The men had grievances they couldn’t voice, feeling as miserable as if they had just been force-fed dirt.
“Lord Danzo, it’s not that we haven’t tried.”
“It’s just that this kid’s daily routine is simply too…
disciplined!”
“He clocks in exactly at 8:00 AM at the Police Force entrance, officially starts work at 9:00 AM, clocks out exactly at 5:00 PM, and immediately heads straight back to the Uchiha compound.”
“His life is a perfect, unbending straight line between those points.”
“It’s terrifyingly predictable!”
“Even if we wanted to make solo contact with him, we can’t find a single opportunity!”
For the very first time in their lives, they felt that living too predictably wasn’t a good thing.
Besides, no matter how you looked at Uchiha Shingen’s lifestyle, he just seemed like a deadbeat slacker coasting through his job, collecting his paycheck, and comfortably waiting for retirement.
Would a guy like that really take on the massive risk of acting as a secret liaison for the Third Hokage’s faction?!
Someone tentatively spoke up:
“Lord Danzo, could we have…
misunderstood something?!”
“Perhaps he and Lord Jiraiya are truly just purely discussing creative writing?!”
“After all, you should know better than we do.”
“Lord Jiraiya has been away from Konoha for many years, and the novels he writes only get more and more explosive in popularity.
For the sake of his writing, he even rejected the pleas from you and Lord Third to stay back then.”
“Maybe we’re just overthinking this entire thing?!”
“Fools!”
Danzo sharply reprimanded them.
In his lowered eyes, there was only the fierce, vicious gleam of a man who believed he had seen through everything.
“Do you honestly believe Jiraiya left Konoha just to search for writing inspiration?!”
“Wrong!
Dead wrong!”
“Even though I haven’t heard him say it with my own ears, I’ve managed to piece together Jiraiya’s true motive from Hiruzen’s scattered words.”
“What he has been searching for was never so-called ‘inspiration,’ but rather the ‘Child of Prophecy’—the one supposedly destined to completely end the endless wars of the shinobi world.”
“Heh…”
Danzo sneered, utterly unable to hide the profound contempt dripping from his voice:
“If there truly was a Child of Prophecy, how could the world have turned into the utter mess it is today?!”
“Looking at it now, perhaps Jiraiya has finally realized this truth.
Is that why he returned to Konoha?
To pin his hopes on an alliance between the village and the Uchiha?”
“A few decades ago, when Lord First, Lord Second, and Uchiha Madara were still alive and working together…
perhaps it truly was possible.”
“Unfortunately, times have changed!”
“But regardless, Jiraiya’s objective can absolutely not be as simple as just writing a book.”
“His actions could only have been authorized by Hiruzen!”
“Investigate him!”
“If you can’t find anything…”
“If I cannot have him, then I absolutely cannot let Hiruzen have him either!”
make Uchiha Shingen disappear!”
“Yes, Lord Danzo!”
…
Several days later.
8:00 AM.
At the entrance of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Shingen completed his check-in, stretched his back lazily, and led his subordinates toward South District 4.
Glancing around and noticing Shisui’s absence, Shingen turned his head to Tezuka:
“Where’s that kid, Shisui?!”
“I heard he went to participate in the Chunin Exams.”
“The Chunin Exams?!”
Shingen was slightly surprised.
Normally, a genin who just graduated from the Ninja Academy had to complete missions consecutively for at least a few months and earn the strict approval of their Jonin commander before they even got a chance to take the Chunin Exams.
Shisui had graduated less than a month ago; this was truly a special exception.
However, after a brief moment of thought, it made perfect sense.
As the most outstandingly talented ninja the Uchiha had seen in nearly twenty years, Shisui far surpassed his peers in both mental maturity and actual combat strength.
He had even gained the personal favor of the Third Hokage.
Opening a fast track for him right now was completely logical.
Tezuka, however, sighed with some emotion:
“So this is what a genius is!
He’s a creature from a completely different dimension compared to the rest of us.”
Tezuka was a veteran of the Police Force.
He was over twenty years old, yet he was still a Genin.
This was the harsh reality and the path the vast majority of Konoha shinobi had to walk.
Among ten people, maybe three or four could normally promote to Chunin.
But reaching Jonin was truly a one-in-a-hundred feat.
And to be promoted to Chunin at Shisui’s age?
Searching through Konoha’s entire history, you could count them on one hand.
The last person to possess such an insane promotion speed was someone from Shingen’s own graduating class.
Hatake Kakashi.
Rumor had it that he was already actively preparing for the Jonin exams.
“Well~”
After a few seconds of dejection, the usual smile returned to Tezuka’s face as he mocked himself:
“People like us are doing okay, I suppose.
But for you, Captain Shingen, it’s a bit of a pity.”
“You became a Chunin at thirteen.
If you put in the effort, you definitely have the potential to become a Jonin in the future.”
“Spare me, please.”
Shingen twitched his mouth.
He already possessed the raw combat strength of a Jonin, but he had absolutely no intention of actively exposing it.
His current life was perfectly fine.
His life was visibly developing in a fantastic direction.
The future was looking incredibly bright!
The squad chatted idly as they walked.
Upon reaching the streets of South District 4, they split up and began their patrol.
To Shingen’s slight surprise, Jiraiya didn’t show up today.
After waiting for half an hour and seeing that Jiraiya still showed zero signs of coming, Shingen simply sat down in the teahouse and began his leisurely life of slacking off.
“Captain Shingen!”
By the time Shisui returned, it was already 5:00 PM.
He wore a clear, bright smile on his face; evidently, the Chunin Exams had gone much smoother than he’d imagined.
He waved the forehead protector in his hand, looking at Shingen with a hint of a challenging glint:
“I’m a Chunin now, too.”
“Speaking of which, I’ve never actually exchanged blows with you, Captain…”
Shingen had already packed up his things and was just about to clock out precisely on the dot.
Hearing Shisui’s words, he instantly understood what the kid meant:
“You want to spar?!”
“Of course.”
Shisui nodded, his eyes perfectly serious:
“After all, ever since I joined the Police Force, I’ve never once seen you actually fight.”
“Absolutely not.”
Shingen didn’t even have to think about it, rejecting him decisively:
“I’m not the combat-oriented type, you know~!”
“Besides, ever since I joined the Police Force, it’s been a very long time since I’ve fought.
My skills have degraded severely.”
“I’d probably be no match for you~”
Shingen had zero interest in a thankless, exhausting spar that was purely driven by hot-blooded enthusiasm.
After speaking, he completely ignored Shisui’s expression, waved his hand at him, and turned to leave without another word.
Under the setting sun.
Shingen’s shadow was stretched incredibly long, perfectly highlighting the absolute slacker aura radiating from his entire being.
Shisui stood frozen in place.
He had anticipated many different responses, but he never imagined that Shingen would reject him so casually and cleanly.
This wasn’t Uchiha-like at all, but it was incredibly Uchiha Shingen!
Shisui smiled helplessly, but he had no intention of giving up just like that.
His eyes shifted, and an idea instantly popped into his head.
He ducked right into a mask shop on the side of the road.
When he came out, he was wearing a fox mask on his face and had also changed into a loose-fitting cloak to completely conceal his figure.
“I will make you fight, Captain Shingen!”
Beneath the mask.
The corners of Shisui’s mouth curled up slightly.
With a Body Flicker, he vanished from the side of the street, sprinting rapidly in the direction Shingen had disappeared.