Uchiha Shingen wouldn’t go out of his way to flatter Shisui, but he at least didn’t want to make things too tense with a figure who clearly had a boundless future.
He took half-hearted bites of his onigiri, his mind gradually wandering.
Speaking of geniuses…
What was the name of the clan head’s eldest son again?
Ita-something?
No, no, it was Itachi, right?!
Last time I caught a glimpse of him from afar, that kid threw kunai more accurately than I do…
And you’re telling me he’s only three freaking years old?!
Anyway, after that incident, Shingen gained a profound understanding of what “genius” meant in this world.
It also further cemented his resolve to slack off in the Police Force.
Are you kidding me?
If I really went to the battlefield, who could guarantee the enemy wouldn’t suddenly spawn a freak of nature like those two?!
It wasn’t necessarily that he couldn’t fight them if he had to, it was just too troublesome.
Wasn’t it much more carefree and comfortable to stay safely in the rear and be a patrol officer?!
“Shingen-senpai!”
A childish voice interrupted Shingen’s train of thought.
He looked down.
A little pipsqueak with a button nose stood stiffly and formally in front of him.
Compared to the sharp, cold facial features of most Uchiha clan members, this boy’s features were much softer.
Rather than an Uchiha, he looked more like a member of the Senju clan.
“Shisui?!”
Shingen asked tentatively.
“Rookie Uchiha Shisui, reporting for duty!”
“I look forward to working with you!”
As Shingen sized Shisui up, Shisui was doing the same to him.
As a bizarre anomaly within the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Shingen’s name had spread far wider than he himself realized.
Ever since he joined the force, he had consistently held the number one spot on the Police Force’s public approval ratings, right up to the present day.
Even the entire Uchiha clan had benefited from this; their public perception in the village was showing faint signs of turning around.
It was also because of this that Shingen had been exceptionally promoted to the position of squad captain not long after joining.
After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Shisui had originally intended to accept the Third Hokage’s invitation to join the Anbu Black Ops under his direct command.
But Uchiha Shingen’s existence made him drop that idea.
Perhaps from this senior—who was a few years older, whose talent wasn’t considered outstanding, yet who had single-handedly elevated the Police Force’s reputation—he could find a way to resolve the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.
Shingen didn’t care about Shisui’s internal musings.
As long as it didn’t interfere with his slacking off at the Police Force, nothing else mattered.
Shingen casually pointed to a subordinate chatting in a huddle nearby and said:
“Tezuka, come explain our rules to him…”
Noticing the look of anticipation on Shisui’s face, Shingen immediately changed his tune:
“Forget it.
I’ll do it myself.”
Shingen looked down at the time.
It was already past 8:50 AM.
The members of the 2nd Squad, responsible for the night patrol of South District 4, were trickling back into the precinct one by one.
After handing over their duties to Shingen’s squad, they yawned and headed back to their homes.
“We’ll talk as we walk.”
Shingen immediately led the group toward South District 4.
With little time left, he instinctively quickened his pace.
The older veterans in the squad struggled slightly to keep up, but the youngest, Shisui, had the easiest time.
His face wasn’t flushed, and his breathing was steady.
He followed closely behind Shingen, maintaining a steady half-step distance.
Shingen had anticipated this, and his expression remained unchanged.
Along the way, he slowly explained many of the Police Force’s rules and regulations to Shisui, as well as things to look out for while on duty.
Seeing Shisui listening so intently, he added one last thing:
“That just about covers the Police Force’s rules.
Now, let me tell you the rules of our specific squad.”
“There is only one.”
Shisui perked up, his footsteps pausing slightly before he quickly caught up to Shingen.
What he heard next, however, left him utterly bewildered.
“Mind your own business.”
“What?!”
Shisui almost thought he had misheard.
When he looked up and met Shingen’s lazy gaze, he realized his ears were working perfectly fine.
What kind of rule was that?!
From childhood to now, whether within the Uchiha clan, at the Ninja Academy, or through the personal teachings of the Third Hokage…
…what he heard most was how to train, how to strive to become a true shinobi, and how to become a useful tool for the village.
Shingen’s answer was an understatement to call it “unorthodox.”
“Captain, isn’t that a bit…
inappropriate?!”
Shisui asked tactfully.
Shingen naturally understood what he meant.
He didn’t respond, choosing to say no more.
For the universally precocious geniuses of the shinobi world, changing their ingrained beliefs was a highly difficult task.
Shingen didn’t think he could do it, nor did he have any interest in trying.
Words fall on deaf ears, but experience is a swift teacher.
Tezuka noticed the tension between the two and immediately stepped in to smooth things over:
“You’ll understand later, Shisui.”
“The rules the Captain sets are for the good of the village, and for the good of the Uchiha.”
Shisui lowered his head, saying nothing more.
But he felt a pang of regret over his decision to give up the Anbu and join the Konoha Military Police Force.
If this was Shingen’s answer, he couldn’t accept it.
Soon.
Shingen’s group arrived at South District 4.
After a brief division of labor, everyone split up to patrol their designated streets, except for Shisui, who Shingen kept by his side.
Shisui was looking forward to his assignment, only to watch Shingen turn around and walk right into a bookstore.
When he came out, Shingen had a magazine in his hand.
He lazily leaned against a shaded spot and began flipping through it.
From his height, Shisui could barely make out the title.
He read it out word by word:
“Make-Out…
Hell?!”
“What?
Interested?!”
A teasing smile crept onto Shingen’s face.
In his eyes, this book was written quite averagely.
The pacing was off, and the emotional build-up was lacking.
But the saving grace was its exquisite and detailed illustrations.
Shingen casually flipped to a vivid illustration and waved it in front of Shisui’s eyes.
The little pipsqueak’s face instantly turned beet red.
He hurriedly turned his head away, stammering so badly he couldn’t form a coherent sentence.
“Still pure and innocent, huh.”
“Take a read through this book.
Who knows, you might find the secret to becoming Hokage inside.”
Shingen teased with a laugh.
Messing with this overly serious little kid to relieve boredom wasn’t a bad way to pass the time.
…
The sun gradually rose higher.
The crowds on the street grew denser, and the shops lining the road opened for business one after another.
The surroundings became increasingly crowded, and the lively atmosphere of daily life thickened.
The previous jokes were put aside.
Shisui switched into work mode, meticulously scanning the crowd.
Even without activating the Sharingan, the eyesight of the Uchiha clan was something ordinary shinobi could hardly match, and Shisui was a rare genius even among the Uchiha.
He was young, but his observational skills as a shinobi already far surpassed those of normal ninja.
Soon enough.
Shisui noticed something.
A short, skinny thief was weaving through the crowd.
He nimbly slipped wallets from one civilian after another, extracted the cash inside, and tucked the empty wallets back.
It all happened incredibly fast; ordinary people couldn’t even react.
“Mind your own business.”
Before Shisui could make a move, Shingen’s lazy voice arrived a step ahead:
“Our job is to maintain order, not to catch thieves.”
Shisui whipped his head around.
Shingen still had his head down, flipping through his copy of Make-Out Hell, yet he was completely aware of what was happening in the distance.
He realized for the first time that this seemingly ordinary Police Force Captain—who looked more like a Nara clan member than an Uchiha—was far from as simple as he appeared.
Shisui forcefully suppressed his urge to intervene, wanting to see exactly what Shingen was plotting.