Chiba spoke bluntly, exposing Uchiha Shisui's purpose in a single sentence.
For a brief moment, Shisui was taken aback.
So this man was not merely reckless and extreme.
"You truly are a clever one," Shisui said.
Chiba replied indifferently, "Compared to you, I'm far more clever."
The two jonin behind Shisui bristled again.
Shisui only smiled faintly.
"In that case, I'd like to hear the wisdom of this clever man."
"Fine. Are you hungry?"
Shisui blinked.
"What?"
"Uchiha Teuchi's pancake shop. I'll give you the opportunity to treat me."
Without waiting for a reply, Chiba turned and walked toward the shop.
"Shisui-sama, this man is unbearably arrogant!"
"He thinks he's important, but he's nothing more than a mad dog that bites anyone he sees!"
Shisui shot them a calm glance.
"Enough."
"Do not underestimate him."
"A man whom the Clan Head defends at any cost—even willing to confront the Hokage over him—and whom the Hokage personally ordered us to warn…"
"How could he be simple?"
"You two wait outside."
"…Yes, Shisui-sama."
Shisui followed Chiba into Uchiha Teuchi's pancake shop.
The elderly couple running the shop froze in surprise.
"Not only Captain Chiba, but Shisui-sama as well?"
"What a lively day…"
"Captain Chiba, the usual?"
"Yes."
"And Shisui-sama?"
"The same."
Shisui glanced around the small shop.
He remembered Uchiha Itachi mentioning this place before—the warmth, the quiet sense of ordinary life within it.
Itachi had not been wrong.
"You come here often?" Shisui asked.
Before Chiba could answer, Teuchi chuckled.
"Not often."
"But he's our benefactor."
"Oh?"
The old woman's face darkened.
"A group of troublemakers used to come here every day."
"They ate without paying, harassed customers, started fights, broke furniture…"
"Once, they nearly burned the shop down."
"We reported them. They were jailed for a few months."
"When they got out, they returned worse than before—beating us and humiliating us for reporting them."
"We couldn't survive like that."
Teuchi continued gently.
"Then Captain Chiba happened to be here one day."
"He encountered them."
"He didn't hesitate."
"None of them ever came back."
"Since then, the shop has been peaceful."
He placed the pancakes in front of Chiba with both hands.
Shisui frowned slightly.
"They were troublemakers, yes… but…"
"They weren't worthy of death."
The elderly couple stiffened.
"Shisui-sama," the old woman said sharply, "if they weren't worthy of death…"
"Were we?"
"I didn't mean that—"
"If people think like you—arrest them, release them, arrest them again—eventually we would have been beaten to death."
"Yes," Teuchi added quietly.
"Perhaps they weren't worthy of death."
"But if they killed us first… who would return our lives?"
Shisui fell silent.
He understood darkness.
He had fought in war.
He had killed on the battlefield.
But this—
This murky injustice in everyday life—
Was different.
He had no answer.
The old woman set his food down with restrained frustration.
Chiba ate calmly, sipping his soup.
Shisui remained quiet.
Could it be…
That Chiba's method was correct?
No.
Killing enemies in war was one thing.
Inside the village, there had to be a gentler way.
"Chiba," Shisui finally said, "perhaps your actions have reasoning."
"But why be so extreme when it isn't necessary?"
"Once you kill, all possibilities are cut off."
"What if you kill the wrong person?"
"What if they could have changed?"
"Who gives them that chance?"
Chiba continued chewing.
"When you kill on the battlefield, are you equally hesitant?"
"That's different."
"How?"
"On the battlefield there is no right or wrong. Only position."
"If I don't kill him, he kills me."
"And it's to protect the village."
Chiba let out a faint scoff.
"So you kill to ensure your survival—or for the greater benefit of the village."
"Why does your life outweigh his?"
"Why does Konoha's benefit outweigh another village's?"
Shisui considered this carefully.
"It doesn't."
"But it's about position."
"People protect what is close to them—family, clan, village."
"That is natural."
"Even enemies protect their own."
"So there is no justice," Chiba said calmly, "only position?"
Shisui shook his head.
"Unjust wars are wars of aggression."
"Wars to resist aggression are just."
Chiba looked up.
"Was Amegakure just or unjust?"
Shisui paused.
"In the last war, Amegakure became a battlefield for Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure."
"They did not invade anyone."
"But when the great nations used their land to wage war, did anyone ask Amegakure?"
"For them…"
"Was Konoha just?"
Shisui hesitated.
"But Hanzo once declared war on the shinobi world—"
"He declared defense."
"If your homeland became a battlefield—your people displaced and slaughtered—what would you do?"
Silence filled the shop.
"You say there is no right or wrong, only position."
"That is the arrogance of great nations."
"When Amegakure resisted, the Five Great Nations painted Hanzo as a madman."
"Yet since Konoha's founding, the shinobi world has endured three great wars—each initiated by the Five Great Nations."
"Do you still believe there is no right or wrong?"
"Do you still believe your justice is truly just?"
Shisui remained quiet for a long time.
"But I am a shinobi of Konoha."
"I did not choose my birth."
"I naturally view the world from Konoha's perspective."
"If I were born in Amegakure…"
"Perhaps I would think differently."
Chiba pointed at him.
"Exactly."
"Admit it."
"The justice you uphold…"
"Is simply the law of the strong."
"Amegakure lacks justice only because they are weak."
Shisui grew restless.
He had come to admonish Chiba.
Instead—
His own convictions were being shaken.
Was it possible…
That everything he had believed in—
Was flawed?