Aburame Ryoma walked at an unhurried pace, stopping just outside the Uchiha Clan Compound's gates.
He stood several meters from Fugaku and the others, taking no further steps.
Though he still wore those sunglasses in the middle of the night, his gaze remained sharp. He spotted Kakashi, now a prisoner among the crowd, at a glance.
That meant Lord Danzo's plan had failed.
Just then.
"What does the Anbu think it's doing, gathering outside our compound so late at night? With all these people lined up, are you planning to go to war with the Uchiha?"
Fugaku didn't hold back as he directly challenged Aburame Ryoma.
At that, Aburame Ryoma replied without expression:
"Clan Head Fugaku, you've misunderstood. We're simply carrying out our orders to protect the village's security and conducting a routine patrol. We haven't set foot inside the Uchiha Clan Compound."
After hearing this explanation,
Fugaku didn't waste words. He took out the Signal Scroll and threw it to Ryoma, demanding, "Then tell me, what's this thing we found on Kakashi?"
"This... I don't know."
Aburame Ryoma shook his head, watching Fugaku as he calmly replied, "Clan Head Fugaku, you should know that we're Root, and we take orders from Lord Danzo. Kakashi, on the other hand, is Anbu and was acting on the Hokage's orders."
He not only disavowed any connection between his side and Kakashi, but also tried to steer the Uchiha toward turning their anger on the Third Hokage.
Fugaku's brow furrowed.
Seeing that Aburame Ryoma's answer had left no openings, he knew he wouldn't get the better of him through words.
Fugaku turned to glance at Dan. When he saw that Dan had no reaction, he immediately understood what Dan meant.
The Uchiha weren't ready yet. It would be unwise to fall out with