Just like before, Uchiha Jin stood silently.
But unlike most people facing the Hokage's council, he didn't feel any real pressure.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched him for a moment, then exhaled softly and spoke in his calm, almost grandfatherly tone.
"Very well, I understand."
"Uchiha Jin, you may leave for now."
"But remember — you are not to speak a word of today's discussion to anyone."
His tone left no room for argument.
Jin didn't hesitate.
Those words alone told him everything he needed to know — the matter was considered far above his clearance level.
Clearly, he was not qualified to take part in what would be discussed next.
Bowing slightly, Jin turned and left the office without another word.
---
When the door closed, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression hardened. He turned to the masked ANBU at his side.
"Shinnosuke," he said quietly. "Report."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke — Hiruzen's son and commander of the ANBU — stepped forward without hesitation.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
He began a crisp, factual summary.
"The deaths of the three Uchiha themselves would not normally require intervention from the village council," Shinnosuke said plainly.
"Under ordinary circumstances, this would have been handled within the clan."
He paused, then his tone grew slightly more grave.
"But something unexpected occurred."
"At the scene, near the bodies of the three Uchiha, we also discovered the corpse of a Kumogakure shinobi."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
"Even more troubling," Shinnosuke continued, "the brains of all four corpses — the three Uchiha and the Kumogakure shinobi — were completely destroyed."
"Not even Yamanaka Inoichi could extract a single memory."
He allowed that to sink in before continuing.
"You will recall that two years ago, Kumogakure secretly sent a small squad into Konoha to attempt to abduct a bloodline user. During the subsequent investigation, we determined that one of those Kumo-nin went missing."
"Last night, as soon as Inoichi saw the body, he confirmed that it was the very missing shinobi we failed to track down at the time."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words settling on everyone.
"So the question is this," Shinnosuke concluded.
"Is this another move by Kumogakure?"
"Or is someone within Konoha involved, using this Kumo corpse as a diversion?"
"Because the situation involves Kumogakure, we cannot be careless."
"This is also why we questioned Uchiha Jin — he had a well-known grudge against the three dead men."
---
Silence filled the office.
Each person was lost in thought.
Finally, Hiruzen set down his pipe and spoke in a deep, steady voice.
"Very well. That is the situation. Let us discuss it."
"First — is there any possibility that this incident is connected to Uchiha Jin?"
Shisui immediately stepped forward.
"Hokage-sama, impossible!" he said firmly.
"Jin is one of us. Yes, he had conflicts with those three, but such grudges are common within the clan. It is unthinkable that he would escalate it to murder."
"Moreover, Jin only just graduated from the Academy. He does not possess the skill to eliminate three trained Uchiha in an instant."
Hiruzen did not reply.
He neither confirmed nor denied Shisui's words — his eyes simply half-closed as if weighing invisible scales.
The silence stretched.
Finally, Uchiha Fugaku broke it.
"Shisui is correct," he said, his tone decisive.
"Uchiha Jin does not have that ability."
His expression was calm, almost dismissive.
In Fugaku's eyes, Jin was just another ordinary, unremarkable clan member — perhaps even a failure.
The idea that he could kill three elite clansmen was laughable.
---
At that moment, Yamanaka Inoichi spoke up, his expression grave.
"I should remind everyone of the nature of their deaths," he said.
"There was no resistance. The three were killed instantly."
"Their hearts were destroyed by a single strike — the work of someone with exceptional taijutsu and shunshin proficiency."
The room collectively drew in a sharp breath.
Though they had all been briefed, the brutal precision of the killer's technique had not fully registered until now.
"In today's shinobi world, there are few specialists of that caliber," Inoichi continued.
"But among those few, Kumogakure is the most likely source. The Third Raikage himself pioneered a lightning-style body enhancement technique that produces unmatched taijutsu specialists."
This statement shifted the room's focus.
Utane Koharu narrowed her eyes.
"But Kumogakure is already at war with us. Would they truly risk such a move at this stage?"
Mitokado Homura followed up.
"If this was done by Kumogakure, what was their objective?"
"What could they possibly gain by killing three ordinary Uchiha and leaving one of their own behind?"
The council room grew even more solemn.
---
By the time the discussion wound down, suspicion had drifted away from Uchiha Jin entirely.
No one present seriously believed an ordinary, just-graduated Uchiha could perform such a feat.
Even if he had motive, he lacked the ability — and in the ruthless logic of the shinobi world, that made him irrelevant.
Jin's name was crossed off the invisible list of suspects.
---
Shisui, listening quietly, felt a wave of relief wash over him.
At least Jin would not be dragged into this mess any further — for now.