Upon returning to Konoha, Uchiha Itachi didn't immediately head to the Uchiha clan compound. Instead, he first went to the Hokage's office building.
He first found the Third Hokage.
Knock, knock, knock—
After Uchiha Itachi knocked on the office door, a rather weary "Come in" came from Sarutobi Hiruzen. Uchiha Itachi then pushed the door open with his two subordinates behind him.
"Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Itachi's hands hung by his sides, and he spoke with a serious tone, "The mission you assigned has been successfully completed. Uchiha Itachi, Hyuga Ozawa, and Sarutobi Amakawa have rejoined the Anbu."
"...It's Itachi."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up slightly, trying to force a smile, but he couldn't manage it.
He said, "No teammates were lost. You did very well."
Uchiha Itachi keenly sensed that something was amiss with the atmosphere.
He also felt that Lord Hokage's emotions were a bit strange.
"Lord Hokage, has something happened in the village?"
He asked proactively.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a long while before saying, "The funeral for Shinosuke and many Anbu ninja will be held this afternoon. Itachi, Ozawa, Amakawa. You three have returned at the perfect time. If you wish to attend the funeral, go back and change your clothes first, then gather at the Konoha public cemetery."
He didn't explain what had happened, but the information conveyed in his words still caused Uchiha Itachi to freeze for a moment.
Shinosuke... a funeral for many Anbu ninja...
He felt the former's name was somewhat familiar; as for the latter, just how big of an incident was it to have sacrificed so many Anbu?
Uchiha Itachi thought for a moment, but ultimately decided not to press further.
Since Lord Hokage didn't want to say, there must be a reason why Lord Hokage didn't want to say.
He didn't overstep.
"Lord Hokage, I will take my leave now," Uchiha Itachi said.
"Mm."
...
After leaving the Hokage's office building, Uchiha Itachi prepared to return to the Uchiha clan compound.
On the way, he suddenly heard some people discussing something.
He silently walked over to them.
After casually listening in.
He finally understood why Lord Hokage was in such a somber mood, and he finally realized why the name "Shinosuke" felt so familiar—that was Lord Hokage's eldest son!
"Uchiha Chisen... killed many Anbu, and also killed Lord Hokage's eldest son... and the reason for all of this is that Senior Shinosuke did many wrong things he shouldn't have done... Indeed, that person, Uchiha Chisen, cannot tolerate such 'wrongdoing'."
Itachi suddenly fell silent.
Uchiha Chisen...
This name brought back some unpleasant memories, causing him to feel dazed.
This man, like Shisui, was once hailed as one of the Uchiha clan's "twin prodigies." Even on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War, his reputation was on par with Shisui's.
And yet, such an Uchiha prodigy seemed out of place with the entire Uchiha clan, and even the entire Konoha village!
At first.
Uchiha Itachi thought Uchiha Chisen was like him because they were both so out of place.
However...
—"I am not the same kind of person as you. There is an insurmountable wall between humans and beasts, Uchiha Itachi."
A chilling sentence once spoken by Uchiha Chisen, for some reason, surfaced in Uchiha Itachi's mind.
—"Shisui, if you protect him, you will regret it."
And this sentence was spoken by Chisen after Shisui had appeared just in time to save him when he had nearly died by Chisen's hand.
A flicker of complexity flashed in Uchiha Itachi's calm eyes.
Within the entire Uchiha clan, the person he couldn't understand the most.
Was probably Uchiha Chisen.
...
On the other side of Konoha.
"Lord Chisen, there's a case! Meow!" Kijiro crouched slightly, leaped onto Izumi's head, licked his paw, and then said to Uchiha Chisen, "My children discovered something incredible in the village's sewers, meow!"
Izumi weakly raised her hand in protest, "Senior Kijiro, when you report cases to Senior Chisen in the future, can you please not jump on my head..."
"Meow, rookie, I'm testing your reaction ability! When you can dodge me, you'll be a Jonin at least!"
Uchiha Chisen interrupted the man and cat with a completely expressionless face, "Be more specific. And lead the way."
Kijiro led the way, quickly adding, "It's human remains, meow, but they're very fragmented and only a small portion. Based on my experience, this should be a human jawbone."
"My children searched the entire sewer system, and they found other bones on the other side, also part of a body, possibly from the same deceased person, meow."
"But more couldn't be found; they might have been washed away, or perhaps hidden elsewhere."
Izumi gasped, "Dismem... dismemberment?!"
Izumi suddenly thought of something, and she hesitated, "Since they're already white bones, they must have died a long time ago. Could they be fragments of enemy ninja bodies from the war period? After all, if bodies fell into the sewer, maybe the village didn't have time to clean them up?"
"Yo? You're learning to analyze and think, rookie!" Kijiro patted Izumi's head. "You've made progress!"
"We'll know once we go down and take a look."
Uchiha Chisen said calmly.
Not long after.
The Ninja Cat Kijiro led Uchiha Chisen and Izumi to a rather secluded street within Konoha Village.
It jumped down from Izumi's small head, and Izumi took the opportunity to quickly tidy her hair, which it had messed up.
"It's right here."
Kijiro pointed to the lifted sewer grate.
Two other Ninja Cats were guarding beside the grate.
"Lord Chisen! Lord Kijiro!" ×2
The two Ninja Cats spoke human language to greet them.
"Lord Chisen, why don't I have my children carry the bones up... Huh?" Kijiro had just finished speaking when he saw Uchiha Chisen jump directly into the sewer without any further ado.
"Lord Chisen, wait for me! Meow!"
It immediately followed.
"Ah? Senior Chisen, wait for me!" Izumi also hurriedly jumped in.
...
"...It smells awful." The moment Izumi jumped down, she instantly regretted it a little.
She found the smell permeating the air indescribable.
The pitch-black environment, where she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, made it even harder for her to adapt.
Suddenly.
She saw a glimmer of light appear, and in the blink of an eye, the light filled her entire field of vision.
Hiss! Senior Chisen's hand had turned into lava!
That light was the glow emitted by the lava!
"Lord Chisen, it's this." As Kijiro's voice fell, Izumi also quickly leaned closer. She looked intently.
"This is..." Izumi found a palm-sized white bone placed on a relatively clean spot on the ground.
She also noticed that Senior Chisen had picked up the bone.
"The time of death is no more than five years."
Uchiha Chisen said indifferently, "It has nothing to do with the war; this is a murder and dismemberment case. The time of occurrence should be within the range of three to five years ago."
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