The light in the cell settled back to normal.
Asuma knelt on the stone floor, his arms wrenched behind his back and a pair of brand-new Iron cuffs locked around his wrists. His chakra had been completely sealed.
Zhan Zhao straightened and stepped back. Wang Chao and Mahan each took one of Asuma's arms and hauled him to his feet.
Asuma's back was slightly hunched. His knees still ached from being forced to bend, and the Iron chain at his feet scraped across the stone with a ragged rattle.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood inside the Iron bars, gripping a crossbar with both hands. His knuckles bulged, and his eyes glistened Kurenai in the dim torchlight.
His gaze stayed fixed on Asuma. The words seemed caught in his throat like a chicken bone, impossible to spit out or swallow. After two full breaths, he forced them through his teeth.
"Uchiha Yongye, Asuma is innocent. Don't do anything rash!"
Yongye's Shadow Clone stood in the cell doorway, hands in his pockets, one shoulder resting against the frame.
He said nothing. He merely raised his right hand and pointed at the severed pieces of chain on the floor.
The metal edges were jagged, their fresh cuts gleaming in the dim torchlight. A Chakra Blade had sliced through them moments ago.
That was proof of an attempted jailbreak. Nothing more needed to be said.
Asuma looked at the fragments too.
His lips moved, but he swallowed the defense that had risen to his throat. He looked away from the broken chain and down at his own feet.
He had been torn and hesitant, but he had made his move.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the broken chain, his grip tightening on the bar.
"Uchiha Yongye, I'm the one you have a grudge against, not Asuma! Be