Yes, the Hokage

"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Shisui's expression softened slightly.

"The world is not black and white. Many things cannot be based on what others say. You have to explore and think for yourself to find out what the truth is and how important the truth is to you."

Feng Lan patted his shoulder: "At least in my opinion, whether the Third Hokage did this or not does not affect the fact that he was once a hero who protected Konoha and led the village to its peak, nor does it affect the fact that he has now been corrupted by power and turned into an old man called desire."

"So the truth of this matter...who cares?"

Chapter 32 Still Water's Special Trouble

Although Fenglan told Shisui that she didn't care, she knew very well that there were still people who cared about this matter.

So he first arranged for Shisui to visit Rin and then sent a message to Kakashi and Obito to come to the Hokage's office, while he himself went to tell Minato about it.

"Impossible!" Minato's reaction was exactly what Feng Lan expected. He waved his hand firmly, "Although the Third Hokage may have some different ideas from us, he would never harm his fellow villagers. Those people are family to him!"

"Um, the word 'family' has become a rather awkward concept for me." Feng Lan twitched the corner of his mouth. Before he transmigrated, every live-streaming e-commerce session he watched was filled with phrases like "OK family members" or "Who understands family members?", which made him want to laugh when he heard the word now.

“Personally, I think it’s unlikely, but we should still keep an eye on it.” He quickly put away his smile. “And some people should know the answer to this, such as Shizune, Kato Dan’s niece, and Tsunade, his lover.”

"My personal suggestion is to find Lady Tsunade and tell her about this, and then let her decide whether to continue the investigation. Even if we do investigate, as one of the Legendary Sannin, she is more familiar with Orochimaru and should be able to get more information out of him."

"Hmm...you make a good point." Minato frowned and thought for a long time. "Then who should we send, and where should we go to find Lady Tsunade?"

"Miss Shizune should know Lady Tsunade's whereabouts, as for who to choose..."

Before Feng Lan could finish speaking, a knock sounded on the door: "Fourth Hokage, Lady Feng Lan, we're here."

He happened to walk over and open the door: "How are these two?"

"Kakashi and Obito... Although they are a good match, what about Rin..." Minato was still a little conflicted.

Kakashi and Obito's attitude towards Feng Lan has obviously cooled down a lot. Although they are children, they are not stupid. When the two of them were guarding Rin, they discussed it briefly and were able to figure out that Feng Lan was using Kakashi and Rin as bait to awaken Obito's awakening.

Although he did have a backup plan to protect Kakashi and Rin, even the most magnanimous person cannot simply laugh it off.

Furthermore, the two were quite resistant to Fenglan's mission, since they still had to protect Lin.

However, this was no problem for Feng Lan. He directly said to Minato, "Although Lin is out of danger and in the recovery period, that is, after all, the Kusanagi sword. Who knows if it will cause any irreversible physical effects? We should be cautious and have Tsunade come back to take a look at her. Besides, I think Lin has a very good aptitude. If we work things out properly, we might be able to get Lady Tsunade to take her as a disciple."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi and Obito's eyes lit up instantly: "Let's go!"

"Let's go, let's go." Feng Lan smiled and handed the two of them the secret letter she had just prepared. "Come with me to find Jing Yin. We need to explain things to her properly."

Although the two were a little awkward, they obediently followed him. Seeing this, Minato couldn't help but sigh, "Fenglan..."

The atmosphere was slightly silent on the way to the hospital. Obito tried to speak several times but hesitated. Finally, Fenglan took the initiative and said, "You want to ask me why I did this, right?"

"Hmm," Obito responded dully.

"Because you need power, the Uchiha clan needs power, and Minato and I also need this power, that's all." Feng Lan gave a cruel answer.

"Just because of this, we can get Lin..."

“I’m fairly confident I can save her. Of course, I admit it’s a despicable act, so if you choose to hate me, I’ll accept it without question.” Feng Lan’s face was expressionless, as calm as if she were discussing what to eat for dinner.

"I……"

Obito clenched his fist tightly. In his heart, Rin was more important than anything else. If anything really happened to Rin, he would definitely go berserk and pounce on her to kill Feng Lan right now.

But now that Lin is alive, he has something to hold onto in his heart. It's like a wild beast has been put in shackles. Before doing anything, he has to think things through (even though it's Kenji).

Even if he hurts Rin, Fenglan cannot kill her. He is Konoha's chief Hokage advisor. Killing him would make him an outright traitor, and Rin would never forgive him.

Moreover, no matter how much Feng Lan used or schemed, objectively speaking, he had done Feng Lan a favor. Without Feng Lan, there would be no Obito Uchiha who had become a ninja again and possessed great power.

“Lord Fenglan, you have been kind to me… so I will obey your orders, nothing more.” In the end, he chose to compromise.

“Yes, that’s good.” Feng Lan nodded. As mentioned earlier, he never intended to treat Obito as a confidant. For a pawn, this mutual benefit was enough.

"Lord Fenglan..."

After following the two children back to the Hokage's office, and then walking along the road with Feng Lan again, Shisui witnessed all of this and showed a complicated expression.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Fenglan went to Shizune's office, leaving Shisui and the two children to wait outside. He then came in and relayed Orochimaru's words to Shizune without missing a single detail.

“I think…” Shizune hesitated, “the Third Hokage wouldn’t do such a thing.”

"I think so too, but no matter what, Lady Tsunade has the right to know, doesn't she?" Feng Lan said calmly.

“That’s true, but I’m worried that Lady Tsunade might… Sigh!” Shizune sighed deeply, pointing to the map on the table, “Have those two children search along the edge of the Forest of Fire, first to Tanabata Town, and then…”

Soon, Kakashi and Obito set off with the secret letter, while Fenglan, despite being weak and busy all day, could finally lie down in bed, put aside those annoying conspiracies and schemes, and get some sleep.

……

Uchiha Shisui never suffered from insomnia. As a ninja, he was very good at controlling his body. After all, he had experienced the Third Shinobi World War. If he hadn't been able to seize every spare moment to rest during the brutal and urgent war, he simply wouldn't have survived.

He can stay awake for three days and three nights straight, or fall asleep within ten seconds of lying down, and sleep as long as he wants and wake up on time.

But tonight, Zhishui couldn't sleep.

During the time he spent with Feng Lan, he experienced and thought a lot, but the more he thought, the more confused he became.

What exactly is the Will of Fire?

The Third Hokage often mentioned it, and the Fourth Hokage probably believed in it as well. Most people in Konoha follow the Will of Fire, but their superior, Lord Fenglan, disdains it.

His experiences during this period did indeed challenge his faith, leaving the young Zhishui somewhat confused.

Before he knew it, dawn had broken. Shisui, who hadn't slept a wink all night, sighed, quickly got up, washed up, and then hurried to the hospital while munching on a rice ball to continue his guard duty.

However, he was slightly taken aback when he entered the ward, as Lord Fenglan was not in the room at all.

However, the battle-hardened Zhishui was not alarmed. He quickly considered various possibilities and then rushed to the consultant's office. Sure enough, he saw Fenglan carefully organizing documents outside the window.

Shisui, perched on a tree outside the window, was momentarily stunned. Lord Fenglan had never believed in the Will of Fire, so why was he so diligently devoted to his work? He said that once Konoha was completely stable, it would no longer need advisors, yet everything he did was making Konoha better: reducing redundancy in the middle ranks, capturing Orochimaru, establishing a standing army, rescuing Hizashi…

He had clearly done many things that he felt were inappropriate, such as arresting people because of a few insults behind their backs, and using children as bait to awaken Obito, but for some reason... he just couldn't hate him.

At this moment, Feng Lan seemed to have encountered some trouble. Her brows were furrowed as she stared at the document in her hand. She held a pen in one hand and subconsciously reached for a teacup with the other, bringing it to her lips, but there was not a drop of water in the cup.

He moved his lips a few times, as if he wanted to get up and pour water, but in the end he did not move and instead returned to writing the document.

Witnessing all this, Zhishui suddenly felt an impulse, jumped down from the tree, knocked on the door, and then went inside to pour Fenglan a cup of tea.

"Hmm? You actually found your way here." Feng Lan smiled, her face still looking very pale and weak, and casually picked up her tea and took a sip.

"Lord Fenglan, I want to..."

"What are you thinking about?" Feng Lan answered as he wrote. He was preparing Shui Men's speech. Although the actual speech was still a while away, he needed to have an outline beforehand.

"I'd like to ask for a leave of absence." Zhishui took a deep breath. "There are some things I want to think about and verify."

"Oh, then I'll go," Feng Lan replied casually.

However, Zhishui did not leave. Instead, he sat down opposite Fenglan and said, "My first question is for you."

"Hold on……"

Feng Lan quickly finished writing the last few strokes, put the document and pen back on the table, and looked up: "Ask away."

"Lord Fenglan..."

Shisui's fingers were slightly clenched with nervousness: "Was there poison in the rice ball I was given the night I captured Orochimaru?"

"Well?"

Feng Lan raised an eyebrow, pondered for a few seconds, and then smiled, "I see. You find it unbelievable that you were poisoned by Orochimaru without anyone noticing, so you suspect that someone on your side is working against him... Hmm, if I want Obito to awaken, I need Orochimaru to target Rin or Kakashi. If you are unharmed, Orochimaru won't have this opportunity at all, so it's reasonable for you to suspect me as well."

"And what's your answer?" Shisui's fist clenched involuntarily.

“I did consider it,” Feng Lan replied casually, as if it were no big deal. “I even got the medicine from Jing Yin, but in the end I didn’t poison it.”

"What's the reason?"

“Well…” Feng Lan thought for a moment this time, “Although I’m going to do something very Danzo-like, I ultimately don’t want to really become Danzo. That’s probably it.”

Shisui remained silent for a long time, then bowed deeply before turning and leaving.

"This child has become more intelligent," Feng Lan smiled, then continued working, casually grabbing her cup...

"Damn, the tea is all gone again."

Zhi Shui sped all the way to the training ground, where Dai was training the new recruits that Feng Lan had brought over.

"Mr. Dai, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Teach me?" Dai scratched his head. "I'm completely clueless about anything outside of physical skills."

"I wanted to ask..." Shisui said seriously, "Why do you trust Lord Fenglan so much?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Dai gave a thumbs up, his gleaming teeth flashing. "Because Lord Fenglan saved Kai and me, and he respects us. That's youth!"

"Respect...?"

Shisui was stunned, recalling the vacation that the other party had casually granted him. When had the Shadow Guard ever had a vacation?

Isn't this a form of respect?

She suspected Feng Lan, yet he had always treated her with respect...

With a heavy heart, Shisui left the training ground and headed straight for the guard unit.

"Lord Fugaku." He knocked on the office door.

"Hmm?" Fugaku, who was flipping through documents, looked up. "Why aren't you with Lord Fenglan?"

"I have some questions I'd like to ask you." Zhi Shui stood at the door, his expression more serious and solemn than ever before.

"Ask away." Fugaku also put down the documents and straightened up.

"Just to what extent do you trust Lord Fenglan?"

Fugaku pondered for a few seconds: "I trust him completely, to the point that I've staked the fate of the entire Uchiha clan on him."

"What's the reason?"

"Well..." Fugaku's wrinkled face showed a hint of helplessness, "because he is already the best choice for the Uchiha. Apart from Fenglan, who in Konoha doesn't regard the Uchiha as a scourge?"

"I see, so there was no other choice..."

Shisui lowered his head, the words of Fenglan, Dai, and Fugaku intertwining in his mind...

After a long pause, he raised his head and said, "I've made my choice!"

Chapter 33 Tea

"Huh? Why are you back so soon?"

Feng Lan, who was about to get up to pour herself some tea, raised an eyebrow when she saw Zhi Shui push the door open and enter.

“Lord Fenglan,” Zhishui said earnestly, standing in front of his desk, “I have something I want to tell you.”

"Alright, alright." Feng Lan sat down helplessly, realizing she wouldn't be getting any tea. "Go ahead."

Shisui took a deep breath, seemingly recounting a story, but more like confiding. He first explained everything he had just done, and then concluded: "When I asked you if the rice ball was poisonous, I was comparing you to Danzo, trying to find out who was more trustworthy between you and Danzo."

"When I asked Mr. Dai and the clan chief, I was comparing you to the Third Generation Lord. Mr. Dai's trust in you is just like my past admiration and trust in the Third Generation Lord, while the clan chief's trust in you has opened a completely new door for me."

“I can’t trust you as purely as Mr. Dai does, but I think… like the clan chief, choosing you between you and the Third Generation Lord might not be a bad idea.”

Feng Lan didn't speak, but instead looked him over with amusement for a while, while Zhi Shui lowered his head awkwardly.

"Shisui, Shisui, this is not the kind of thing a good ninja should do."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have compared myself to you..."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant." Feng Lan shook her head. "Didn't I just tell Itachi before that if you want to observe what kind of person someone is, at least don't tell them that you're planning to do it?"

"An excellent ninja should silently compare in his mind, draw a conclusion, make a rational choice, and then put on a cloak of loyalty. They will not talk about the process, let alone tell the person being compared."

"I'm sorry, I..."

“You’re rather straightforward… or rather, all Uchiha are like that.” Feng Lan chuckled. Mentally ill people are often more cheerful, aren’t they? If you prevent Uchiha from expressing their emotions, they’ll go crazy. “I don’t want to boast, but I am indeed different from Danzo. I have my bottom line. After he’s used someone, he’ll eliminate them to maintain the safety of Konoha… of course, that’s what he says. In reality, he’ll just eliminate them to protect his own interests. But I will try my best to protect the person I’ve used, because if I can use him once, I can use him a second or a third time.”

"So I am better than Danzo, not because I am moral, but because I have a broader perspective."

The word "vision" appears for the first time in Feng Lan's work, which shows that his views on Danzo are completely consistent with those of the Third Hokage: "When that old man, Biden, was holding a knife, he was also afraid of that knife. I am different. Since I dare to use a sharp knife, I am not afraid of cutting my hand."

Shisui fell silent, comparing Fenglan's words and actions in his mind. It was clear that they matched, because that was exactly how he treated Obito.

His kindness towards Obito was simply like polishing and maintaining a sword. When Obito showed signs of backlash, he didn't care and frankly told him that he could hate him.

What if it were Danzo? He would probably have been surrounded and killed the moment Obito showed any rebellious attitude.