"Activate it."
Yamada Naoto pressed his hand onto the master control scroll. The runes on the Water Mirror Formation Disc lit up ring after ring, and two Konoha Military Police Force ninja tore away the covering cloth, fully revealing the blood-colored image in the mirror.
Itachi lay on the ground, forcing broken, breathy sounds from his throat. "Sasuke, stop."
Sasuke did not look at him. He merely placed the black Scroll Box directly in front of the Array Disc and pressed his fingertips against the Uchiha Clan Seal. "Connect my channel to Hokage Plaza, the hospital's outer wall, the Evacuation Shelter, and the Ninja Academy's training ground. Synchronize all public water mirrors."
Sweat beaded on Yamada Naoto's forehead, but he did not dare delay. "The village-wide channel is connected. They're admitting people into the outer viewing area."
Shikaku immediately raised his hand. "Divide the viewing area into three tiers. Ordinary villagers stay on the outside, the Clan Representatives enter the second tier, and the Joint Law Enforcement Department seals off the inner ring. Anyone who dares breach the trial perimeter will be dealt with for disrupting wartime judicial proceedings."
The outer passage opened, and the villagers who had been evacuated beyond the district were led in by batches.
Some still held half-eaten rice balls, some wore makeshift outer garments, and even more had pushed their way toward the South Gate the moment they heard Uchiha Itachi had been captured.
"Is it really him?"
"Black robe with red clouds, and the face matches too. I saw his wanted poster back then."
"Didn't they say he went mad and massacred his clan alone? What's left to try now?"
"Shut up and watch the water mirror. If Lord Sasuke dares show it publicly, there must be something."
Discussion swelled along the edges of