Chapter 170: The Role of the Advisor

"Are you Shangcun Yizhi?"

In a courtyard on the outskirts of Konoha, Shangcun Yizhi was frowning, his head bowed in deep thought, when he suddenly heard a question and instinctively looked up.

He saw four eyes—two large and two small—staring at him intently.

Shangcun Yizhi jumped in fright, quickly rubbed his eyes, and then realized the lower two were actually nostrils.

"Is it the Shisui clan leader? No, is the Hokage looking for me?"

Shangcun Yizhi noticed the clan crest on Shiliuye's attire, stood up immediately, and asked excitedly.

"Correct," Shiliuye nodded slightly, clearly pleased with his attitude.

"May I ask how you would like me to address you?" Shangcun Yizhi spoke very cautiously; the other's demeanor seemed even colder than Uchiha Pan's had been. He had been idle at home for over a month, and although he earned a lot handling Uchiha affairs, he feared Shisui would no longer need him, so he was extremely anxious.

"Uchiha, Shiliuye."

Shiliuye replied casually; although he didn't care about the other party, it was a mission issued by Shisui, so he would see it through earnestly.

"What?! You are Lord Shiliuye!"

Shangcun Yizhi gasped; the news that Shiliuye had opened the kaleidoscope had already spread throughout Konoha, and now his standing among the Uchiha could be said to be just below Shisui.

"The Hokage actually let such a strong person protect me!"

Shangcun Yizhi's breathing quickened, his heart moved deeply, and the lingering anxiety finally eased.

"The Hokage has sent you back to Tokaido to manage the business there; until that ninja is dealt with, I will guard your safety personally."

Shangcun Yizhi's lips moved at the words, about to express gratitude, but Shiliuye cut him off directly.

"No need for more words; prepare with gratitude in your heart—we set out today."

Shiliuye was still pleased with Shangcun Yizhi's attitude; he had intended to speak gently, but thinking that this one person caused him to be separated from his children, his words turned somewhat unfeeling.

Fortunately, Shangcun Yizhi was already accustomed to such personalities, nodded repeatedly, and turned to pack his belongings.

He then gathered a few hired guards, and a party of over twenty left the Konoha gate openly after lunch.

All the way, Shiliuye stayed on the carriage roof, watching the surroundings. Before departing, Shisui had mentioned to him the link between the tiger‑skin mask ninja and the past Nine‑Tails incident, so he had to be on high alert; if the opponent appeared, he would pursue enough intelligence no matter the cost.

By nightfall, the group had moved farther from Konoha; the two sat by the campfire while others took on duties—some on watch, some preparing dinner.

A moment later, Shangcun Yizhi carefully handed dinner to Shiliuye, and Shiliuye, seeing the performance, couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret for Pan's sacrifice.

"How much revenue can the Tokaido business generate that Pan had to risk his life to cover your departure?"

It wasn't a question, just a remark.

Shangcun Yizhi naturally dared not argue, repeatedly affirming.

"Sir, as I mentioned, my ability is limited; the Tokaido business can currently bring the family about 102 million a month."

"One hundred two million a year is still quite a lot."

Shiliuye glanced sideways; although he didn't partake in family management, he had heard of the family's annual earnings, and a net income of 102 million already accounted for half of the family's business.

"That's not bad, huh? Wait, what did you say?"

Shiliuye's tone softened slightly, then suddenly sensed something off and instinctively asked again.

Shangcun Yizhi's heart skipped a beat, and he gave an awkward smile, "It's not even a hundred million; last month was only about 60 million. Without this attack, we could guarantee reaching 90 million in two months."

"Per month?"

Shiliuye inhaled sharply, gave Shangcun Yizhi another once-over, his heart startled, finally understanding why Shisui cared so much about the Tokaido business.

"Um, well, that's fine. Keep working hard; since the Hokage holds you in such high regard, I will protect you well."

"Yes, then I entrust it to Lord Shiliuye."

"Alright, just call me Shiliuye; we'll be dealing together for a long time, so no need for such formality."

"Then I leave it to Shiliuye‑kun."

Shangcun Yizhi was puzzled, not understanding why the other's demeanor suddenly softened, but based on his knowledge of the Uchiha, such a situation must not be questioned, lest he step on the other's tail.

Shiliuye forced a nod, then excused himself to keep watch and left the fire.

Thus, their first day's interaction was, if anything, tolerably pleasant.

Over the next dozen days, the party proceeded steadily toward Tokaido, and any careless mountain bandits encountered were dealt with early by Shiliuye.

Meanwhile, the Ninja Academy opened on schedule; Shisui prepared his speech and, like the Third Hokage of old, stood before the many students, loudly proclaiming his love for Konoha and his hopes for them.

All the students watched the young Hokage with curiosity, countless gazes mixing anticipation and envy.

Under those gazes, Shisui began his speech.

"In the past, the Uchiha ancestors named the village Konoha, hoping, together with the First Hokage, to create an era where children would not have to endure war. Now that the First Hokage has passed and the ninja world is once again turbulent, I inherit the legacy of Konoha's predecessors, hold the Will of Fire in my heart, and after countless battles have finally arrived here."

"My existence is to protect Konoha's future—that is you!"

"I, Uchiha Shisui, the Fifth Hokage, will stand on Konoha's front line together with all its ninja, shielding you until you become Konoha's pillars and eventually stand in my place to protect the next generation."

"Just as the Uchiha ancestors and the First Hokage founded the village, everything is for Konoha's future, for you!"

Shisui's voice rang passionately, filling the entire hall.

"For Konoha's future!"

The students shouted along, their emotions soaring; they revered the Hokage and even more the youthful hero, whose view of them as Konoha's future filled them with exhilaration.

Applause thundered, cheers roared.

Among the crowd, Itachi watched the spirited Shisui, a happy smile breaking across his face.

"Itachi, the clan leader is so impressive—though he's not much older than us, he's already become Hokage. Of course, Itachi‑kun is also amazing!"

Beside Itachi, a girl with a tear‑mole at the corner of her eye whispered.

The girl was one of the few friends of Itachi, Uchiha Quan.

Itachi listened, his smile turning into a polite one, then gradually subsiding as he replied, "Shisui‑brother is the Uchiha's first prodigy; I'm far behind him."

"Itachi"

When Shisui's speech ended, Itachi no longer intended to stay on campus, so he excused himself, claiming he had business elsewhere.

Liuxiaquan stayed among the crowd, feeling rather aggrieved. Shisui was not clear about Itachi's emotional situation, and after the speech ended Shisui promptly summoned the senior staff of the Ninja Academy to discuss the Leaf's historical participation.

For such a trivial matter everyone naturally had no objections, all expressing cooperation; as long as the teacher is in place, the other vice principals will arrange themselves.

Thus, a few days later, after Shisui had become proficient in understanding the progress of each event, he continued to find time to study the Seal Technique.

At that moment, members of the former ANBU who were responsible for the Hot Spring Country's defense line delivered the latest news from the North.

"Hokage, this is a letter from Lord Jiraiya, recent news from Cloud."

"Cloud?"

Shisui's eyes flickered slightly, instantly recalling Sima Yi's earlier warning, so he hurriedly opened the letter to read it.

"Go summon the three consultants."

"Yes!"

Shisui gave a quick scan and soon understood the situation in the North.

Just as Sima Yi had predicted, the Fourth Raikage could not swallow his pride, ignored his assistant's advice, and led five thousand ninja troops south to the battlefield himself.

The Fourth Raikage was somewhat impatient; after his forces arrived he rested only one night before provoking the Leaf side with a large army, using provocation tactics to draw out the Leaf army for a direct confrontation.

Jiraiya, seasoned in battle, naturally would not fall for it, and Sima Yi could not abandon his defensive advantage to fight the enemy head‑on, so the Leaf side paid no heed to Cloud.

Seeing that the Leaf did not take the bait, the Fourth Raikage pressed his numerical advantage to assault the Leaf, and both sides suffered casualties.

The situation was still relatively normal up to this point, but the Fourth Raikage was not that reckless; after this battle he took advantage of Jiraiya's unpreparedness, captured Hinata Nichisa on the field, and then covertly sent agents to discuss a hostage exchange and the purchase of a tailed beast.

"There is finesse within the rough; the shadow of a village truly cannot be underestimated."

The fight was meant to prove that Cloud still had the ability to continue warring with the Leaf, and the peace talks likely had ulterior motives.

While pondering, the three consultants arrived one after another.

"The Fourth Raikage wishes to negotiate and says he is willing to spend money to ransom those hostages and the tailed beast. What do the three consultants think?"

Yan Shifan is still within the clan handling other internal and external matters; if there were no major issue, he would not be at the Hokage's building now.

Tuan Zang stepped forward, took the letter, read it by himself, then handed it to the other two, and said: "The hostages can be sold, but not the tailed beast; if they get the tailed beast they will definitely keep targeting the Leaf."

Shisui was somewhat surprised; he did not expect Tuan Zang to actually consider the Leaf's interests.

Just as he was puzzled, Tuan Zang paused then continued: "The power of a tailed beast should be left to me; I will select a qualified jinchuriki and train him into an excellent weapon!"

Shisui slowly nodded, expressionless, and looked at Zhuan Qin Xiaochun.

"Sell them all. If we don't, the Raikage won't be satisfied. Right now the Leaf is focusing on recovery, and as for Hinata Nichisa, the Hinata clan can pay to ransom him."

Shisui gave Zhuan Qin Xiaochun a deep look, feeling a flood of emotions.

Finally, Shui Tuo Men Yan voiced support for Tuan Zang's view: people can be sold, but not the tailed beast.

In fact, he knew well that the tailed beast belongs to the Uchiha, not the Leaf, so it was not for them to debate selling it; Shisui's summons must have another purpose.

Sure enough, after combining the three's opinions, Shisui frowned and sighed: "These days the great families' allocations are dwindling, the Village's finances are out of balance, we're short on money, and maintaining so many hostages is a huge expense."

In the three ninja wars, such a large‑scale capture has never occurred among the five great ninja villages.

If Cloud wishes to ransom the captives, they will add a large sum of money on top of the exchange, which is exactly what the Leaf urgently needs right now.

"But…"

After stating the need, Shisui shifted tone and added: "But once the hostages are released, given Cloud's vengeful nature, it certainly won't lead to a ceasefire; the North needs reinforcements."

Moreover, in the Grass Country, the activity signs of Rock Hidden are becoming more frequent; perhaps the Tsuchikage already has some ominous thoughts, and the Leaf needs sufficient funds to cope.

The three fell silent; Tuan Zang was indifferent, as he was neither the Hokage nor a wealthy merchant, unable to help and unwilling to get involved.

Zhuan Qin Xiaochun's heart lurched, fearing Shisui might focus on the Zhuan Qin clan, so she said directly: "These days the only ones who can provide this money are the Uchiha clan; why doesn't the Hokage borrow it from the Uchiha and repay it once the Leaf has surplus funds?"

Upon hearing that, Tuan Zang slowly nodded, and Shui Tuo Men Yan's pupils flickered as he glanced sideways at Zhuan Qin Xiaochun.

Shisui smiled gently, as if to ask, "Borrow money from a clan?"

But Shisui was not angry; instead his eyes brightened as he whispered, "The Zhuan Qin consultant truly lives up to being the Third's trusted person, indeed exceptionally wise. As long as each clan is willing to contribute, and with Cloud's ransom, the Leaf's problem will be easily solved."

"Did Shisui really agree? Wait, each clan?"

Zhuan Qin Xiaochun's complexion suddenly changed; just as she was about to speak, Shisui continued: "Since the Zhuan Qin consultant raised it, we'll entrust it to the Zhuan Qin consultant. Once enough money is raised, funding for organizations like Root can be disbursed on schedule, and the layoffs at the Ninja Hospital can also be eased."

Tuan Zang's eyes lit up, glanced at Zhuan Qin Xiaochun, and gave a slight nod.

Zhuan Qin Xiaochun's mouth twitched; she stared fixedly at Shisui.

Seeing that gentle smile, she wished she could tear that mouth apart.

"What does the Zhuan Qin consultant think? If it seems inappropriate, there's no need to force it; we can consider other solutions. Everything is for the Leaf."

Zhuan Qin Xiaochun gritted her teeth and said, "The Hokage's plan is good, let's proceed. I'm feeling a bit unwell, I'll step out now."

"Consultant, take care of your health, be light."

After Zhuan Qin Xiaochun left, the two did not linger, especially Tuan Zang, who needed someone to watch this money; whether Root could return depends on this time.

"Convey the Zhuan Qin consultant's intent, and hope each department cooperates actively."

"Yes!"

Having resolved the Northern matter, Shisui shook his head and continued flipping through the Seal Book.

"To think they could develop so many unusual ninjutsu, the Second Hokage is indeed remarkable, but the targets of these ninjutsu are perhaps…"

The more he read, the more Shisui sensed the Second Hokage's malice toward the Uchiha; there are far too many ninjutsu designed to counter the Uchiha, making his scalp tingle.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Corpse Demon Seal… and also the Fourth's famed Flying Thunder God Technique."

One marvelous ninjutsu after another flashed before Shisui's eyes; of course, he only skimmed them, and even with some talent in cultivation, he could not master such high‑difficulty ninjutsu at a glance.

"This is Impure World Reincarnation, a ninjutsu that revives the dead!"

Shisui's eyes narrowed slightly, and he remained silent.

After two weeks of preparation, today I finally got to report at the group meeting; the report ended fairly smoothly, I returned at 9:30 to start writing, and actually finished—it's the limit!

(End of chapter)