Shisui Uchiha felt that there were more and more things about Kirigakure he could not understand.
After Mikazuki Eri was thrown by Rei Kaguya into the Ninja Academy as emergency support, Shisui thought he would soon be taken away for some inhumane experiment.
At the very least, he expected the toxins used on him to be strengthened again, ensuring that he could not use even the slightest bit of chakra.
But Rei simply brought him along.
It was as if he were carrying around a pet or attendant who would automatically follow him.
Then Rei began moving through Kirigakure on his own, handling the many practical difficulties the village faced after the war ended.
The distribution of compensation for shinobi killed or disabled in battle.
The allocation of manpower to complete missions and commissions that had piled up during the war.
Promoting young people who had accumulated merit and battle records during the war, letting them fill the middle and upper-level shinobi vacancies caused by the conflict.
Discussing with the Ninja Academy's principal and instructors how to revise graduation examinations, and how to guide newly enrolled students to voluntarily enter the two fields Kirigakure currently lacked the most—medical ninjutsu and sensory ninjutsu.
Coordinating with village craftsmen on the construction of a memorial monument for the heroic spirits of the war.
And more.
Although Shisui had never personally watched the Hokage handle village affairs, nor had he systematically received education on how a superior should govern, simply watching Rei calmly and methodically deal with the village's many affairs, conflicts, and disputes gave him a subconscious feeling.
A qualified Kage should be like this.
Rational.
Calm.
Composed.
Clear about right and wrong.
Patient enough to explain his thoughts again and again to those who could not keep up with his rhythm.
And decisive enough to act with lightning speed once a decision had been made.
On top of that, he possessed overwhelming strength that made everyone listen properly.
If Shisui were a child raised in Kirigakure, watching his Mizukage gradually improve this village that had been broken by war, he would surely feel sincere admiration for him.
He might even make becoming an excellent shinobi who could help him his lifelong dream.
Looking at the few Ninja Academy-aged brats nearby gazing at Rei with faces full of longing, then casting angry and jealous looks at him, Shisui sighed.
He felt deep unease and worry for Konoha's future.
"Ugh—ah…"
As night gradually descended, Rei stretched hard, rubbed his brow tiredly, and sighed to Shisui, who had remained silent beside him.
"I really envy Konoha. You have the Nara clan, a whole clan that is good at using their brains and lazy enough by nature to avoid unnecessary trouble. Should I consider asking Konoha for a few Nara children and training them as assistants for government affairs?"
"…Hokage-sama would never agree to such a thing."
Shisui refuted him firmly.
"Do not say it so absolutely. Between villages and villages, between nations and nations, there are plenty of things that can be placed on the table and negotiated. As long as the benefits are enough, nothing is impossible to exchange."
Rei sealed the documents in his hand into a scroll he carried with him.
Then he brought Shisui into a dessert shop he often visited.
After ordering several extra-sweet dishes from the owner, Rei looked at Shisui, who had gone silent again, and handed him the menu.
"Anything you want to eat?"
"I do not care."
"Then bring one of each dish without extra sugar too."
"Of course. Thank you for your patronage."
Listening to the dessert shop owner's friendly response, which was no different from that of a shopkeeper in Konoha, Shisui's expression blurred for a moment.
For an instant, it was as if he saw his childhood self walking through Konoha's shopping street with his parents.
But when he came back to himself and saw Rei sitting opposite him, fingers interlaced, looking at him with a mysterious smile, Shisui's mood immediately sank to an even lower place.
"While we have some time before the food arrives, ask whatever you want to ask. If you always keep your words bottled up inside, you will easily lose sleep at night and stop growing taller."
Facing Rei's teasing, which was full of ease and ridicule, Shisui had to take several deep breaths before he barely managed to calm himself.
Then he lowered his head, looked at the clean, even tabletop in front of him, and asked softly, "Why bring me out to clear my head? Would it not be better to keep me locked away and slowly wear down my will and resistance? Whether through subtle influence or cruder methods, turning me directly into what you want would be easier, would it not?"
"Oh? I could not tell, Shisui. You are so young, yet you already possess the firm and fearless heart of a workhorse…"
Rei took over the conversation in a voice that sounded obviously fake with surprise.
"If you had that kind of resolve, you should have said so earlier. I only refrained from arranging work for you now because I was worried your body was too young to endure it. Since you yourself are willing to accept that responsibility, from tomorrow onward, you can become an honored driver of Kirigakure's bloodline research program."
Although Shisui did not understand what "driver" meant in this context, he instinctively felt it was nothing good.
He raised his head in anger and shouted at Rei in a voice still filled with childishness.
"You clearly know that is not what I meant!"
"And you are clearly not the kind of worthless person who willingly degenerates, so why say such thoughtless nonsense?"
Rei withdrew the fake smile from his face and calmly asked in return.
"I… I…"
Shisui was speechless.
"You are different from Hyuga Makoto. Although he has the bloodline of the Hyuga main family, his talent is only at that level. He is stuck somewhere between special jonin and jonin, unable to go up or down. His way of thinking has basically already taken shape as well. Even if he spends the rest of his life as a subject who does not need to think, there is no need to worry about wasting much potential."
Rei dipped his finger into the clear water in the cup and drew a small circle on the tabletop, adding the Hyuga clan crest beside it.
Then he drew another circle much larger than the first and placed the Uchiha clan emblem before Shisui.
"But you are different. In Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan, which can partially reflect the future, you are a genius almost certain to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. You are the future star onto whom he placed two dreams: defeating me and becoming Hokage."
After a brief pause, Rei looked at Shisui's expression, which had grown uneasy and heavy.
Then he grinned and continued, "Let us ignore the unrealistic dream of defeating me for now. Becoming Hokage is a fairly ambitious goal. It requires not only that you display enough strength, but also that the vast majority of Konoha's shinobi support you beyond their prejudice against the Uchiha clan."
"That is not something you can learn simply by obeying orders and killing enemies, Shisui."
"…What use is talking about that now? I am already Kirigakure's captive. Konoha has also acknowledged Kirigakure's custody over me. Can someone with such a terrible past still hope to become Hokage?"
Shisui covered his young face and answered with a slight tremble.
"Why not, Shisui?"
Rei's voice carried a trace of bewitching magic.
He stared at Shisui's face and asked with a faint smile, "Why can you no longer become Hokage?"
"As long as you do not waste your body or mind, as long as you maintain a strong thirst for knowledge and the conviction to become stronger, and as long as you properly learn by my side how to govern a shinobi village in a new era under new conditions… why would you have no chance of becoming the Fifth Hokage?"
"Do not indulge in wishful thinking. Fourth Hokage-sama and the other higher-ups who guard Konoha would never allow a suspicious person who had been influenced by the enemy to become Hokage!"
As if realizing something, Shisui suddenly jumped back several steps.
His expression was agitated as he stared at the smiling Rei.
His chest rose and fell violently as he answered loudly.
"Then from the look of it, you would rather have a Kirigakure shinobi who knows nothing about Konoha's affairs, has no feelings for Konoha's residents, can rectify Konoha's accumulated problems without any hesitation, and does not mind using violence to suppress dissatisfaction, take over Konoha after the war ends?"
Rei looked at Shisui's agitated expression and asked unhurriedly.
"Konoha will not lose!"
Shisui clenched his fists and answered with insufficient confidence.
"If you say so, then it must be so."
Rei waved his hand without concern and sneered.
"I hope that when they see more than a thousand ninjutsu and genjutsu-type shinobi with Sharingan and other Kekkei Genkai, along with the same number of taijutsu shinobi with Byakugan, standing together on Konoha's outer wall, their will to persist will be as hard as your mouth."
"You… You cannot. You cannot do that… You cannot!"
Imagining that scene, which was even more terrifying than a nightmare, Shisui could not help feeling a chill.
He did not even think about the possibility that those Sharingan holders would be his descendants.
He simply felt deep fear at the terrifying line of thought Rei had displayed.
This person… did he not have even the slightest intention of protecting the rarity of Kekkei Genkai?
That was one of the most fundamental reasons they could be more outstanding, more superior, than ordinary shinobi.