Chiyu got straight to the point, exposing Shisui's intentions and leaving him momentarily taken aback. It seemed this man wasn't merely as reckless and extreme as he appeared on the surface.
"You really are a clever one," Shisui said.
Chiyu replied coolly, "Compared to you, I'm definitely much smarter."
Upon hearing that, the two jōnin behind Shisui were about to lash out again, but Shisui merely smiled, unperturbed.
"In that case, I'd like to hear some advice from this 'clever man.'"
"Sure. Are you hungry?"
Shisui was taken aback. "What?"
"The pancake shop run by Uchiha Teyaki. I'll give you a chance to buy me a meal."
Chiyu walked straight toward the shop.
"Lord Shisui, that guy's so full of himself!"
"Who does he think he is? Nothing but a mad dog that bites anyone it sees!"
Shisui shot them a glare. "Enough. Don't underestimate that man.
"He's someone the Patriarch is willing to protect at all costs, even if it means confronting the Hokage directly. And the Hokage was concerned enough to send us here to bring him in line…
"Do you really think he's that simple?"
He turned to the two. "You two, wait outside."
"…Yes, Lord Shisui."
Shisui followed Chiyu into Uchiha Teyaki's pancake shop. The elderly proprietors, Uchiha Teyaki and Uchiha Uruchi, paused in surprise.
"Not only Lord Chiyu, but even Lord Shisui has come? Quite a busy day…"
"Lord Chiyu, will it be the usual for you?"
"Mm, thanks."
"And for Lord Shisui?"
"The same, please."
"All right."
Shisui looked around. He recalled Itachi mentioning that he liked this place as well. Not just because the food was good, but because the elderly couple exuded a warmth and sense of humanity. Seeing it in person, Shisui realized Itachi hadn't been wrong.
"You come here often?" Shisui asked.
Before Chiyu could answer, Teyaki chuckled. "He's not exactly a regular, but he's our great benefactor."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Shisui asked.
Uchiha Uruchi cut in angrily, "There used to be a bunch of thugs who caused trouble here every day. They'd eat without paying, pick fights with other customers, break our tables and chairs nonstop. One time, they nearly burned down our entire shop!
"We reported them to the police force, but each time they'd just get locked up for a few months. When they got out, they came back worse than before. They figured out it was us old folks who'd reported them, so they showed up every day to get revenge—beating us, messing us. We could hardly make a living anymore…"
Teyaki picked up the story with a grin.
"Thankfully, Lord Chiyu came by one day. He bumped into those thugs, and without a second thought, he killed them all, leaving none of them alive.
"After that, things finally settled down here. Business slowly returned to normal…"
He brought the pancakes over and set them in front of Chiyu with a cheerful smile. Shisui, however, furrowed his brow.
"They were just thugs, yes, and certainly despicable, but… did they really deserve to die?"
At Shisui's words, the old couple tensed, their faces changing.
"Lord Shisui, if those villains didn't deserve to die, did that mean we two old folks deserved to die instead?"
"That's not what I meant…"
"Hmph, we understand exactly what you're implying. But if everyone thought like you—arresting and releasing them over and over—sooner or later, we'd have been tortured to death by those thugs!
"Sure, maybe they didn't deserve to die yet, but by the time they actually murdered us, they'd finally deserve it, wouldn't they? So who would give us our two lives back then?"
Shisui was at a loss for words. The couple's statement left this young man—who had never truly experienced the murky reality of everyday life—speechless.
Of course, Shisui understood what "darkness" meant. He'd been through wars, seen tragic slaughter, and fought heroically on the battlefield. But when confronted by the gray areas of real life, the messy evil that couldn't simply be cut away, he was utterly unprepared.
"Here." Thud.
Annoyed, Uruchi plunked the plate of pancakes onto the table in front of Shisui.
Chiyu silently ate his pancakes, taking a big swig of soup. Shisui sat there in uneasy silence.
Could it be that this man's way of doing things was actually right? No, that can't be…
On the battlefield, killing the enemy is natural. But inside the village, there should be a more moderate way to resolve problems…
"Chiyu, maybe you have your reasons. But I still think that if it isn't absolutely necessary, there's no need to go to such extremes. The moment you kill someone, you cut off all other possibilities.
"What if you kill the wrong person? What if it's a false accusation? What if they still had a chance to repent? Who's going to give them that chance?"
Without looking up, Chiyu stuffed himself with pancakes. "Were you this hesitant about killing when you were on the battlefield?"
Shisui shook his head. "That's different."
"How is it different?"
"On the battlefield, there's no right or wrong—just your side or mine. It's either kill or be killed. And in any case, it's about protecting the whole village."
Chiyu let out a faint snort of laughter. "So what you mean is, you kill them so you can survive—or so you can protect your village's greater interests.
"On what grounds is your life more important than theirs? On what grounds is Konoha's interest more important than any other village's?"
Shisui thought for a moment. "It isn't necessarily more important. But like I said, it's a matter of sides. People naturally protect themselves first, then the ones around them. Yes, there's a hierarchy of interests, as well as closeness and distance in love. My family, my clan, my village—of course I put them above outsiders. Enemies do the same, protecting what they hold dear."
Chiyu said, "So you're admitting there's no true justice—there's only 'sides'?"
Shisui shook his head. "There's a clear difference between proactive aggression—invading and harming others—and fighting a defensive war against injustice. The former is unambiguously unjust; the latter is just."
Chiyu asked, "So what about Amegakure? Would you call them just or unjust?"
"What?" Shisui was puzzled.
"Amegakure was forced to serve as the battleground for Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure in the last Great Ninja War. They didn't choose to invade anyone, but the three great nations tacitly agreed to dump their battles onto Amegakure's land, never bothering to ask Amegakure what they thought. So from Amegakure's perspective, does Konoha look like justice?"
"But Hanzo of the Salamander declared war on the entire ninja world…"
"That wasn't some declaration of war; it was forced self-defense. Suppose you were Hanzo. Other great nations are using your country as their battlefield, ravaging your land, displacing your citizens, killing your people. What would you do?"
Shisui fell silent.
"In the end, all your talk of 'no right or wrong, just sides' is just the arrogance of a major power. When Amegakure tries to resist their invaders, Konoha and the other great nations label Hanzo a 'warlord'—yet they never consider the simple fact that since Konoha was founded, there have already been three Great Ninja Wars, all started, without exception, by the five great nations.
"So, do you still believe there's no right or wrong, only sides? Do you still think the 'justice' you speak of is truly just?"
Shisui was silent for a long time. "But I am, after all, a shinobi of Konoha. I never chose that for myself; it's simply how I was born. Naturally, I consider things from Konoha's perspective first. If I'd been born in Amegakure, maybe I'd see things differently…"
Chiyu pointed at Shisui. "Exactly. You need to admit that the 'justice' you believe in is nothing more than survival of the fittest. Amegakure has no justice simply because they're too weak."
Shisui's frustration grew. He had come, on the Hokage's orders, to put this man in his place, and yet now he was the one left feeling shaken. Could it be that everything he'd believed in all along… was wrong?