Chapter 87: Calamity Falls from the Sky (Please Vote)

"Lord Shisui has already decided to build a house over there; have you registered your name?"

"I have registered; it took an entire afternoon to get on the list, and with a job, the household can be a bit easier."

"That's great; after all, Lord Shisui is considerate of us."

"I mean, that Tuan Zang and Zhuan Qin Xiao Chun are really terrible; a person as good as Lord Shisui goes to visit them and is actually turned away at the door—where is the respect due to elders?"

"Exactly, damn it, a son born without an anus."

"It seems Elder Tuan Zang has no son."

"Then it's fitting that his line is cut off."

After finishing today's training, Shisui walked through the clan lands, preparing to follow Sima Yi's suggestion to scout the western wasteland; along the way, the chatter of clan members filled his ears.

He carefully avoided the clan members, eavesdropping on them from the shadows, and felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing their slanders against Tuan Zang.

"However, it seems they really never mentioned any amusing stories about Tuan Zang's assistant in his youth, could it be—"

Shisui couldn't help his mind wander, then he shook his head repeatedly, his face slightly flushed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it."

He shook his head, shooing away the strange thoughts in his mind, and Shisui hurried to the western part of the clan lands, where it had already been partitioned with wooden planks.

"Itachi, what are you doing here?"

Outside the area, Itachi had just set down a pile of wooden planks; upon hearing Shisui's voice, he instinctively turned to look.

"Shisui bro!"

Itachi's face lit up with joy, and he ran straight over.

"Long time no see, how's the Police Department matter?" Itachi lifted his head, his rosy cheeks still dusted with a bit of ash.

Shisui smiled, leaned down to wipe the grime from Itachi's face, "The Police Department matter is going smoothly; what about you, why are you here?"

"Yesterday I was training outside, ran into Brother Jin Huo, and after he mentioned this, I wanted to help the clan members, so I came over."

Itachi's expression was very serious; after hearing this, Shisui gave a gentle smile, patted his head and explained, "These houses are indeed built for those clan members, but finishing them too early won't help many people."

Itachi tilted his head, thought for a moment, then slowly shook it.

"Wouldn't building faster be better?"

Shisui had once posed this very question to Sima Yi, and now he very much wanted to act as a teacher and explain it to Itachi in detail, but time was limited and he still had to go to the Hokage Tower later.

So he could only reply, "This issue is rather complicated; next time I'll be sure to teach you slowly."

After saying that, he gently patted Itachi's nape and softly said, "However, if you want to help the clan members, you can guard here for me tomorrow, to prevent them from getting injured while working."

"Alright, I'll do my best!"

"Also, it's getting cold, seems like snow is coming soon; remember to add more clothes~"

"Mm~"

"Shisui, how's the situation over there now, are you confident?"

In the Hokage Tower, the Third Hokage sat at the desk, looking somewhat weary, his voice a bit hoarse.

As time passed, the three assistants grew increasingly dissatisfied with the current state of the Police Department; the frequent ANBU redeployments and the Uchiha's strange actions made them start to suspect.

Some ninja clans in the Village also began to show changes.

It couldn't be hidden for long anymore.

"I've almost convinced the people of the Police Department; only the clan elders and some members remain. As long as I can persuade them, I can basically force Fugaku clan head to step down."

"Those elders..."

The Third Hokage frowned, about to speak but stopped. "Your Great Elders are always hardline; they also agreed to the Coup this time. Are you confident you can persuade him?"

Shisui looked up, his expression very confident, and replied, "The Great Elder may be hardline, but he only wants to secure benefits for the Uchiha. Once he understands the damage the Coup would cause to the Leaf Village and the Uchiha, he should give up."

The Third Hokage shook his head, puffing on a dry cigarette, and remained silent.

"If the Leaf Village steps back appropriately, allowing a few elders to see its sincerity, the chance of success will be greater," Shisui added upon seeing the Third Hokage's silence.

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage barely nodded in agreement with Shisui's statement, then suddenly asked, "I've heard your clan members lately often talk about you being turned away at the door by Tuan Zang and Xiao Chun?"

Shisui, puzzled, thought for a moment as if recalling something, then quickly lowered his head and replied, "My apologies for wasting your time over such a trivial matter; I will explain to the clan members."

"No, they're right. When juniors come to visit, they casually turn you away at the door; where is the respect due to elders, where is the embodiment of the Will of Fire in their hearts?"

The Third Hokage grew increasingly angry, as if witnessing a massive scandal, and immediately rose, summoned two ANBU and ordered, "The actions of Zhuan Qin Xiao Chun and Zhi Cun Tuan Zang violate the Will of Fire; dismiss them from all positions at once and have them stay in the clan lands to reflect properly."

Huh? Shisui looked up, puzzled—just because he was turned away at the door, they were going to dismiss two assistants and toss them into the clan lands to reflect; when did he become so important?

"Third Hokage, sir."

"You need not plead, wherever the Leaf Village flutters, fire also burns eternally. The flames will continue to illuminate the Village and cause new leaves to sprout. This is the Will of Fire, the very foundation of the Leaf's existence; their actions have crossed my line, and I will punish them properly until they recognize their mistake."

The Third Hokage's gaze was cold and stern, his aged face nonetheless imposing.

Shisui was moved, lowered his head and said gravely, "Third Hokage, I will definitely protect the Leaf, and will never let anyone harm the Village!"

Shisui was visibly moved. Lowering his head, he said in a deep voice, "Lord Third, I will definitely protect Konoha well, and I will never let anyone harm the Village!"

"Grandpa, is the Third Hokage doing this to curry favor with the clan elders?"

Back home, Shisui without pause relayed the Third Hokage's reaction to Sima Yi.

Sima Yi thought briefly and replied, "It shouldn't be just that; the so-called Will of Fire can be big or small. I suppose the Coup is already hard to suppress, and to prevent Tuan Zang and a few others from learning about the involvement, they used this as an excuse to separate them."

"I see, if Tuan Zang finds out, things would indeed become more complicated. It seems the Third Hokage is getting restless; should we speed up?"

"No rush; in two days will be the time of harvest."

Sima Yi shook his head, showing no major disturbance; everything proceeded methodically under his control.

"By the way, Hui sent some interesting intel today; after tomorrow's training ends, you should also go to the prison. If nothing goes wrong, you might discover something interesting."

Sima Yi looked at Shisui, as if indicating something.

Shisui pressed his lips together, feeling a vague unease; every time Sima Yi says that, something occurs that he finds hard to accept.

Shisui pursed his lips, feeling a vague unease in his heart; every time Sima Yi says that, something happens that he finds hard to accept.

"I understand, Grandfather."

Meanwhile, in the Zhi Cun clan lands.

(The AI‑drawn picture, it cracked me up.) "Why? What on earth is this? Monkey, how could you do this?"

One sits at home, disaster descends from the sky.

Tuan Zang was enthusiastically rebuilding the Root organization, having just summoned all personnel back and moved the base's facilities and documents in.

The stockpiled goods can now be sent to Orochimaru for further experiments.

At that moment, a document arrived from the ANBU; his assistant position was revoked, Root was disbanded again, and even the funds were taken away.

And he himself was taken by the ANBU to the Zhi Cun clan lands, almost confined, the reason being the Will of Fire! "Monkey, you will regret this!"

Similarly, Zhuan Qin Xiaochun was brought back from the ninja hospital to the Zhuan Qin clan lands; unlike Tuan Zang's ignorance of the outside world, she had been monitoring external news during this period and had a vague suspicion of something.

"Uchiha!"

(End of chapter)