When Madara Uchiha's name entered the meeting minutes, many people's first reaction was that it was absurd.
Madara had died long ago.
At least, that was what both Konoha's public and classified archives recorded.
After the Battle of the Valley of the End, the First Hokage had personally confirmed that the battle was over, and medical personnel had also handled the body.
But the most crucial custody records for the body had been signed by only a handful of senior officials, and a secret transfer had taken place later.
Evidence proving that "there had indeed been a body at the time" was not the same as evidence proving that "it had never subsequently been replaced or revived."
The confirmation of death was strong evidence, but it still could not automatically rule out every possibility over the decades that followed.
After the Battle of the Valley of the End, Konoha had preserved his death confirmation and the remnants of the battle.
A dead man could not have rescued Obito years later, then directed Akatsuki's outer network and White Zetsu's movements.
Danzo, however, proposed a different assessment.
"Since White Zetsu acknowledged Madara, the mastermind's identity is already clear."
He advocated attributing all the abnormal cells, the Masked Man, and the Night of the Nine-Tails to the plan Madara had left behind.
Obito was merely a pair of eyes being exploited.
Root's old nodes had merely been stolen by the enemy.
The current investigation should focus on opposing Madara, without further expanding the internal review within Konoha.
This conclusion was more specific than "the entire Uchiha clan is guilty," and more convenient than tracing every missing page.
But Itachi asked only, "Who confirmed the name Madara?"
So far, there was only one White Zetsu's verbal testimony.
White Zetsu was skilled at imitation and