The Fifth Leaf Village

Shisui put away the documents, came to the door and opened it. After seeing who was coming, a smile appeared on Shisui's face: "Itachi? You're back?"

"Shisui." Seeing his brother who was both his teacher and friend, Uchiha Itachi smiled briefly.

"Come in and sit down." Shisui brought Uchiha Itachi back home. Shisui pulled over a short couch and the two of them sat on the floor.

Chapter 76 Brothers’ Disagreement (Part )

"Itachi, we haven't talked for a while." Shisui smiled.

"Yes, we haven't talked since your eyes were taken away." Uchiha Itachi said.

When Shisui saw Uchiha Itachi brought up this, he shook his head helplessly. What happened a few days ago made him see the true faces of many people, and in the past few days, he also checked the old files left by the Security Department in his spare time. The things hidden under the seemingly bright and beautiful appearance of the village made a huge change in his mentality.

He realized that Uchiha Dohuan took away his eyes to protect his family, the village, and even more so himself. He clearly realized that he was too naive in the past. If Uchiha Dohuan had not taken action in time, but allowed him to use Kotoamatsukami to do whatever he wanted, then the family and the village would probably be doomed, and these crimes in the village would continue to be hidden.

Uchiha Douhuan was right. The answer he gave to his inner torture, Kotoamatsukami, was too arrogant and naive. In his hands, Kotoamatsukami was no different from a child holding a sharp knife, dangerous and uncontrollable.

Now, even if Uchiha Dohuan placed his Mangekyō Sharingan in front of Shisui, Shisui would not have the courage to pick it up again.

Seeing that Shisui fell into silence, Uchiha Itachi asked after a while: "What happened in the village some time ago?"

"Have you heard everything?" Shisui sighed and recounted the cause and effect of the rumor incident some time ago in detail. As an eyewitness to the security department, Shisui naturally had a clearer perspective than Sasuke, who could only know it through rumors.

After hearing the whole story, Uchiha Itachi frowned deeply. After a while, he looked up and said, "No matter what, the security department should not use violence against the villagers."

"Itachi, I know what you mean. Doo Hwan has been very restrained in this matter." Shisui understood his best friend's thoughts very well. "He originally planned to resolve this matter through legislation, but things developed out of control to such a situation under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives. I don't think Doo Hwan would want to do that either."

"Shisui, you..." Uchiha Itachi did not expect that Shisui would actually speak for Uchiha Dohuan who had robbed his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"But if this happens, the gap between the family and the village will only get bigger and bigger. Uchiha Dohuan has never thought about integrating the family into the village! Have you forgotten our dreams?" Uchiha Itachi asked.

"Itachi, you have a profound misunderstanding of Doo Hwan. Doo Hwan has always been trying to integrate the clan into the village! The fact that the security department recruited civilian ninjas is the best proof of this," Shisui said. "Also, after this incident, I've thought about it carefully. The clan can be integrated into the village, but the security department cannot."

Shisui's words puzzled Itachi, but Shisui quickly helped him clear up his confusion: "After all, the Security Department is the law enforcement department of the village. What law enforcement departments need to do is to ensure their fairness, not to get close to the villagers. On this matter, Doo Hwan is much more clear-headed than we were before."

"Shisui, have you forgotten the Will of Fire?" Uchiha Itachi looked at Shisui in disbelief. It had only been a short time, and even someone like Shisui who firmly believed in the Will of Fire had been brainwashed by Uchiha Dohuan?

"Itachi, the Guard Department must fulfill its duties well, which is the true practice of the Will of Fire." Seeing Itachi so excited, Uchiha Shisui had to frown and speak seriously.

The two fell silent again. After a while, Shisui sighed and continued, "Besides, Itachi, some people in the village may not really care about the Will of Fire as much as they claim."

"Shisui, don't forget what that guy said that day about starting a war!" Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth.

"I think Doo Hwan said that just to disturb my mind," Shisui said after shaking his head, "He probably didn't want to harm my life at the time, so he did that. Otherwise, with his eye technique, he would have ten thousand ways to kill me."

"Enough! I think you have been brainwashed by that guy and completely forgotten our dream! Forgot the will of fire!" Uchiha Itachi slammed the table, growled, and left.

The conversation between the two ended in a bad mood. Shisui looked at Uchiha Itachi's back as he left, feeling helpless. He thought to himself, "Itachi, Douhuan once said that I was arrogant, but I didn't expect that your arrogance is even greater than mine."

If possible, he would like to show Uchiha Itachi the shocking evidence, but due to the confidentiality regulations, he did not have the authority to do so.

"It seems that I can only wait until tomorrow to ask Dohwan and see if Itachi can also know the truth." After Uchiha Itachi left, Uchiha Shisui returned to the study, took out the documents again, and sighed.

After leaving Shisui's house, Uchiha Itachi wandered around aimlessly. He didn't understand why he felt as if the whole world had abandoned him after he had been away for a while. His younger brother who had once relied on him the most and his brother who was both his teacher and friend had become strangers to him.

Itachi Uchiha unknowingly came to the place where he once thought about life with the person he loved the most, the cliff beside the Nanga River.

The night wind on the top of the cliff ruffled his hair. Uchiha Itachi felt every breeze blowing past his ears and began to rethink the relationship between his family and the village.

Uchiha Itachi is one of the few smart people in the Uchiha clan, whose minds are all about muscles and family glory. Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen said, Uchiha Itachi can think about problems from the perspective of Hokage, so he can see that there are problems in the way the family and the village get along, but how to solve this problem, even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who sits in the position of Hokage, has no idea, let alone him who can only think about problems from the perspective of Hokage.

In other words, Uchiha Itachi had a brain that allowed him to think like this, but what he saw and learned could not support the level of his thinking.

If Uchiha Dohuan were here, he might be willing to guide this lost soul, but pride and prejudice made Uchiha Itachi make what he thought was the right choice.

The last fallen leaf of early winter fluttered down, and Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan suddenly opened. Three magatama slowly rotated in it, and the fallen leaves flying in the wind were ignited by chakra. Through the light of the flame, he looked towards the direction of Hokage Rock, the highest point in the village. The shadow rocks of the four Hokage in his Sharingan were particularly clear.

"The will of fire cannot be wrong." As the ashes of burnt leaves drifted in the wind, Uchiha Itachi muttered to himself.

Chapter 77 Itachi Uchiha's Decision

When Uchiha Itachi returned home again, it was already late at night. Sasuke and Mikoto had already gone to bed, but Fugaku was still busy in the study.

Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, looked at the familiar furnishings in the house, and then returned to his room.

Not long after, Uchiha Itachi walked out of the room with a box of gifts and came to the entrance.

At this moment, a majestic voice came from behind him: "Where are you going?"

Uchiha Itachi turned around and looked at his father, and said calmly: "I plan to move out. The family mission has delayed me for a long time. I may have more missions in the Anbu recently, and my home is still too far from the village."

Fugaku's face was cold, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. After a long time, he spoke: "Itachi, some choices you make, there is no turning back."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi also stopped and turned back to say seriously: "Father, the one who can't turn back is the current family."

Uchiha Fugaku sighed. His Mangekyō eye technique allowed him to see some fragments of the future, and the images of these fragments would change according to his thoughts and choices. What he had seen before was that he and his wife died under Uchiha Itachi's sword, but Sasuke would be able to restore the glory of Uchiha in the future. He had also tried to reverse such a future in the past, but the final result was that he knew he did not have the ability to change it, and could only quietly wait for his own ending.

However, after Uchiha Dohuan forcefully intervened in family affairs, the previous ending was quietly shattered, and Uchiha Fugaku saw a brand new future. Although this new future fragment was only a shallow corner and almost made his Mangekyo blind due to the backlash, he could vaguely see that the family's grandeur far surpassed that of his ancestors.

However, in this future, the only person missing is Itachi.

He wanted to save his son, so after that, he made several attempts, even trying to tell Itachi all his eye techniques, but until his Mangekyō pupil power was almost exhausted and his vision was almost half blind, the ending still did not change. In this regard, he had to face the fact that his eldest son could not be persuaded to come back, just like he had faced his own ending.

Calling Uchiha Itachi today was just his last attempt as a father.

Fugaku looked at Itachi's blurry back and couldn't help but recall what Uchiha Dohuan had said to him. If he hadn't brought the four-year-old Itachi to the battlefield, perhaps everything wouldn't have come to this point.

……

The next morning, after Sasuke got up, he ran to Itachi's room first. Although the conversation last night was a bit unpleasant, Sasuke had made plans before falling asleep last night. He would go to apologize to his brother early this morning and then ask his brother to take him to school.

However, when he pushed open the door of Uchiha Itachi's room, what came into his sight was an empty room. Uchiha Itachi actually did not take away many things. Apart from a few sets of clothes and commonly used ninja tools, he only took away the photo of him and Sasuke that had been placed in the room. But Sasuke felt something was wrong because of this.

"Mom? Where is my brother?" Sasuke ran to the kitchen and asked Mikoto who was making breakfast and preparing lunch.

"Itachi will be very busy in the Anbu recently." The one who answered Sasuke was Fugaku, who was drinking tea at the table next to him.

When Sasuke heard the news, he lowered his head dejectedly, and after a while he said, "Did I make my brother angry last night?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Sasuke." Fugaku said, "Hurry up and finish your meal and go to school."

"Okay," Sasuke said weakly.

……

Uchiha Itachi, who had spent the night in an inn in the village, changed into Anbu equipment early in the morning and went to the Hokage Building to report.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was also very surprised to see Uchiha Itachi come to report. He also knew that Uchiha Itachi was sent by the family to inspect the Uchiha clan's industry in the Land of Fire during this period. He originally thought that after Itachi came back, he would withdraw from the Anbu under the arrangement of the family, but he did not expect Itachi to come back to report today.

"Hokage, I'm sorry for taking such a long leave because of the family mission." Uchiha Itachi, wearing a mask, bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"It's okay, it's okay." Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile, "Whether it's a family mission or an Anbu mission, it's all for the village after all."

"Hokage-sama, does the Anbu have any missions recently?" asked Uchiha Itachi.

In response to Uchiha Itachi's question, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't rush to answer. Instead, he asked, "Itachi, the Security Department has made a lot of contributions to the village recently. Would you like to try working in the Security Department for a while? The Anbu hasn't had many missions lately, so it would be much more convenient for you to commute to work there. After all, the Anbu base is quite far from the Uchiha clan's territory."

After experiencing this series of events, especially after witnessing Shisui's powerful Susanoo display against Utane and the Mito clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen's trust in Uchiha Itachi was obviously no longer the same as before.

"I may not be able to help much with the Security Department, so I might be more accustomed to the Anbu." Uchiha Itachi said with his head down, "As for the commuting problem, I have already planned to move out of the Uchiha clan land and rent a house in the village."

After listening to Uchiha Itachi's answer, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a deep look and thought for a moment before speaking, "Yesterday, a caravan from the Land of Lightning arrived in the village. According to reports from the village ninja, some of the members of the caravan were acting suspiciously. Assistant Shikaku suspects they are members of the Land of Lightning, contacting spies lurking in the village. I've already sent ANBU to monitor them. You should go and assist them. I believe that with the help of your Sharingan, you will be able to catch them off guard and track down the spies lurking in the village."

Uchiha Itachi heard this and nodded vigorously: "Yes."

……

While Uchiha Itachi was monitoring the caravan coming from the Land of Lightning, the interrogation of those from the Shimura, Utane, and Mito clans who had colluded with Orochimaru was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

The evidence that Orochimaru forged for Uchiha Touhan was half true and half false. Among the dozens of people captured, some may not have participated in the kidnapping of their fellow villagers, but most of them, especially the diehards of the Shimura clan, were not innocent. Under Uchiha Touhan's special arrangement, the Anbu sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen to cooperate in the investigation were responsible for interrogating this group of people. With the professional means of the Anbu, they quickly pried open their mouths.

Then, the Security Department stepped in to seal off the assets of the three tribes to compensate the victims in these old cases.

Chapter 78 Hyuga Clan

As for those who are truly innocent, the interrogation methods of the Security Department are not as professional as those of the Anbu, so it is normal that they have not yet been found out.

After a day's work, Shisui found Uchiha Dohuan and asked Itachi to see the evidence.

After thinking for a while, Uchiha Douhuan agreed to Shisui's request.

After all, if these things could make Uchiha Itachi face reality, Uchiha Dohuan could save a lot of effort.

However, when Uchiha Dohan and Shisui went to find Uchiha Itachi, they got the news that Uchiha Itachi had already left.

After hearing the news, Shisui searched the village alone for a whole night, but Uchiha Itachi's strength had reached the level of an elite jonin, and he was hiding intentionally, so even Shisui could not find his whereabouts.

The next day, Uchiha Douhuan looked at Shisui's distraught look and understood what was going on.

"Didn't you find him?" Uchiha Douhuan asked.

"Yeah." Uchiha Shisui's face was filled with visible fatigue. He rubbed his brows lightly and said distressedly, "I don't know where that kid ran off to."

"Forget it, there's no need to look for him. It seems he has made what he thinks is the right choice." Uchiha Douhuan's eyes flashed.

"Doohwan..." Shisui pursed his lips and wanted to say something to defend Itachi.

"Shisui, don't you understand the Uchiha character? Now that he has made his choice, there will be no turning back." Uchiha Dohuan's voice also turned cold, "It seems that he didn't listen to what I said to him last time."

Uchiha Douhuan patted Shisui's shoulder and said, "If you're tired, go back and rest for half a day."

"Don't we need to worry about him anymore?" Uchiha Shisui was stunned when he heard that.

"No need." Uchiha Douhuan said coldly, "I told him that in the face of the general trend, the power of an individual is insignificant. It seems that he is very confident and wants to try to challenge it."

Shisui was speechless, shook his head helplessly, and sat back in his seat. At this time, Uchiha Douhuan looked out the window, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

……

In the following days, as the investigation progressed, the truth of what happened that year gradually came to light. Most of the victims were from some small ninja clans in the village with blood inheritance, such as the Moonlight clan who possessed the blood inheritance of Toutou. In the past ten years, three children had been killed by them.

After receiving justice and compensation, the families of the victims were naturally grateful to the Security Department. In contrast, the assets of the three clans of the Mito clan and the Shimura clan shrank by a full two-thirds, and the Shimura clan even returned to the time before the village was built overnight. Uchiha Touhan's series of actions captured most of the powerful members of the Shimura clan, leaving only a few Chunins and one special Jonin. This branch had clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with Danzo's continuous withdrawal of clan members into the Root when Danzo was still alive, and thus had been suppressed by the clan. This marginal branch can no longer even support the name of a ninja clan.

The Security Department, which was responsible for the interrogation, also made amazing progress. More than ten high-ranking members of the Utane and Mito clan, including Utane Kei, confessed to everything in the evidence. The entire investigation process was coming to an end. All that was left was to summarize all the interrogation records and give them to Sarutobi Hiruzen for review, and then distribute the last batch of the seized clan property of the three clans to the families of the victims. Only then would the matter be successfully concluded.

"Everyone has been working hard lately." In the interrogation room, Uchiha Douhuan clapped his hands and said with a smile, "After I hand over this last batch of stolen goods to the victims of the case, I would like to invite everyone to get together. I have already booked a private room at BBQ Q, and I hope you will all come and visit me later."

"Captain Douhuan, you are too polite." Several Anbu who were sent here said hurriedly. In the past few days, they really experienced why the ninjas in the village said that the treatment in the security department was good.

During the past two days in the Security Department, in order to give an explanation to the victims as soon as possible, everyone worked overtime until very late every day, and they didn't think it was a big deal. Years of experience in the Anbu made them accustomed to working overtime on an empty stomach.

But from the first day they worked overtime, the Security Department prepared sumptuous supper for them every night to help them replenish their energy. This was not a big deal. What was more important was that Uchiha Douhuan paid them overtime pay directly according to the Security Department's salary standards. Their income in the past few days was almost as much as a month of hard work in the Anbu. This was a brand new experience they had never had in the Anbu.

And now, Uchiha Douhuan told them that there would be benefits after completing the mission, which made them flattered.

The last remaining batch of clan property seized from the three clans was worth about 1.5 million taels, accounting for about % of the total stolen goods. The remaining victims who had not yet been compensated were mostly from the Uchiha, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans, as well as some relatives of the Fourth Hokage who died in the Third Shinobi World War. It is not difficult to see that these things were the dividends left by Uchiha Dohuan for his own people.

In addition to these, there are also several members of the Hyuga clan on the list of victims.

Uchiha Douhuan picked out several of the best shops from the pile of confiscated land deeds, then took the Hyuga clan section of the victim list and said to the others in the interrogation room, "I'll personally deliver the Hyuga clan items. You guys take the rest to the victims' families according to the list, and then go to the barbecue Q and wait for me."

"Understood!" The members of the joint investigation team nodded one by one.

……

Uchiha Douhuan came to the door of the Hyuga clan leader's residence with the title deed and the list.

Uchiha Douhuan knocked on the door. When the branch family member guarding the clan gate opened the door and looked inside, he smiled and said, "Please tell the Hiashi clan leader that Uchiha Douhuan, the captain of the security team, is here to visit."

Hinata Hiashi, who had just finished teaching Hinata the family's soft fist technique, soon got the news.

"Captain of the security team?" Hinata Hiashi frowned slightly. If Uchiha Douhuan was just paying a normal visit, he should have called himself the head of the Uchiha clan. But now Uchiha Douhuan called himself the captain of the security team, so it was obvious that the other party came for official business.

"The family should have had no contact with the security team recently." Although he was full of doubts, since Uchiha Douhuan had already come to the door, there was naturally no reason to leave him outside.

Hinata Hiashi instructed the servants of the branch family to prepare tea for the guests, while he personally rushed towards the gate. No matter what, Uchiha Dohuan was the patriarch of the clan, and it was reasonable for him to go out and greet them in person.

"Chief Hiashi." Uchiha Douhuan greeted him with a smile when he saw Hinata Hiashi walking out of the door.

"Clan leader Douhuan, please." Hinata Hiashi also smiled standardly and invited Uchiha Douhuan into his home.

Chapter 79 The Hyuga Clan's Position

Hinata Hiashi led Uchiha Dohuan to the reception room of his home. The Hyuga clan was indeed the second most powerful family in the village after the Uchiha clan, and they had all the necessary etiquette to entertain guests.

After both Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Douhuan had finished a cup of tea served by the maid, Hyuga Hiashi slowly spoke, "I wonder why Captain Douhuan came to visit today?"

When Uchiha Douhuan heard what the other party said, he smiled knowingly. It seemed that Hinata Hiashi understood what he meant, which saved him a lot of trouble.

So, Uchiha Douhuan took out the deeds from the sealing scroll he carried with him and pushed them in front of Hinata Hiashi.