Chapter 107: Shisui's Dream

Shisui pondered deeply, unsure of his dream. From a young age, he followed his father's orders, rigorously training his body and honing his ninjutsu skills. He graduated from the Ninja Academy shortly after enrolling, becoming a ninja. After experiencing numerous hardships and losing many comrades, he awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.

Yet, he had never seriously considered what his dream was. When asked by his teachers, he would casually brush off the question.

After a moment of reflection, Shisui earnestly replied, "My dream is probably to become Hokage."

"To become Hokage?" Byakuya gazed at Shisui, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. He then asked, "Every Konoha ninja dreams of becoming Hokage. Why do you want to become Hokage? Is it to bring peace between your clan and the village, or just to trample others underfoot?"

Shisui hesitated before responding, "Probably for peace. I want the clan and the village to coexist harmoniously, and I want peace in the ninja world."

Hearing this, Byakuya's expression changed before he took a few deep breaths. An Uchiha aiming for Hokage was one thing, but one desiring to bring peace to the world was another—far more dangerous. Such an ambition could lead to extreme measures to achieve an impossible goal.

Noticing Byakuya's exaggerated reaction, Shisui frowned, feeling somewhat annoyed. "Is there something wrong with my dream? Isn't world peace a good thing?"

"Of course, it's a good thing!" Byakuya composed himself, then continued, "But I advise you not to reach too high. Being Hokage isn't what you think it is. Even if you become Hokage, you won't achieve your dream. Moreover, when an Uchiha desires to become Hokage, it's a sign of impending doom."

"Why?" Shisui didn't understand what Byakuya was implying, but Byakuya left him with a cryptic remark: "Time will reveal the answers. After you experience certain events, you will make your choice. Among the many choices, leaving Konoha is the best one."

Before Shisui could react, Byakuya vanished.

Reflecting on Byakuya's words, Shisui felt a sense of unease. He believed Byakuya knew something about the Uchiha's secrets but was deliberately withholding information. As Shisui tried to find Byakuya, he realized with a start that he had no idea how Byakuya had disappeared. After searching around, he also noted that Hanzo and Kakuzu were nowhere to be found.

Just then, the sound of rustling leaves reached his ears. Over a dozen jonin appeared around Shisui, surveying the area. The lead jonin approached Shisui.

They were Uchiha jonin, seeking Shisui and retaliating against the ninja who attacked him. The leader of the group was none other than Uchiha Fugaku, the strongest jonin of the Uchiha clan and a prominent figure among Konoha's younger generation.

Approaching Shisui, Fugaku frowned and asked, "Where are those attackers?"

At this moment, Shisui realized why Byakuya had left—he had sensed the arrival of his clan members, a perceptive ability that was indeed impressive.

In response to Fugaku's question, Shisui shook his head slightly, "They left earlier."

"They left earlier!" Fugaku's face darkened. He signaled his subordinates to search the area thoroughly. He couldn't believe that the attackers had left without leaving any traces.

About ten kilometers away, Byakuya, Hanzo, and Kakuzu walked along a narrow path. Seeing that Shisui was not following them, Hanzo curiously asked, "What happened to that Uchiha kid? Did he escape?"

"Escape? Let me go and capture him!" Kakuzu's eyes lit up.

Byakuya shook his head, "I let him go on purpose since the Uchiha reinforcements have arrived. I don't want to engage in a direct confrontation with them right now."

"Didn't you want to recruit the Uchiha? Did you fail?" Hanzo inquired.

Byakuya glanced at Hanzo and replied, "It's impossible to recruit someone who has faith in the Will of Fire after just a few days of interaction. You give me too much credit. The Will of Fire was proposed by the First Hokage and perfected by the Second Hokage. Without it, Konoha wouldn't be able to maintain its position as the top ninja village after three ninja wars."

"So, what's your plan?" Hanzo asked, intrigued by Byakuya's strategy.

Byakuya responded calmly, "A ninja who still holds illusions about the village can't be recruited. But if you expose him to enough darkness, causing his faith to collapse, he might become a rogue ninja."

"It's a good plan, but the success rate is low. Konoha won't dig its own grave," Hanzo shook his head. He had witnessed the strong faith of Konoha's ninjas firsthand, even at his peak, he couldn't shake their resolve. He doubted Byakuya could succeed, and Konoha wouldn't turn against its own people.

Byakuya chuckled, "Then let's wait and see, Hanzo-sensei. My intuition has never been wrong. As long as we don't reveal our true strength, Konoha will inevitably fall into chaos."

Hearing the conversation between the master and disciple, Kakuzu slowly stopped in his tracks, looking at Byakuya's back. He had the strange feeling that in this master-disciple relationship, Byakuya seemed to be the one in control, while Hanzo appeared to be in a weaker position.

However, long, long ago, when his faith wasn't in money, back when the ninja villages were first being established, he had received a mission from his village to assassinate the First Hokage during a diplomatic mission. After painstakingly defeating a wood clone of the First Hokage, he was spared by the Hokage himself. But when he returned to his village, he was met with punishment from the high-ups, who then turned around and made peace with Konoha, abandoning him.

From then on, he never believed in ninja villages. After stealing the village's secret treasure, the Earth Grudge Fear, he began his life of accumulating wealth, becoming the most renowned killer on the black market, with his only belief being in money.

Hearing that Shisui, like him, once believed in his village, Kakuzu became interested in Byakuya's plan. He couldn't wait to see Shisui fall and become his colleague. He wondered, once Shisui lost his belief in his village, what would he believe in? Would it be himself, or money?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kakuzu quickened his pace to catch up with Hanzo and Byakuya. Recently, his mind had been cluttered with annoying thoughts, like weeds. Instead of wasting time thinking about such things, it would be better to focus on how to complete his bounty missions.