Naruto Uzumaki had not hung around Uchiha Minamoto today, so Uchiha Itachi naturally had no need to continue his surveillance mission.
He simply stayed on duty in the Hokage Building, which also let him avoid the evening's Clan Meeting.
Sasuke... how did your day go...?
Just as Uchiha Itachi's thoughts wandered and he began missing his little brother.
An imposing Shimura Danzō came jogging over with two Root ninja.
As he passed Uchiha Itachi.
Shimura Danzō even shot him a look brimming with malice.
Uchiha downstairs!
Uchiha upstairs too!
There were far too many Uchiha in Konoha!
Uchiha Itachi had no idea why Shimura Danzō was looking at him like that, but he still obediently knelt in greeting.
"Shimura-"
Bang!
Without even looking at Uchiha Itachi, Shimura Danzō shoved open the door to the Hokage's office.
Uchiha Itachi's eyelid twitched, but he silently closed the door anyway.
A short while later.
Heated arguing came through the gap in the door.
"Hiruzen! There's no stopping the Uchiha Clan now!"
Shimura Danzō looked exactly like a petty thug who could only turn to his boss for help after being bullied.
"To prevent something even worse from happening, we have to eliminate the Uchiha Clan as soon as possible!"
Why was it about the Uchiha Clan again?
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe in his mouth, his brow tightly furrowed and his expression displeased.
"What is it with you now?"
"The threat of an Uchiha rebellion is already at our doorstep!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's graying eyebrows twisted together as he recalled his earlier three-step strategy.
"I've already dealt with that problem!"
"But there's still a problem on my end!"
Shimura Danzō shouted.
"The Konoha Military Police Force arrested a Jonin from the Shimura Clan tonight!"
"What!?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked startled and instinctively rose to his feet.
"How dare the Uchiha! They-why?"
"Uh... never mind why for now."
Shimura Danzō waved his hand.
"Getting him out of the Konoha Military Police Force comes first!"
After all.
Shimura Ryo was a Jonin!
Shimura Danzō did not have many high-level fighters like that under his command.
One look at his old friend's expression gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a vague idea of what had happened.
But he had always left the village's dark dealings to Danzo.
Now that Danzo had run into trouble, Hiruzen Sarutobi still had to intervene.
"Itachi, come in!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi called in Uchiha Itachi, who was guarding the door, and gave him his orders.
"Go to the Konoha Military Police Force... be quick."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Itachi left with his orders.
A few minutes later, he returned.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo, Shimura Ryo... he has already confessed and been executed."
Confessed and been executed?
Shimura Danzō's eyes widened.
Wait.
Not brought to justice.
Executed?
Shimura Ryo was dead?!
Chapter 35: Hiruzen, stop me! Otherwise, I'll kill every last Uchiha! (Please keep reading! Please vote with your monthly tickets!)
A little earlier.
After Shimura Danzō's "strategic retreat," the atmosphere inside the Konoha Military Police Force building had been jubilant.
Under one eager gaze after another, Uchiha Minamoto returned to the underground Interrogation Room.
"Group Leader, about Shimura Ryo..."
Uchiha Rai approached, looking troubled, and spoke quietly.
"He still hasn't talked?" Uchiha Minamoto raised an eyebrow.
"No," Uchiha Rai said. "He's extremely tight-lipped."
"No problem."
Uchiha Minamoto patted Rai on the shoulder.
"I'll handle it."
Uchiha Rai pulled open the Interrogation Room door.
Uchiha Minamoto stepped inside with a brilliant smile, his tone as casual as if he were asking, "Have you eaten?"
"Hey! Senior Shimura, you're still alive!"
"Uchiha Minamoto!"
Shimura Ryo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and glared viciously at the newcomer.
"Don't think you've actually won!
"Clan Head Danzo will never allow your Konoha Military Police Force to act so recklessly!"
"Act recklessly?"
Uchiha Minamoto's smile vanished. He picked up a document from the table and flung it at Shimura Ryo.
"The Konoha Military Police Force follows the law and arrests criminals, and you call that acting recklessly?"
The document mostly contained "evidence" Uchiha Hinotori had just collected from the Shueiying Group.
A veteran Chunin really did work efficiently!
Though Uchiha Minamoto had no idea how much of this "evidence" had been discovered at the scene and how much had been manufactured there.
In any case, there was now conclusive evidence of the Shueiying Group's crimes.
Shimura Ryo glanced at the document without saying a word.
His real source of confidence was not this "Shueiying Group," but...
"You're waiting for Shimura Danzō, aren't you?"
As though he had guessed Shimura Ryo's thoughts, Uchiha Minamoto spoke in a quiet, drawn-out tone.
"He was just here."
Shimura Ryo's eyes immediately lit up.
"Then he left."
Shimura Ryo's eyes instantly dimmed.
"Hahahaha!"
Uchiha Minamoto laughed wildly, giving full recognition to Shimura Ryo's skill at "changing faces."
"Senior Shimura Ryo, you don't seriously think Shimura Danzō can get you out, do you?
"Before the Konoha Military Police Force, a Hokage who breaks the law faces the same punishment as a commoner!"
Uchiha Minamoto delivered those words with fervor.
And he truly believed them!
Someday.
Uchiha Minamoto would expose Hiruzen Sarutobi, that "pure and spotless three-strike monkey," for what he really was!
Shimura Danzō had committed so many evil deeds and taken the blame for so much.
Who had it all been for?
Even Uchiha Minamoto felt sorrow for Elder Shimura Danzō.
Shimura Ryo fell silent.
He had not expected Clan Head Danzo to have actually come, only to leave again.
What was he supposed to do now?
"Senior Shimura Ryo, I'll give you two more chances now."
Uchiha Minamoto beckoned with his right hand, and Uchiha Rai obligingly produced the confession agreement he had just written for Shimura Ryo.
"First, sign this confession agreement, then stay in the Konoha Military Police Force's special prison.
"If you ask me, prison life comes with room and board, free water and electricity. What a wonderful thing."
A confession agreement?
Shimura Ryo was numb. What crime had he committed?!
If he was guilty of anything, it was offending Uchiha Minamoto, who stood before him!
"What's the second chance?"
"Senior Shimura Ryo, I can let bygones be bygones regarding tonight."
Uchiha Minamoto put down the confession agreement, folded his hands on the table, and leaned forward slightly.
"But you need to turn over a new leaf and leave the darkness for the light!"
"?"
Shimura Ryo was bewildered, his little eyes full of enormous confusion.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"It's simple. You join the Great Love Group and work for me."
Before you continue