Shadow

The Third Hokage remained silent for a moment.

"Very well."

Utatane Koharu frowned.

"Hiruzen..."

The Third Hokage waved his hand.

"Give it to them."

Fugaku did not stop.

"Third, until the investigation results are released, the perimeter defense of the Uchiha compound shall be taken over by the Police Force itself."

"No non-Uchiha personnel may approach the borders of the compound without permission."

This was the truly critical strike.

The Third Hokage furrowed his brows.

"Fugaku, this is against protocol."

Fugaku said calmly, "Last night, someone entered the compound through a secret tunnel."

"If the village's defenses cannot protect the Uchiha, then the Uchiha must protect themselves."

Mitokado Homura immediately interjected, "This will only isolate the Uchiha further from the village's system."

Fugaku looked at him.

"It is the Uchiha who are being monitored."

"It is the Uchiha who are being attacked."

"It is the Uchiha whose compound has been tunneled into."

"And now, it is the Uchiha who wish to protect themselves."

"Yet, you, Advisor, claim that it is the Uchiha who are isolating themselves?"

Mitokado Homura was momentarily speechless.

The atmosphere in the office was stifling to the extreme.

The Third Hokage watched Fugaku.

He knew that once he agreed to this step, the Uchiha compound would become even more enclosed.

But if he did not agree, the Radical Faction within the clan would surely explode.

More importantly, the Hokage Building was currently in the wrong.

A moment later, the Third Hokage said slowly, "A temporary takeover."

"Limited only to the duration of the investigation."

Fugaku nodded.

"Agreed."

He did not press further.

Because today's objectives had already been achieved.

Joint inspection of the secret tunnel.

Access to patrol records.

Temporary takeover of the compound's perimeter defense.

Each of these was a power the Uchiha had found difficult to secure in the past.

And the starting point for all of this was, surprisingly, a pouch of Tracking Powder that Shin-getsu had left behind as a countermeasure.

Thinking of this, Fugaku felt a complex mix of emotions.

That child was influencing the situation between the Uchiha and Konoha at a speed no one had anticipated.

After Fugaku and his men left, the office fell into a long silence.

Mitokado Homura said in a deep voice, "Hiruzen, we have conceded too much."

The Third Hokage said wearily, "Then tell me, what would you have me do instead?"

"Should I let the Uchiha turn against the village right now?"

Utatane Koharu frowned, "But if this continues, they will become increasingly uncontrollable."

The Third Hokage looked out the window.

"The ones who are truly uncontrollable are not the Uchiha."

"It is those who keep pushing them further away, time and time again."

Both advisors fell silent.

They knew exactly who the Third Hokage was talking about.

But they also knew Danzo wasn't easy to deal with.

He was the Darkness of Konoha.

A shadow the Third Hokage had tacitly allowed to exist for far too long.

The shadow had grown too deep; when they tried to cut it down, they found it had already entangled too many roots.

Uchiha compound.

Shin-getsu nodded slightly after hearing the results Tekka brought back.

"Good."

Tekka sat on the tatami, took a sip of tea, and finally showed a hint of relief on his face.

"Indeed, good."

"The Hokage agreed to jointly investigate the secret tunnels."

"He also agreed to retrieve the patrol records."

"Most importantly, during the investigation, the outer defenses of the compound will be taken over by our Police Force."

"This time, they won't be able to casually reach in."

Shin-getsu said, "Don't celebrate too early."

Tekka blinked in surprise.

Shin-getsu continued, "They agreed because they're in the wrong right now."

"But during the investigation of the secret tunnels, someone will definitely try to lead the clues in an irrelevant direction."

Tekka frowned.

"For example?"

Shin-getsu said indifferently, "Abandoned air defense facilities."

"Remnant passages of the old era."

"Enemy village spy utilization."

"They might even say these were secret routes Konoha built in the past to prevent civilian transfers during wartime."

Tekka's face grew darker as he listened.

"You mean they'll keep making things up?"

Shin-getsu looked at him.

"If they don't make things up, will they admit someone was long-term monitoring the Uchiha?"

Tekka snorted coldly.

"Then what should we do?"

Shin-getsu said, "We'll focus on three points."

"First, recent signs of the secret tunnels' use."

"Second, remnant sealing technique residue."

"Third, the direction of the tunnel exits."

Tekka's eyes lit up.

Shin-getsu continued, "Old facilities can exist."

"But recent signs of use cannot be denied."

"Sealing techniques can be said to be similar."

"But the casting materials and chakra residue will reveal the era."

"As for the exit direction, if it leads near Root, or along a route only known to the Anbu system, then no explanation they give will matter."

Tekka took a deep breath.

"I'll go tell Inabi now."

Shin-getsu nodded.

"Also."

Tekka stopped.

Shin-getsu said, "During the investigation, don't let the Anbu touch anything alone."

"Especially the sealing nodes."

"They might take the initiative to dismantle traps under the guise of safety."

"While dismantling them, they can also erase evidence."

Tekka grinned coldly.

"Understood."

"This time, I'll keep an eye on them myself."

With that, he rose and left.

Shin-getsu sat inside, his gaze calm.

He knew this investigation into the secret tunnel would inevitably become the first direct confrontation between the Uchiha and Konoha's higher-ups.

On the surface, they were investigating a secret tunnel.

In reality, they were fighting for the right to speak.

In the past, Konoha's higher-ups said whatever they wanted, and the Uchiha could only accept it passively.

But now, Shin-getsu intended to change this situation bit by bit.

He wanted to teach the Uchiha to keep evidence.

To learn to find loopholes.

To force the hidden knives into the open.

Only in this way, when the Night of the Clan Massacre arrived in the future, would the Uchiha not be slaughtered unprepared, as in the original story.

Just then, the system prompt sounded again.

[Host has promoted the Uchiha to strive for Temporary Defense Rights for the Clan's Outer Territory.]

[Konoha's higher-ups' Unilateral Surveillance Capability over the Uchiha has decreased.]

[Night of the Clan Massacre Deviation has increased.]

[Current Deviation: 6%.]

[Causality Points gained: 800.]

[Current Causality Points: 3600.]

Shin-getsu's eyes narrowed.

Three thousand six hundred.

He looked down at the system panel.

[Sharingan: Two-Tomoe]

[Forced upgrade to Two-Tomoe Perfection: Requires 2000 Causality Points]

[Forced evolution to Three-Tomoe: Requires 12000 Causality Points]

Shin-getsu didn't rush to click.

Although he had enough Causality Points now to improve his Two-Tomoe proficiency, he was still far from Three-Tomoe.

Moreover, the situation would become more complicated from now on.

He might need Causality Points for Fate Event Rehearsal or to Deduce Ninjutsu.

He couldn't spend it all.

Shin-getsu pondered for a moment and ultimately did not upgrade.

Strength was important.

But now, he needed to use every point of Causality Points where it mattered most.

He picked up the Fire Style Scroll on the table.

His Sharingan was already Two-Tomoe.

Next, he needed to master more practical combat techniques as quickly as possible.

The Great Fireball Technique was just the beginning.

Shurikenjutsu, Body Flicker Technique, Illusion Resistance, Sealing Basics, Reconnaissance Countermeasures.

He needed to learn all of these.

Because he knew very well.

Danzo would not stop just because a secret tunnel was exposed.

On the contrary, that old dog would only want to kill him more.

And the next person to come would definitely not be just a probing attack like last night.

Shin-getsu slowly opened the scroll, his eyes deep.

"Come on."

"The more you attack, the faster I will grow."