Handing Them the Knife

Secret Tunnel.

This was an unexpected bonus.

He had only meant to catch a trace of Root's probing.

He hadn't expected that, by following the Tracking Powder, he would uncover a Secret Tunnel on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

This was worth far more than a single intruder.

An intruder could be dismissed as acting alone, as a spy from an enemy village, or as an accident.

But a Secret Tunnel was different.

It required advance planning, long-term maintenance, and familiarity with the outer layout of the clan grounds.

It proved that someone had been systematically infiltrating the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

And they had likely been at it for quite some time.

This would set the Uchiha off completely.

The system panel appeared in Shin-getsu's mind.

Soon, a notification sounded.

[The Uchiha Police Force discovered a hidden Secret Tunnel on the outskirts of the clan grounds.]

[Clues of Root's long-term surveillance were exposed ahead of schedule.]

[Trust between the Uchiha and Konoha High Command has further deteriorated.]

[Night of the Clan Massacre Deviation increased.]

[Current deviation: 5 percent.]

[Causality Points gained: 1500.]

[Current Causality Points: 2800.]

Shin-getsu's eyes lit up.

Five percent.

Two thousand eight hundred Causality Points.

The gains this time were even greater than he'd expected.

It seemed the Secret Tunnel might have been important in the original course of events, too.

At the very least, it proved that the Uchiha had been under surveillance and restriction all along.

Shin-getsu returned inside and sat down on the tatami.

The exhaustion gradually caught up with him.

But his mind remained clear.

The Uchiha would surely hold an emergency meeting of their higher-ups tonight.

Fugaku would face even greater pressure.

The Radical Faction would be furious.

Shisui would be shaken.

And Itachi would have to reconsider the relationship between the village and the Uchiha.

As for the Hokage Building...

Third Hokage probably wouldn't sleep a wink.

Because this time, it wasn't just the Uchiha making accusations.

They had found something concrete.

Even if the tunnel didn't have "For Root's exclusive use" written inside, Konoha High Command would have a hard time explaining it away.

Shin-getsu closed his eyes and murmured,

"Danzo."

"You're in too much of a hurry."

"And when you rush, you make mistakes."

Northwest of the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

By the time Fugaku reached the tunnel entrance, members of the Police Force had already gathered around it.

Every face was grim.

Tekka and Inabi stood beside the entrance.

When they saw Fugaku arrive, they immediately bowed their heads.

"Clan head."

Fugaku wasted no time.

"Report."

Inabi gave his report in a low voice. "Following the powder Shin-getsu left behind, we discovered that the intruder escaped through here."

"There's a disguised Secret Tunnel here."

"The entrance is concealed."

"There are traces of a sealing technique inside."

"It may be of Anbu design."

Fugaku crouched and examined the entrance himself.

His fingers brushed the edge of the disguised stone slab.

There were faint marks left by long-term friction.

This wasn't newly made.

It had been used many times.

Fugaku's expression turned cold.

"Have you investigated inside?"

Inabi shook his head.

"No."

"We were worried it might be a trap. We also didn't want to give anyone a chance to accuse us of destroying evidence."

Fugaku nodded.

"Good."

He rose and looked at the clansmen around him.

"Keep tonight's events under wraps for now."

Tekka immediately grew anxious.

"Clan head!"

"After all this, you still want to keep it quiet?"

"They dug a tunnel around our clan grounds!"

"If we don't make a fuss today, will they be digging under our clan members' beds tomorrow?"

Many of the Uchiha nearby looked furious.

Fugaku gave him a cold look.

"When I say to keep it quiet, I don't mean to bury it."

"I mean to stop them from dealing with it beforehand."

Tekka froze.

Fugaku continued, "Send people to secure every nearby exit at once."

"No one goes into the tunnel for now."

"But set up sealing monitors at the entrance."

"Record any chakra fluctuations."

"Tomorrow morning, I'll personally take the evidence of this tunnel to the Hokage Building."

"This time, I want Lord Hokage to explain it himself."

Hearing that, Tekka's anger finally eased a little.

"Yes."

Fugaku stared at the tunnel entrance, his heart heavy.

He knew things would be hard to return to the way they'd been from this moment on.

Yesterday, the Uchiha had only suspected Root.

Today, they'd discovered a tunnel.

If the Hokage Building couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, the Radical Faction would spiral completely out of control.

And as clan head, he could no longer keep persuading his people to "wait" and "show restraint."

Fugaku looked toward the center of Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Danzo.

How far are you going to push the Uchiha?

Hokage Building.

Third Hokage had just been getting ready to rest when an Anbu member suddenly appeared in his office.

"Lord Hokage."

"There's been another incident near the Uchiha Clan Grounds."

Third Hokage's heart sank.

"Report."

The Anbu member quickly reported the intruder's attempt to probe Shin-getsu's home, as well as the Uchiha Police Force's discovery of a Secret Tunnel on the outskirts of the clan grounds after tracking him.

Third Hokage's expression changed drastically as he listened.

"A Secret Tunnel?"

"Yes."

The Anbu member lowered his head. "The Uchiha have secured the scene."

"Clan head Fugaku has also arrived."

"They haven't entered the tunnel. They've only secured the entrance."

Third Hokage's expression turned frighteningly grim.

He didn't need to think twice to know that a Secret Tunnel like this couldn't have been built by an ordinary ninja.

What kind of place was the area around the Uchiha Clan Grounds?

They'd been moved to the village's outskirts, but they were still within Konoha.

There were only a handful of factions in all of Konoha capable of maintaining a tunnel in that area for a long time without being discovered.

The Anbu.

Root.

And the Anbu hadn't been given such an order.

That left only one answer.

Third Hokage shot to his feet.

"Danzo!"

There was a rare trace of anger in his voice.

The Anbu member dropped to one knee and said nothing.

Third Hokage took a deep breath and forced down his emotions.

"Pass on the order at once. No Anbu are to approach the Secret Tunnel on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Grounds."

"Without my order, no one is to touch the scene."

The Anbu member bowed his head.

"Yes."

Third Hokage added, "Send people to watch the entrance to Root."

"If anyone from Root makes an unusual move tonight, report it immediately."

The Anbu member hesitated.

"Lord Hokage, about Root..."

Third Hokage said coldly, "Do it."

The Anbu member's heart tightened.

"Yes!"

After the Anbu member left, Third Hokage stood in his office, his expression darker than ever.

If it had been only last night's attack, he could still have tried to pass it off as the work of "enemy village spies."

But now?

A Secret Tunnel on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Another break-in at Shin-getsu's home that same night.

An Eavesdropping Talisman.

Tracking Powder.

Once those pieces were put together, the Uchiha would never believe that Cloud Village spies were responsible.

Worse still, Fugaku hadn't acted rashly this time.

He hadn't sent people straight into the tunnel.

He hadn't tampered with the scene.

Instead, he'd secured the entrance and planned to bring the evidence to the Hokage Building the next day.

That made it hard for the Third Hokage to come up with an excuse.

If Fugaku had charged in, the Hokage Building could have accused the Uchiha of acting on their own and damaging the village's secret facilities.

But Fugaku hadn't.

He'd shown restraint.

So much restraint that the Konoha High Command couldn't turn around and accuse him.

The Third Hokage suddenly thought of Shin-getsu.

Could that child be behind this again?

Shin-getsu's home had been attacked.

He'd left Tracking Powder behind in reverse.

He'd reminded Tekka not to pursue too far, only to preserve evidence of the route.

Then the Uchiha had discovered the Secret Tunnel, but hadn't rashly ventured inside.

All of it fit together too neatly, like a coordinated series of blows.

The Third Hokage's expression grew complicated.

If a nine-year-old child really was pulling the strings, then he was terrifying.

But more terrifying still was that it was no one else who'd driven him to this.

It was Konoha's own darkness.

The Third Hokage closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Danzo."

"You've really gone too far this time."