"Confirm Morikawa Osamu's location immediately."
The words landed like a nail driven into the Hokage Building.
The logistics supervisor instinctively looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not hesitate.
"Find him."
An Anbu operative left to carry out the order.
Uchiha Toru stood behind Gen, his fingers already resting on his sword hilt.
He wanted to rush out right now.
Morikawa Osamu had taken injury leave, and the timing fell just before the old warehouse was discovered.
Wasn't that obvious enough?
But Uchiha Gen did not move.
He even reopened the logbook he had just closed.
"Makoto, write out the timeline first."
Uchiha Makoto froze.
"Now?"
"Now."
"People can run," Uchiha Gen said. "Time can't."
Uchiha Makoto immediately lowered his head.
Three timelines soon appeared on the paper.
The first was the Resettlement Zone gate post.
At Chen Hour, First Quarter, the Kawahara Trading Company presented a temporary logistics authorization and entered the medicinal supply distribution area.
The second was the West Street Old Warehouse.
Around Chen Hour, Third Quarter, people accompanying the trading company made contact with unidentified individuals, and a small fire broke out in the old warehouse afterward.
The third was the perimeter of the Hokage Building.
At Si Hour, Second Quarter, the ledger courier presented the same type of authorization and passed the first checkpoint.
But the official registration time in the Logistics Register was Si Hour, First Quarter.
Uchiha Gen touched his pen tip to the hour between them.
"The problem isn't limited to Morikawa Osamu."
Mitokado Homura frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"If only the Resettlement Zone gate post had let them through early, we could say Morikawa Osamu let them in without permission."
Uchiha Gen looked at the three timelines.
"But the same set of authorizations appeared at the old warehouse and the Hokage Building perimeter. That means this wasn't a single instance of misuse. It was a route laid out in advance."
"They obtained the approval slips first, then registered them afterward," Utatane Koharu said gravely.
"Yes."
"So if we rush to arrest Morikawa Osamu now," Uchiha Gen said, "we may only catch someone who filled in the records afterward."
Danzo sneered from the side.
"How considerate of you toward a logistics Chunin."
Uchiha Gen raised his eyes.
"I'm being considerate toward the evidence."
Danzo's gaze turned cold.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Uchiha Gen.
"What do you propose?"
"First, confirm that Morikawa Osamu is safe. Then question him about when he handled the approval slips, who they were for, and why. Logistics, the Anbu, the Konoha Military Police Force, and a Recorder from the Hokage Building must all be present."
Uchiha Gen paused briefly.
"And tell him first that he can be placed under Witness Protection Registration."
The logistics supervisor abruptly raised his head.
"He hasn't admitted to anything yet!"
"That's precisely why we need to tell him first."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"If he was merely forced to fill in the records, but believes he'll die if he talks, he'll only keep denying everything. By then, whoever actually took the approval slips will be long gone."
The logistics supervisor was at a loss for words.
This was not an attempt to absolve Morikawa Osamu.
It was about keeping someone who could talk alive first.
A moment later, an Anbu operative returned.
"Morikawa Osamu isn't at home."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
"But someone saw him heading toward the old medical quarters on the south side."
Uchiha Gen looked at Shisui.
Shisui had already vanished.
This time, Uchiha Toru did not call out.
He knew Shisui was better suited to chasing someone down.
They waited less than a quarter of an hour.
A faint rush of wind sounded outside the window.
Shisui returned.
A pale-faced Chunin followed behind him.
Morikawa Osamu's left arm was wrapped in bandages, his steps were unsteady, and his eyes were badly bloodshot.
As soon as he entered and saw the logistics supervisor, his body visibly stiffened.
When he saw the Uchiha, his face grew even paler.
"Lord Hokage."
Morikawa Osamu knelt.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not tell him to rise.
"Morikawa Osamu, did the Kawahara Trading Company pass through the Resettlement Zone gate post at Chen Hour, First Quarter, using a temporary logistics authorization?"
Morikawa Osamu lowered his head.
"Yes."
"Had the authorization been registered in the ledger at that time?"
Morikawa Osamu's Adam's apple bobbed.
"I inspected it according to regulations. The authorization's seal was valid."
Uchiha Toru's gaze turned cold.
That was not an answer.
Uchiha Gen merely pushed the timeline in front of him.
"Chunin Morikawa, take a good look."
Morikawa Osamu did not dare raise his head.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"You do."
Uchiha Gen's voice was quiet.
"Used at Chen Hour, First Quarter. Registered at Si Hour, First Quarter. You say you inspected it according to regulations. That means when you saw the authorization, it hadn't yet appeared in the master ledger."
Morikawa Osamu clenched his teeth.
"Things were chaotic after the disaster. Logistics authorizations were often registered late."
"Fine."
Uchiha Gen nodded.
"Then what about the West Street Old Warehouse? What about the Hokage Building perimeter? Were those registrations delayed too?"
Morikawa Osamu fell silent.
Uchiha Gen did not move closer.
Instead, he took half a step back.
"Morikawa Osamu, you're not the mastermind."
Those words made Morikawa Osamu jerk his head up.
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"The mastermind wouldn't personally stand at a gate post filling in records. You merely entered a blank approval slip that had been taken beforehand into the Logistics Register, as instructed."
Morikawa Osamu's eyes flickered.
The logistics supervisor's face turned livid.
"Morikawa!"
Uchiha Gen immediately looked at him.
"Please don't interrupt."
The logistics supervisor gritted his teeth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also raised a hand to restrain him.
"You now have two choices," Uchiha Gen continued. "First, keep insisting that you let them through according to regulations, then wait for whoever actually took the approval slip to dump all the blame on you."
Morikawa Osamu's breathing grew noticeably uneven.
"Second, enter Witness Protection Registration. Tell us who made you fill in the records, and the Hokage Building, the logistics unit, the Anbu, and the Konoha Military Police Force will jointly record your testimony."
Morikawa Osamu's voice was hoarse.
"The protection register... will it really help?"
Uchiha Gen offered no pretty promises.
"I can't guarantee you'll never be in danger again."
He looked into Morikawa Osamu's eyes.
"But I can guarantee that your testimony won't be held only by the Uchiha, or only by the logistics unit. With all four parties recording it, anyone who wants to silence you will first have to explain why they're afraid of what you might say."
Morikawa Osamu's shoulders slowly sagged.
It was as though he had been holding himself together for a very long time.
And now, at last, he could hold on no longer.
"I never meant to hurt anyone."
His voice trembled badly.
"After the Night of the Nine-Tails, everyone was short-handed. That morning, someone came to me with a blank approval slip. He said the logistics supervisor had already given verbal approval, and that the registration could be filled in later."
"I did no such thing!" the logistics supervisor snapped.
Morikawa Osamu flinched in fright.
"Record this: the logistics supervisor denies giving verbal approval," Uchiha Gen said immediately. "Continue."
Uchiha Makoto swiftly wrote it down.
Morikawa Osamu swallowed.
"The man wore gray, without a forehead protector, and his voice was very low. He knew my shift changed at Chen Hour, and he knew I was responsible for inspecting temporary authorizations."
"What did he look like?" Uchiha Gen asked.
"I didn't get a clear look."
Morikawa Osamu shook his head.
"He wore a cloth mask over half his face, and he had an old scar on his hand. Here, between his left thumb and forefinger. It looked like a kunai cut."
Shisui noted that detail.
"How did he threaten you?" Uchiha Gen continued.
Morikawa Osamu was silent for a moment.
"He said it was normal for a few mistakes to happen at the gate posts after the Night of the Nine-Tails. As long as I filled in the records as he told me, no one would hold me accountable."
"And if you didn't?"
Morikawa Osamu's face was almost bloodless.
"He said my family's home was too close to the Resettlement Zone."
The room fell silent.
That was not an order.
It was a threat.
It was also why Morikawa Osamu had reported an injury and left his post at the end of Mao Hour.
He had not been injured.
He had been afraid.
Uchiha Gen looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Lord Hokage, please place Morikawa Osamu and his family under Witness Protection Registration."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment.
"Approved."
Morikawa Osamu seemed to lose every ounce of strength, bowing his head and collapsing forward onto the floor.
Uchiha Toru watched him, and his earlier anger suddenly became something far more complicated.
He still loathed this kind of retroactive accounting.
But for the first time, he clearly saw that some silences were not betrayals.
Someone had a hand around their throats, and they dared not make a sound.
Uchiha Gen asked one last question. "What else did that Gray-Robed Ninja say?"
Morikawa Osamu looked up, fear still lingering in his eyes.
"He told me not to worry about Anbu patrols."
Shisui's gaze changed instantly.
"His exact words?"
Morikawa Osamu said quietly, "He said that between Chen Hour, Third Quarter and Si Hour, no Anbu would pass along the route by the West Street Old Warehouse."
The temperature inside the Hokage Building seemed to drop.
Morikawa Osamu's voice trembled.
"But he wasn't wearing a forehead protector."
"He didn't look like an actual Anbu member, either."
"How could he have known the Anbu's shift-change times?"
Before you continue