Outrageous

In front of the Hokage Building.

The night wind was cold.

Dozens of members of the Uchiha Police Force stood in the square.

One pair of scarlet Sharingan after another lit up.

On the ground, the captured Root contact lay sprawled like a dead dog, blood at the corner of his mouth and a Root Mark clearly visible beneath his collarbone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the steps in his Hokage robes, his face darker than ever.

Behind him stood more than a dozen Anbu.

On both sides, more and more Konoha Ninja were roused and hurried over.

Everyone was watching.

Uchiha Fugaku stood at the front, his voice cold.

"Lord Hokage."

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

"He bears a Root Mark."

"He was carrying a Hokage Document Seal and a deputy seal order."

"He even tried to destroy evidence and silence himself."

"May I ask whether you knew about this?"

He had struck with a killing blow right from the start.

No pleasantries.

No preamble.

He had gone straight to putting a blade to the Hokage Building's throat.

The Third Hokage fell silent.

He couldn't say he knew.

To admit that would be to acknowledge that the Hokage Building had taken part in fomenting unrest within the Uchiha.

He couldn't immediately claim he didn't know, either.

That would mean the Hokage document's deputy seal had fallen into the wrong hands and Root had acted on its own, without the Hokage's knowledge.

Either way, it was a scandal.

The scene fell deathly silent.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu hurried over.

When they saw the man on the ground, their expressions changed.

Utatane Koharu spoke at once:

"Fugaku, this matter still needs to be investigated."

"Investigated?"

Uchiha Tekka gave a cold laugh, stepped forward, and planted a foot on the Root contact's chest.

Thud!

The man groaned under the pressure and came to.

Tekka yanked open his collar.

The Root Mark was exposed for everyone to see.

"The man is right here."

"The mark is right here."

"The Hokage Document Seal and deputy seal order are right here, too."

"What else is there to investigate?"

"Whether he tattooed the Root Mark on himself?"

The watching ninja burst into an uproar.

"Root?"

"Is he really from Root?"

"Why was he meeting with the Uchiha in the middle of the night?"

"What's the Hokage document's deputy seal about?"

"Could Root really be behind the recent trouble with the Uchiha?"

The murmuring grew louder and louder.

The Third Hokage's face darkened further.

His greatest fear had come to pass.

The Uchiha had dragged the matter into the open.

There was no containing it now.

Just then, Shingetsu stepped out from behind Fugaku.

He was young.

He was still injured.

But at that moment, everyone's eyes were drawn to him almost against their will.

After all, the most sensational events in Konoha's shadows these past two days had all involved him.

Uchiha Shingetsu.

Nine years old, with the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

Attacked twice in a row.

Discovered a Secret Tunnel.

Lured in a Root contact.

Shingetsu walked over to the contact and looked down at him.

"Go on."

"Who sent you to contact Uchiha Shinsuke?"

The contact gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Shingetsu smiled.

"Pretty tough, huh?"

He looked up at the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, he won't talk."

The Third Hokage said gravely, "Hand him over to the Anbu for questioning first."

"No."

Shingetsu flatly refused.

The entire crowd fell silent.

A nine-year-old Uchiha had just publicly refused the Hokage?

Mitokado Homura's expression darkened.

"Uchiha Shingetsu, do you know who you're talking to?"

Shingetsu didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes on the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, it's not that I don't trust the Anbu."

"But if we hand this man over, he might be dead by tomorrow."

"The most likely cause of death will be suicide out of guilt."

"Then Root will disavow him."

"The Hokage Building will announce a thorough investigation."

"And in the end, nothing will come of it."

"Am I wrong?"

The scene fell instantly silent.

His words were too blunt.

Blunt as a slap across the Hokage Building's face.

The expressions of many onlookers changed.

They had suddenly realized that what the nine-year-old Uchiha said might well come true.

The Third Hokage's expression was complicated.

Utatane Koharu snapped, "Outrageous!"

Shingetsu turned sharply, and his Two-Tomoe Sharingan flashed open.

His scarlet gaze fixed on her.

"Outrageous?"

"When I was hunted down in the middle of the night, where were you, Councilor?"

"When Root probed my residence, where were you, Councilor?"

"When they dug a Secret Tunnel around the Uchiha Clan Grounds, where were you, Councilor?"

"Now that we've caught someone alive, you're telling me I'm outrageous?"

Shingetsu's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Who's the one being outrageous?"

Utatane Koharu's face turned ashen under his retort.

The ninja around them sucked in sharp breaths.

That kid had some nerve!

Tekka was thrilled.

That felt good!

Now that was satisfying!

The Uchiha had been repressed for far too long.

Today, someone had finally dared to throw the truth in the High Command's faces.

Fugaku didn't stop him.

Shisui didn't stop him.

Itachi stood nearby, his eyes roiling with emotion.

For the first time, he had seen someone dare to speak to Konoha's High Command like that.

And every word he said was impossible to refute.

Shingetsu looked back at the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage."

"If you truly want to get to the bottom of this, then make him talk here."

"In front of the Uchiha, the Anbu, and everyone else."

"Otherwise, we won't believe you."

The Third Hokage studied Shingetsu intently.

This child was sharper than he had imagined.

More troublesome, too.

And harder to suppress.

After a long while, the Third Hokage spoke.

"How do you want to question him?"

Shingetsu replied:

"Simple."

"Undo the seal on his tongue."

The Third Hokage's pupils contracted.

Root members serving Danzo had Curse Seals on their tongues.

Not everyone knew about that.

Shingetsu continued:

"I've heard that Root places Curse Seals on its members' tongues to prevent leaks."

"If they say something they shouldn't, their whole bodies become paralyzed and they can't speak."

"Lord Hokage."

"Is that true?"