Chapter Thirty-Six: Mistaken Identity

"You two little ones can go back and report to the Third Hokage now; you are the primary contributors to this success."

Shen Ye nodded. Since his reputation was at stake this time, he was certainly not going to give up the title of primary contributor.

The group retraced their steps along the path they had taken, returning directly to the Hokage Office to hand the scroll over to the Third Hokage.

"The hidden threat in the village has finally been resolved. You have made an indelible contribution this time; feel free to ask for any reward you desire."

Several jonin, including Jiraiya and Tsunade, all shook their heads and turned to leave, leaving only Minato, Shen Ye, and the Third Hokage behind.

Minato tugged at the corner of Shen Ye's sleeve, wanting to leave; as for the matter of a reward, he felt it was better to let it go.

However, Shen Ye had already decided on the reward he wanted, and it was certainly not something excessive for the Third Hokage to grant.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I hope the Third Hokage can grant me an opportunity to have a private encounter with Wu Tian."

The Third Hokage frowned, unable to understand why Shen Ye would want such a reward; to anyone else, this could hardly be considered a reward at all.

Various speculations arose in the mind of Sarutobi Hiruzen, but he did not let them show on his face.

"I can satisfy that request. Minato, what reward do you want?"

"I will answer for Minato. It is time for him to properly appreciate those ninjutsu that were sealed away by the First Hokage."

The Third hesitated for a moment. He knew deep down what kind of talent Minato had for cultivation; perhaps those seemingly dangerous ninjutsu could truly be inherited by him.

"I agree to both of your requests, but it can only be carried out after the village has handled a few matters."

Although Shen Ye really wanted to see Wu Tian alone before the village trial began, it seemed the Third Hokage would never give him such an opportunity, as it might even arouse suspicion.

After leaving the Hokage Office, Minato parted ways with Shen Ye and returned to his own home, leaving Shen Ye alone on the street, wandering aimlessly.

The Ninja Academy had suspended classes due to the events that had occurred in the village over the past few days, and it was unclear when they would resume.

With Wu Tian captured, Shen Ye's reputation as a peeping tom had been completely cleared; the female ninjas who had been at the women's bathhouse that day were now filled with guilt toward him.

Upon returning to his doorstep, Shen Ye discovered a pile of countless food items and small gifts stacked by the window, each accompanied by a note expressing an apology.

With nothing better to do, he read through all the notes, only to discover that there was no apology letter from Uchiha Mikoto.

"What is up with this girl? I taught her ninjutsu for nothing; she won first place in the clan competition and yet she forgot about me."

Shen Ye curled his lip but did not take the matter to heart; after all, the guy who had been impersonating Jiraiya had been caught, and the fake had become the truth.

Just as he was about to push the door open to enter his house, Shen Ye noticed a familiar figure standing not far away, arms crossed, leaning against a street lamp.

"Uchiha Mikoto, what are you spacing out here for?"

"Shen Ye, you're finally back. I've been waiting here for you for a long time."

"Is there something you need?"

"What happened that day was my fault. I mistook you for someone else; I shouldn't have kept suspecting that you were the guy who was peeping at us."

"So much time has passed since then, let's not bring it up anymore. Besides, I never blamed you, otherwise I wouldn't have taught you how to cultivate."

Mikoto nodded vigorously, the stone that had been hanging in her heart finally dropping, and she looked at Shen Ye with an innocent expression.

"If there's nothing else, go on home. The village hasn't completely returned to peace yet."

Mikoto waved at Shen Ye and skipped away toward the Uchiha clan compound.

Watching her cheerful back, Shen Ye shook his head helplessly; his reputation had finally been completely restored.

Back home, Shen Ye leaned back comfortably on the sofa, his mind occupied with thoughts regarding Wu Tian.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and Shen Ye received the latest news from Tsunade: Wu Tian had confessed to everything.

He had not only admitted to impersonating Jiraiya to peep that day, but had even taken the blame for killing the Anbu members.

Shen Ye found this very difficult to understand; the guy clearly hadn't done those things, yet he had confessed to them anyway.

"By the way, Shen Ye, the Third Hokage wants you to find a time to see him soon. He likely wants to ask you some questions about Wu Tian."

"I'll go over right now."

Shen Ye leaped up from his bed, opened the window, vaulted out onto the street, and strolled leisurely toward the Hokage Office.

Tsunade shook her head helplessly.

Watching Shen Ye approach the office step by step, the Third Hokage showed no expression on his face, his body flickering as he vanished from the office.

"Shen Ye, over here!"

The Third's voice appeared above Shen Ye. Shen Ye looked around and discovered that he was currently standing on the Shadow Rock of Konoha, stepping right on the nose of his own statue.

Shen Ye sighed softly and jumped up to the Third's side in a few bounds.

Following the nose of the Third's statue, Sarutobi Hiruzen led Shen Ye into the eyes.

Only then did Shen Ye realize that the Shadow Rock held hidden secrets; the eyes of each statue were individual secret chambers, and perhaps important enemies were being held in the other chambers as well.

Passing through a dim corridor, Shen Ye saw Wu Tian under the faint light, his hands restrained by iron shackles, with only enough movement to shift his body slightly.

Looking at the injuries on his body, it was clear he had undergone brutal interrogation.

The Third gave Shen Ye a look and turned to leave, standing guard by the eye to prevent Wu Tian from escaping.

"It's a real pity I didn't finish you off, little one. I gave you the chance to humiliate me here."

"I have a few questions that have been puzzling me, and I hope to find some answers from you."

"Heh..."

A mocking laugh escaped Wu Tian's lips, to which Shen Ye showed no reaction.

"Those things clearly weren't done by you, so why did you confess to them?"

"The methods of Konoha have forced me to submit. Before this, I never imagined such torture existed. I didn't do it for you."

Shen Ye frowned. This guy truly knew that he was the one who had done everything, yet he gritted his teeth and took the blame under these tortures.

If it were merely the Third Hokage, Wu Tian might not have suffered such severe injuries.

It must be that Danzo wanted to extract the information he desired, so he used the authority of the Anbu to conduct an interrogation through torture.

In Shen Ye's understanding, there was someone among Danzo's subordinates who was highly skilled in these methods, capable of breaking the mental state of any captured ninja.