Noon.
Hokage Building.
After reading the investigation report handed to him by the Anbu Captain, the Third Hokage's face darkened until it looked ready to drip.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat silently in the office as well.
Every entry in the scroll felt like a slap in the face to the Hokage Building.
Especially this line:
> During the investigation, a hidden compartment was automatically destroyed by a Sealing Technique. It appears someone remotely triggered the cleanup.
That line was devastating.
It meant the Secret Tunnel wasn't an abandoned facility no one claimed.
Someone had been maintaining it all along.
And someone had tried to destroy the evidence after it was exposed.
The Third Hokage slowly lowered the scroll.
"Where's Danzo?"
The Anbu Captain replied quietly, "Lord Danzo hasn't come to the Hokage Building today."
The Third Hokage let out a cold laugh.
"Of course he hasn't."
Mitokado Homura frowned. "Hiruzen, the priority right now isn't holding Danzo accountable."
The Third Hokage abruptly turned to him.
"If we don't hold Danzo accountable, then who do we hold accountable?"
"Uchiha for discovering the Secret Tunnel?"
"Or that child for not obediently letting himself be taken away?"
Mitokado Homura's expression stiffened.
Utatane Koharu sighed.
"Hiruzen, that's not what we mean."
"But if we move against Danzo now, Root will have problems."
"And the Uchiha will think they were right."
The Third Hokage said coldly, "Were they wrong?"
Silence fell over the office once more.
Neither Councilor answered.
Because this time, even they found it difficult to say the Uchiha were wrong.
The Third Hokage closed his eyes and rubbed his brow.
A deep weariness suddenly washed over him.
All these years, he had tacitly allowed Danzo to exist.
Because Konoha needed someone to handle the things hidden in the darkness.
Some missions couldn't be carried out in the open; some orders the Hokage couldn't issue personally. Root handled them all.
But now, Root's blade had turned inward, toward the village.
Toward the Uchiha.
It had even been pointed at a nine-year-old child.
This was no longer "necessary darkness."
It was out of control.
The Third Hokage opened his eyes and said gravely,
"Summon Danzo to the Hokage Building."
The Anbu Captain lowered his head.
"Yes."
A moment later, the Anbu left.
Mitokado Homura asked quietly, "What about the Uchiha?"
The Third Hokage was silent for a moment.
"Placate them for now."
Utatane Koharu frowned.
"We're still making concessions?"
The Third Hokage looked at the scroll on his desk.
"If we don't, will you go tell Fugaku that Cloud Village dug the Secret Tunnel?"
Utatane Koharu had no answer.
The Third Hokage said solemnly,
"Increase the Uchiha Clan Grounds' authority over perimeter security."
"During the investigation, allow the Police Force to set up Sealing Barriers as they see fit."
"At the same time, give Shingetsu some personal compensation."
Mitokado Homura frowned.
"Compensation for that child?"
The Third Hokage nodded.
"He's been the victim in both incidents."
"If the Hokage Building doesn't even make a show of concern, the Uchiha will be even angrier."
Utatane Koharu asked, "What should we give him?"
The Third Hokage considered it.
Permission to study ninjutsu."
Mitokado Homura immediately objected. "That's unwise."
"He's already awakened the Two-Tomoe. He's growing too quickly."
"Giving him more ninjutsu will only make him more dangerous."
The Third Hokage looked at him, his voice low.
"Would refusing make him any less dangerous?"
"What he lacks right now is a show of goodwill from the village."
"If we give him nothing, he'll throw in his lot completely with the Uchiha Radicals."
"At least for now, we can use the Hokage's name to show some goodwill."
The two Councilors exchanged glances and said no more.
The Third Hokage spoke slowly.
"Give him a slot to learn one C-rank ninjutsu."
"And allow him one visit to the first floor of the Konoha Public Training Archive."
Mitokado Homura's expression changed.
"The archive?"
"Only the first floor," the Third Hokage said.
"It contains only basic materials."
"Fire Style, Taijutsu, ninja tools, tactical theory."
"Nothing classified."
Utatane Koharu considered it for a moment, then finally nodded.
"That's acceptable."
The Third Hokage exhaled.
He knew this small compensation might not truly mend the rift.
But at least it would send a message.
The Hokage Building hadn't ignored what Shingetsu had gone through.
It was just that things had reached this point, and even the Third Hokage wasn't sure how much the message would matter.
Root Base.
Danzo hadn't gone to the Hokage Building.
He already knew the results of the investigation.
The stone chamber was heavy with tension.
A Root shinobi knelt on the floor and reported with his head bowed:
"The hidden compartment at the Secret Tunnel outpost has been destroyed."
"The core records haven't leaked."
"But the Uchiha and the Anbu found fragments of a Communication Needle, signs of recent maintenance, and Sealing Technique Residue."
Danzo's single eye was cold.
"Who triggered the Destruction Formula?"
The Root shinobi replied gravely, "It was set to activate automatically if multiple people investigated the core area."
Danzo's face turned even colder.
"Fools."
The automatic trigger had indeed destroyed the core evidence.
But it had also told everyone that this wasn't an abandoned passage. It was an outpost someone had deliberately hidden and protected.
The Uchiha had publicly torn away half the cover.
Even worse, the Hokage's own Anbu had been there.
It would be difficult for Hiruzen to pretend he knew nothing.
Danzo knew the Third Hokage would summon him soon.
But he wasn't afraid.
As long as there was no direct evidence proving Root had been involved in the attack on Shingetsu, no scroll containing direct orders, and no surviving witnesses, the Third Hokage couldn't truly move against him.
At most, he'd be reprimanded.
At most, a few of Root's outer connections would be cut off.
Root's network wasn't so easily uprooted.
Yet this time, Danzo felt no sense of victory.
Because everything that had happened over the past two days was connected to one person.
Uchiha Shingetsu.
That nine-year-old child was constantly exposing Root's weaknesses.
It only strengthened Danzo's resolve.
He had to die.
But he couldn't act directly right now.
The Uchiha were watching too closely.
So was the Hokage.
Then he would have to use another method.
Danzo spoke slowly.
"Do we have anyone we can use inside the Uchiha?"
The Root shinobi lowered his head.
"We have some contacts."
"But few of them can get close to the core."
Danzo asked, "What about the Radical Faction?"
"The Radical Faction is deeply hostile toward the village. They're difficult to control directly."
Danzo sneered.
"The more hostile they are, the easier they are to use."
"Angry people are the easiest to lead."
The Root shinobi waited silently for his orders.
Danzo's voice was icy.
"Have someone spread the word."
"Say that Uchiha Fugaku has secretly reached a compromise with the Hokage Building."
"The Secret Tunnel incident will ultimately be swept under the rug."
"Then put Uchiha Shingetsu in the spotlight."
The Root shinobi looked up.
"What do you mean, sir?"
Danzo said mildly,
"Tell the Uchiha Radicals."
"The Hokage Building isn't truly wary of Fugaku. It's wary of Shingetsu."
"If the Uchiha want to take the initiative, they should put Shingetsu out in front."
The Root shinobi's eyes shifted.
This was killing him with praise.
He would turn Shingetsu into the banner of the Uchiha Radicals.
That way, he'd draw the Konoha High Command's suspicion much sooner.
It would also cause the conflicts within the Uchiha to erupt ahead of time.
A nine-year-old child couldn't bear the weight of such a position.
No matter how clever he was, he'd be swept up in the clan's radical sentiments.
By then, Root wouldn't even need to act. The Hokage Building would be even more wary of him.
Danzo said coldly:
"Let's see."
"Whether a nine-year-old Uchiha brat can withstand the anger and expectations of the entire Uchiha clan."
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