Uchiha Kai and Shisui exchanged glances, both catching the surprise in each other's eyes.
But—
Since it was the Hokage's order, neither dared to hesitate and they hurried straight toward the Hokage's building.
On the way, Shisui's expression remained calm, while Kai's eyes, by contrast, flickered slightly.
Yes.
He had more or less already guessed what this was about.
If his guess wasn't wrong, then yesterday's matter had already been discovered.
At this thought, his mood grew heavy.
He hadn't expected the matter to remain hidden forever, but the village's reaction speed still exceeded his expectations.
Too fast!
What had happened just last night was not only discovered today, but the trail had already led to him.
After all, he had even left behind the corpse of a Cloud shinobi in the Forest of Death!
Still, it didn't matter.
He trusted the way he handled things. He was confident he had erased all traces pointing back to him.
Ten minutes later, the two arrived at the Hokage's building and pushed open the office door.
Uchiha Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
But when he saw the people inside, he couldn't help but gasp.
The Konoha "F4," led by Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, were all present. In addition, Uchiha Fugaku, Jounin Commander Nara Shikaku, Analysis Division Leader Yamanaka Haiichi, and the ANBU Captain were also there…
Most likely, that ANBU Captain was none other than Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
After all, Hiruzen would hardly entrust such an important department to an outsider.
Seated behind his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen regarded the two young Uchiha before him, his eyes tinged with contemplation.
A moment later, he looked at Kai with a gentle smile.
"Uchiha Kai, correct?"
"According to ANBU's investigation, yesterday you had a certain degree of contact with Uchiha Yoshio and the other two."
"Now those three have vanished without a trace, and you were the last person to interact with them."
"I need you to tell us everything you know—word for word."
"This matter is very important."
Hiruzen's tone was mild.
He hadn't mentioned what had truly happened, only inquired casually.
Not deaths—only disappearances.
Which made sense.
Kai's status was too low; unless it was confirmed he was involved, the details would never be revealed to him.
Shisui frowned slightly.
As a prodigy, he often dealt with the higher-ups and knew full well: for such a large assembly of senior figures, the disappearance of a few Uchiha couldn't be the only reason.
That was exactly why he grew more worried.
He truly feared Kai might somehow be entangled in this matter.
Even Kai, who knew his own heart, felt a moment of daze—but quickly recovered.
He did not hesitate.
He bowed slightly and began recounting calmly.
"Yesterday at noon, after I finished eating, I was indeed cornered by Uchiha Yoshio and the other two."
"They wanted to beat me."
"I wasn't their match, so I ran, fleeing in panic until I hid near the edge of the Forest of Death."
"After that, I don't know what happened."
"By evening, I still hadn't seen Yoshio and the others catching up. I thought they had given up, so I just went home and slept."
…
Kai narrated smoothly.
After finishing, he lowered his head and bowed, saying nothing further.
Indeed, having lived in Konoha for so many years, he was well-versed in the village's ways.
Hiruzen might seem kindly and benevolent, but in formal settings he was strict about protocol.
Small fry like him had no right to speak unless questioned.
The others listened, brows furrowed, but no one spoke.
Silence—
Everyone was weighing the truth of his account.
At that moment, Shisui couldn't restrain himself. He stepped forward and asked:
"Hokage-sama, what exactly happened?"
As a prodigy, he had certain privileges. Unlike Kai, he wasn't bound by such restraints.
But Hiruzen didn't answer. Instead, after a brief silence, he took a deep breath and replied evenly:
"Enough, I understand."
"Uchiha Kai, you may leave."
"But not a single word of today's matter is to be spread."
"Go now."
Kai didn't hesitate.
Hearing those words, he understood clearly that the rest of the matter had nothing to do with him.
Obviously, he had no right to take part in what came next.
He bowed again, then turned and left.
Once Kai had gone, Hiruzen looked to the ANBU Captain.
"Shinnosuke, tell them."
At his Hokage's order, Sarutobi Shinnosuke did not hesitate. He gave a brief account of last night's incident, then spoke in a calm voice:
"The deaths of those three Uchiha, in themselves, aren't a major issue. Under normal circumstances, the matter would be left to the Uchiha clan to judge."
"But something unexpected occurred."
"Beside their corpses, there was also the body of a Cloud shinobi."
"And what's even stranger: whether it was the three Uchiha or that Cloud ninja, all of their brains had been destroyed. Even with Yamanaka-senpai personally attempting to probe, their memories could not be read."
"So here lies the problem."
"I wonder if you all remember—two years ago, Cloud sent a squad disguised in an attempt to steal a kekkei genkai from our village. After investigation, it was found that one of their shinobi went missing."
"Back then, Yamanaka-senpai examined the memories of every Cloud shinobi we captured."
"And as soon as he saw that corpse last night, he confirmed it was precisely the Cloud shinobi who went missing two years ago."
"So the question is this—
Was this the Cloud making another move?
Or was it an internal hand, with that Cloud ninja's body planted merely to mislead our investigation?"
"Since the matter involves the Cloud, we must treat it with the utmost caution."
"That's why Uchiha Kai was summoned for questioning—because he had enmity with those three Uchiha."
Silence descended as soon as Shinnosuke finished.
everyone fell deep into thought.
Only after a long while did Hiruzen set down his pipe, his voice low and steady.
"Very well."
"That's the situation. Let us discuss."
"First of all—does this matter have any chance of being connected to Uchiha Kai?"
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