Ch. 41Authorization wasn't a shield, but a new cage

After the Hokage Building authorized the Uchiha to investigate falsified accounts under strict oversight, Uchiha Gen reorganized the team to avoid giving their enemies grounds to accuse them of misconduct. At the West Street Old Warehouse, the team found evidence of a deliberately contained fire and a surviving fragment of a red seal, but waited for official witnesses before entering.

  • Uchiha Gen warned that the authorization required daily reports and oversight, while forbidding the Konoha Military Police Force from making independent arrests or bypassing other departments’ records.
  • Uchiha Fugaku agreed that the Uchiha had to follow every procedure carefully, and Uchiha Gen assigned Shisui, Itachi, Uchiha Makoto, and Uchiha Toru specific investigation duties.
  • Uchiha Gen’s team went to the West Street Old Warehouse with a witness from the Hokage’s Anbu and found signs that a fire had been put out before their arrival.
  • Shisui identified a deliberately contained burn, Itachi noted that the warehouse door bar had been broken from inside, and Uchiha Gen requested witnesses from the Medical Squad and logistics before collecting evidence.
  • Uchiha Gen spotted part of a red seal mark on a surviving paper fragment beneath the ash.

Ch. 42Even a burned warehouse leaves ashes

Uchiha Gen led a cautious investigation into the burned West Street Old Warehouse, documenting evidence under the watch of Logistics, Medical, and Anbu representatives. The discovery of a suspected Konoha logistics access slip prompted a joint review by the Hokage Building, the Sealing Squad, and logistics officials.

  • Uchiha Gen established marked boundaries and required witnesses to observe evidence collection at the warehouse.
  • Shisui concluded that the fire had been controlled to destroy documents and crates in the middle of the warehouse, while Uchiha Makoto recorded that Logistics Patrol had checked the site at Hai Hour and Chou Hour.
  • Itachi found suspected ledger binding thread, and Shisui identified footprints showing that someone had deliberately avoided leaving tracks in the wet ash.
  • Uchiha Gen marked a corner as a suspected location of seal residue and cautioned that suspicion could not be recorded as a conclusion.
  • Itachi uncovered a scrap bearing part of a red stamp, and Nara Chie identified it as part of a Temporary Logistics Order stamp.
  • Uchiha Gen ordered the scrap sealed in place and requested a joint review by the Sealing Squad and the logistics supervisor.

Ch. 43One clearance slip could open three gates

Uchiha Gen traced access to three locations to temporary logistics transfer orders that were used before they were officially registered. The Hokage approved a joint review, but the key gate guard, Morikawa Osamu, had already reported sick leave.

  • Uchiha Gen linked the Kawahara Trading Company's access to the Resettlement Zone, the West Street Old Warehouse, and the Hokage Building perimeter to the same type of temporary transfer order.
  • Itachi showed that the slips had been used two hours before their registration, and Uchiha Makoto noted that three separate records confirmed the timing discrepancy.
  • Danzo argued that the Uchiha should not lead the investigation, so Uchiha Gen proposed a joint review by the Anbu, logistics supervisor, Medical Squad, and Konoha Military Police Force.
  • Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the joint review and ordered the logistics supervisor to list everyone who handled the slips.
  • The logistics supervisor identified Morikawa Osamu as the Chunin on duty at the Resettlement Zone gate, then revealed that he had reported injury leave before the investigation began.
  • Uchiha Gen asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to confirm Morikawa Osamu's whereabouts immediately.

Ch. 44When the times don't match, no one can stay hidden

Uchiha Gen used discrepancies in logistics records to question Morikawa Osamu, who admitted a gray-robed man had threatened him into backdating blank approval slips. Morikawa and his family entered witness protection, while his claim that the man knew Anbu patrol schedules raised suspicion about who had access to them.

  • Uchiha Gen compared three timelines and argued that the repeated use of unregistered authorizations pointed to a planned route, not just Morikawa Osamu's misconduct.
  • Shisui found Morikawa Osamu near the old medical quarters and brought him to the Hokage Building, where Uchiha Gen offered him witness protection in exchange for his testimony.
  • Morikawa Osamu admitted that a masked gray-robed man had threatened his family and told him to enter blank approval slips into the ledger after they had been used.
  • Hiruzen Sarutobi approved witness protection for Morikawa Osamu and his family, and Uchiha Gen had the four parties jointly record the testimony.
  • Morikawa Osamu said the gray-robed man had known no Anbu patrol would pass the West Street Old Warehouse route between Chen Hour, Third Quarter and Si Hour, raising the question of how he knew the patrol schedule.

Ch. 45Not all silence was betrayal

Uchiha Gen persuaded the clan to protect threatened witnesses rather than arrest everyone connected to the falsified records, and Fugaku formally backed witness protection. A cryptic note warning of the upcoming Uchiha clan meeting revealed that someone had infiltrated the clan or learned its plans, leaving Gen to seek a joint review before the message could provoke them.

  • Uchiha Gen warned the clan that mass arrests would frighten witnesses into silence and help the hidden culprit evade suspicion.
  • Uchiha Fugaku endorsed witness protection registration and prohibited the Konoha Military Police Force from detaining witnesses without authorization.
  • Morikawa Osamu gave Uchiha Gen a note from a gray-clad ninja that read, “The evening after tomorrow. Uchiha clan meeting.”
  • Uchiha Gen arranged for the note to be verified and jointly reviewed by the clan head, the Hokage Building, and the Konoha Military Police Force.

Ch. 46The second variable sent by the Masked Man

Uchiha Gen and Fugaku contained a letter designed to turn the Uchiha clan’s meeting into a source of suspicion and despair. The system warned Gen that an unknown second source of interference had noticed his efforts to change events.

  • Uchiha Gen concluded that the coded note was meant to make the Uchiha despair, while Shisui questioned whether Root had sent it.
  • The Masked Man placed a second letter in Uchiha Shin’s courtyard to test whether Uchiha Gen could stop the clan from losing hope.
  • Uchiha Shin brought the letter to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters and accused the village of plotting against the Uchiha.
  • Uchiha Gen treated the letter as evidence, arranged an investigation, and explained that its purpose was to convince the clan it had no way forward.
  • Fugaku ordered the letter sealed and said he would explain it at the clan meeting, preventing it from spreading through the Clan District as rumor.
  • The system told Uchiha Gen that a second, unidentified source of external interference had appeared and noticed his rewrite path.

Ch. 47The most dangerous thing within the clan was not anger, but despair

Uchiha Gen and Fugaku confronted growing despair within the clan by acknowledging its grievances and recording dissent instead of letting outsiders define it. After the meeting, Gen and Shisui detected a mysterious spatial distortion and secretly documented it.

  • Shisui warned Uchiha Gen that a forged letter had aggravated dissatisfaction already present among clan members.
  • Uchiha Inabi and others challenged the village’s treatment of the Uchiha, and one young member questioned why they should keep trying to earn the village’s trust.
  • Uchiha Gen acknowledged the village’s distrust and warned that despair could push the clan into the rebellion their enemy wanted.
  • Fugaku ordered every objection at clan meetings to be recorded, and Uchiha Shin admitted he had been influenced by the inflammatory letter.
  • After the meeting, Shisui and Uchiha Gen noticed a brief spatial distortion near the shrine and decided to record it without pursuing the watcher.

Ch. 48Let the clan meetings leave a record, too

Uchiha Gen persuaded Fugaku to approve a trial system for recording major clan meetings, including young observers like Itachi. Shisui then reported that the strange anomaly near the compound seemed to involve Space-Time Ninjutsu, suggesting the masked observer was testing the Uchiha Clan Compound’s boundaries.

  • Uchiha Gen defended keeping sealed backup minutes, arguing that complete records could prevent outsiders from misrepresenting clan members’ words.
  • Uchiha Gen proposed three recorders for major meetings, and Fugaku approved the procedures for a three-month trial.
  • Fugaku appointed Itachi as an observing recorder so he could understand the discussions behind the clan’s decisions.
  • Shisui examined the site of the previous night’s anomaly and told Uchiha Gen that it had no movement direction and resembled Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Ch. 49The Man Behind the Mask Made His First Probe

Uchiha Gen and Shisui detected a mysterious space-time disturbance probing the clan’s defenses and kept the incident classified. After Fugaku approved a confidential report, Gen realized the forces seeking the Uchiha’s destruction had begun targeting him as well.

  • Shisui and Uchiha Gen watched the Uchiha Clan District and detected a brief spatial disturbance near Naka Shrine, but found no intruder or ordinary Body Flicker traces.
  • Gen concluded the masked stranger was probing the clan and creating despair, while Root separately manufactured evidence against the Uchiha.
  • Gen directed Shisui and Uchiha Makoto to file a restricted report and kept Itachi from seeing it because the evidence was too uncertain and frightening.
  • Fugaku reviewed and signed the confidential report, ordering the clan to keep it secret and to inform him immediately if the disturbance appeared again.
  • The system reported that a second outside force had begun actively probing, and Gen realized the people seeking the Uchiha’s destruction had turned their attention to him.

Ch. 50Rewriting fate was never just about saving one night

Uchiha Gen, Fugaku, and Shisui considered how Root and an unknown enemy were targeting the Uchiha through different means, and Itachi warned that the enemy might turn the village’s fear toward the Nine-Tails. They arranged a tightly limited check of archive access records, which revealed that someone had secretly consulted a confidential record about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

  • Uchiha Gen explained that Root aimed to make the Uchiha appear guilty, while the masked enemy wanted them to believe they had no future.
  • Fugaku recognized that the Uchiha’s fate had been shaped by repeated choices and turning points, not only by the Night of the Nine-Tails.
  • Itachi warned Fugaku, Shisui, and Uchiha Gen that an enemy might target the Nine-Tails to make the village fear the Uchiha again.
  • Uchiha Gen proposed checking the Classified Archives Room Access Log for irregular access without viewing the confidential files or approaching the Jinchuriki.
  • A middle-aged ninja inspecting the Access Log found signs that someone had opened a record concerning the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and erased the access entry.

Ch. 51The Erased Name in the Classified Archives Room

Uchiha Gen and Fugaku asked the Hokage to investigate access records and seal handling without examining the Nine-Tails files. A seal inspection confirmed that someone had secretly pried open a classified document and erased the accesser's name, leaving the search focused on who could use chakra threads that way.

  • Shingo Nara discovered that the reviewer name on a classified record from the third day after the Night of the Nine-Tails had been faintly erased.
  • Uchiha Gen and Fugaku told Hiruzen Sarutobi they would not inspect the Nine-Tails files, but wanted the access logs, seals, and handling personnel checked.
  • Danzo questioned why the Uchiha were interested, and Gen argued that the investigation concerned an unsigned access and a broken record, not the Jinchūriki or the files' contents.
  • Shingo Nara reported that the seal's indentation was irregular, and Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the Sealing Squad to inspect it without opening the document.
  • Eri Hyuga found traces of chakra threads on the page corner, showing that someone had carefully pried it open while keeping the outer seal intact.
  • Uchiha Gen urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to investigate who knew how to use the chakra threads.

Ch. 52If We Can't Touch the Jinchūriki, Investigate Who Touched the Records

Uchiha Gen secured approval to investigate only the Classified Archives Room’s records, keeping the inquiry away from the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and their protection. Shisui found that an entry pass assigned to Aokihara had been used during a shift change, though Aokihara insisted he had not entered.

  • Uchiha Gen proposed three restrictions barring investigation of the Jinchūriki’s residence, protection detail, and identity, and the Hokage approved an inquiry limited to the records.
  • Itachi asked whether the three restrictions had been approved and reflected on how easily an investigation could be turned into an accusation.
  • Shisui compared the archive’s entry routes with the shift roster and found that Aokihara’s wooden pass had been used during a shift change.
  • Aokihara denied entering the Classified Archives Room and said his pass had remained with him, leaving the investigators to determine how it had been used.

Ch. 53A wooden pass would not walk into the Classified Archives Room on its own

Uchiha Gen and the others traced Aokihara’s wooden pass being used at the Classified Archives Room to a gray-robed porter with an injured left hand who had approached Aokihara at the Medicinal Herb Warehouse. After Aokihara was placed in protective custody, an unsigned threat warned him that the Uchiha were watching him.

  • Aokihara admitted he had briefly left the outer archives to help inventory supplies at the Medicinal Herb Warehouse, while insisting he had not entered the Classified Archives Room.
  • Itachi compared the warehouse inventory record with the pass log and found that a temporary porter in gray robes with an injured left hand was present during the overlapping time window.
  • Aokihara recalled that someone with a left hand had steadied him by the waist while he carried a crate, allowing the porter to take and return his pass unnoticed.
  • Uchiha Gen connected the porter’s description to Morikawa Osamu’s earlier testimony and explained that the pass had given the intruder access to the archives.
  • Aokihara agreed to cooperate and remained in the Hokage Building under protective custody, but an unsigned letter later warned him that the Uchiha had their eyes on him.

Ch. 54They wanted the archives ninja to fear the Uchiha first

Uchiha Gen secured joint witness protection registration for Aokihara, who revealed that an unidentified clerk had handled his Wooden Pass before the warehouse incident. Aokihara’s description of the clerk’s Blue-Line Seal and medicinal powder pointed the investigation toward someone inside the Hokage Building.

  • Danzo argued that the Konoha Military Police Force should be removed from the investigation because archives ninjas feared the Uchiha.
  • Uchiha Gen asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to approve joint witness protection registration for Aokihara, and Hiruzen approved it.
  • Under the joint registration, Aokihara revealed that someone had checked his Wooden Pass before the Medicinal Herb Warehouse incident.
  • Aokihara described the stranger’s gray-and-white robe, lack of a Forehead Protector, and blue line on his cuff.
  • Shingo Nara identified the blue line as a Blue-Line Seal used for temporary internal Hokage Building forms.
  • Aokihara recalled medicinal powder on the cuff, suggesting the stranger had recently returned from the Medicinal Herb Warehouse.

Ch. 55Even the Hokage Building Had Hands That Could Be Borrowed

Uchiha Gen traced the Blue-Line Seal used to borrow the classified Wooden Pass to Konoha’s post-disaster document procedures and persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to have Anbu investigate the Hokage Building clerks. A clerk admitted that an unknown man used an old authorization sample to obtain a blank seal, leaving the investigation focused on where the sample had leaked from.

  • Uchiha Gen showed that the Blue-Line Seal system relied on the same post-disaster practice of issuing documents first and registering them later.
  • Uchiha Gen agreed that the police force would not question Hokage Building clerks and submitted evidence for Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Anbu to investigate them.
  • Anbu reported that two clerks had complete records, while Takeuchi Haruki had issued a blank Blue-Line Seal to an unknown man.
  • Takeuchi Haruki said the man had shown him a sample of an old Hokage Office authorization format and urged him to complete the seal before registration.
  • Uchiha Gen told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the next question was where the old authorization sample had leaked from.

Ch. 56An old-format directive sample, more dangerous than a forged order

Uchiha Gen and the others traced the old-format directive sample to a gap in Konoha’s archive procedures and linked a gray-robed figure to several suspicious locations. The chapter ended with a faint left-hand inkprint revealing an old injury between the thumb and forefinger.

  • Uchiha Gen explained that the sample fooled Takeuchi Haruki by exploiting familiar procedures, and Shingo Nara confirmed that obsolete samples were kept in the archives.
  • Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an investigation into the obsolete document archives, where the register showed an unnamed gray-robed assistant had accessed Cabinet B-2.
  • Itachi pointed out that the enemy had exploited Konoha’s old habits, prompting Fugaku to recognize that the Uchiha clan’s own customs could also be used against it.
  • Uchiha Gen proposed comparing records and schedule gaps across the three gray-robed sightings, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the plan with Anbu confirming identities.
  • Itachi spotted an inkprint on the directive sample, and Shisui identified a break in the left-hand mark consistent with an old injury between the thumb and forefinger.

Ch. 57The Gray-Robed Ninja Left a Handprint for the First Time

After the Uchiha identified a temporary porter named Sano Kei as the only person matching the Gray-Robed Ninja’s clues, Shisui found his room empty and a note blaming fear of the Uchiha. The suspect escaped, leaving behind a staged scene, while Toru restrained himself from contaminating it.

  • Gen and Shisui set screening criteria for the Gray-Robed Ninja, and Hiruzen authorized an investigation under strict Anbu oversight.
  • Toru stopped a young clansman from detaining suspicious porters and insisted they wait for the criteria to be verified.
  • The screening identified Sano Kei, a temporary porter whose movements and bandaged left hand matched the clues.
  • Shisui went to Sano Kei’s registered residence and found it empty, with a gray robe, ink, and a note saying everyone feared the Uchiha after the Nine-Tails.
  • Toru kept the Military Police outside the room and ordered the scene recorded for the Anbu, recognizing that the suspect had tried to provoke them into drawing their weapons.

Ch. 58Even a Truth Could Be Written into a Blade

Uchiha Gen and Itachi turned a threatening half-truth about the village fearing the Uchiha into a case study that taught young clan members to question what was left unsaid. The chapter ended when Shingo Nara reported signs that someone had turned pages in the orphan-placement register near the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's records.

  • Uchiha Gen explained that the note used a partial truth about the village's fear to provoke the Uchiha, and Itachi proposed documenting it as a case study.
  • Uchiha Makoto titled the lesson “Half a truth. Even half a truth could be written into a blade,” and Fugaku approved it while restricting details from classified files.
  • Fugaku assigned Uchiha Toru to maintain order as Uchiha Gen taught young clan members to identify the unwritten conclusions hidden behind the note.
  • Itachi added the lesson, “When you see a truth, first ask which half is missing,” and Uchiha Toru urged the young members to look for the missing half before reacting.
  • Shingo Nara reported that someone had turned pages in the post-disaster orphan-placement register beside the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's records, shortly after the earlier classified-file irregularity.

Ch. 59They bypassed the Nine-Tails to reach for that child's shadow

Uchiha Gen uncovered signs that someone had examined the Post-Disaster Orphan Register to trace Naruto Uzumaki without accessing the Nine-Tails files. He prevented Danzo from giving Root control of Naruto’s placement arrangements, and the Hokage Building sealed the records under new safeguards while barring the Uchiha from the placement sites.

  • Shingo Nara reported irregular page creases in the Post-Disaster Orphan Register, and Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the related records and supply flows locked down and reviewed.
  • Danzo proposed giving Root covert control of Naruto Uzumaki’s placement and protection arrangements.
  • Uchiha Gen opposed Root’s expanded authority and proposed a two-level witness system for access to sensitive records.
  • Gen said the Uchiha would not participate in protecting Naruto or managing placement arrangements, while Danzo’s Root was denied sole control.
  • Hiruzen ordered the records sealed under two-level witnesses and barred the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force from approaching post-disaster orphan placement sites.
  • Shingo Nara recorded the access restriction as Anbu guarded the newly sealed register.

Ch. 60You could keep your distance and still hold the line

Uchiha Gen persuaded the clan to accept a ban on approaching orphan resettlement sites while preserving safeguards against Root acting alone or accessing records without witnesses. As the Jinchūriki’s risk pathway was provisionally blocked, Root made Shisui a priority observation target, setting up a new threat.

  • Uchiha Gen explained that accepting the restriction would help the clan avoid suspicion while binding Root to limits on resettlement and record access.
  • Uchiha Fugaku accepted the red line, recorded the clan’s conditions, and ordered patrols to avoid the resettlement sites.
  • Fugaku and Gen confirmed the Uchiha’s withdrawal to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who approved two-witness access to classified files and barred Root from taking over independently.
  • Uchiha Gen received notice that the risk pathway around the Jinchūriki had been provisionally blocked and that his Sealing Closure anomaly detection had improved.
  • Uchiha Gen learned that Root had added Shisui Uchiha to its priority observation list, while Shisui remained unaware.
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