Shadow

The Third Hokage was silent for a moment.

"All right."

Utatane Koharu frowned.

"Hiruzen..."

The Third Hokage waved a hand.

"Give them what they want."

Fugaku didn't stop.

"Third, until the investigation is complete, the Police Force will take over defense around the perimeter of the Uchiha Clan Grounds."

"No one outside the Uchiha may approach the clan grounds without permission."

That was the real critical strike.

The Third Hokage furrowed his brow.

"Fugaku, that's not how things are done."

Fugaku replied calmly, "Last night, someone entered the clan grounds through a Secret Tunnel."

"If the village's defenses can't protect the Uchiha, then the Uchiha can only protect themselves."

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

Fugaku looked at him.

"The Uchiha are the ones being monitored."

"The Uchiha are the ones who were attacked."

"The Uchiha are the ones whose grounds were tunneled under."

"And now the Uchiha are the ones trying to protect themselves."

"And you say, Councilor, that the Uchiha are isolating themselves?"

Mitokado Homura was momentarily speechless.

The atmosphere in the office grew unbearably tense.

The Third Hokage looked at Fugaku.

He knew that if he agreed to this, the Uchiha Clan Grounds would become even more closed off.

But if he refused, the Radical Faction within the clan would surely erupt.

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

After a moment, the Third Hokage said slowly, "You may take over temporarily."

"Only for the duration of the investigation."

Fugaku nodded.

"All right."

He didn't press the matter further.

He had already achieved his goal for the day.

A joint inspection of the Secret Tunnel.

Access to the patrol records.

Temporary control of defenses around the clan grounds.

Each of these was a right the Uchiha had found difficult to obtain in the past.

And all of it had started with a packet of Tracking Powder that Shin-getsu had left behind.

Thinking of it, Fugaku felt conflicted.

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

After Fugaku and his people left, a long silence settled over the office.

Mitokado Homura said heavily, "Hiruzen, we've given up too much."

The Third Hokage replied wearily, "Then tell me, what should we do instead?"

"Put the Uchiha at odds with the village right now?"

Utatane Koharu frowned. "If this goes on, they'll become harder and harder to control."

The Third Hokage looked out the window.

"The ones truly out of control aren't the Uchiha."

"It's the people who keep pushing them away, time and again."

The two Councilors fell silent.

They knew who the Third Hokage meant.

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

He was the Darkness of Konoha.

He was the shadow the Third Hokage had allowed to exist for far too long.

The shadow had grown too deep. When the time came to cut it away, they would find it entangled with too many roots.

The Uchiha Clan Grounds.

After hearing the results Inabi had brought back, Shin-getsu nodded slightly.

"Not bad."

Sitting on the tatami, Tekka took a sip of tea. At last, a hint of satisfaction showed on his face.

"Not bad at all."

"The Hokage agreed to inspect the Secret Tunnel with us."

"He also agreed to release the patrol records."

"Most importantly, our Police Force will take over defense around the perimeter of the clan grounds during the investigation."

"This time, they won't be able to stick their hands in whenever they want."

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

Tekka was taken aback.

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

"But when we inspect the Secret Tunnel, someone will definitely try to steer the investigation toward irrelevant explanations."

Tekka frowned.

"Such as?"

Shin-getsu replied evenly, "An Abandoned Air Defense Facility."

"A Remnant Passage of the Old Era."

"Enemy Village Spy Utilization."

"They might even claim it was a secret route Konoha built in the past to move people around the village during wartime."

Tekka's expression darkened as he listened.

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

Shin-getsu looked at him.

"If they don't, would they admit that someone has been monitoring the Uchiha for a long time?"

Tekka snorted.

"Then what do we do?"

Shin-getsu said, "Focus on three things."

"First, signs of recent use in the Secret Tunnel."

"Second, any Sealing Technique Residue."

"Third, the direction of the tunnel's exit."

Tekka's eyes lit up.

Shin-getsu continued, "The old facilities may exist."

"But they can't deny signs of recent use."

"They can claim the Sealing Technique is similar."

"But the Casting Material and Chakra Residue will reveal its age."

"As for the direction of the exit, if it leads near Root or to a route known only to the Anbu, then no matter how they explain it, it won't help."

Tekka drew a deep breath.

"I'll go tell Inabi right now."

Shin-getsu nodded.

"One more thing."

Tekka stopped.

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

"Especially not the Sealing Nodes."

"They might offer to remove the traps in the name of safety."

"And while removing them, they could erase the evidence too."

Tekka grinned coldly.

"Understood."

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

With that, he got up and left.

Shin-getsu sat in the room, his expression calm.

He knew that this investigation into the Secret Tunnel would inevitably become the first direct clash between the Uchiha and Konoha's High Command.

On the surface, they were investigating a tunnel.

In truth, they were fighting over the right to control the narrative.

In the past, whatever Konoha's High Command said went.

The Uchiha could only accept it passively.

But now, Shin-getsu intended to change things, little by little.

He would teach the Uchiha to preserve evidence.

To spot loopholes.

To force the hidden blade into the open.

Only then would the Uchiha avoid being slaughtered unprepared when the Night of the Clan Massacre arrived.

Just then, the system notification rang out again.

[The host has helped the Uchiha secure Temporary Defense Rights for the Clan's Outer Territory.]

[Konoha High Command's Unilateral Surveillance Capability over the Uchiha has decreased.]

[Night of the Clan Massacre Deviation has increased.]

[Current deviation: 6 percent.]

[Earned Causality Points: 800.]

[Current Causality Points: 3600.]

Shin-getsu's eyes sharpened.

Three thousand six hundred.

He looked down at the system panel.

[Sharingan: Two-Tomoe]

[Forcefully raise to Two-Tomoe Perfection: 2000 Causality Points required]

[Forcefully evolve to Three-Tomoe: 12000 Causality Points required]

Shin-getsu didn't rush to spend them.

He had enough Causality Points to improve his Two-Tomoe proficiency, but he was still far from reaching Three-Tomoe.

Besides, things would get more complicated from here.

He might need the points for a Fate Event Rehearsal or to Deduce Ninjutsu.

He couldn't spend them all.

Shin-getsu pondered for a moment, then ultimately decided not to upgrade.

Strength mattered.

But right now, he needed to make every Causality Point count.

He picked up the Fire Style Scroll from the table.

His Sharingan had already reached Two-Tomoe.

Next, he needed to master more ways to fight as quickly as possible.

The Great Fireball Technique was only the beginning.

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

He needed to work on all of them.

Because he knew all too well:

Danzo wouldn't back down just because one Secret Tunnel had been exposed.

On the contrary, that old dog would only want him dead even more.

And the next person to come wouldn't be there merely to test him like last night.

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

"Come on."

"The more moves you make, the faster I'll grow."