I'm Giving Up This Old Face of Mine

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Before long, the people who had been called arrived in the office together.

As everyone entered, they saw Namikaze Minato with a furrowed brow, staring at the table.

Just from that little expression, everyone knew this was no small matter.

"Lord Hokage, what exactly happened?" As the Kage's assistant, Uchiha Fugaku voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"Everyone, take a look. To be honest, I'm a little skeptical." Namikaze Minato handed the two documents to Uchiha Fugaku and Sarutobi Hiruzen respectively.

The two men glanced at it, their expressions changed, and they immediately passed the baton to the next person.

Finally, both documents were delivered to Uchiha Shingen simultaneously.

He glanced at it once and uttered a single word.

"Grass!"

Then he looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him.

"Don't look at me..." Uchiha Shingen, feeling annoyed.

Is the murderer from the Land of Fire?

Uchiha Shingen wasn't particularly skilled at trace investigation, which is why he used Chakra traces to track down Amegakure directly.

He had actually considered this possibility, but...

What kind of crime is it to assassinate ANBU? Those people in the Land of Fire shouldn't be that crazy.

It's only been a few years!

Are you willing to risk your life for money?

They're all people of status, it's not worth it...

He preferred to believe it was just a smokescreen.

"Shingen, the envoys from both villages are sitting in the next lounge, and both villages have already made this public?"

"They've publicly declared that the murderer is from the Land of Fire?" Uchiha Shingen wondered if he should go next door and give those two a Genjutsu Sharingan, and ask them what the Minekage and Dodai were up to.

"No, they announced the joint investigation and publicly stated that they would invite Leaf Village to join."

What about other countries?

"The ANBU has been monitoring the situation, but we haven't received any updates yet."

No sooner had Namikaze Minato.

"Come in."

The door opened, and the head of the ANBU walked in, his steps a tiny bit quick.

"Lord Hokage, the latest news is that Rain Village, Kusagakure, Sound Village, and Frost Village have all announced their willingness to assist Sand Village and Cloud Village in investigating the true culprit behind the attack on the Anbu Ninja."

Everyone was taken aback.

"It seems it really isn't Cloud Village," Sarutobi Hiruzen mused.

"Given the current situation, it's safe to say that Sand Village and Cloud Village are basically clean, unless it was an individual act," said Utatane Koharu. "Right now, we're the ones who've been forced into this situation."

"I'd really like to meet the person who came up with this idea," Mitokado Homura said.

"Then let's investigate. Let's investigate together and get to the bottom of this. After all, the village's ninjas cannot have died in vain." Uchiha Fugaku looked at Namikaze Minato. "Lord Hokage, what do you say?"

"An investigation is definitely necessary, but how to conduct it is another matter entirely." This was precisely what gave Namikaze Minato a headache. "If it's not handled properly, it could be detrimental to the village."

It's certain that we'll investigate this together, but the whole thing becomes very sensitive when the Land of Fire itself becomes a suspect.

Since the Uzumaki Clan was re-established, the relationship between Hidden Leaf Village and the Daimyo's Court's residence has become somewhat distant, and Namikaze Minato was not unaware of the reasons.

He's worried that this whole thing might cause some conflict.

If the murderer is truly from the Land of Fire, they will surely use this opportunity to disrupt the situation in order to survive.

"Let's establish a joint investigation team, Lord Hokage," Uchiha Shingen suddenly said. "Half of our people will be in it, and the other half will be from Sand Village and Cloud Village."

"Do you have confidence, Shingen?"

"A dull knife cuts flesh more and more painfully, while a sharp knife will cut it all before the pain even begins, Lord Hokage."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: I Don't Care About My Old Face Anymore

Uchiha Shingen did not participate in the investigation at all.

Everyone has their own area of expertise; the professionals all work in the ANBU.

Finding the real culprit requires more than just evidence of combat; it involves a lot of non-combat maneuvering.

In this respect, Sarutobi Hiruzen is the best.

Uchiha Shingen stated that he wouldn't side with either side and would just wait for the results.

Once the results are in, they will be in his area of expertise.

Namikaze Minato didn't believe the whole story; he just thought his younger brother was particularly good at it.

However, when Uchiha Shingen approached Uzumaki Kushina later, he said he wanted to prepare for private lessons, and so the matter was settled.

Uchiha Shingen isn't participating; the ANBU will handle it.

No way would go; I'd make a lot more enemies on this trip.

Uchiha Shingen wasn't just bored; if he couldn't kill the person, why make an enemy of them?

The investigation teams from the three major ninja villages were formed very quickly. To be precise, there were actually more than three. Since Namikaze Minato felt that since they were already doing this, they might as well go all out. As a result, Hidden Mist Village had originally been invited by Leaf Village to negotiate, was also brought in.

This lineup terrified the group of demons and Moryo who were initially quite calm.

Even Takigakure, who was originally neutral, was taken aback and offered to help.

Yugakure, always eager for a good show, offered to help his elder brother.

Thus began a grand investigation led by Leaf Village, Hidden Mist Village, Cloud Village, and Sand Village, with Rain Village, Kusagakure, Takigakure, Sound Village, Frost Village, and Yugakure participating.

This lineup allows the investigation team to roam freely across the continent.

Ninety-nine percent of all overt obstacles have disappeared.

This team can go anywhere and investigate anything except for the Daimyo Hall of the Five Great Families.

Meanwhile, in that shadowy place, a cleanup operation was also underway, with both sides racing against time.

But the dead could not stop the ninjas' investigation.

Even if it's shattered into pieces, it doesn't matter; as long as some body tissue remains, it can still be tested.

Because Leaf Village unleashed a powerful attack.

Perhaps because he had once Impure World Reincarnation, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned on a strange switch, and this time, he actually provided the investigation team with a spot for Impure World Reincarnation Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Of course, there are not only quota restrictions, but also prerequisites.

There must be irrefutable evidence proving that this person was involved in the matter, and that they are a key witness. We can't dig any deeper without following this person. So, as long as we can find the body tissue, we can start the Impure World Reincarnation. But the sacrifice can only be a death row inmate who has committed the most heinous crimes.

There was no other way to make such a decision. Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been in charge of the ANBU for decades, knew very well that such matters inevitably involved a single line of communication. If the key witness died, it was very likely that the investigation would come to an end.

With so many villages involved and the entire Ninja World watching, Leaf Village must show a determination to investigate thoroughly.

Furthermore, Leaf Village's ANBU can die, but not like this.

He's been chanting the Will of Fire for decades. Although it's not perfect, one thing is clear: the Will of Fire is collectivism, and also a complete Leaf Village- centric ideology. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Land of Fire. Not just anyone has the right to mess with the people of Leaf Village.

However, Uchiha Shingen didn't care about any of these things; he was truly focused on preparing for his lessons.

And he goes to school on time every day.

The atmosphere at school is completely different now. Not only are his classes packed with students, but they also arrive earlier than he does. Tenten before dawn, students gather on the playground for morning exercises under the supervision of their parents.

Uchiha Shingen is a father himself, so he really understands.

So he taught very seriously and allowed students from other classes to sit in on his classes.

No kidding, he's the most popular person in the Ninja Academy right now.

The teachers who worked at the Ninja Academy would all try to sit in on the classes.

Throughout this process, he also clearly demonstrated his high regard for the students he was to tutor privately, which allowed the students to prepare themselves and avoid appearing abrupt.

Inuzuka Kiba was excited, Neji Hyuga was apprehensive. He didn't understand why Uchiha Shingen would choose him, who was only from the branch family. There were also children from the Main Family at the school, such as Hinata Hyuga.

But he didn't dare ask.

As time went by, the students of the Ninja Academy enjoyed their campus life with fulfilling studies. This graduating class was the envy of many, who felt that it might be the highest-quality class since the First Shinobi World War.

Outside the school's high walls, one bombshell after another broke, all related to the joint investigation team.

Mounting evidence suggests that the perpetrators were not from the same country.

But there is indeed Land of Fire within it.

This put the Hokage Building in an awkward position, but it also angered them.

The Land of Fire, the richest country, has the largest population. In its central and local areas, various forces are deeply intertwined, including local forces and those who have come from elsewhere to seek their fortune.

Some love peace, while others yearn for war.

Driven by self-interest, interest groups from different countries may also unite.

In the past, neither the ninja village nor the Daimyo's Court would turn a blind eye to these people, but this time it wouldn't be the case.

As the entire process became clearer, those involved were gradually identified.

When the final results were revealed, everyone was astonished to discover that this time, the Land of Lightning, which had been the most unclean in previous years, was actually clean.

The Land of Water and the Land of Rain are also clean.

The others are not very clean; the furthest is in the Land of Earth.

The Sand Ninja, feeling dragged down by their incompetent teammates, discovered that the real incompetent teammates were back home.

Within the Land of Fire, countless demons Moryo; far too many people in this country have profited from war.

Next up is the activity that ninjas excel at.

The ANBU of Sand Village and Leaf Village first swept through the Land of Rivers, and the accomplices in the area where the Leaf Village ANBU were killed played a significant role.

In just a few days, almost all the wandering ninjas in the Land of Rivers were killed, and some nobles also disappeared. Sand Village and Leaf Village investigated and concluded that they were killed by desperate wandering ninjas.

In the Land of Stone, where the Kazekage is in charge, the Sand Village will handle the affairs.

For Hidden Leaf Village, the next thing to do is to Moryo the evil spirits within the Land of Fire.

At this moment, Uchiha Shingen was summoned back by Namikaze Minato.

"Daimyo's Court has intervened?"

Looking at the several powerful figures in the Hokage's office, Uchiha Shingen was speechless.

What left him speechless was that people from the association were also involved in this incident.

Upon hearing that someone was from an association, Uchiha Shingen basically knew everything about it.

"Lord Hokage, what's the next step?" he asked.

After investigating to this extent, you're just going to brush it off with a casual "this won't happen again"? Dream on.

"There are several troublesome matters." Namikaze Minato had a pile of documents in front of him. He pulled one out. "Let's start with something that seems unrelated. Recently, many people have been trying to curry favor with Tsunade. Even the Tsunade- senpai has already left the Daimyo's Court and gone to another city. But there are people there who need to be dealt with."

"Lady Tsunade's words..." Uchiha Shingen's first reaction was to look at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

And he wasn't the only one doing this.

"Cough cough!" Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed violently.

"Third, please slow down your smoking." Uchiha Shingen was speechless.

Everyone in this room knows each other; pretending to be old won't help.

Others get too old to lift a knife.

You're getting older, it won't affect you.

"Third, I plan to assign this task to Jonin of the village's top Jonin, one city per person. What do you think?" Namikaze Minato asked.