When Shikaku Nara received a copy of the perimeter review, he did not immediately offer an opinion.
He read the report three times.
The first time, he examined the scene.
The second time, he examined the personnel involved.
The third time, he examined the limits of every conclusion.
After reading it, he closed the file and told the clansman beside him, "The Uchiha have changed."
The other man looked a little surprised.
"Because they didn't investigate privately?"
Shikaku shook his head.
"Because they've started to understand what they must let others see alongside them."
He spoke softly, but his words went deeper than a surface assessment.
Konoha's major clans had never feared a powerful Uchiha clan.
What they feared was an Uchiha clan backed into a corner, with no one willing to hear its explanation.
An Uchiha clan like that would become increasingly closed off.
Once it closed itself off, every suspicion would become another barrier.
Let those barriers deepen a little further, and conflict would follow.
But now, the Uchiha had submitted the highly sensitive spatial anomaly for multiple parties to witness.
This was more than an attempt to clear their own name.
It was also a statement of intent.
They were no longer merely arguing with the leadership. They were drawing the other clans into a shared framework of rules.
Shikaku knew very well that this would change many people's assessments.
The Hyuga Branch Family was also discussing the same report.
The Hyuga ninja who had participated in the review insisted on one point.
"There was no underground infiltration at the scene, nor any conventional breach in the barrier."
An elder of the Main Family asked, "Can you confirm it was the Sharingan?"
"No."
"Can you rule out the Uchiha?"
"No, not that either."
The Main Family elder