---
On his way, Megumi could sense numerous ANBU hidden around him, watching. Since he didn't sense any killing intent from them, he simply walked his own way.
He entered the Yamanaka store to buy flowers before visiting his teacher's grave.
"Hello, I want to buy flowers," he said.
Behind the counter was a blond-haired man and a woman, along with some less prominent members of the clan working in the store.
"What type of flower do you want?" the man asked.
"Something for a teacher." Megumi didn't look up, keeping his hands in his pockets.
"We have lilies, carnations, and roses." Inoichi listed the best options for the boy. "But if you want the best, then I would recommend lilies."
"The price is one hundred ryo."
"Okay, bring it." Megumi removed a pack of bills and handed the money to Inoichi.
"Here are your flowers." Inoichi gave the boy the flowers and turned to his wife to collect change for him. "Here is your cha—"
Megumi had already left after collecting the flowers. He sensed that Inoichi was looking at him with suspicious eyes.
Inoichi stood silent.
*Where did he go?* he thought inwardly.
Just then, an ANBU operative appeared outside the store. Inoichi came out to meet him, but his mind was still thinking about the boy.
"The Hokage has called all clan heads for a meeting immediately." The ANBU left as soon as he delivered the message.
---
Megumi now stood in front of the graves of the Fourth Hokage and his teacher, dropping the flowers. But he was interrupted by two ANBU operatives.
"You need to follow us for questioning," one of the ANBU said.
The ANBU noticed that this boy wasn't moving an inch.
"We work to protect the village." The ANBU tried to reason with the boy because he saw him dropping flowers at a grave, so he needed to identify himself. "Please cooper—"
Megumi raised his hand, finger to his lips, shushing them from interrupting his moment of silence.
"How dare you!" The second ANBU felt offended by the boy's action.
He charged forward, clenching his fist, then punched the boy in the head.
But the boy never moved or reacted to the blow. The ANBU was shocked and moved to step back.
"I told you not to talk, but you filthy monkeys without cages misbehave a lot," Megumi said.
Now his right hand was drawn out of his pocket. He gathered red cursed energy into it, raised his head, then punched the ANBU right in the chest, sending him flying backward. The operative crashed through a tree and into a wall.
The polite ANBU couldn't believe his eyes. He was still staring at the trajectory his friend had taken. He couldn't tell if the man was dead or alive.
"You should teach your members how to talk to strangers." Megumi's voice rang in the ear of the ANBU, who was starting to sweat behind his mask.
"Okay, let's go meet your Hokage." Megumi's tone was flat. The ANBU stood in front of him, praying that he wouldn't suffer the same fate as his partner.
---
**Hokage Building**
**Hokage Office**
In the room were all the clan heads of every clan in Konoha: the Uchiha clan, Hyuga clan, Nara clan, Yamanaka clan, Akimichi clan, Aburame clan, and more.
The four Hokage advisors were also present.
Shikaku had already been told by Inoichi that a boy in strange clothing had come to his store to buy flowers, which confirmed what the Inuzuka clan had said.
But how was he alive? Shikaku thought.
Just then, the silence was broken. The discussion went as it had in canon, pushing the Uchiha to the edge of the village.
But before everyone thought the meeting was over, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up.
"The Hokage building was attacked last night with an unknown jutsu. It dropped numerous dead bodies with it." The Third Hokage's voice was grave.
Nobody knew that such a significant incident had happened. If the Hokage was telling them this, it meant it was a big problem. They had just lost the Fourth Hokage and several elite shinobi, so it would definitely be difficult to go to war now.
Danzo, who had been suppressing his anger, slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Why do you beat around the bush, Sarutobi?" he roared.
"Clan Head Tsume, can you explain why you dared to attack a fellow protector of the village?" He pointed an accusing finger toward Tsume, who was already tired of the meeting.
Tsume's eyes widened immediately. "What do you mean, Elder Danzo?"
"What do I mean? You killed them. I have evidence against you!" Danzo kept pressuring her, just as he had done to Fugaku.
The Inuzuka clan was not a powerhouse, so why not put the blame on them? Danzo still couldn't get over the fact that his operatives had fallen to this small clan. *Were they hiding their strength all this time?*
All eyes fell on Tsume.
Everyone wanted to hear her side of the story for damaging the Hokage building and even killing shinobi from the village.
Tsume was already sweating, seeing all eyes on her. "It was not me who killed them."
Everyone was taken aback by her reply because she didn't deny it was a lie, meaning that someone had helped her.
Danzo couldn't let this opportunity slip away, so he capitalized on it. "Then who was your accomplice in killing shinobi of the village?"
"Me."
A small voice answered. Everyone in the room turned to the door to see a familiar boy standing there.
Megumi had already shortened the jacket back to its previous size.
"You're alive!" Everyone's eyes almost popped out of their sockets except Tsume's.
"I killed them because they stated it was an order from the Hokage." Megumi didn't even greet them.
"Are you accusing the Hokage? Where is your proof?" Koharu Utatane replied sharply.
"I don't have proof, but I want to ask: what were those numbers of shinobi doing inside a clan without the clan head's permission? And why did my body become some treasure that everyone wants to claim?"
"How dare you, brat, say such words!" Danzo was even angrier, and his killing intent was already leaking.
"Shut up," Megumi said.
A powerful, malevolent aura made Danzo lose the will to fight.
*That stupid Danzo has overdone it. Now he needs to clean up this mess for him,* Sarutobi thought inwardly.
"Danzo, stop talking. This meeting is dismissed. Shikaku and the clan head of the Gettek clan should wait behind." The Third Hokage's voice was firm.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!" Danzo slammed his walking stick to the ground because he knew that nobody else had felt the aura the boy had just released.
"I am the Hokage!"
Danzo was the first to leave the room, slamming the door so hard that it ended up damaged in the process. Then the other clan heads and the remaining three Hokage advisors left the room to comfort Danzo.
The clan heads could only murmur. They couldn't talk back, so they all left, leaving only the requested parties behind.