A frame-up written in blood

The morning mist over Central Street had yet to clear. A ring of ninja stood around the long table. Mitokado Homura's body lay on the ground, his eyes open and his throat slit by a sharp blade. Blood had seeped into the cracks between the paving stones and was already darkening.

He had still been alive when they brought him back under guard.

The Konoha Military Police Force, Konoha Jonin, and ANBU had guarded him together.

Yet just as Naka Shrine was opened, he had died.

Most jarring of all was the line of bloody writing beside his body.

"The Nine-Tails' scourge will surely destroy Konoha."

The letters were crooked, as though he had traced them with a finger dipped in blood as he lay dying.

The onlookers were being kept at a distance, but some had already seen it.

Fear crept back onto many faces.

Even though tonight's evidence had proved, piece by piece, that Naruto was a victim, the name Nine-Tails could still stir their deepest fears.

Too many people had died in that disaster six years ago.

"He didn't write it."

Naruto stood before the body and spoke after a single glance.

Kakashi crouched to examine Mitokado Homura's fingers.

There was indeed blood on his fingertips.

But its distribution was wrong.

He said quietly, "Someone held his finger and wrote with it."

Uchiha Tekka examined the ninja who had been standing guard.

"All three guards were placed under genjutsu."

Shisui stepped forward, his Mangekyo turning.

"This wasn't ordinary Sharingan Genjutsu."

Itachi also crouched beside Mitokado Homura and examined his pupils and expression.

"Someone briefly controlled his body before he died."

The Third Hokage's face darkened.

"Someone killed him right under all our noses, then framed Naruto."

Jiraiya looked toward the surrounding rooftops.

"This person could evade several groups of guards, use genjutsu or Mind Control, and knew we had all gone to Naka Shrine."

Naruto looked at the bloody writing.

The Nine-Tails' scourge.

Those words had been chosen well.

They were not meant to fool ninja.

Ninja could tell something was wrong with the writing.

This was written for the civilians.

Once their fear was reignited, the evidence Naruto had made public would lose its impact. Even if he was the Fourth Hokage's son, some would once again remember that the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him.

Mitokado Homura was dead and could no longer implicate anyone else.

The bloody writing he left behind also created fresh panic.

The person who had silenced him was hidden far deeper than the Advisors.

The Nine-Tails growled inside the Sealing Space.

"Brat, this smells just like the black sludge on the stone tablet."

Naruto's gaze grew slightly colder.

Black Zetsu.

Or someone Black Zetsu was using.

He crouched and pressed his fingers against the edge of the bloody writing.

Golden Sealing Jutsu seeped into the paving stone, forcing out an extremely thin trace of black chakra.

The moment the trace appeared, it tried to burrow back into the ground.

Naruto closed his fingers and sealed it in his palm.

A system notification chimed.

[Unknown Yin Release contamination residue detected.]

[Source matches the contamination on the Naka stone tablet.]

[Main quest updated: investigate the third party behind the scenes.]

Jiraiya's expression changed abruptly when he saw the black trace in Naruto's palm.

"Is that what altered the Naka stone tablet?"

Naruto nodded.

Fugaku had just arrived from the shrine. When he saw the black trace, his eyes darkened.

"Someone is using both the Uchiha and the Konoha High Command."

The Third Hokage stared at Mitokado Homura's body without speaking for a long time.

Homura was dead.

Danzo was dead.

Muneyoshi was in custody.

Utatane Koharu had lost her power.

Yet the hidden hand that had truly turned the Nine-Tails' Attack into a tragedy was still out there.

This did not absolve the Konoha High Command.

Everything they had done was real.

It simply meant that Konoha now had an enemy lurking one layer deeper.

Naruto stood.

"Don't rush to investigate the third party yet."

Everyone looked at him.

Naruto pointed to the bloody writing.

"Make it public."

Kakashi froze for a moment. "Public?"

"Tell the whole village the bloody writing was forged."

Naruto looked toward the people being held beyond the street.

"If they're afraid of the Nine-Tails, let them see exactly who's using the Nine-Tails to frighten them."

Jiraiya nodded.

"I'll explain it this time."

Naruto glanced at him.

Jiraiya walked to the long table, his voice carrying through the street.

"Everyone, listen. Mitokado Homura is dead, but he did not write these words himself. There are traces of genjutsu control at the scene. Someone wrote this message to frame Naruto and rekindle your fear of the Nine-Tails."

A stir passed through the crowd.

Some remained skeptical.

Naruto offered no explanation.

He raised his hand, and Nine-Tails chakra spread out behind him.

The crowd immediately backed away.

Some children clung to their mothers in fright.

Naruto watched them.

"Scared?"

No one dared answer.

Naruto continued, "It's fine to be scared."

"But remember one thing."

"Tonight, I used this power to save the Ninja Academy children, break through Root, recover my parents' letters, and force the records of the Nine-Tails' Attack into the open."

He raised his hand and pointed to the bloody writing beside Mitokado Homura's body.

"And the people who want you to keep fearing me killed Mitokado Homura, burned the evidence, and took children hostage."

Some people in the crowd lifted their heads.

This time, Naruto did not proclaim his innocence.

He simply laid out the facts.

The Nine-Tails' power was frightening in itself.

But the real harm came from those who used fear to manipulate them.

Footsteps sounded in the distance.

Iruka arrived at the street entrance with several Ninja Academy children who had already been taken to safety.

The boy whose neck had been cut by a kunai hid behind Iruka, clutching a piece of bandage.

He looked at Naruto and spoke in a tiny voice.

"Big brother Naruto... saved us."

The unrest in the crowd briefly subsided.

The child's voice was not loud.

But it was more direct than any adult's explanation.

Naruto's gaze rested on the child for half a breath, then quickly shifted away.

Tekka approached and said quietly, "Sarutobi Muneyoshi and Sarutobi Munetake have been brought here under guard. The Sarutobi clansmen are also ready to give a public explanation, as you instructed."

Naruto nodded.

"Begin."

The Third Hokage looked at him.

"You're going to interrogate the Sarutobi now?"

Naruto looked toward the Hokage Building.

The horizon had already brightened.

"Day has broken."

"It's time Konoha woke up."