The Sudden Incident Involving the Destruction of the Ledgers and the Disciplinary Department's Thunderous Inter

The underground first floor, confidential archives.

Inside the heavy lead door, the air was icy, carrying the peculiar mixed scent of old paper and metal desiccant.

Shanmu stood alone before rows of towering metal filing cabinets, his forehead covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat. The pale light from above cast his shadow long and thin across the floor.

He had found it.

At the very bottom of filing cabinet "C-7-04" sat a black iron box wrapped in special fireproof sealing cloth.

There was no label on the box, only an inconspicuous scratch. It was the mark he and Advisor Utatane Koharu had agreed upon.

Inside were the underlying ledgers for every allocation of supplies related to Hashirama Cells experiments over the years. Every transaction clearly recorded the source and destination of the funds, and every page bore his and the advisor's names.

This was a death warrant.

Shanmu's hands trembled slightly. He set the iron box on the floor and pulled a small scroll from his robes. This was a specially made "Flame Ashes" scroll. Once activated, it could turn every sheet of paper inside the iron box into irrecoverable ash within three seconds, leaving not the slightest trace of Chakra.

He drew a deep breath and pressed his trembling finger onto the scroll's activation formula.

Just as he was about to inject Chakra into it—

"Click."

With a soft sound, all the lights in the archives went out, plunging everything into absolute darkness where he could not see his hand before his face.

Shanmu's heart abruptly stopped.

Before he could react, he felt several icy, murderous presences lock firmly onto him from every direction.

In the darkness, several pairs of scarlet eyes quietly lit up.

Sharingan.

They were ANBU.

"Don't move."

A voice devoid of emotion, cold