By the time the torn half of the clearance slip reached the Hokage Building, the logistics supervisor's face was darker than the dust in the West Street Old Warehouse.
The Sealing Squad verified it first.
The red seal on the scrap of paper did indeed come from a temporary Konoha logistics transfer order.
The seal was genuine.
The paper was genuine.
Even the traces of the anti-counterfeiting pattern along the slip's edge were genuine.
That was precisely what made it so troublesome.
A fake was easy to expose.
Something genuine used where it did not belong was much harder to explain.
In the Conference Room, Hiruzen Sarutobi studied the scrap on the table without immediately giving his opinion.
Mitokado Homura leafed through the logistics transfer order ledger, his frown deepening.
Utatane Koharu turned to Uchiha Gen.
"You believe the trading company gained access to the Resettlement Zone, the old warehouse, and the perimeter of the Hokage Building using this same set of temporary transfer orders?"
Uchiha Gen did not simply say yes.
He placed three route records on the table.
"First, when the Kawahara Trading Company entered the medicinal supply distribution point in the Resettlement Zone yesterday, its entry was registered on the basis of a temporary logistics transfer order."
He turned to the second page.
"Second, the West Street Old Warehouse, where the company's guard Kawahara Takuma contacted unidentified individuals, was not originally one of the company's designated stops. But it was also within the area covered by the temporary transfer orders."
He pushed the third page into the center.
"Third, when the copy of the falsified accounts was delivered to the perimeter of the Hokage Building, the courier passed the first checkpoint by presenting the same type of temporary transfer order."
The room fell silent.
One clearance slip had opened three gates.
The Resettlement Zone.
The West Street Old Warehouse.
The perimeter of the Hokage Building.
If only one gate guard had been negligent, it could still have been called a mistake amid the chaos.
Access through all three was no simple oversight.
The logistics supervisor immediately said in a grave voice, "There's nothing wrong with the orders themselves. Transporting supplies after the Night of the Nine-Tails has been an enormous task. The temporary transfer orders do cover multiple locations. Otherwise, if every crate of medicinal supplies needed fresh approval, the Resettlement Zone would have fallen into chaos long ago."
Standing behind Gen, Uchiha Toru felt his brows twitch.
There was nothing obviously wrong with that argument.
Relaxing restrictions on transfer orders amid the post-disaster chaos had been meant to save lives.
But it was precisely because the measure was reasonable that someone could exploit it.
Uchiha Gen nodded.
"That's why I never said the transfer order system itself was wrong."
The logistics supervisor's expression eased slightly.
"Then what do you want to investigate?"
"The registration times."
Itachi stepped forward and spread out the comparison chart he had compiled.
The boy was not tall, but his hands were steady.
"These are the records from all three locations."
He pointed to the first line.
"The Resettlement Zone gate log shows that the Kawahara Trading Company first presented its transfer order at a quarter past Chen Hour."
The second line.
"The supply point near the West Street Old Warehouse recorded members of the Kawahara Trading Company's entourage appearing around three quarters past Chen Hour."
The third line.
"The inspection log for the Hokage Building perimeter shows that the courier presented the same type of transfer order at half past Si Hour."
Mitokado Homura asked, "What's wrong with those times?"
Itachi turned to another page.
"In the Logistics Register, this batch of temporary transfer orders was officially registered at a quarter past Si Hour."
The air in the Conference Room seemed to freeze.
Used at a quarter past Chen Hour.
Registered at a quarter past Si Hour.
A full two hours apart.
Uchiha Makoto added quietly, "In other words, the slips were taken out and used first, then entered into the register afterward."
The logistics supervisor's expression changed completely.
"Impossible."
His response came too quickly.
So quickly that it seemed more like an instinctive defense than a conclusion reached after checking.
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"Please have the Logistics Squad verify it themselves."
He did not press him.
Nor did he seize the opportunity to back the logistics supervisor into a corner.
Rushing to assign blame now would only make the logistics department instinctively close ranks.
Sure enough, the logistics supervisor immediately snatched up the register and checked it page by page.
Yamazaki Keiichi stood beside him, sweat slowly beading on his forehead.
The faster they turned the pages, the quieter the room became.
At last, the logistics supervisor stopped on that page.
The entry was perfectly clear.
Temporary logistics transfer orders, entered into the register at a quarter past Si Hour.
Yet among the three inspection logs, the earliest recorded use was at a quarter past Chen Hour.
A full two hours earlier.
Utatane Koharu's voice turned cold.
"Let them through first, then fill in the records?"
The logistics supervisor opened his mouth.
"The records were chaotic after the disaster. The gate guard might have written down the wrong time."
Uchiha Gen did not argue. He merely handed over another record.
"Three records, three recorders, three locations."
He paused.
"If every error shifts the time in the same direction, then they aren't errors."
Danzo's voice came from the side.
"So this is where the problem lies."
He had finally spoken.
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
Danzo did not look at the clearance slip on the table. Instead, he turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen, with such obvious disorder already present in the logistics system, allowing the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force to continue investigating will only lead the departments to accuse one another."
The logistics supervisor said nothing.
But his silence had clearly given Danzo an opening.
Danzo continued, "The Uchiha are already involved in the falsified accounts case, and now logistics transfer orders have been implicated as well. If they continue leading the investigation, the Logistics Squad will feel targeted, and the findings will struggle to gain acceptance."
Uchiha Toru's fists clenched instantly.
This was a counterattack.
The Uchiha had discovered the loophole.
Yet Danzo had immediately twisted that into a reason the Uchiha were unfit to continue investigating.
Uchiha Gen, however, did not grow angry.
He had known all along that Danzo would do this.
The authorization was a cage.
Uncovering a loophole in logistics had merely added another spike inside it.
"Lord Danzo's concerns are reasonable."
At those words, Uchiha Toru almost thought he had misheard.
Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly as well.
Uchiha Gen continued, "That is why the Konoha Military Police Force is not asking to examine the Logistics Register alone, nor to contact the people who handled the slips alone."
He placed his prepared proposal on the table.
"I request that the Hokage Building appoint four parties to conduct a joint review: the Anbu, the logistics supervisor, a Medical Squad recorder, and a Konoha Military Police Force recorder."
Mitokado Homura took the proposal.
Its terms were clearly written.
All four parties must be present for every review.
All four parties must sign every record.
For every person questioned, first verify their identity, then the time, then the items they handled.
No leading questions.
No unauthorized detention.
No bypassing the filing requirements of the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi studied it for a long time.
Danzo's expression darkened a little as well.
Uchiha Gen had not argued over who held the authority.
He had broken that authority down into a procedure others would find difficult to oppose.
If Danzo continued objecting, he would no longer be opposing the Uchiha.
He would be opposing a joint review by all four parties.
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke.
"Proceed with the investigation this way."
Danzo said gravely, "Hiruzen."
"Verify the times first."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to the logistics supervisor.
"List everyone who handled this batch of temporary transfer orders that day."
The logistics supervisor lowered his head.
"Yes."
Uchiha Gen immediately said, "The most important among them is the Chunin on duty at the Resettlement Zone gate around a quarter past Chen Hour. Once we establish why he allowed an unregistered transfer order to be used, we can move the investigation forward."
The logistics supervisor pulled out the duty roster.
His finger stopped on a name.
"Morikawa Osamu."
Uchiha Makoto immediately wrote it down.
"Please summon Morikawa Osamu."
The logistics supervisor's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Uchiha Gen noticed.
"What is it?"
Yamazaki Keiichi said quietly, "Morikawa Osamu was already off duty this morning."
Uchiha Toru took half a step forward.
"Where did he go?"
The logistics supervisor was silent for a moment.
"He's on injury leave."
The room fell still.
Uchiha Gen's gaze settled on the duty roster.
"When was the injury reported?"
Yamazaki Keiichi's voice dropped further.
"At the end of Mao Hour."
The end of Mao Hour.
Before the investigation team reached the old warehouse.
And before the torn half of the clearance slip was delivered to the Hokage Building.
Uchiha Gen slowly closed the record.
Their opponent was not a step behind.
He was half a step ahead at every turn.
He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Lord Hokage, I request that Morikawa Osamu's whereabouts be confirmed immediately."
The wind outside stirred the pages.
The name on the duty roster shifted slightly.
Like someone who had just escaped from the records.
Before you continue