You Have No Evidence

Hearing Tsunade apologize to her, Seigetsu Senju hurriedly replied:

"Teacher Tsunade, I understand. If we'd known the truth, we wouldn't have spent the whole journey exhausting ourselves protecting the fake young master Nawaki.

This was all for the mission. Of course I have no complaints."

Kawadera Uchiha turned his head slightly. He'd heard Ken Aburame muttering under his breath.

"Too bad about those two Senju medical ninja..."

He quietly said to Ken Aburame, "If we were even a little weaker, someone might feel sorry for us. That's how missions go."

"I think the Senju Clan worships sacrifice too much. That clan is doomed sooner or later."

Kawadera Uchiha was startled and immediately changed his tune:

"What are you saying? The Senju Clan is at the height of its power. It's the village's foremost clan, and it's produced two Hokage in a row.

Worrying about them is like worrying that the Land of Fire, the most populous nation, will perish because its birth rate is low."

Ken Aburame fell silent.

Tsunade finally said, "So this is the assassin you brought back? The ninja who's still being bitten by a snake? Give him to Orochimaru. Orochimaru is waiting for him."

Kawadera Uchiha carried the captured squad leader on his back and headed for Orochimaru's tent.

Seigetsu Senju went to write the mission report. After finishing it, she found Teacher Tsunade in the Medical Department tent.

"Teacher, we were ambushed on our way back. Kawadera fought three enemies alone and once again played a crucial role. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to bring back the prisoner."

Tsunade took the report and said, "Kawadera Uchiha has something of Kagami Uchiha's old spirit. He could be cultivated as a role model."

After thinking it over, Tsunade said, "He's proven his worth several times now. We should put aside our prejudice against his clan."

Hearing Teacher Tsunade say that, Seigetsu Senju was thrilled. Teacher Tsunade had finally acknowledged Kawadera.

Tsunade asked, "What is Kawadera Uchiha good at?"

"Genjutsu and Fire Release Ninjutsu. He's been training hard in Taijutsu lately to make up for his weakness there."

After a moment's thought, Tsunade said, "Why not teach him one of our Senju Clan's secret techniques? That would be a fitting reward for his sincerity."

"Great! I'll go find Kawadera right away!"

Inside Orochimaru's tent, Kawadera Uchiha set down the captured squad leader but didn't leave.

Orochimaru's hands were inside the chest cavity of an experimental subject.

The tent was filled with squelching sounds. Orochimaru was holding the heart and performing CPR on the subject.

The experiment wasn't over yet. How could the subject die?

Orochimaru stared at Kawadera Uchiha, unsure what he wanted.

Meeting Orochimaru's cold gaze, Kawadera Uchiha tried to reassure himself.

Uncovering who was behind the attempt on Nawaki Senju's life was an A-rank mission from Tobirama Senju. Be brave. Don't be so afraid of Orochimaru.

Nawaki wasn't dead, and Orochimaru hadn't gone off the deep end. He just liked human experimentation. He just liked killing people. He was just unpredictable. Other than that, there didn't seem to be anything to fear.

Kawadera Uchiha said:

"Lord Orochimaru, our squad protected young clan leader Nawaki, and it seems we've drawn the attention of the mastermind behind the scenes.

A force ambushed us on our way back. They were more determined to kill us than to silence us.

Could you tell us who the mastermind is, Lord Orochimaru, so we can be prepared?"

"Heh heh heh." A hoarse, chilling laugh came from Orochimaru's throat.

"Do you really want to know?

Right now, you know nothing, and they know you know nothing. That's why you're still alive.

If you really knew something, you'd be as good as dead."

Kawadera Uchiha's eyes lit up. "From what you're saying, Lord Orochimaru, you already know who the mastermind is?"

Orochimaru neither confirmed nor denied it.

Unable to get an answer, Kawadera Uchiha continued:

"The mastermind can't be from an enemy Great Ninja Village. Lord Orochimaru wouldn't need to protect someone from an enemy village.

Princess Tsunade hasn't made a move, which proves Lord Orochimaru knows who it is, but the Senju Clan doesn't.

In other words, Lord Orochimaru thinks the mastermind's identity is something even the Senju Clan should pretend not to know, let alone a nobody like me.

The mastermind's status must be higher than the Senju Clan's.

If their status is higher than the Senju Clan's, the mastermind can only be one of the village's top officials...

We can rule out Advisor Utatane Koharu, since she's in charge of internal affairs. That leaves Commander-in-Chief Mitokado Homura or Advisor Shimura Danzō.

It couldn't be Lord Hokage, could it? Haha..."

Kawadera Uchiha abruptly stopped laughing. Why wasn't Orochimaru laughing? Was the joke not funny?

Orochimaru's mouth stretched wide, but it wasn't a smile. It was a sneer.

His mouth seemed to squash his other features, making his face look rubbery, inhuman, and terrifying.

Nawaki wasn't dead, so why was Orochimaru still so sinister?

"Guess again."

At Orochimaru's prompting, Kawadera Uchiha didn't dare say anything more.

In the Sea of Consciousness, he spoke to Tobirama Senju:

"Second, did you hear all that?

Orochimaru didn't deny that the mastermind was Shimura Danzō or Mitokado Homura.

I don't dare guess anymore.

Mitokado Homura is the Commander-in-Chief on the Land of Grass battlefield. He could get me killed with a mission I absolutely couldn't complete. It would be easy.

Advisor Danzō commands Konoha's forces in the shadows. If he wanted me dead, I wouldn't even know how I died.

This is so hard to figure out, Lord Second. The people who set a trap to kill you and the ones who tried to assassinate Nawaki are both your students."

Tobirama Senju paused for several seconds before replying, "You have no evidence. Your deductions are all based on Orochimaru's ambiguous answers."

"If you won't give me the Mind Reading Technique, how am I supposed to get evidence? You can't expect a Chunin from the Uchiha Clan to investigate several advisors, can you? That would be worth more than an A-rank mission."

Tobirama Senju fell silent.

"Whatever the case, I've completed the investigation into the mastermind. The culprit is someone in the Konoha High Command. The mission is over. I want the Mind Reading Technique."

"No. The Mind Reading Technique has too much strategic value. If you learn it, you'll gain intelligence-gathering abilities that surpass conventional methods. You could obtain information from any unconscious person or corpse. I'll give you Mind Awakening just once."

A tremor passed through his soul. Kawadera Uchiha felt it grow slightly stronger.

He hurriedly checked his Eight Ninja Stats panel.

[Gen] had risen from 8.0 to 8.1, and [Int] from 6.9 to 7.0.

He'd been training hard in Taijutsu lately, and his physical strength had improved again. Combined with the boost to his mental energy, his chakra reserves had also increased.

Orochimaru slowly closed his mouth and said:

"Kawadera Uchiha, you've made this dull front line a little more interesting.

Follow me. I'll give you power, ninjutsu, and everything you need."

If Tobirama Senju hadn't been in his Sea of Consciousness, Kawadera Uchiha would have dropped to his knees on the spot.

His knees wouldn't be red otherwise. He had to prove his loyalty.

Whether there was a hook in the bait or not, he couldn't resist it. He really wanted to take a couple of bites.

Kawadera Uchiha reminded Orochimaru, "Lord Orochimaru, your experimental subject seems to have died. He's twitching."

Annoyed that Kawadera Uchiha had changed the subject, Orochimaru squeezed hard and crushed the subject's heart.

Looking at the blood splattered across Orochimaru's clothes, Kawadera Uchiha said:

"Just as expected of Lord Orochimaru. Your Medical Ninjutsu is so impressive that you cured the subject's convulsions in an instant. He's quiet now."

Just then, Seigetsu Senju's voice came from outside.

"Lord Orochimaru! Teacher Tsunade wants me to bring Kawadera Uchiha over!"

The tent suddenly fell silent.

Orochimaru didn't answer Seigetsu Senju outside. He simply stared at Kawadera Uchiha.