Tonight

Indeed.

Root hadn't wanted to support him.

They wanted to sow chaos within the Uchiha.

To make the Uchiha tear themselves apart.

To strip Fugaku of control over his clan.

Then Konoha's High Command could brand the Uchiha a dangerous insurgent faction with perfect legitimacy.

What a fine scheme of killing with a borrowed knife.

Shin-getsu suddenly smiled.

The middle-aged man asked:

"What are you laughing at?"

Shin-getsu said:

"I'm laughing because you seem to think the Uchiha are all idiots."

The man's expression changed.

The next moment, the scroll in Shin-getsu's hand suddenly burst into flame.

It wasn't an ordinary fire.

It was a tag he'd hidden in his sleeve beforehand, igniting the scroll.

BOOM!

The scroll exploded in an instant.

Flames lit up the entire alley.

The man's pupils shrank.

"You!"

Shin-getsu raised his head, his eyes scarlet.

His Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun slowly.

"Did you really think I came here to discuss working together?"

As the words fell, a figure vanished from the rooftop.

Uchiha Shisui!

The middle-aged man instinctively tried to retreat, but the moment he moved, Shisui appeared behind him.

A short blade came to rest against his neck.

"Don't move."

Shisui's voice was gentle.

But his blade was cold.

The man's face changed drastically.

"Body Flicker Shisui!"

He froze.

But the next moment, footsteps sounded from both sides of the alley.

Tekka and his men blocked the way from the left.

Inabi appeared on the right.

Yashiro sealed off the escape route.

Surrounded on three sides.

The middle-aged man's face went completely white.

Tekka grinned, his smile grim.

"Go on. Run."

"Weren't you just talking up a storm?"

"Keep talking."

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth.

"I'm with the Hokage's External Liaison Office!"

"What are you Uchiha trying to do?"

"Attack a village official?"

Tekka sneered.

"A village official?"

"A village official secretly meets with an Uchiha in the dead of night to incite division within the clan?"

"And uses a Fake Transfer Order bearing the Hokage's deputy seal as bait?"

"You've got a pretty shady way of handling official business."

The middle-aged man immediately said:

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"This is a frame-up!"

"I demand to see Lord Hokage!"

Shin-getsu slowly walked up to him.

"You'll see the Hokage, of course."

"But not right now."

The man looked at Shin-getsu, and a flash of viciousness suddenly crossed his eyes.

The next moment, his tongue moved.

Shisui's expression changed.

"He's trying to kill himself!"

But Shin-getsu was faster.

His Two-Tomoe Sharingan had detected the Death Line in advance through Causality Perception.

He shot out a hand, driving a senbon precisely into the man's lower jaw.

The man's body stiffened, his tongue instantly going numb.

Tekka's eyes lit up.

"Beautiful!"

Shin-getsu said coldly:

"I've seen plenty of Root's suicide tricks."

"You want to die?"

"Not so easily."

Shisui's gaze trembled.

The boy's reflexes were too fast.

He'd struck almost the instant the other man had the thought.

Fear finally appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes.

Shin-getsu reached out and tore open the man's collar.

Everyone immediately saw a faint black Root Mark tattooed beneath his collarbone.

A Root Mark!

Tekka burst out laughing.

"We got him!"

"Let's see how you talk your way out of this one!"

The middle-aged man struggled frantically, but Shisui knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his blade.

As Shin-getsu looked down at the unconscious man, the System Prompt sounded.

[Host successfully captured a Root contact.]

[Root's plan to incite division within the Uchiha Clan has failed.]

[Obtained Causality Points: 2500.]

[Current Causality Points: 7700.]

[Night of the Clan Massacre Deviation increased.]

[Current Deviation: 8%.]

The corners of Shin-getsu's mouth lifted slightly.

That felt good.

Now this was a real haul.

They'd not only captured someone alive, they'd found a Root Mark.

Even if Danzo didn't lose a pound of flesh over this, he'd still have a layer of skin stripped off.

Just then, a low voice came from the darkness.

"Well done."

Everyone turned.

Uchiha Fugaku stepped out of the shadows.

His expression was icy.

His gaze fell on the unconscious Root contact.

"Take him back to the clan compound."

"Interrogate him through the night."

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'll take him to the Hokage Building myself."

Tekka said excitedly:

"Yes!"

But Shin-getsu suddenly spoke up.

"No."

Fugaku looked at him.

"Why?"

Cold light flashed in Shin-getsu's eyes.

"We can't wait until tomorrow."

"We go tonight."

Everyone froze.

Shin-getsu continued:

"Root must already know he's been captured."

"Give them one night, and they'll sever every connection."

"They might even prepare a cover story at the Hokage Building ahead of time."

"So we can't wait."

"We go to the Hokage Building now."

"Before Danzo has time to react."

"We'll throw this man right in front of the Third Hokage!"

Tekka was fired up.

"Good!"

"That's exactly what we should do!"

Fugaku watched Shin-getsu in silence for a moment, a keen glint flashing in his eyes.

"You're right."

"We're going to the Hokage Building tonight."

Shisui opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue.

But when he saw the Root contact lying on the ground, he ultimately said nothing.

Because this time, the evidence was crystal clear.

A Root operative.

Meeting with the Uchiha in the dead of night.

Inciting division within the clan.

Carrying a Hokage document deputy seal order.

And even trying to kill himself.

If they had to tolerate this too, what dignity could the Uchiha possibly claim?

Fugaku turned, his voice icy.

"Tekka, notify the Police Force."

"Everyone, assemble."

"Tonight, we're going to see the Hokage."

Tekka growled excitedly:

"Yes!"

That night.

The Uchiha Police Force mobilized across Konoha's streets.

Dozens of pairs of scarlet Sharingan gleamed in the darkness.

They made no attempt to hide.

There was no detour.

They simply kept the captured Root contact under guard and headed straight for the Hokage Building.

Countless Konoha Ninja were awakened along the way.

"What's going on?"

"Why has the Uchiha Police Force turned out in full?"

"Who are they escorting?"

"Looks like a village official?"

"Have they gone mad? What are the Uchiha up to?"

The commotion grew louder and louder.

The lights in the Hokage Building blazed to life.

The Third Hokage was alerted.

The Anbu were alerted too.

Meanwhile, deep underground in Root.

When Danzo heard the news, he slammed his cane against the ground.

Thud!

"Useless!"

His expression was dark with fury.

The man had been captured.

Alive, no less.

Most damning of all, the Uchiha hadn't waited until dawn.

They had gone straight to the Hokage Building.

That meant Root had no time to cut ties.

Killing intent flashed in Danzo's single eye.

"Uchiha Shingetsu..."

"You again!"

Outside the Hokage Building.

Uchiha Fugaku stood at the front.

Tekka hurled the unconscious Root contact onto the ground.

Thud!

The man crashed down at the entrance to the Hokage Building like a dead dog.

Sarutobi Hiruzen came out wearing his Hokage robes, his expression extremely grim.

"Fugaku."

"Why have you brought so many people to the Hokage Building in the middle of the night?"

Fugaku didn't back down.

He raised a hand and pointed at the man on the ground, his voice cold as a blade.

"Lord Hokage."

"Tonight, the Uchiha captured a Root contact."

"This man met secretly with one of my clan members in the middle of the night and tried to sow division within the Uchiha."

"He was also carrying a Hokage document deputy seal order."

"I'd like to ask."

Fugaku raised his head, his eyes bloodred.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly spun.

"Was this Lord Hokage's order?"

"Or Danzo's?"

The entire scene fell silent.

Every Anbu froze.

The Third Hokage's expression changed completely.