Eyewitness

A flicker of impatience surged within Uchiha Chen, but he quickly suppressed the emotion.

He knew this was not the time to lose his temper; if he weren't trying to throw Obito under the bus to clear the Uchiha clan of suspicion and buy enough time for Kotoamatsukami, he would have lunged forward to kill her for that attitude.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to keep his voice calm: "The reason I was outside the village is that I received a special mission."

"The specific circumstances involve the security secrets of Konoha, so I cannot disclose too much to you at the moment. But please believe me, everything I have done is to protect the village."

Utatane Koharu was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. She frowned and continued to press: "What kind of special mission requires you to head outside the village alone in the middle of the night? And why has no one mentioned this mission before?"

Faced with Utatane Koharu's barrage of questions, Uchiha Chen felt a wave of annoyance and pretended to glance inadvertently at Shimura Danzō, who was standing to the side.

Seeing the understanding in Shimura Danzō's eyes, Uchiha Chen straightened his posture and met Utatane Koharu's gaze: "This was an order issued directly to me by Lord Shimura Danzō. The specific details are known only to the Fourth Hokage, Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, and a few others. As for why it wasn't mentioned before, there are naturally reasons for that, and I have no authority to inquire."

He paused, then continued: "The most important thing now is to tell everyone what I saw last night; it concerns the safety of the entire village. I hope you can understand and stop dwelling on these irrelevant questions."

Utatane Koharu, dissatisfied with being brushed off, felt a nameless fire rise in her heart. Just as she was about to lash out, she saw Shimura Danzō tap his cane firmly against the floor. With a gloomy face, he spoke: "Koharu, this matter does indeed concern me. A few days ago, news of intruders reached the Uchiha clan. Although they have already been eliminated, it is hard to guarantee there were no omissions."

"Due to a shortage of manpower, Namikaze Minato specifically consulted with me and Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, hoping to assemble a team to disperse around the perimeter of Konoha, with each person responsible for a sector. His mission was indeed issued by me, and there is no issue with it. So, let him finish what he has to say." After the explanation, Shimura Danzō fell silent, merely watching Uchiha Chen quietly.

Of course, this mission was actually fabricated on the spot by Uchiha Chen. Naturally, the three parties involved in issuing the mission—Namikaze Minato is dead, while Uchiha Fugaku and Shimura Danzō are his puppets. Now that the parties involved have admitted it, no one can prove the truth of the matter.

Therefore, when Uchiha Chen saw the livid, blue-tinged face of Utatane Koharu, the anger he felt from being questioned dissipated significantly.

Subsequently, he ignored Utatane Koharu and continued: "Very well, Lord Shimura Danzō."

"At the time, I was patrolling outside the village when I suddenly discovered that something had happened inside."

"I then rushed back to the village with all my might."

"On the way, I saw the Hokage confronting a mysterious man in a black robe and a mask. I was just about to support the Hokage, but before I could arrive, the masked man had already been repelled by him."

"The entire process was exceptionally swift. I clearly saw the Hokage's Kunai pierce directly through the opponent's head."

"Wait, kid Chen!" At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly interrupted his recollection, asking with a serious expression: "Are you certain it pierced through?"

Uchiha Chen nodded without hesitation: "Yes, it absolutely pierced through. Furthermore, that was not a technique like an illusion or a clone. Because immediately afterward, the masked man was struck by the Hokage's Rasengan and lost an arm."

In the end, the masked man seemed to be absorbed by something; his body twisted gradually until he disappeared completely.

Following that, the Hokage also departed after the masked man vanished.

"That is the entire sequence of events I witnessed with my own eyes. Afterward, I continued to rush back to the village, sought an appropriate time to report in detail to Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, and was finally brought here."

Upon hearing this, a heavy look appeared in the eyes of everyone present. Only Utatane Koharu wore a look of contempt, and just as she was about to mock him, she was interrupted once again by Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Enough, kid Chen. Through your description, I have basically been able to guess the specific function of the ninjutsu the enemy used."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi took another deep drag from his pipe, his face grave as he said in a low voice: "Space-time ninjutsu. There is no doubt that what the enemy used is the same type of space-time ninjutsu as Namikaze Minato's."

This statement fell like a heavy bomb into the hearts of those present. As soon as he finished speaking, the room was in an uproar; everyone was stunned and speechless, even Uchiha Chen, who feigned a look of equal shock.

After all, Konoha's space-time ninjutsu user, Namikaze Minato, with his formidable strength, could be said to have single-handedly changed the course of the Third Shinobi World War.

Hearing suddenly that the enemy also possessed space-time ninjutsu, while Konoha's own user had sacrificed himself because of the Nine-Tails, the expressions of everyone present turned extremely grim.

One must know that without a corresponding space-time ninjutsu user to provide a check and balance, the entire village of Konoha would be like a defenseless, naked young girl, left to be slaughtered at the enemy's whim.

At this critical moment, Uchiha Fugaku dropped another bombshell.

"Everyone, the situation is far worse than you imagine. The most troublesome issue is that last night, all of our Uchiha clan's Three-Tomoe Sharingan users exerted their power together, yet we were unable to successfully seize control of the Nine-Tails!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Fugaku deliberately put on a worried appearance, sweeping his heavy gaze over everyone present.

When he saw that everyone—including Utatane Koharu, who had been hostile toward the Uchiha clan—now wore expressions of suspicion and uncertainty, he continued in a low voice: "This means that after many years, a powerhouse possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan has appeared outside of our Uchiha clan."

"This is the first pair of Mangekyō since the passing of our ancestor, Uchiha Madara! Since ancient times, only by relying on the power of the Mangekyō can one win through quality and overcome the advantage of numbers."

"Heh! To think that the strongest power of my Uchiha clan has been obtained by an outsider; this is truly a disgrace to our ancestors." A bitter and helpless smile appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's face, his voice revealing endless regret and self-reproach.

Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes toward his pained face, unable to help but feel a sense of resonance.

One must know that the Uchiha clan has always taken pride in their own strength, possessing the powerful Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan. This power represents the glory and heritage of the clan, but its appearance in the hands of another is undoubtedly a massive blow to the entire group.

Those present knew that if this matter did not concern the village's trust in the Uchiha clan, the proud Uchiha would never have exposed their own shame so easily. Thinking of this, everyone's eyes revealed deep sympathy for Uchiha Fugaku.