Chapter 124: Predicament

Suddenly, Shisui noticed a shadow move, but before the figure could get out of range, he used Body Flicker Jutsu and appeared right behind it.

With a sword at the shadow's neck, Shisui demanded, “Who are you?”

Since Hiruzen had called back his Anbu, the only person bold enough to spy on a Uchiha in the Uchiha compound was Danzo. The problem was that unlike Anbu ninjas, who were loyal to the village with their hearts, Root ninjas were more like slaves.

Though completely loyal to Danzo, unlike Anbu who could betray the Hokage to save their own lives, Root ninjas had no such privileges. Their only option when captured was death.

The Root ninja spying on Kaida was only a chunin, with no chance of fighting Shisui. So, he did what he was trained for—he swallowed the poison pill hidden in his mouth. Foaming at the mouth, his body quickly went limp.

Shisui frowned at the sight, already knowing who was behind this. Root was no secret to ninjas in higher positions. Leaving the body, Shisui flickered back in front of Kaida and asked, “What did you get involved in?” His face was stern.

Kaida remained calm. He had already suspected someone was watching him, even back when Anbu were spying on him. But he hadn’t acted because he wasn’t ready to make a move yet.

From the beginning, he believed it was Danzo, not Hiruzen, who had been spying on him, and Kaida didn’t want Danzo to become more suspicious than he already was. So, he spent the last month focused on growing stronger.

Now, both his genjutsu and kenjutsu were at a jonin level, and his ninjutsu had improved drastically due to his training in the fire room. Kaida decided it was time to stop being so low-key. Although he wasn’t strong enough to face many elite jonin alone, handling one would not be difficult.

Root might have power, but even the Uchiha clan, which had been in Konoha since the village's formation, only had a dozen ninjas barely considered elite jonin. The strength of an elite jonin couldn’t be underestimated—they were just below Kage-level ninjas like Hiruzen and Danzo. A team of well-balanced elite jonin could even take on a Kage-level ninja.

Since Kaida had already reached this level of strength, he decided he could be a bit more open about his plans. Still, it wasn’t time to go against Danzo... not yet.

“Brother, have you left the compound in the past couple of months?” Kaida asked.

“No, but why are you changing the subject?” Shisui asked.

“Don’t worry, brother, I’m going to tell you everything. A month ago, I went back to my old orphanage. There, I met the caretaker, and during our conversation, he mentioned something interesting.” Kaida looked at Shisui.

“Go on,” Shisui urged.

“According to him, the Uchiha clan's image has been declining in the eyes of civilians and civilian ninjas. People have been talking about how the Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails attack, and that we don’t consider the village our own,” Kaida explained.

“Bullshit! If the Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails attack, why would we have helped during that time? We’re the village founders—no one considers this place their home more than we do,” Shisui said, clearly frustrated.

“I know, brother. But the civilians don’t see it that way. And the attitude of some Uchiha ninjas toward civilians hasn’t helped—it's only fueled the rumors,” Kaida said.

Shisui thought about this for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I understand that. But what does that have to do with this?” he asked, pointing at the dead body.

“Brother, don’t you think it’s suspicious how, after so many years since the Nine-Tails attack, these rumors suddenly started spreading on their own? Obviously, someone intentionally spread them. At first, I thought it was a small group dissatisfied with the Uchiha.

So, I started treating patients for free at the hospital, trying to improve the Uchiha's image and dispel the rumors. It worked—the rumors started dying down. But around that time, I began to feel like someone was watching me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find them. And it even continued when I was in the compound.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Shisui asked angrily, concerned for Kaida's safety.

“I’m sorry, brother. I thought it was just a small group, and I wanted to handle it myself,” Kaida said, bowing his head slightly.

Sigh.

“You know that was reckless, right?” Shisui asked calmly.

“Yes, brother,” Kaida replied.

“Then go back to the house. Don’t get involved in this anymore. I’ll take care of it from here,” Shisui said in a tone that made it clear he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Kaida nodded and turned to leave. As he walked away, Shisui called after him, “Don’t tell mom or Yomi about this.”

“I know, brother,” Kaida said before using Wind Instantaneous Movement Jutsu to head back.

Shisui thought for a moment, then took the body directly to Hiruzen’s office. He didn’t enter through the main gate and had sealed the body in a storage scroll.

“What’s the matter, Shisui? Why did you want to see me suddenly?” Hiruzen asked.

Without saying a word, Shisui placed the storage scroll on the desk. Hiruzen understood that this wasn’t something for others to hear. He glanced at the ceiling, and four Anbu ninjas quickly left the room.

“What’s in it?” Hiruzen asked.

“The dead body of a ninja who was spying on my brother. He committed suicide as soon as I caught him,” Shisui said.

Hiruzen's expression darkened as he realized what this meant. “Who else knows about this?” he asked seriously.

“No one but me and Kaida,” Shisui replied.

“Why didn’t you go to Fugaku?” Hiruzen asked, curious about Shisui’s reasoning.