-so. It is fine for dealing with ordinary people and small shinobi villages without experts holding the line. But wanting to rely on those things to conquer the land of the Five Great Nations is pure wishful thinking."
The white snake shook its head.
Its gaze landed on the Kirigakure forehead protector on Shisui Uchiha's forehead.
Then Rei's slightly teasing and joking laughter came from its mouth.
"Speaking of which, how does it feel to wear a new forehead protector?"
"There is no particularly special feeling. But that is probably because this mission does not involve Konoha's safety or survival. If there had been a possibility of contact with Konoha ninja during the mission, I probably would not have been able to wear this Kirigakure forehead protector."
Shisui smiled self-mockingly.
He looked up at the dim yellow sunset gradually descending and murmured to himself.
"If only every commission ninja received were missions like this, to help people in danger and save those in crisis… In that case, people would not need to be on guard against each other and treat each other as enemies the moment they met just because they wore forehead protectors from different villages."
"Having dreams is a good thing."
Rei smiled and did not deny Shisui Uchiha's almost daydream-like words.
Compared to when his mind had been filled entirely with protecting Konoha at the beginning, the current Shisui Uchiha had already begun to preliminarily realize that there was no essential difference between ninja from different countries.
He had begun to understand that the forehead protector worn on one's head could not determine a ninja's will.
Although he still held special feelings for his homeland, Konoha, on matters that did not involve Konoha, Shisui Uchiha was now already willing to follow the ideas Rei had taught him and begin thinking for himself.
This was undoubtedly a huge improvement.
"Is it only a dream, Fourth Mizukage?"
Shisui Uchiha turned his head slightly.
Through the white snake's red eyes, he looked at Rei Kaguya in Kirigakure from afar.
"In your plans for the future, is there no conception related to that?"
"It is not that there is none at all. But for us to reach that step, the profession of ninja will have to be renamed into something like police or peacekeeping force."
Rei Kaguya unhurriedly explained his thoughts about the future to Shisui Uchiha.
"After all, the profession of ninja began with activities like stealing intelligence and assassinating important people. If we do not fundamentally change the nature of this profession, where ninja clearly already stand beneath the sunlight, yet their ideas remain rooted in darkness, then the scene you imagine will never be achieved no matter what."
"But are ninja not beings who hide in the darkness and silently maintain the world's normal operation and peace?"
Shisui Uchiha, who had been taught since childhood that ninja should hide in darkness, humbly asked.
"How long has it been since ninja replaced samurai and became the most important military force of every country? Shinobi World Wars that engulfed the entire shinobi world have already happened three whole times, right? You could even look across the entire shinobi world. Even the residents of the most remote small countries know that there exists a group with special powers called ninja…"
An extremely human-like speechless expression appeared on the little white snake's face.
Shisui Uchiha could even clearly imagine Rei Kaguya sitting in the Mizukage's office and rolling his eyes at him.
"Ninja are a profession hiding in the darkness to protect world peace? Do not joke around. Even common civilians know we exist. Where exactly is the darkness we are hiding in? You are such a smart person, so how can you fail to understand something that has already been placed out in the open?"
Facing Rei Kaguya's sharp criticism, Shisui Uchiha accepted his words very humbly.
Then, as if waking from a dream, he knocked his own head and felt rather puzzled as to why he had once firmly believed in the idea that ninja should hide in darkness.
That was right.
Why?
Why, when all the major shinobi villages were madly expanding their military power in order to obtain more funding from their respective daimyo, did the village elders still teach the younger generation to remember that ninja should exist hidden in darkness?
Shisui Uchiha could not quite understand.
Or rather, he was unwilling to dissect this issue, which involved so many factors, with his currently shallow knowledge.
He was afraid he would arrive at an overly extreme answer.
He was also afraid he would give birth to a suffocating despair because everything he had once believed in had been shattered.
Seeing the extremely conflicted expression on Shisui Uchiha's face, Rei Kaguya stopped speaking at the right time.
He did indeed want to obtain a Shisui Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and stood on his side.
But he absolutely did not want Shisui to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan under this kind of emotion.
After all, Uchiha were all potential mental patients.
For a genius among geniuses like Shisui, if he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan under despair, who knew whether he would turn into a lunatic even more terrifying than Obito Uchiha?
If that happened, many things that could have been entrusted to Shisui would have to avoid the maddened version of him instead.
It would be pure loss.
Therefore, Rei Kaguya coughed lightly twice, preparing to change the topic so Shisui could temporarily shift his thoughts elsewhere.
But just as he was about to speak, a shuriken that tore through the air suddenly shot toward Shisui Uchiha without warning.
Clang—
"Who is there!?"
Shisui reacted in time and knocked the shuriken away.
Instinctively, he activated his Sharingan and looked toward the direction the shuriken had come from.
Then he saw a figure wearing a Konoha Anbu mask standing blankly on a nearby tree, staring at him.
"Shisui Uchiha… As expected, you have completely defected."
The Konoha Anbu looked at the Kirigakure forehead protector on Shisui Uchiha's forehead and the spinning three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.
In a complicated tone, he said one sentence that instantly made Shisui Uchiha's hands and feet turn ice-cold.
"I wonder, when the Uchiha clan sees this scene, whether they will still have the confidence to continue demanding that the Fourth bring you back from Kirigakure at any cost."
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