Before dawn, the Nine-Tails' roaring finally stopped.
But true silence never came to Konoha.
A massive wound had been torn through the village center. Black smoke rose from collapsed homes, and the streets were littered with stretchers, wounded people, and bodies no one had yet managed to collect.
Sobs drifted in from every direction.
Some people called out their loved ones' names amid the rubble.
Others knelt on the ground, clutching bloodstained forehead protectors, asking why over and over.
When news spread that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had died in battle, the entire village seemed to sink into an even deeper silence.
The Yellow Flash who had stopped the Nine-Tails had not made it through the night alive.
An emergency meeting was soon convened in the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi donned his Hokage robes once more. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened overnight.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sat on either side.
Shimura Danzō stood in the shadows, his right eye covered by bandages, his cane tapping lightly against the floor.
Emergency reports lay across the conference table.
Lists of the dead.
Casualty counts.
Sealing Squad records.
Fragmentary field reports from the Anbu.
Every report weighed so heavily that it was hard to breathe.
But what truly made the atmosphere in the conference room tense was a single statement.
"The Sharingan appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes."
Danzo's voice was hoarse, as though he had long been waiting for this moment.
Utatane Koharu frowned. "Can that intelligence be confirmed?"
"The Fourth fought the Nine-Tails himself, and some Anbu also saw tomoe patterns in its eyes from a distance."
Danzo raised his head.
"This was no ordinary rampage. Someone controlled the Nine-Tails."
The conference room grew even quieter.
The Sharingan.
The Uchiha.
Putting those two words together at a time like this was enough to send a chill through anyone's heart.
Mitokado Homura said gravely, "The Konoha Military Police Force remained primarily around the perimeter of the clan compound tonight. They did not enter the main battlefield."
Danzo immediately followed up. "That is precisely the problem."
He tapped his cane against the floor.
"The village was attacked, the Nine-Tails was controlled by the Sharingan, yet the Uchiha were absent from the central battlefield where it was being held back. Whether or not they were directly involved, they must be isolated and investigated immediately."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed deeply.
"Danzo, the village has just suffered a devastating blow. We cannot inflame internal tensions without evidence."
"Evidence?"
Danzo said coldly, "The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes is the strongest evidence there is."
"That only proves the person controlling it possessed the Sharingan. It does not prove the entire Uchiha Clan was involved."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was weary, but he still kept his emotions in check.
Danzo looked at him.
"Hiruzen, compassion will not eliminate a threat. The Uchiha must be moved away from the village's central district, and the police force's authority must be reassessed. The Nine-Tails disaster has given us a warning. We cannot wait for the next catastrophe."
Utatane Koharu did not immediately object.
Mitokado Homura also fell silent.
The Fourth had just died in battle. The village needed something to explain its fear.
And the Uchiha were far too easy a target.
Just then, a knock came from outside the conference room.
An Anbu appeared with the Body Flicker Technique and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Third, an urgent record has arrived from the temporary medical station on South Street."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up. "Speak."
The Anbu unrolled a scroll and spoke quickly.
"Before losing consciousness from severe injuries, Chunin Takuya Yamashiro of Konoha Patrol Squad Two stated that he saw a suspicious masked ninja at the South Street Entrance. The individual appeared to use a special form of Space-Time Ninjutsu. Attacks passed through his body, and he appeared behind Yamashiro's squad captain in an instant."
The atmosphere in the conference room shifted.
Danzo's cane paused for a moment.
The Anbu continued, "Inoue Shin, who was providing temporary support for the Barrier Team, confirmed abnormal chakra traces near a broken wall at the South Street Entrance. The ashes at the fire site curled inward, inconsistent with traces left by an ordinary Body Flicker Technique."
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately asked, "Is Takuya Yamashiro still alive?"
"Yes. He is receiving emergency treatment."
"Place him under protection."
"Yes, sir."
Utatane Koharu frowned. "A suspicious masked ninja? Space-Time Ninjutsu? Neither contradicts the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes."
"But it suggests that the person controlling it may not be an ordinary clan member living in the Uchiha Clan Compound."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Danzo.
"At the very least, we cannot label the entire Uchiha Clan as suspects before investigating."
Danzo said nothing.
A second Anbu appeared.
"Lord Third, the rescue records from South Street and the entrance to East Alley have arrived. Some members of the Konoha Military Police Force took part in rescue efforts on the outskirts during the Nine-Tails' attack. Several civilians and Konoha ninja have already confirmed this."
A few soot-blackened sheets of paper were soon added to the conference table.
The handwriting was messy.
In places, water and blood had even blurred the ink.
But the names were clear.
Chiyo Morikawa.
Three households in East Alley.
Rescuers: Uchiha Ryo, Uchiha Toru.
A family of four from a shop on South Street.
Rescuers: Uchiha Gen, Uchiha Makoto, two Chunin from the Konoha Military Police Force.
There were more names of people who had been rescued.
The records were incomplete.
Yet they were impossible to ignore.
Because they proved that the Uchiha had not been entirely inactive.
They had not entered the main battlefield, but they had saved people on the outskirts, leaving survivors and witnesses behind.
Danzo finally spoke. "Who compiled these records?"
The Anbu lowered his head. "Uchiha Makoto made the initial records. The person who led the rescue efforts and the recordkeeping was a young Uchiha."
"His name."
"Uchiha Gen."
Danzo's gaze darkened slightly.
He had never heard that name.
At least before tonight, it had never appeared on any list warranting special attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi leafed through the records, his expression conflicted.
Of course, he knew these documents could not clear the Uchiha of every suspicion.
The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes still cast an enormous shadow.
But the appearance of these records meant that "the Uchiha stood by and did nothing" could no longer be asserted so easily.
More importantly, the suspicious masked ninja and the abnormal space chakra offered another avenue for investigating the Nine-Tails disaster.
That prevented the meeting from proceeding straight to the conclusion Danzo wanted.
Mitokado Homura said slowly, "At the very least, we must first verify Takuya Yamashiro's testimony and the abnormal traces at the South Street Entrance."
Utatane Koharu nodded as well. "Relocating the Uchiha can be discussed later as a preventive measure, but it should not be announced publicly before a complete investigation."
Danzo said coldly, "Delay will only give the Uchiha time to destroy evidence."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him.
"We already have evidence that they are preserving records."
Those words plunged the conference room into silence once more.
Danzo's face was hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable.
He knew he could no longer push through the harshest course of action today.
Not because Hiruzen had been firm enough.
But because someone had driven a few small nails into the facts ahead of time, amid the worst of the chaos.
Rescue records.
Civilian testimony.
Konoha ninja as witnesses.
Abnormal space chakra.
None of those nails was thick, but each had caught just enough to block the claims that "the Uchiha did nothing" and "they must be isolated and investigated immediately."
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed the scroll and issued his orders in a grave voice.
"The Anbu will protect Takuya Yamashiro and verify the traces at the South Street Entrance."
"Compile a list of the Uchiha who participated in rescue efforts on the outskirts and cross-check it with the civilians they rescued."
"The manipulation of the Nine-Tails will be designated an investigation of the highest priority. The Uchiha must cooperate, but no one is to declare them guilty before the investigation is complete."
Danzo looked up.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not back down.
"I have already lost Minato. I cannot let the village tear open another wound before we have uncovered the truth."
The meeting ended for the time being.
The others left one after another.
Danzo remained where he was, making no move to leave.
A Root ninja appeared silently behind him.
"The interception on South Street failed."
"The records have already spread. Inoue Shin has also submitted his report."
"The Uchiha Clan has intervened to protect the target."
Danzo's fingers tightened slightly around his cane.
"Uchiha Gen."
He slowly spoke the name.
A thirteen-year-old Uchiha boy had actually thrown off what should have been a smooth first step.
This was no coincidence.
At the very least, it could not be treated as one.
"Investigate."
Danzo's voice was low.
"I want to know everything about this Uchiha Gen."
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