The fire broke out in the early hours of the morning.
Smoke first rose from the outside of the Clan Meeting Records Room.
By the time the young clansman on night watch smelled it, flames were already licking at the window paper.
"Fire!"
The alarm rang out through the Clan District.
Che was the first to rush to the records room door.
His face was frighteningly pale, but he did not barge straight in.
"Seal off the perimeter first!"
Gen had taught him that.
During a fire, the greatest danger was everyone focusing on putting it out and letting the real arsonist escape.
The Young Action Group immediately split into two teams.
One fought the fire.
The other sealed off the entrances and exits.
Uchiha Jun led his men toward the back alley, just in time to see a dark figure vault over the wall.
His instinct was to give chase.
But just as he took a step, he forced himself to stop.
"Record their heading!"
The clansman beside him immediately wrote down the time, location, and direction of escape.
Uchiha Jun gritted his teeth. For the first time, he felt that not chasing was harder than chasing.
Elsewhere, by the time Shisui arrived, the fire was already half under control.
He did not activate his Sharingan. He simply circled the scene with the Body Flicker Technique, moving all the onlookers behind the safety line.
Itachi followed Che into the inner room.
The cabinet holding the most important originals had already been moved away.
The fire had reached the outer shelves.
Some old patrol records were blackened with smoke, and the edges of several sheets had burned through.
But the core files had not disappeared.
Che knelt on the floor, his hands still trembling.
"The copies are at the Konoha