"…Dispatch the ANBU!" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a slow, deep breath. His voice sank as his aged face grew cold: "Let Kakashi and Yamato each lead an ANBU squad to pursue Uchiha Keizumi and those three Uchiha jōnin! Bring them… all back to Konoha for me!"
"Root."
Hiruzen cast a glance at Utatane Koharu beside him, then issued another order: "Interrogate Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Sasuke, Mitarashi Anko, and Hyūga Neji! I want to know whether this matter has anything to do with Keizumi."
He deliberately ignored Uzumaki Naruto, then added: "And bring in those ninja cats of his to Root for interrogation as well!"
Koharu looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose chest was nearly consumed by raging fire.
She could see it—Hiruzen's reverse scale had been touched. After suppressing himself again and again, this Third Hokage could no longer endure.
Hiruzen… he had reverted to the hard stance of his youth.
This was the toughness that the Third Hokage of Konoha should have!
Koharu forced down her excitement, her old face taut as she asked: "They might not be so obedient. In that case, can Root take harsher measures?"
"Yes." The word slipped from Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth, giving Utatane Koharu another dose of reassurance.
"Understood."
Koharu nodded.
She turned and left.
Hiruzen did not watch her go, but instead fixed his gaze on his daughter-in-law's corpse, staring at the blood-soaked wound on her back.
Judging from the cut, it seemed to have been made by a standard Konoha ninja blade—and this was also Uchiha Keizumi's weapon of choice.
…
Not long after, at the Ninja Academy.
"Ah… so boring…"
Listening to Umino Iruka droning on with a lecture about culture at the podium, Naruto propped a book in front of himself, buried his head on the desk, and let out a muffled, sorrowful groan.
Beside him, Sasuke glanced at him but said nothing, continuing to look up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Like Naruto, Sasuke also disliked these tedious cultural lessons.
Every word Iruka said went in one ear and out the other, none of it sticking.
But just then, an unexpected voice interrupted Iruka at the podium.
It also drew the attention of every student in Iruka's class.
"Uchiha Sasuke, you're here, aren't you?"
Sasuke snapped back to his senses. When he turned toward the sound, he saw a masked shinobi standing outside the classroom door, which had been opened without anyone noticing.
Sasuke arched a brow: "That's me…"
Just as he was about to stand, Naruto suddenly forced him back down.
Puzzled, Sasuke looked at him—only to find Naruto's face heavy with seriousness.
"This isn't ANBU, it's Root!"
Naruto's face was filled with vigilance as he said: "I've seen that kind of mask before!"
Root…
Sasuke's heart instantly sank.
Iruka quickly stepped forward, moving to block the Root shinobi. He coughed twice, then forced a smile as he asked: "What business does Root have with one of my students?"
"None of yours."
The Root shinobi shoved Iruka aside. When Iruka tried to push his hand away, a ninja blade was suddenly pressed against his neck.
As though with any further move, his head would be cut clean off.
Cold sweat poured down Iruka's back.
"Don't block the way."
The Root shinobi shifted the blade aside, stepped up to Uchiha Sasuke, and looked down at the short boy, saying: "This is Hokage-sama's order. You are to come to Root."
"Reason?" Naruto immediately interjected.
"No reason!" The Root shinobi grabbed Sasuke and lifted him up.
The speed was so fast Sasuke didn't even react.
"Wait a moment!" Iruka shouted urgently, but the Root shinobi vanished in a flicker, taking Uchiha Sasuke, dangling in one hand, with him.
Iruka clenched his teeth.
His heart was filled with unease.
"…I smell trouble." Nara Shikamaru, who had seen everything, suppressed his shock and muttered: "Being taken away by Root means something major has happened."
"S-Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura still hadn't recovered.
Yamanaka Ino frowned slightly, then stood up and said directly to Iruka: "Iruka-sensei, I'll go find my father. Please grant me half a day's leave."
Before Iruka could respond, Ino had already walked out the door.
But just as she stepped into the corridor, she heard a loud crash.
Turning her head, she saw a small figure smash through the Ninja Academy classroom window and slam heavily into the corridor wall.
"Hyūga Neji?" Ino immediately recognized him.
"Cough… cough, cough…" Neji coughed painfully, but before he could get up, a large hand grabbed his hair and yanked him up.
A cold voice followed: "Don't think that just because you're backed by Uchiha Keizumi, I won't dare lay a hand on you, brat. And don't think you can resist. This time, it's the Hokage's highest order. Even your backer Uchiha Keizumi has to give Hokage-sama some face."
"Heh, besides, you're just a brat. Looks like ever since your Hyūga branch family sent someone into the main house, you've gotten inflated."
—Another Root shinobi!!!
A look of horror appeared on Ino's youthful face.
She forced herself to stay calm instead of letting hot blood drive her to charge forward and try rescuing Hyūga Neji.
That would have been reckless—she could never match an adult shinobi, much less a Root shinobi.
She could only watch helplessly as the powerless Neji was taken away.
"I have to notify Father quickly!"
…
"Little Jiraiya, something's off! That kid Uchiha Sasuke was taken away? And that Hyūga Neji, the one we already confirmed wasn't the Child of Prophecy, was taken away too."
Standing on Jiraiya's shoulder, Fukasaku spoke in puzzlement: "Those two Konoha shinobi's methods were rough. I can't help but feel they didn't look like good people."
"…Those were Root shinobi." Crouched on a tree, Jiraiya's expression grew slightly grim.
These past few days, Jiraiya had been watching Uchiha Sasuke, trying to see if this boy was the "Child of Prophecy."
And while observing Sasuke, he could also keep an eye on Minato's son, Uzumaki Naruto—it killed two birds with one stone.
Only, what Jiraiya hadn't expected…
Was that such an incident would occur today.
...
Mitokado Homura also rushed over upon hearing the news. He entered the eerie atmosphere of the Sarutobi clan compound and looked again at Sarutobi Hiruzen standing beside the corpse.
Breathing in the sulfurous smell in the air, Mitokado Homura's expression changed slightly, but on second thought, he felt something was not quite right.
He swept his gaze around at the surrounding Sarutobi clansmen, all of them wearing expressions of anger.
He walked to stand behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, lowered his voice, and quietly asked: "Hiruzen, do you truly think it was Uchiha Keizumi who killed her?"
Standing motionless in place, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly drew in a deep breath. He turned his head to look at Mitokado Homura.
In the silence of their eye contact, Mitokado Homura gave a slight nod.
"Let's talk outside," Mitokado Homura said.
The Sarutobi clansmen opened a path. The two high-ranking figures of Konoha walked out under the watchful gaze of the crowd. No one followed, for all knew that the Hokage was about to speak privately with Mitokado Homura.
"Hoo…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a heavy breath, his face dark, and said: "I do not believe Keizumi is the murderer."
Mitokado Homura was stunned.
He could not quite understand, and staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen's grim face, could not help but ask: "But I heard you were extremely furious, that you even had both Root and Anbu deal with this matter together."
"Especially those Root people—after receiving your orders, they've already caused some disturbances in Konoha. Since you think the possibility of Keizumi being the culprit is low, then why…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen cut him off: "Because I cannot show that I do not believe Keizumi is the murderer."
With his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes still burning with anger, Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "Someone is using my daughter-in-law's life, trying to drive me to kill Keizumi, trying to spark an armed conflict between the Will of Fire and Absolute Justice, to plunge all of Konoha into chaos."
"Once I show any sign of seeing through such a trick, the rat hiding in the shadows will be startled."
"And if that rat leaves Konoha, then to find him, to learn who he is, will be like fishing for a needle in the sea."
Hearing this, Mitokado Homura finally understood.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was deliberately playing the role of a "Hokage who has lost his daughter-in-law and let his anger cloud his reason," so as to lower the vigilance of the true culprit and buy time to drag him into the open.
Mitokado Homura thought for a moment, then asked: "But Koharu really seems to think you're going to strike at Uchiha Keizumi. Her Root subordinates didn't seem to hold back today…"
"Wait!"
Mitokado Homura suddenly reacted, staring in shock at Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Are you suspecting Koharu? So you didn't tell her? And you just let her Root act recklessly?"
Expressionless, Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "I now have reasonable suspicion toward everyone in the village who has serious disputes with Keizumi or with me."
He added: "Koharu included."
Mitokado Homura was inwardly shaken.
He could see that Sarutobi Hiruzen truly was furious and grieving over his daughter-in-law's inexplicable death.
Yet at such a time, this Third Hokage could still remain calm enough to see through the clues and turn the situation to his advantage.
"Hiruzen, I finally understand… why Tobirama-sensei, before his death, nominated you to be the Third Hokage of Konoha. Among all of us, you are always the one least swayed by emotion, always able to perceive what others cannot."
Mitokado Homura let out a sigh: "If this matter has nothing to do with Koharu, then it means that the gap between her level and yours is like heaven and earth."
After that, he asked again: "And your telling this to me—does it mean you trust me greatly?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded calmly, his face composed: "Because you have never contradicted some of my hardline views."
"And also…"
"You do not have such deep a rift with Uchiha Keizumi."
Mitokado Homura fell into silence. After a long moment, he finally said: "Then what are you going to do next?"
Rolling a small piece of volcanic rock between his fingertips, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke slowly: "Before the public, I stated outright that Kakashi and Yamato are to go and bring back Keizumi and the others."
"But in truth, that is not my real order. My real order is—Kakashi and Yamato will lead teams to monitor every jōnin in the village."
"The 'every' here naturally includes the Utatane, the Uchiha, the Ino–Shika–Chō, the Hyūga…"
"And even the jōnin of the Sarutobi clan."
Mitokado Homura's heart suddenly jolted. He could not help turning to look at the Sarutobi clan shinobi not far away, their emotions running high.
"Hiruzen, they should…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted him once more: "Anything is possible."
Perhaps thinking of something, a shadow flickered in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He drew a deep breath and said helplessly: "Never underestimate the evil in human nature."
Mitokado Homura felt that this line sounded somewhat familiar.
In his impression—
Uchiha Keizumi seemed to have said something similar.
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