Chapter 167: Sudden Storm

At this moment, Uchiha Li had no idea that in the eyes of Konan and Nagato, he had already been labeled as a lustful and unreliable rake.

Had he known, he certainly would have cried out in grievance.

His friends were indeed few, but that was simply because he felt no need to maintain too many superficial relationships.

This did not mean, however, that his friends were exclusively female, nor did he judge friendships solely by gender.

Shisui and Kakashi, for instance, were genuinely his friends.

It was just that they rarely crossed paths in public, so not many people were aware of it.

Unaware of all this, Uchiha Li returned to the village after carefully considering how to respond to the Akatsuki's recruitment.

He decided to let Uchiha Jun leave the village only after some time had passed, letting the two wait for a bit before conveying his reply to Nagato.

This approach would also make it appear as though his decision was reached after deep and thorough consideration, preventing "her" from seeming overly eager.

This was what they called waiting for the right price, a principle he understood quite well.

Just as Uchiha Li reached the village gates, he happened to run into Shisui.

Shisui was carrying a large pack on his back, though it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Judging by his fully prepared appearance, however, he was clearly about to head out on a mission.

Setting out on a mission at this time was most likely due to an assignment given by him as the leader of the Apostasy.

"Li, you're back?"

Catching sight of Uchiha Li entering the village, Shisui's eyes lit up.

He looked at Uchiha Li with a hesitant expression, though he ultimately held his tongue.

With people constantly coming and going at the village gates, if what he wanted to say leaked and exposed the intelligence regarding Terra, it would spell serious trouble.

Noticing Shisui's demeanor, Uchiha Li asked directly, "What is it? Lacking confidence in your mission?"

Hearing Uchiha Li's words, Shisui nodded and then asked, "Li, have you ever experienced this type of mission?"

He did not elaborate, but he knew Uchiha Li would understand what he meant.

What he wanted to ask was how frequently these cooperative missions from Terra occurred and how best to handle them.

Uchiha Li patted Shisui on the shoulder and smiled faintly:

"Don't worry too much. These sorts of things happen quite often; just approach them with a calm and ordinary mindset."

"As long as you don't deliberately pry too deeply, there generally won't be any problems."

"Besides, the mission you're taking on this time shouldn't be too difficult, especially since you've already had the experience once before."

Hearing Uchiha Li's comforting words, Shisui felt his mind relax a bit.

Yet upon hearing the final sentence, he could not help but cast a sidelong glance at Uchiha Li.

If Uchiha Li hadn't forced him to act as the publisher for the first volume of *The Legend of Terra* back then, he wouldn't have been misunderstood by others in the first place.

Without that incident, a thankless and troublesome mission like this probably wouldn't have fallen to him either.

Naturally sensing the trace of subtle resentment in Shisui's eyes, Uchiha Li spoke up, "Alright, get going. Go early and return soon."

Shisui pressed his lips together, looked at Uchiha Li who was preparing to leave, and responded helplessly, "I understand."

He finally realized that trying to extract any useful experience from Uchiha Li was virtually impossible.

With a final acknowledgment and farewell to Uchiha Li, Shisui hurried toward the Valley of the End outside the village.

Watching Shisui's receding figure, Uchiha Li wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

He actually had multiple considerations in mind when arranging for Shisui and Kakashi to execute this mission together.

First and foremost, Shisui had previously gone on an identical mission with him, so he had relative experience.

Secondly, Uchiha Li was intentionally fostering the "habit" of Terra members undertaking missions together.

After all, future missions wouldn't all be as straightforward as this one; difficult and challenging tasks were bound to arise.

Even though Shisui's current strength was enough to handle various matters across the ninja world, once Akatsuki began their moves in the future, relying solely on a single Kage-level individual would fall far short.

Therefore, arranging missions in this manner also served as a form of prior rehearsal.

"Li, you're back?"

Just as Uchiha Li was deep in thought, a voice from afar interrupted him.

Uchiha Li looked up to see Kakashi walking toward the village gate.

Kakashi also carried a bundle on his back, clearly looking like he was about to set out on a mission.

Noticing this and thinking of Shisui who had just left not long ago, Uchiha Li asked, "Kakashi, heading out to execute a mission?"

As he spoke, Uchiha Li deliberately blinked.

Seeing this, Kakashi nodded and said, "Indeed. It's rare to have free time lately, so going out to take on some missions is not a bad idea."

"Go early, return soon, and keep a relaxed mind."

With those words, Uchiha Li waved his hand and walked away without lingering.

Kakashi looked at Uchiha Li's retreating figure thoughtfully before choosing to leave as well.

...

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

After parting ways with Shisui and Kakashi, Uchiha Li returned home.

However, before he could even settle into his seat, he heard a knock on the courtyard gate.

Opening it, Uchiha Li discovered it was a fellow member of the Uchiha clan.

Without beating around the bush, the clan member stated his purpose directly: "Lord Li, the Clan Head has indicated that a clan meeting is about to be held, and he hopes you can come discuss some matters with him."

"Right now?"

Uchiha Li asked in slight surprise.

Ever since Uchiha Fugaku established his authority through his Mangekyō Sharingan, coupled with the reform of the Military Police Force led by Uchiha Li, most of the dissenting factions within the entire Uchiha clan had been thoroughly suppressed.

Consequently, the frequent clan meetings that the Uchiha used to hold every few days had become exceedingly rare.

They had even been reduced from once a month to once every few months.

Ultimately, Uchiha Fugaku decreed that, barring major emergencies, Uchiha clan meetings would only be held at the end of the year.

After all, such frequent clan meetings held little substantive value, and these closed-door gatherings easily drew criticism from the village.

Thus, Uchiha Li had supported these changes.

Yet right now, it was not the end of the year, and it was certainly not time for annual reviews.

For Fugaku to suddenly call for a clan meeting at this juncture was somewhat unexpected.

One had to know that since the reforms, the current state of the Uchiha had vastly improved.

While they couldn't be said to have completely integrated into the village, they had achieved seventy or eighty percent of it.

Most importantly, the internal conflicts of the clan no longer clashed with the affairs of the village.

Under such circumstances, unless an issue arose that affected the entire clan or even the entire village, Fugaku had no reason to convene a clan meeting.

Furthermore, sending someone specifically to summon him for a private discussion suggested that Fugaku was likely hesitating and unable to make up his mind.

"Right now," the Uchiha clan member replied, then continued, "I don't know the specific details. You should go ask the Clan Head directly, Lord Li."

Hearing this, Uchiha Li's heart tightened slightly as he said, "Understood, I'll head over now."

The clan member nodded and flashed away first.

Following closely behind, Uchiha Li began walking toward the Military Police Force headquarters.

Meanwhile.

As a piece of news was leaked, a storm swept through the entirety of Konoha, particularly among the various noble clans...