Chapter 40 A mason who doesn't want to be Hokage is not a good boss
"Shisui, you're awake."
Uchiha Itachi's normally composed face froze for an instant before he returned to his calm, stoic expression and sat quietly on the stool beside the hospital bed.
He drew a small fruit knife from his pocket and began peeling an apple with precise, steady hands.
Lying on the bed with his body wrapped in bandages, Uchiha Shisui turned his weary eyes toward the ceiling and asked softly,
"After I lost consciousness… nothing happened between the village and the clan, right?"
Itachi's gaze lingered on the apple peel spiraling into the tray. After a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice,
"After you collapsed, Danzo's Root operatives threw two shuriken at you, but I managed to deflect them. The clan's shinobi rushed to the scene soon after I arrived, and then Lord Third and the village's ANBU unit appeared."
Shisui recalled the giant spectral hand that had blocked his Kotoamatsukami, allowing Danzo to escape. It wasn't some simple jutsu — it was Enma, the Monkey King, the personal summoning beast of the Third Hokage.
A faint sigh escaped him. So that's how he escaped. Still, it's a pity I didn't kill Danzo before Lord Third arrived.
But then… why did Hiruzen Sarutobi intervene to save Danzo at all? Was the Third truly unaware of what Danzo had done in the shadows?
What Uchiha Shin had once said to him echoed faintly in his mind — suspicions about certain figures in the village, including even Hokage himself.
Shisui had always believed in the Will of Fire and had repeatedly rebuked Shin for his distrust. He told him that true strength came from trusting comrades, not doubting them. Shin never argued; he only smiled quietly in return.
Now, that quiet smile lingered in Shisui's mind, unsettling him.
The anger he had tried to suppress surged once more. Danzo had taken one of his eyes — the Mangekyō Sharingan of his ancestor — and was still scheming to drive the Uchiha toward annihilation.
Without his Kotoamatsukami, the clan's coup could not be stopped so easily. Danzo and the village elders might unite with Hiruzen and the ANBU to eradicate the Uchiha entirely.
Wait… if Danzo's right eye now held his stolen Sharingan, then what about the other? Could those bandages on Danzo's arm conceal even more eyes?
Shisui clenched his fist beneath the sheets. He couldn't move much, not under medical orders from the Third. Hiruzen had told him to rest and recover, but what of Danzo? Was Root still moving in the shadows?
And could the Uchiha truly mend their ties with the village after all this?
Uchiha Shin's words — about the corruption within the system — kept replaying in his thoughts.
"It's ready, this apple."
Itachi set the knife on the bedside cabinet and handed the peeled apple to Shisui with his usual quiet composure.
"Here, Shisui. Sit up and eat."
Shisui nodded and took the apple. Leaning against the pillow, he took a bite as he watched Itachi's unreadable expression.
"Shisui," Itachi said suddenly, "didn't you once tell me you wanted to introduce me to that boy — Uchiha Shin?"
Shisui paused mid-bite and looked at him in mild surprise. Itachi had shown no interest before; why ask now?
"What's this about? Why the sudden curiosity?"
Itachi shook his head slowly. "It's nothing. I just wanted to know what kind of person he is… in your eyes. When I was on my way to find you that night, I ran into Shin. He seemed… worried about you."
A faint warmth spread through Shisui's chest. He hadn't expected his young student to care so deeply.
"Really? In my eyes, Shin is a prodigy — maybe even more talented than you or me. His dream is vast. He wants to bring peace to the entire shinobi world, and to do that, he says he'll become Hokage."
Shisui smiled faintly, then added with a sigh, "But he has flaws too. Besides the few friends he made at the Academy, he finds it hard to trust others. That's dangerous. To become Hokage, you must have faith in your comrades."
Comrades… Itachi's expression didn't change, but his thoughts darkened. Can anyone in this village still be called a true comrade?
Meanwhile, deep beneath the Uchiha district, in a dimly lit cavern hidden beneath the roots of an ancient tree, Uchiha Shin sat cross-legged, addressing Hyūga Neji.
He was giving the boy one of his "ideological lessons" — a mixture of moral reasoning and veiled rebellion.
This underground base was something Shin had painstakingly excavated himself over the course of half a month. For someone who had not yet mastered Earth Release techniques, carving out such a hidden base with his own hands was far from easy.
Of course, the ever-resourceful Shin hadn't done it alone — his shadow clones handled the manual labor while he focused on study.
And, admittedly, he had "borrowed" a few materials from the village — some surplus stone, cement, and wooden supports.
In his mind, it wasn't theft. The Red Organization, as he envisioned it, would one day stand above all nations and never exploit civilians. But for now, without resources, he had to make do.
After all, even Naruto Uzumaki had painted graffiti on the Hokage Rock countless times — what was a little missing cement compared to that?
Besides, if Konoha's system one day became an obstacle to peace, then "borrowing" its materials could hardly be called a crime. It was a contribution to his cause.
So between his training in ninjutsu theory, Uchiha Shin had also become something of a mason — though, naturally, he left all the dirty work to his clones.
"Konoha may be the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages," Shin said, pacing before Neji, "though the shinobi of Kumogakure would probably disagree."
He paused and looked Neji straight in the eye.
"Neji, have you ever wondered why we, as shinobi, are trained the way we are?"
"What is the purpose of a ninja's existence? Is it only to complete missions? Or to fight in endless wars?"
Neji frowned slightly, his Byakugan eyes reflecting the dim torchlight, waiting for an answer that would challenge everything he'd been taught.
"We are born with chakra, and as we grow up, we are also told that we are to become shinobi."
"Shinobi live side by side with death. But is there really a need for such a profession to continue existing? The power of chakra, inherited from the Sage of Six Paths, is so wondrous—so why is it mainly used for war and killing?"
"The hidden villages and the shinobi system exist within a world distorted by conflict. Even if Konoha has been manipulated by elders like Danzo or bound by ancient decisions of the Senju and Uchiha, it doesn't change the truth—the ninja world itself is a warped creation."
"When you, Neji, struggle against the fate imposed on you by the Hyūga clan's cursed seal, countless civilians outside the walls are also struggling just to survive the next war. So what we must do is to correct this twisted system—the system that forces children to fight under the name of peace."
"Maybe many will die before this correction is complete, but everything we do will be for a truly just world. That's why we must gather and unite every force that shares this ideal, no matter which village they come from."
"As for the current shinobi world, if it continues unchanged, then one day the ninja themselves will bear the weight of their sins—though they, too, are victims of this endless chain of hatred."
Neji nodded silently, his mind shaken by Uchiha Shin's words.
But beyond the organization's purpose, one question still burned inside him—could his Caged Bird Seal truly be lifted?
"What did you find from the Hokage's Library that night?"
Uchiha Shin shook his head. "I didn't get the real Book of Seals. The remaining scrolls contained only fragments on curse techniques and sealing arts. They can't yet release your Caged Bird."
Disappointment clouded Neji's face.
"But don't worry," Shin continued, "the mirror you saw before—similar to the Yata Mirror—can amplify my Sharingan's genjutsu. With the sealing data I found, I'll refine my illusion technique. And if I still can't undo your curse seal, I'll use my Sharingan illusion to make the Hyūga head family break it for you."
Neji remembered the two Hyūga branch guards who suddenly collapsed outside the compound gates.
Was that… also an illusion? Forget it—he decided to keep believing in Uchiha Shin.