After the Nine-Tails, they had added an umbrella.
Gen looked at the line in the margin of the old authorization. That was his only conclusion.
The original authorization had been broad.
But it had still only covered preparations for emergency measures.
Once the marginal addition was made, its scope had expanded to high-influence individuals connected to the Uchiha.
That changed everything.
Originally, there had to be a specific danger.
After the addition, any Uchiha deemed influential could be subjected to measures under that broader discretion.
Shisui certainly qualified.
Sooner or later, Itachi would qualify too.
In fact, any talented, charismatic Uchiha capable of swaying the clan's judgment might qualify.
Fugaku requested a review of the process behind the addition.
Danzo immediately said, "The village was in extreme danger after the Nine-Tails. Expanding Root's scope of action was a necessary post-disaster measure."
That argument still had merit.
After the Nine-Tails, Konoha had suffered devastating losses.
The enemy lurking in the shadows remained unidentified.
The Uchiha were also suspected of involvement with the Nine-Tails.
From the leadership's perspective, strengthening certain contingency plans was not entirely unreasonable.
But Gen knew the question had never been whether they could strengthen them.
The question was who had approved it.
How far the expansion went.
Whether it had been reviewed years later.
Whether it was still being used for new underage observation and contingency plans for dealing with Shisui.
Fugaku did not reject the post-disaster expansion itself.
"An expansion after a disaster is acceptable. But it must bear the Hokage's countersignature."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
He looked at the line in the margin, his expression grim.
He, too, was searching his memories.
During the period after the Nine-Tails, the Hokage Building had handled temporary documents, supplementary authorizations, and emergency deployments almost every day.
Many things had