Konohagakure.
Utatane Koharu sat in the Uchiha Police Force's interrogation room with a face full of displeasure, her old features dark as though everyone present owed her tens of millions of ryō.
Her Root subordinates had already been interrogated.
Now it was finally her, the "mastermind's," turn.
[Click.]
The door opened.
Uchiha Fugaku stepped heavily inside, his mood unbearably grim. Never had he expected such a blazing-hot potato to be hurled right onto the Police Force's head—falling squarely into his own hands.
The most crucial point was, he had no way to accuse anyone, nor did he have any means to get rid of this immovable burden.
Because… the ones who brought Utatane Koharu in were dozens of Police Force shinobi, along with one of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, and the ninja cat Tachibana Jirō.
And the one who made Utatane Koharu obediently come to the Police Force…
Was the Hokage himself!
When Fugaku received the news at noon today, it felt to him as though the sky was collapsing. Forcing himself, he spent the entire afternoon interrogating a heap of Root shinobi, bearing pressures he should never have had to shoulder, leaving him utterly exhausted in body and mind.
And now…
It was Utatane Koharu's turn.
"Heh!" Utatane Koharu lifted her eyes, glancing coldly at the bitter-faced Uchiha Fugaku. "Interrogating a Konoha advisor—this must be exactly what your Uchiha clan has most longed to do, hasn't it? Now, this old woman has let you have your wish. And this old woman will absolutely etch today's experience deep into her heart!"
A shiver went through Fugaku's chest.
Such harsh words from Utatane Koharu might not intimidate the other Uchiha Police Force shinobi—since the majority, already resolved to uphold Absolute Justice, hardly regarded her as anything.
But it did intimidate Uchiha Fugaku.
Sitting directly across from Utatane Koharu, crushed beneath the immense pressure, Fugaku drew in a deep breath and said to her: "The Uchiha clan does not have the idea you just spoke of, Advisor Koharu."
"We…"
"We are only performing routine duty." Uchiha Fugaku could only invoke Sarutobi Hiruzen: "We are merely carrying out Hokage-sama's orders, conducting official business, nothing more."
At that moment, Utatane Koharu suddenly cut him off.
"Fugaku."
Her old face clouded over as she spoke: "This old woman has a question for you—have you already decided that your Uchiha clan will completely turn its head, shifting toward the stance of Absolute Justice?"
"Under your leadership, is your Uchiha clan choosing to abandon the Will of Fire that Konohagakure has passed down for generations?"
"Answer me, Fugaku."
Clearly it was Uchiha Fugaku who was supposed to be interrogating Utatane Koharu, yet now their exchange sounded as though it was Utatane Koharu interrogating him.
…
Outside the Police Force interrogation room, a one-way mirror allowed those outside to see what was happening within.
Through its special structure, they could also hear what was being said inside, though those within could not hear the voices from outside.
Seeing this scene, Tsunade's expression carried a trace of strangeness.
She casually looked toward one Police Force shinobi and asked: "This guy—are you sure he's really your Police Force Commander? Even when he was interrogating those Root shinobi earlier, something seemed off, as though he was just going through the motions."
"Now, he's not just going through the motions. That old woman has completely reversed the roles on him, and his presence has been suppressed. The Commander of the Police Force, suppressed by a criminal?"
"This is the law enforcement of your Uchiha Police Force?"
Tsunade's words held no intent of mocking the Uchiha clan; she was simply voicing the questions that came to her mind.
Yet such simple, straightforward questions made the Police Force shinobi outside all flush with shame and anger.
The Uchiha shinobi, so proud and arrogant.
How could they endure such "sincere questioning"?
The key was that Uchiha Fugaku's performance truly was disgraceful.
The Police Force headquarters was supposed to be the Uchiha clan's own stronghold!
Back then, when the Third Hokage came here, he had to bring along a large group of Anbu just to dare step inside.
But now…
It was only Utatane Koharu, and the Root shinobi she had brought weren't many, yet Uchiha Fugaku was actually cowed by her?
"How can he be so weak?! Isn't his nickname Wicked Eye Fugaku? Where is the 'Wicked' in him?" One Police Force shinobi could no longer bear to watch, so angered by Fugaku's weakness that his nose nearly twisted askew, feeling his behavior and conduct utterly disgraced the Uchiha clan.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to force his way into the interrogation room.
"Wait..."
But a sudden crisp, pleasant voice cut him off.
Uchiha Izumi, panting slightly, had returned to the Police Force. She was dragging behind her a Root shinobi she had knocked unconscious.
Her clothes were torn in places, her skin scraped—clear signs she had just fought this Root shinobi.
The outcome of that battle was, of course, her victory.
Izumi gazed at Fugaku's conduct inside the interrogation room.
She drew in a slow, deep breath, then said: "Let him keep on being weak. There's no need to interrupt or stop him. What you should do is call over every single member of the Uchiha clan, let them all see just what kind of person this Uchiha clan patriarch really is."
"Let all the clansmen see his true face, let those in the clan who still hold even a sliver of hope for Uchiha Fugaku completely give up on him. If under these circumstances there are still clansmen willing to support him, willing to follow him…"
"Then it only proves they share his cowardice."
Izumi had long since seen through Uchiha Fugaku, and had long ago given up on him, holding not the slightest expectation toward this clan head.
What's more, Fugaku would from time to time trip up Keizumi-senpai and create trouble for him, which only made Izumi even more displeased with him.
…
"Hokage-sama, I don't know if you can accept a fact that you may find hard to accept."
Hatake Kakashi appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen, his usual demeanor gone. The expression half-hidden on his face actually carried a trace of solemnity.
His words made Sarutobi Hiruzen involuntarily take in a deep breath.
"It seems… you really did uncover something. Kakashi, you have not failed this old man's expectations."
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, his aged face sinking slightly as he went on: "Though this old man is advanced in years, I am not yet so fragile. Tell me everything you should say, from start to finish."
Kakashi was silent for a second, then said: "Konoha's Sealing Unit cracked a message scroll hidden inside a carrier pigeon. The cipher text within the scroll was also deciphered—the one who released this pigeon in an attempt to send intelligence outside was a spy from Kumogakure."
"The content of the cipher text was—plans to cooperate with an informant inside Konoha are proceeding in order. As predicted, Konoha's Third Hokage has indeed lost most of his rationality, and there is a high probability that Konoha's upper echelons will enter into violent conflict with Uchiha Keizumi."
"But there is bad news," Kakashi continued. "When we attempted to capture the Kumogakure spy, he reacted immediately and chose to end his own life. He used ninjutsu to destroy his own head, preventing the Yamanaka clan from extracting his memory intelligence."
"…Kumogakure!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand clenched the corner of his desk so tightly the veins on the back of his hand throbbed with tremors.
The corner of the desk creaked under the strain.
Kakashi did not stop his report; he faithfully relayed everything: "At present, we can confirm that the informant recruited by the Kumogakure spy came from within your own Sarutobi clan. Moreover, the spy's recruitment within the Sarutobi clan was not limited to just one person."
"Anbu located one Sarutobi clan informant, but his body had been sealed with a cursed mark. When we tried to steal his memory intelligence, the cursed mark was triggered, and he died instantly. I am sorry—this truly was Anbu's mistake and dereliction of duty."
"Hokage-sama, within the Sarutobi clan there may be a second, third, even a fourth informant working for Kumogakure."
"It is only that, for now, we have had no chance to catch them in the act. Anbu still does not know exactly which individuals they are."
Kakashi's words were enough to shake the heavens, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen utterly stunned on the spot.
In truth…
Sarutobi Hiruzen had considered that someone from the Sarutobi clan might be involved.
After all, the clan's hatred toward Uchiha Keizumi was plain for all to see—that was why he had dispatched part of Anbu to monitor the Sarutobi clan.
But what Hiruzen had never expected was that the informants recruited by the Kumogakure spy could all possibly be members of the Sarutobi clan!
It was as if his daughter-in-law, Sarutobi Nadeshiko's death, had happened step by step right under Sarutobi Hiruzen's very eyelids!
He clearly lived within the Sarutobi clan compound.
Yet it had been concealed from him by some brazen clansmen until now!
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