Chapter 10: The Reckoning of the Shimura
Touhuan left the Root base without a single glance back.
Inside, Kakashi stood frozen. The name Touhuan had mentioned—Grandma Miori—hit him like a physical blow.
[Obito's grandmother? Yes... all these years, out of pure guilt, I haven't even dared to visit her...]
[I... I really am a failure.]
"Captain..." One of the Anbu stepped forward, noticing Kakashi's daze.
"I'm fine," Kakashi said, waving him off as he regained his composure. "Clean this mess up, then return to report everything to the Hokage."
...
Back at the Security Headquarters within the Uchiha district, Touhuan headed straight for the interrogation rooms.
The Wood Style user (Yamato) had already been there for a day, and Yamanaka Fu had just regained consciousness after the mental backlash. Both were bound tightly, their chakra points suppressed by specialized seals.
However, the interrogation wasn't going well. These were Root operatives—men brainwashed to withstand pain that would break an ordinary ninja. The standard interrogation tactics used for village thieves were proving useless against them.
"Clan Head!" The Uchiha interrogators stopped their work and bowed as Touhuan entered.
"Status?" Touhuan asked.
"They're stubborn, especially the one from yesterday. We've been at it all night, but he won't break. We were just about to call for a Three-Tomoe specialist in Genjutsu," the interrogator—a one-tomoe Chunin—explained.
"Don't bother with the specialists. I'll handle this myself," Touhuan said, approaching Yamanaka Fu.
Fu's face was a map of bruises, but his eyes were still filled with venomous hatred. Touhuan smiled, watching as the interrogators delivered another round of "motivation." Even Touhuan had to admit, this looked less like an interrogation and more like a venting session for years of Root-Uchiha animosity.
Once the beating slowed, Touhuan leaned in close to Fu.
"I... I won't... say a word," Fu panted, his vision blurred by the midday sun streaming through the high windows.
"I've toured your Root base. Quite a place," Touhuan whispered. "You wanted to help Danzo become Hokage? You wanted to wipe us out?"
Touhuan reached out, calmly wiping the blood from Fu's chin.
"Look outside. Nothing has changed. The village is exactly the same, yet Danzo is rotting in the mud. Whether you confess or not is completely irrelevant to me. I never intended to get information from you anyway."
Touhuan turned to his men. "Keep him alive. Make sure he doesn't have the luxury of dying yet."
"Inahime!"
"Yes, Clan Head!" Inahime stepped forward, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Assemble the Second Squad. We're moving out."
"Where to?"
"To the Shimura compound, of course. We're going to arrest Danzo's accomplices."
Inahime's eyes widened, then filled with excitement. "Arrest them directly? In the middle of the village?"
"How can you call it an arrest?" Touhuan chuckled, pulling a half-burned ledger from a sealing scroll. "Shimura Danzo attacked his own comrades and defiled the First Hokage's remains. The evidence is irrefutable. And I just happened to find this ledger at the Root base showing the Shimura clan's financial involvement in his schemes. We're simply... inviting them for questioning."
Yamanaka Fu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He distinctly remembered burning every single account book.
Touhuan glanced back at him, catching the look of horror. The faint smile on Touhuan's lips confirmed Fu's worst fear: the evidence was fake, but in Touhuan's hands, it was a death warrant.
Fu struggled violently, but an Uchiha guard silenced him with a heavy punch to the gut. He could only watch in despair as Touhuan led his men out.
At the gates of the Security Department, the Second Squad was already waiting. These young Uchiha were usually annoyed by unscheduled shifts, but the moment they heard they were going to "question" the Shimura clan, they were suddenly the most energetic ninjas in Konoha.
"Reporting to the Clan Head! Second Squad is assembled and ready!" the squad leader, Uchiha En'yu, barked.
"Salute the Clan Head!" En'yu roared.
The entire squad snapped to attention, hands flashing to their heads. "LOYALTY! SINCERITY!"
Touhuan returned the salute with a wry smile. His impulsive gesture to Hiruzen yesterday had clearly become the clan's new favorite tradition.
"Loyalty! Sincerity!" Touhuan echoed. "Let's move."
The commotion didn't go unnoticed. In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was nursing a massive headache. He had hoped to absorb the Root's remnants, only to find out they had been "eliminated" by Touhuan.
Meanwhile, Itachi—now reporting as an Anbu—had told him everything about the clan meeting.
Learning that Touhuan was now the official Clan Head, Hiruzen sighed deeply.
"At least Touhuan suppressed the rebellion," Hiruzen muttered to himself, trying to find a silver lining. "And he's recruiting civilians into the Security Force. Whatever his game is, for now... it's a good thing for the village's peace."
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(End of Chapter)