When the outside merchant caravan entered Konoha, all its paperwork was in order.
The travel documents were genuine.
The medicinal supplies matched their batch records.
The transport route had also been approved by the logistics office.
The man leading them was Kawahara Takuma, a guard ninja hired by a merchant caravan from the Land of Fire's border region.
He wasn't a Konoha ninja.
He wasn't from Root.
He wasn't even from the Anbu.
He wore a short gray tunic and always had a smile on his face, nodding first to everyone he met.
People like him were the most troublesome.
Uchiha Gen stood at the entrance to the Resettlement Zone, watching the caravan carry crates of medicinal supplies into the logistics shed.
Uchiha Makoto checked the batch records beside him.
"The entry stamp checks out."
"So does the logistics office's signature."
"The number of crates matches."
Uchiha Gen nodded.
The more everything checked out, the more careful they had to be.
After Root had been forced to register its personnel, its best option was to stop using its own people.
A caravan guard from outside the village could bring genuine medicinal supplies into Konoha through the regular channels.
Whatever he said or did, it would be hard to link it directly to Danzo.
"Gen."
Uchiha Ryo said quietly, "He's watching us."
Uchiha Gen didn't turn around.
Kawahara Takuma was talking to a logistics ninja, but his gaze swept over the Konoha Military Police Force's record desk out of the corner of his eye.
The glance was brief.
He quickly looked away.
But it had been enough.
"Follow procedure and record it."
Uchiha Gen said, "Don't focus on the person. Focus on his behavior first."
That morning, the caravan's medicinal supplies entered storage without incident.
At noon, Kawahara Takuma began walking around the Resettlement Zone.
His reasons were perfectly natural.
Checking whether any crates had been damaged.
Asking whether the hauling routes needed adjustment.
Helping deliver several sacks of medicinal supplies to the southern medical tent.
Every step was justifiable.
He even genuinely helped.
When a supply cart got stuck in a mud pit, he and two caravan workers lifted its wheel free.
When the southern medical tent lacked people to carry supplies, he volunteered to shoulder two crates and take them over.
A medical ninja thanked him. He smiled and waved it off, saying the caravan made its living from Konoha, so helping after a disaster was only right.
The logistics office recorded all of this.
And precisely because of that, the Uchiha couldn't casually accuse him of anything.
When someone who was helping complained that procedures were too slow, people could easily take it as the truth.
But that afternoon, new talk began circulating in the Resettlement Zone.
"Delivering medicine never used to take this long."
"Now the Uchiha have to register every crate. No wonder we're waiting in line so long."
"See? Even the caravan people say the procedures are a hassle."
The remarks weren't harsh.
Nor did they directly insult the Uchiha.
But their thrust was clear.
The Uchiha Reform was slowing down supplies.
Uchiha recordkeeping was hampering relief efforts.
That was easier for people to accept than "the Uchiha are dangerous."
Because the people in line really had been waiting a long time.
Long waits made people frustrated.
Once frustrated, they looked for a reason.
Kawahara Takuma merely nudged the blame toward the Uchiha.
Uchiha Toru's expression darkened the moment he heard it.
"Again?"
Uchiha Gen held him by the shoulder.
"Don't move."
Uchiha Toru gritted his teeth. "So he can say whatever he wants just because he isn't from Root?"
"He hasn't said it directly."
Uchiha Gen looked toward the crowd.
"That's what makes this harder to handle."
Just then, Itachi approached with a registration board.
"I noticed something."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
Itachi handed him a rough map of the route.
"Kawahara Takuma visited three resettlement sites today."
Times were marked on the map.
In the morning, the western supply depot.
After noon, the southern medical tent.
Before three, the eastern hot-water line.
Shortly after each visit, talk about "slower procedures" would spring up nearby.
Itachi said quietly, "He never stayed in one place too long, and he never repeated the same words."
Uchiha Gen studied the sketch, a flicker of realization crossing his eyes.
"But his route keeps taking him to waiting lines."
Itachi nodded.
"He doesn't approach people who've already received their medicine. He only approaches those still waiting."
This was their first lead.
Not a lead based on identity.
A lead based on behavior.
Uchiha Gen handed the sketch to Uchiha Makoto.
"Record this: Kawahara Takuma, guard for an outside merchant caravan, repeatedly approached waiting lines at different resettlement sites. Each encounter was followed by discussion of procedural delays. No determination made; continued observation pending."
Uchiha Makoto immediately wrote it down.
Uchiha Toru frowned. "That's far too mild."
"It's all we can write right now."
Uchiha Gen said, "He brought medicine, his paperwork is in order, and he hasn't directly incited anyone. If we word it more strongly, we'll be slandering an outside merchant caravan."
Uchiha Toru raked a hand through his hair in frustration.
"This is so damn stifling."
"Even so, the record has to be accurate."
Uchiha Gen looked toward the roof.
Shisui was no longer there.
He had followed Kawahara Takuma when the man left the southern medical tent.
At dusk, Shisui returned with news.
"He met with someone from inside Konoha."
Uchiha Gen asked, "Can you confirm their identity?"
"No."
Shisui shook his head.
"They weren't wearing a Root mask or Anbu attire. They only exchanged a small slip of paper, in the alley behind the old warehouse."
"Did you see what it said?"
"No."
Shisui paused.
"But immediately after the exchange, Kawahara Takuma went to the eastern resettlement site. The same talk started there afterward."
Uchiha Gen was silent for a moment.
"Record the behavior. Don't mention Root."
Shisui nodded.
He had grown accustomed to Gen's approach.
No rushing to conclusions.
No rushing to arrest people.
Pin down their behavior first.
But this approach had its weaknesses.
If the other side never revealed their identity, the record could go no further than "unidentified individual."
Danzo had spotted that very weakness.
The next morning, Kawahara Takuma walked up to the Konoha Military Police Force's record desk on his own.
"Honored Uchiha."
He spoke with a smile.
His tone was very polite.
Uchiha Toru looked up at him.
"Need something?"
Kawahara Takuma glanced at the people waiting in line and sighed.
"I just think Konoha has it hard right now. Our caravan has visited the village before. Supplies could be distributed as soon as they arrived. Now every crate has to be registered three times, witnessed twice, and signed for over and over."
He smiled as he spoke.
"Of course, I know you're all doing this for the village's sake."
That was a slippery remark.
Praise on the surface.
A barb underneath.
Several villagers waiting nearby immediately looked over.
Uchiha Toru's expression turned cold.
As though he hadn't noticed, Kawahara Takuma continued, "It's just that some injured people can't afford to wait. However good the procedures are, people will still die if the medicine arrives too late."
Uchiha Toru stood up.
"What are you implying?"
Kawahara Takuma took half a step back and raised both hands.
"Please don't misunderstand. I'm just an outside guard. I wouldn't dare criticize the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force."
More people gathered to watch.
Uchiha Toru's hand had already settled on his sword hilt.
Uchiha Gen saw the scene from a distance, and his gaze darkened.
This was Kawahara Takuma's real aim.
Not the talk.
Not the route.
The image.
An outside caravan guard gently questioning procedures in public.
A member of the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force reaching for his sword in front of everyone.
Once that image took hold, he wouldn't need to say anything more.
Uchiha Gen strode over.
"Toru."
Uchiha Toru turned.
"Take your hand off."
The smile on Kawahara Takuma's face deepened slightly.
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"Since you believe the procedures delayed the distribution of medicinal herbs, please provide your name, where your caravan came from, the batches of medicinal herbs you handled, and the specific times and places where you believe delays occurred."
Kawahara Takuma's smile faltered slightly.
Uchiha Gen pushed the blank record sheet toward him.
"The Konoha Military Police Force accepts accusations."
"But please put your accusations clearly in writing."
The onlookers fell silent.
Uchiha Toru slowly loosened his grip on his sword hilt.
Kawahara Takuma stared at the blank record sheet, and at last, something shifted in his eyes.
He had wanted the Uchiha to draw their swords.
But what Uchiha Gen handed him was a pen.
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