Chapter 3: Hard to Please Every Palate, Hold Fast to One's Own Heart

Shisui tilted his head. He recognized every single word, but strung together, he couldn't make sense of any of it.

Sima Yi's hand, stroking his beard, paused for a beat. He could only open his mouth to explain: "Whether in judging a person or in deciding a matter, one must look and understand from different directions."

"People are the most complex of all — they will not have only one side. If you can only get to know them from a single angle, that means you have already fallen into the cage they have woven for you."

Shisui frowned, as if struck by something. He lowered his head for a moment. "That can't be. The Third Hokage, he—"

"Do not directly deny a thought that runs counter to your own. Listen to both sides and you will be clear; listen to only one and you will be blind. Hear more, see more, decide less."

The young man's mind, it seemed, could not hold too many principles at once. Seeing Shisui fall silent again, Sima Yi gave a soft laugh and comforted him: "No rush. To think without learning is to be lost. You are still young. First, tell me about the current situation of the various powers, and what has happened recently."

Shisui gave up, could only nod and abandon the thought, and introduced the situation of each country one by one.

"A ninja world war — children not even ten years old are sent to the battlefield!"

Even Sima Yi was somewhat shocked. Children of ten being dragged onto the battlefield had never happened, even in his own era.

This was practically a sign of a people being utterly destroyed, yet in this world it was treated as commonplace.

After finishing the wars of each country, Shisui also recounted Konoha's situation and the conflicts within the Uchiha.

Treating a single village as a nation, the Hokage would be its sovereign, each clan a powerful local house. The Uchiha, among them, were also a strong one — it seemed they had grown too conspicuous and were being suppressed.

Sima Yi listened to Shisui's account while analyzing the intelligence.

Gurgle~ The two chatted on until the middle of the night, until Sima Yi's stomach finally gave its response. Shisui's face flushed red — only then did he remember he hadn't even invited the man to sit down.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. It was my oversight. Please rest here for a moment; I'll prepare some food for you."

A summoned strategist takes physical form — he can grow hungry, and he can die.

Before Sima Yi could respond, Shisui had already vanished with a Body Flicker.

"So this is ninjutsu — truly wondrous!"

Although he already knew ninjutsu existed in this world, watching a person vanish right before his eyes still made Sima Yi's eyes light up, and he exclaimed in wonder again and again.

But it was only wonder. He quickly calmed himself and began pondering the Uchiha's position within Konoha.

Shisui moved quickly. In no time at all, he returned to the tent carrying several grilled fish still steaming hot.

"Teacher, eat while it's hot. If it's not enough, I'll go grill some more." Shisui handed the grilled fish over with a smile.

If he were alone, some dry rations would have been enough. But today was the first day his teacher had arrived, and he didn't want the man to go without even a hot meal.

"Heh, how thoughtful of you."

Sima Yi took the grilled fish with a smile. He had spent years leading troops in the field and did not chase after such pleasures of the palate, but Shisui's attitude let him understand the boy before him a little better.

"Oh? This flavor — remarkably fresh and fragrant!"

The unusual seasoning and the masterful control of the fire instantly awakened his taste buds. It was an experience he had never had before.

"Really? If you like it, Teacher, I'll make it for you often~"

Shisui blushed. The last person who had liked his grilled fish was Itachi.

Sima Yi ate the fish with a smile and did not refuse.

"Oh, Teacher, there was one more thing I didn't get to say earlier. Yesterday, Mist ninja bypassed my defensive zone and raided the rear camp—"

Shisui frowned as he told of the Mist ninja's sneak attack the day before, and of being questioned afterward. These things had been bottled up in him all day and left him quite irritated.

"Mm?"

Sima Yi's gaze shifted. He set down the grilled fish and stared fixedly at Shisui. "You're saying the rear camp guard never showed up at all?"

"That's right. By rights, the Uchiha clan is in charge of the front line and the command post's defense.

Even if an enemy somehow broke through, there was the rear camp guard led by Mizutomon Shogo to intercept them.

There should never have been a situation where over a dozen squads of ninja broke through two layers of defense and threatened the rear camp."

Shisui looked puzzled. Being approached at the rear camp was not solely the Uchiha's responsibility — Mizutomon had no reason to deliberately let the enemy in. "Are the two prisoners you captured still in hand?"

"They're still with Brother Hui, but at daybreak they'll be transferred under the command post's jurisdiction."

"With your abilities, could you extract information from them?"

This one I can do!

Shisui lifted his chin, his expression confident. "A piece of cake!"

"Then could you, without alerting anyone else, get from the rear camp guard's mouths what their movements were today?"

"No problem!"

Let alone finding a single member of the rear camp guard — he could take control of Mizutomon Shogo himself with ease.

"Oh?"

Sima Yi was somewhat surprised. He seemed to have underestimated the young man before him.

"In that case, set out now. You must have the information in hand before dawn."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Shisui vanished. Sima Yi sat upright on the bed, eating the grilled fish, turning several possibilities over in his mind.

He did not know how long it had been when a light breeze stirred. Shisui walked into the tent, his expression downcast.

Seeing him so, Sima Yi glanced down at the grilled fish in his hand, still giving off steam, and said softly: "The fish you made is on the spicy side. Someone who prefers a lighter flavor might not care for it. What do you think should be done about it?"

Shisui was taken aback — what did this have to do with the fish? Still, he thought it over carefully. "Use less of the seasoning. That way the flavor will be milder."

"Do you prefer a lighter flavor?"

"No, Teacher. I still like the spicy kind."

"If even a single fish cannot please every palate, how much less so when greater interests are at stake. Every person, every power, has their own ideas. You must grow accustomed to seeing through their aims, accustomed to their greed, and still hold fast to your own interests — that is the foundation of your existence."

"Teacher, you already know!"

Shisui was shocked. He had clearly not said anything yet.

"Heh, some underhanded little tricks — nothing more than colluding with the enemy to leak intelligence, luring them in, then setting an ambush to claim the credit.

But looking at it now, man's schemes are no match for heaven. Something must have gone wrong with their plan."

Sima Yi's expression was calm as he spoke casually.

Shisui, however, found his heart hard to settle. Even he, who had obtained the intelligence, had been speculating about these things all along, yet the man before him could deduce the truth from mere fragments.

"Teacher, please teach me!"

Shisui knelt and sat upright with proper posture.

"Hahaha, rise, rise. Isn't that precisely why this old man has come here?"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Shisui rose and came to Sima Yi's side, his expression growing ever more reverent.

"But have you found out what happened? Why did the rear camp's guard fail to intercept them?"

"To answer the Teacher, according to those two Mist ninja, after bypassing the Uchiha's defensive line, they feared my strength and did not continue deeper as originally planned, but chose to take a longer detour instead.

And in order to wipe out the Mist ninja force in time, Mizuto Shougo had concentrated all the guards from other areas together, so by coincidence the two sides directly missed each other, which allowed the Mist ninja force to break into the rear camp."

As Shisui spoke, he still felt a bit shy, after all, hearing these words from his own mouth always carried a hint of self-praise.

"Hahaha, it truly backfired. Looking at it now, you do have one merit and one shortcoming."

"May I ask the Teacher, what is the one merit and one shortcoming?"

(End of chapter)