Chapter 332 – Don't Overestimate Your Importance
Uchiha Shisui's head throbbed violently—
the kind of pain that felt as if someone had slammed a fist straight into his skull.
But he was a shinobi.
After a moment's focus, his senses cleared, and his memories snapped back into place.
Uchiha Kei.
He had been knocked out by Uchiha Kei—the Head of the Konoha Military Police Force.
Shisui had heard countless rumors about how terrifying Kei was,
but this was his first time experiencing the sheer difference between them.
A difference measured in Sharingan.
Shisui possessed double-tomoe, no small feat for his age.
And yet Kei had dropped him in a single instant—
no resistance, no struggle, nothing.
A complete one-sided suppression.
---
"Awake?"
A cold voice drifted into his ears.
It lacked the earlier gentleness,
lacked the commanding authority he felt before—
yet it still made Shisui open his eyes instinctively.
He sighed inwardly.
Pretending to be unconscious wouldn't work.
Not in front of this man.
After all, this was Uchiha Kei.
"…Kei-san," Shisui murmured, his voice low.
He quickly scanned his surroundings—
a forest.
But Konoha had forests everywhere.
Which one this was, he couldn't tell.
Judging by the light, he hadn't been out for more than an hour.
Shisui began calculating distance and direction from the Uchiha district,
trying to deduce his location.
Kei watched his attempts with faint amusement.
"No need to overthink it," Kei said coolly.
"This is the forest behind the clan grounds.
As for why I brought you here—
you caught my attention, kid."
"Because of Captain Fukuhiko?"
Shisui rubbed his aching head.
He hadn't forgotten—
Kei was fully prepared to interrogate him by force.
If he hadn't mentioned Fukuhiko's name,
he might have died on the spot.
With the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on his tongue,
and all the restrictions Danzo's Root placed on him…
If Kei tried to extract information,
the seal would have killed him instantly.
He had faced death—
and the memory made him shudder.
"More or less," Kei replied.
"Fukuhiko was once my squad captain and jōnin instructor.
I know the man.
That's why you're here—
and not being dragged into Police HQ."
Kei's gaze sharpened.
"But I didn't expect you to join Root.
Nor did I expect you to have the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal."
His voice grew colder.
"That technique was Danzo's leash for his subordinates.
Danzo is dead—but it seems someone else has picked up his leftovers."
"Cursed… tongue… technique? Danzo?"
Shisui blinked.
He knew the jutsu.
But the person?
He had never heard the name.
"Danzo was the Third Hokage's closest friend," Kei said with a mocking smile.
"And I killed him."
Shisui's heart tightened.
Kei continued, voice dripping disdain:
"You'll probably never understand what your revered Third Hokage has done.
Danzo may have died by my hand,
but in truth, the one who doomed him
was the Third Hokage himself.
If you don't believe me—ask Uchiha Jin."
Shisui fell silent.
Uchiha Kei killed the Third's best friend…
yet nothing happened?
That fact alone said volumes.
Could the Third really have sacrificed his own comrade?
Why…?
What happened behind the scenes?
Why did Kei's tone paint the entire affair in shadow and rot?
"Confused?"
Kei's lips curled slightly.
"I told Uchiha Itachi something once.
I'll say it to you as well."
He stepped closer.
"The level you stand on determines your perspective—
and determines how far you can see."
Kei's tone hardened.
"And right now, the things you're obsessing over?
Your mindset?
Your worldview?"
He shook his head.
"You can't see anything clearly at your level."
Shisui stood there, silent and conflicted,
unable to argue—
and unable to refute a single word.
"The level you stand on determines the world you see."
Shisui repeated the thought in his mind.
It was the first time he'd heard such words—yet they pierced straight through him.
Because he had noticed it.
There were countless things he couldn't accurately grasp…
countless truths he couldn't understand.
It wasn't just him.
The entire upper echelon of Konoha seemed buried under layers of secrets.
"So, kid."
Kei lightly patted Shisui's shoulder.
"Don't think too highly of yourself.
You have no idea what you're standing in the middle of.
And worse—
you were arrogant enough to walk straight into a political minefield you don't even understand."
Shisui remained silent.
But his eyes betrayed confusion, unease, and a growing sense of dread.
"This clash you've stepped into," Kei continued,
"isn't just some simple dispute.
It's a power struggle inside the Hokage's office itself—
and a conflict between the Village and the Uchiha Clan.
Or, more accurately…
between the Village and every bloodline clan."
Ki turned away and walked a few paces before speaking again.
"Back then, Uchiha Jin saw it clearly.
But he had no choices.
All he could do was hope the Third Hokage would grant him—
or rather, the Uchiha Clan—some measure of forgiveness.
But Jin had almost no real influence compared to Uchiha Shin,
who controlled most of the clan's political power at the time.
If it hadn't been for the Clan Head and myself joining forces,
then thanks to Shin's reckless leadership…
the Uchiha Clan would probably already be preparing to break with Konoha altogether."
Shisui's head spun.
"But… why would the Fourth Hokage and the Third Hokage have such a huge conflict of interest?"
Shisui whispered.
"The Fourth was elected by the village…
and the Third is his grandmaster.
Why—why would they be at odds?"
"And what did the Third Hokage do…
to end up causing his closest friend's death—
and allow you to kill him?"
Shisui felt his beliefs crumbling.
Everything he had trusted—everything he thought he knew—
was shaking apart.
He felt unbelievably foolish.
He truly… didn't understand anything.
Kei's tone was cold.
"Because the Third and the Fourth walk two different paths."
"The Third inherited the Second Hokage's doctrine and refined it into a system that maintains his political power.
But the Fourth?
He rejected almost all of that doctrine—
and even went against it in some places."
Shisui's breath trembled.
"So… the Third Hokage doesn't actually like the Fourth Hokage?
But… the Fourth was elected!"
Kei chuckled—a sound full of contempt.
"Who told you an election result guarantees the Hokage's seat?
Elections are a performance for the public.
Who sees the ballots first?
Who counts them?
You think those results are untouchable?"
Shisui froze.
Kei continued mercilessly.
"The Third miscalculated.
He believed Orochimaru was too difficult to control,
so he chose a younger, more manipulable successor.
Otherwise why would Orochimaru—a man with overwhelming prestige—
fail to become Hokage?
Because of some experiments?
Don't make me laugh.
Those experiments would never have continued
if no one in power supported them.
Orochimaru's only mistake…
was acting without informing his teacher first.
And the title 'Hokage' can't afford scandals."
The world Shisui knew ruptured.
Orochimaru wasn't rejected because of the experiments?
The village's outrage, the investigations…
none of it truly mattered?
The truth was far darker.
Shisui's face paled.
Konoha—the village shining under the Will of Fire—
hid this much filth beneath the sunlight?
But… the villagers lived well.
The village was peaceful.
Could the darkness coexist under such brightness?
Or was it simply that he wasn't standing high enough
to see what lay beneath?
Kei's tone sharpened.
"Listen well, kid.
Don't act like some kind of savior.
To us—
you're at best a piece on the board.
But you're a dangerous piece,
because as a Uchiha,
you could unintentionally cause more damage than you realize."
Kei turned to leave.
"Know your place.
You don't have the right to judge any of this."
"Kei-san… I—" Shisui's voice trembled.
"Enough." Kei cut him off coldly.
"If you weren't Uchiha…
and if your instructor weren't Fukuhiko…
you'd already be dead.
Or rotting in a Police holding cell
while we rip every answer we want out of you."
Kei waved him away.
"Get lost.
We never met today.
And as for the chaos in Kirigakure?
Yes—I wasn't in the village.
So what?
I was on a classified mission.
Why would I report to you?
On the night of the Nine-Tails attack—the Fourth Hokage, Clan Head Fugaku,
and every major bloodline clan leader
knew exactly what happened.
But in the hands of certain schemers,
even that truth can be twisted.
And idiots lap it up."
Shisui flinched.
Kei finished calmly:
"Here's your final choice:
Shut up.
Then watch carefully—
really look—
at how Konoha and the Uchiha interact now.
How the villagers treat the Uchiha.
And then think—
what your so-called 'superior'
is trying to make you do.
Maybe then…
you'll finally understand."