My eyes couldn't be wrong

A ninja's foremost duty was to protect the villagers of their village. Killing civilians without an official order from the higher-ups was a serious crime.

After all, civilians were the foundation of what Konoha ninja protected. The first rule of the Ninja Code was to shelter the village's people, and deliberately slaughtering villagers was an extremely serious act of treason.

This was a rule the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had established when he founded the village.

If such an act was discovered, the Anbu and any jonin present had the authority to kill the perpetrator on the spot. As long as the killer resisted arrest with a weapon, they could execute them without reporting to the Hokage!

If what Uchiha Jin said was true, and Sarutobi Shōtarō really had killed a family of three.

Then this was an extremely serious matter!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The Sarutobi Elder went deathly pale. He knew all too well what the charge of killing civilians meant.

Under Konoha's strict rules, his son would almost certainly not survive if the allegation proved true.

No matter what, he could not admit to this.

Even if his son really had killed them, he could not admit it!

Everyone instinctively looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was staring at Uchiha Jin with a complicated expression.

"Jin, is what you said true?"

If it was true, Shōtarō's actions could only be described as heinous.

Even as his uncle, he would find it difficult to keep him alive.

"It's true." Uchiha Jin nodded. "I already used genjutsu to enter his memories."

"Bullshit!"

The Sarutobi Elder exploded, pointing at Jin with bloodshot eyes.

"What do you know, you brat?! Who gave you permission to interrogate someone with genjutsu?!"

He understood the situation. His son had most likely committed the murders, and all he could do was cause a scene to buy time.

He trusted Hiruzen to come up with a solution.

He only had this one precious son. If his son died, he would not go on living either.

"You old fossil."

Uchiha Jin regarded him coldly. "Please don't let your emotions interfere with the Uchiha Clan carrying out its lawful duties. Otherwise, I can arrest you even in front of the Hokage."

At those words, everyone present looked at him in disbelief.

They had never expected Jin to dare speak to the Sarutobi Clan's Great Elder like that.

Most importantly, Lord Hokage was right there!

He was showing him no consideration at all.

Just what they would expect from the Uchiha Clan!

In fact, the Uchiha Clan members themselves were dumbfounded too.

Arrogant as they usually were, even they would not dare say something like that in front of the Hokage.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed inwardly. Jin seemed a little extreme.

It looked like he would have to find time for a proper talk with him.

He should at least show the Hokage some basic respect, if only by addressing him as Lord Hokage.

Rather than that cold "Third"...

"You... you... you!"

The Sarutobi Elder pointed at Uchiha Jin in a furious fluster.

In all his years, this was the first time anyone had spoken to him like that.

He had never felt so humiliated!

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and waved at the Sarutobi ninja and Anbu by the door. They immediately turned and left.

What followed was not for their ears.

Noticing the Hokage's glance, Uchiha Fugaku signaled to the Uchiha Clan members watching from the doorway.

A few breaths later, the Interrogation Room's door closed.

Only Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Fugaku, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sarutobi Elder, and the delirious Sarutobi Shōtarō remained inside.

"Jin, torturing a suspect during questioning without authorization violates the village's rules and regulations."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow with a headache, then offered some earnest advice.

"Such methods don't meet the requirements for obtaining evidence..."

Uchiha Fugaku raised his eyebrows.

He understood that the Hokage wanted them to stop pursuing the matter.

Put plainly, he wanted the Uchiha Clan to show his nephew mercy.

Although this amounted to using his authority to pressure them, there was nothing to be done. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage, after all.

They instinctively looked at the silent Jin.

Another Uchiha Clan member might have shown the Hokage some consideration.

But Uchiha Jin was different.

"Third, are you saying the memories I saw through genjutsu were false?"

"Exactly. Genjutsu is shaped by its caster's subjective will. If you subconsciously regarded Shōtarō as a murderer, his memories would have been altered when you entered them with genjutsu, producing the murders you saw earlier."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction. This boy certainly knows how to take an offered way out.

The Sarutobi Elder's ashen expression began to improve.

As long as the Uchiha Clan was willing to spare his son, paying a little money was no problem!

The Sarutobi Clan had prospered in recent years.

With the Hokage's support, they had gained control of many shops in the village's commercial district.

They brought in a considerable income every year.

"I was angry just now because my son had been falsely accused, and in my anger, I said things I shouldn't have."

As the Sarutobi Elder spoke, he looked at Uchiha Fugaku.

"As such, I'm willing to pay ten million ryo in compensation for slandering the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force."

Ten million to buy a life.

To be honest, the price was a little high. After all, even Asuma Sarutobi, an elite jonin, one of the daimyo's Twelve Guardian Ninja, and the Third Hokage's son, only had a black-market bounty of thirty million ryo.

But he had no other choice. He was more than willing to spend ten million for his precious son!

"Haha, it was all a misunderstanding. Now that we've cleared it up, everything's fine."

Uchiha Fugaku spoke with a smile.

If anyone else had tried to bribe him with money, Uchiha Fugaku would have refused without mercy.

But he was dealing with the Third Hokage.

Quitting while he was ahead was the wisest choice, and it would also leave the Hokage owing him a favor.

The clan really stood to lose nothing.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, we'll be leaving."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was very pleased with Uchiha Fugaku's cooperation.

Although this somewhat sullied the village's Will of Fire, that was the grand elder's only offspring!

Besides, this was clearly just a misunderstanding.

It could hardly count as sullying it...

He had always felt that he held the Will of Fire in his heart and worked hard to spread it to everyone.

"Wait."

Just as they thought the matter had been settled to everyone's satisfaction, Uchiha Jin's voice stopped them short.

"Third, there's no possibility of anything being wrong with my genjutsu."

He gently closed his eyes, then opened them again. Scarlet replaced his black irises, and three black tomoe slowly spun within them.

"The genjutsu capabilities of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan are beyond what a one-tomoe or Two-Tomoe Sharingan can match."

Uchiha Jin calmly looked at the ashen-faced Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sarutobi Elder.

"In other words, there was nothing wrong with the memories I saw. Sarutobi Shōtarō was the murderer who killed that family of three."

Standing behind Jin, Uchiha Fugaku was utterly dumbfounded.

He had truly never expected Jin to show even the Hokage no consideration!

Wait, why am I suddenly feeling a little excited?

What Jin was doing was undoubtedly tearing away the Hokage's dignity on the spot, throwing it to the ground, and viciously trampling it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was ashen, but he forced out a kindly smile.

"Jin, as I just said, your subjective judgment may have caused you to unconsciously alter Shōtarō's memories when you entered them with genjutsu."

"Therefore, the memories you saw can't really count as evidence..."

"Third, my eyes couldn't be wrong."