The forged border list, the hiring chain, and Root's old nodes were laid side by side on the conference table in the Hokage Building.
This time, no one could claim it was merely the Uchiha being oversensitive.
Old Uchiha names really did appear on the list.
The list really did show signs of forgery.
An outside hiring chain really had been involved in passing it along.
And risk annotations of unknown origin really had appeared in the Hokage Building's internal transcription office.
Together, those four facts were like four nails.
They had not pinned down the truth.
But they had pinned the false answer in place.
What Danzo wanted most was to use the list to resume internal investigations into the Uchiha.
What the Masked Man wanted most was to use the list to make Konoha distrust itself again.
But for the first time, the temporary handling guidelines had done their job.
Sources were questioned.
Witness testimony was preserved.
The outside hiring chain and the internal annotations were investigated separately.
Nor had emergency powers spiraled completely out of control under pressure from the border.
This was no glorious victory.
No enemy had fallen.
No true culprit had appeared.
They had not even fully confirmed who had written the forged list.
But Konoha had not been led astray.
That alone mattered enough.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the review records laid side by side on the table, his voice slightly hoarse.
"For now, the border list must not be used as grounds for an internal investigation into the Uchiha."
Danzo's lone eye darkened slightly.
Mitokado Homura wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Shikaku added, "Keep investigating the hiring chain and the source of the transcription annotations. Pursue both tracks in parallel."
The Anbu commander nodded.
Kakashi's supplementary assessment from the