Aokihara hadn't slept all night.
Even after the anonymous letter had been sealed in a paper bag, he kept looking toward the door.
As if a second sheet of paper might slip through the gap.
The Uchiha already have their eyes on you.
That single short sentence had worked better than an interrogation.
It hadn't threatened his life.
Nor had it forced him to change his testimony.
It had merely put his deepest fear into words.
If an archives ninja in the Hokage Building believed the Uchiha would make him their scapegoat, he wouldn't dare keep talking, even if he knew something.
Early the next morning, the Small Conference Room opened again.
When Aokihara was brought in, he looked even worse than he had yesterday.
As he walked, he kept one hand pressed against the Wooden Pass at his waist.
His original Wooden Pass had already been sealed away for inspection. The one hanging at his waist was a temporary replacement.
But his movements hadn't changed.
As though what someone had "borrowed" from him that day hadn't merely been a pass.
They had also taken his sense of security in his own position.
Danzo spoke first.
"Hiruzen, we cannot allow the Konoha Military Police Force to remain involved in this matter."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him.
Danzo tapped his cane against the floor.
"The irregularities in the Nine-Tails' classified records were already a sensitive matter. Now an archives ninja has received a threatening letter that names the Uchiha. Allowing the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force to remain involved will only leave everyone in the archives system fearing for their safety."
Aokihara lowered his head.
That remark was insidious.
It hadn't claimed that Aokihara was necessarily afraid of the Uchiha.
Yet, in front of everyone, it had presented "archives ninjas fear