Shisui didn't dare lift his head. He didn't argue back against Kei's words.
He didn't even dare breathe too heavily.
Only after Kei's silhouette had completely vanished from sight did the crushing weight on his chest begin to ease.
He looked down at the bills scattered across the wet ground. Tugging at his collar to loosen it, he found that although it wasn't tight, he still couldn't breathe. It felt as though something invisible was strangling him.
"Why… why am I so desperate to prove he's the culprit?"
He muttered the question to himself, his voice trembling. Guilt clawed at him, he had forcibly searched Hyuga Kei without a shred of evidence, and in the end, he had humiliated only himself.
He didn't understand it. Normally, no matter what he faced, he could always remain calm. So why did his emotions spiral out of control whenever he dealt with Kei?
He couldn't find the answer. For a long time, he just stood there, dazed, before finally bending down to pick up the scattered bills one by one.
It took him nearly the entire night to gather them all.
When he finished, the alley was utterly silent. Shisui looked around at the dark, empty street, feeling hollow, then turned and left like a ghost.
At home, he tried to smooth the wrinkles out of the crumpled money, carefully flattening them with his hands. No matter what he did, the creases remained. Looking at the folds in the paper, he thought they looked as if they were laughing at him.
By the time Kei woke up the next morning, it was already close to noon. Outside, the rain had returned, pouring relentlessly and washing the streets empty of people, except for the distant shadow following him: Shisui.
The Uchiha kept at least two streets away, deliberately slowing his pace so he wouldn't get too close.
Kei took no notice. He walked at his own rhythm.
Outside the clinic, Hyuga Haru glanced at him coldly as he arrived late.
"Someone doesn't seem to care much about their own shop."
Kei shrugged, tossing her the key as he replied lazily, "Sorry, i overslept. Maybe next time you could come wake me?"
"Hyuga Kei, I'm not your servant!"
"I know, I know…" Kei said, dead serious. "You're the Elder's servant. Everyone knows that. No need to remind me."
Haru didn't bother replying. She pulled the clinic door open with more force than necessary and strode inside. Kei followed at a leisurely pace, took his seat, and officially began another day of work.
But as the rain poured harder, no patients came.
Bored, Kei rested his head on the desk, dozing lightly.
Not that it made a difference, whether his eyes were open or closed, the world looked the same to him now.
Behind him, Haru stood motionless like a statue. For reasons she couldn't explain, just looking at Kei's indifferent attitude made her furious. She was only supposed to assist him, no, to monitor him, but lately it felt like she was the one actually running the place.
She couldn't understand what had gone wrong, but she would never stoop to asking him directly. Admitting confusion to him would be unbearable.
The silence inside the clinic stretched on. Only the faint sound of rain filled the air.
Outside, in the downpour, Shisui stood with an umbrella, holding a new paper bag close to his chest. He lingered at a measured distance from the clinic, close enough to be seen and hear, but far enough to avoid intrusion.
If not for what had happened last night, he would have walked straight in and returned the money. But now, the moment he tried to step forward, his legs felt as heavy as lead.
The rain intensified, but no one called out from inside. There was no invitation.
No release from the invisible guilt that kept his feet rooted in place.
He waited there nearly the whole day. Eventually, drenched and defeated, he turned away.
He decided to put the matter of the money aside. For now, uncovering the truth behind the disappearances was more important.
As he left, Shisui's thoughts churned. He replayed every event since the moment he had accepted this mission, analyzing each detail, desperate for something he'd missed.
In the end, his eyes fell on the wrinkled bills sitting on the table.
And then, in his mind, two tiny figures appeared, arguing.
One urged, Hyuga Kei is the real culprit. You must keep investigating.
The other whispered, You were wrong once already. Don't make the same mistake again.
He hesitated for a long while. But eventually, the first voice won.
He told himself this wasn't guilt. This wasn't about last night.
It was about justice.
To prove he was right, he listed his reasoning one by one.
First, Kei's route home. There were main roads, safe, wide, well-lit, but every night, Kei chose to walk alone through the slums. What was he really doing there?
Second, both incidents had occurred near places where Kei was present, and at those times, there had been no other suspicious individuals.
Third, Shisui had tested Kei's skills. Despite being blind, Kei's reflexes and chakra control were still sharp, more than enough to subdue a civilian. Capturing villagers would be effortless for him.
When added together, it all pointed toward Kei.
Shisui wanted to confront him immediately, but stopped himself.
He knew he would lose. Every argument with Kei had ended the same way, and last night's humiliation still burned in his mind.
He needed evidence, undeniable proof.
Only then could he face Kei again and make him speechless.
Somewhere deep down, he even found himself looking forward to that moment.
He didn't realize that it wasn't justice he was chasing, it was vindication.
From that day onward, Shisui stopped appearing before Kei and resumed his investigation. He searched every alley and backstreet in the slums, overturning every stone.
But no matter how hard he tried, he found nothing.
More than once, he watched helplessly as villagers disappeared right before his eyes.
And what infuriated him most, the disappearances were increasing. The abductor was growing bolder.
Each day, more people vanished.
Shisui couldn't take it anymore.
Every night, Kei wandered the alleys.
And every morning, someone was gone.
The pattern was too clear to ignore.
So that night, when Kei closed his clinic and stepped once more into the rain-soaked alleys, Shisui appeared, blocking his path.
"Well, well," Kei said calmly, "the famous Body Flicker Shisui, still chasing shadows instead of truth? Or are you just here to bother me again?"
Shisui drew his short blade, his gaze are sharp.
"You can't fool me anymore."
Kei tilted his head slightly.
"I'm genuinely curious," he said with a faint smile, "how can someone be this wrong?"
"Stop your lies!" Shisui snapped. "Once or twice could be coincidence, but don't you think there have been far too many coincidences?"
Kei's expression remained composed.
"Can you really swear," he asked softly, "that what you see is the truth?"
He sighed, shaking his head.
"It seems last time's lesson still didn't sink in."
<150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter>