Sasuke had been unconscious for several hours before he slowly opened his eyes.
Most importantly, he wasn't in a room he recognized. He was at the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters!
His father, Fugaku Uchiha, was there, along with all the key personnel of the Military Police Force.
Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Natsume, Uchiha Nagasawa, Uchiha Itachi...
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo had come.
Good grief, what was going on?!
Sasuke was completely bewildered.
Had the Konoha High Command already found out that he could get stronger just by sleeping?!
"Sasuke, you're awake?"
"Honestly, why did you go so hard on Shisui during training?"
"You're a genius of the Uchiha Clan. If this fight injured you at the root, rushing into things wouldn't be a good attitude toward training."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to speak.
He wore a kind, approachable smile.
He had to admit, Hiruzen had done a pretty good job of cultivating that image.
"I was the one who asked Big Brother Shisui to do it. I wanted to find out how strong I'd need to become so I could comfortably eat and sleep my life away."
"Seems like I'm still not strong enough, huh?"
"By the way, Lord Hokage, and the rest of you..."
"Did you all come to check on my injuries?"
Sasuke rambled on as if he'd only just realized that the people before him were Konoha's leaders.
He widened his eyes and asked innocently.
Uh...
For a moment, everyone was at a loss for words.
"All right. Whatever we need to discuss can wait until we're outside."
"Let the boy get some rest."
Hiruzen spoke, then walked out on his own.
The others had no reason to stay, either.
After all, Sasuke's injuries were no act.
Soon, they had gathered in the Military Police Force meeting room.
"Danzo, tell us what you think about this incident."
"Root Organization members were attacked by the Uchiha?"
"Do you have any evidence to support that?"
Hiruzen's expression was grave.
Both sides had their own version of events, but Hiruzen was more inclined to believe the Uchiha.
After all, Danzo's explanation was far too flimsy.
He claimed that Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Shisui had joined forces to kill elite members of Root!
And among the four elite operatives, there were several Hiruzen knew personally!
Forget Uchiha Sasuke...
Even without that little kid dragging him down, could Uchiha Shisui have killed all four men within the Uchiha Compound without leaving a trace?
Was that even possible?!
Even if the four weren't a match for Uchiha Shisui, wouldn't they have run?
Hiruzen's sudden question caught Danzo completely off guard.
Brother, that's not how the story goes!
Weren't you supposed to side with me without question and help me investigate the Uchiha Clan?
Danzo couldn't help grumbling to himself.
But he couldn't possibly say that aloud.
"Lord Danzo, don't know how to answer?"
"Then let me ask you something."
"Why were four Root operatives in the heart of the Uchiha Compound?"
"Why was I attacked by a mysterious ninja just as your Root operatives appeared?"
"And why did you claim they died in front of my second son, Uchiha Sasuke?"
Fugaku Uchiha wasn't a fool.
On the contrary, he was very clever.
His earlier poor performance had been entirely because Konoha's leaders had joined forces to suppress the Uchiha.
No matter how clever he was, there was little he could do about that...
But things were different now. Hiruzen had just questioned Danzo, and that alone made the situation clear.
Root and Hiruzen had fallen out...
"Did Captain Fugaku also discover the enemy who infiltrated Konoha?"
"It seems this incident really wasn't the Uchiha's doing."
"Perhaps those four were attacked by the enemy."
"I apologize for my rashness. I'll go back and investigate what happened."
With that, Danzo turned and left.
Uchiha Natsume raised a hand, as if he wanted to say something, but Shisui stopped him.
Forcing Danzo to back down this much was already a significant achievement.
"Lord Hokage, there's nothing wrong on the Uchiha's side, either."
"If you discover anything, please feel free to tell us."
After Danzo left, Fugaku turned to Hiruzen.
Getting Danzo to admit fault was already a major advantage.
Fugaku didn't intend to demand more. You couldn't eat an entire elephant in one bite.
No matter how much resentment he harbored, he had to keep it in check for now.
"As the head of the Military Police Force, you have the authority to investigate certain matters."
"Do your best to uncover something."
"Since everyone is all right, I'll head back now."
"If there's a new report, come to me anytime."
"Make sure Sasuke gets some rest. Both your sons are geniuses, Fugaku. You need to raise them well!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Hiruzen left with the Anbu.
Only after everyone had gone did Fugaku finally let out a long breath.
"You can all go back to your duties."
"Shisui, stay. I have something to ask you."
Fugaku sat down and gave the order.
"Understood."
"All right, Captain."
"Let's go."
The Military Police Force members filed out of the room.
Shisui looked at Fugaku with some confusion, too.
After all, the incident was more or less over.
"Shisui, you just told me that Sasuke killed two Root operatives by himself?!"
Fugaku voiced the question that had been bothering him.
He'd already heard about it.
But... it wasn't just something he'd never seen before. He'd never even heard of anything like it.
A five-year-old child who'd only been at the Ninja Academy for a few months...
Had killed Anbu?!
"I don't know exactly what happened."
"By the time I arrived, two of them were already dead."
"Even the other two were cowed by Sasuke's presence and didn't dare attack."
"They also seemed somewhat mentally unstable... so I think Sasuke really did it himself."
Shisui explained what he'd observed.
Even though Shisui himself was saying it, he could hardly believe it.
It was such an unbelievable story that anyone would have thought the same.
"I understand."
"You can get back to your duties, too."
Fugaku waved Shisui away.
Left alone at his desk, he sank into thought...
Before you continue