After bathing and changing his clothes, Ye Feng walked out of his room and saw that his friends had all returned. They had also heard about his situation from Inuzuka Clan Fengyu.
Asuma Sarutobi stepped forward first. "What happened? Someone actually attacked you so viciously inside Konoha?"
"Just pretend you don't know about this. Knowing won't do you any good. Don't get yourselves caught up in this maelstrom." They were all still young, and he didn't want them drawn into this struggle.
The others kept pressing him for answers. Only Asuma Sarutobi was an exception. His father was the Third Hokage, and his older brother was the Anbu commander, so he had already witnessed the darkness of Konoha's politics. He also knew Ye Feng was acting for their sake. None of them could intervene in something like this; they would only become burdens to Ye Feng.
So he took the initiative to interrupt his friends' persistent questions and solemnly told Ye Feng, "If you need anything, just say the word."
Just then, the Anbu member the Third Hokage had sent to summon Ye Feng arrived.
Ye Feng had expected this. After such a commotion, it would have made no sense for the Third Hokage not to summon him.
He reassured his friends that he would be right back.
When he arrived at the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage was sitting behind his desk, with two people around his age seated on either side, looking ready to conduct a Three-Court Hearing. The arrangement also made Ye Feng realize that the two beside the Third Hokage were Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Shimura Danzō, however, was nowhere to be seen. Ye Feng had yet to meet him in person.
"We already know what happened on Commercial Street. I advise you to come clean. It'll be better for you." Utatane Koharu was once again the first to speak.
Ye Feng frowned slightly at her words and thought, Is Utatane Koharu an idiot? How did she survive to the end when she offends people so openly?
The Third Hokage also shot Utatane Koharu a displeased glare. Turning to Uchiha Yefeng, he spoke kindly:
"We called you here today simply to learn the details of what happened on Commercial Street. Don't feel pressured. Just tell us the truth."
No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi is the Hokage while you're Advisors. That's how you should talk—ask questions without offending anyone.
"I went to Commercial Street with my classmates today to celebrate the New Year and watch the fireworks. I suddenly needed to pee, so I found a corner to relieve myself. That was when two ninja wearing Anbu uniforms came over and attacked me. They even threw a lot of Explosive Tags while I wasn't looking. Luckily, I'm good at Taijutsu and ran fast, or I would've been blown to death." Ye Feng's answer to the Third Hokage mixed truth with lies, leaving out everything about his own strength.
"Nonsense! Someone clearly died at the scene. Are you saying you weren't the one who did it?" Utatane Koharu jumped in again with an angry shout.
"Advisor, do you think I could beat someone to death? I'm just a child. Of course I'd avoid something like that however I could." Ye Feng feigned innocence as he retorted.
"Do you know where the other two ninja wearing Anbu uniforms went?" the Third Hokage asked, cutting off Utatane Koharu before she could speak again.
"The Explosive Tags left me covered in injuries, and my head was spinning. I barely managed to find my way to Master Orochimaru's house and hid there. Look at the wounds on my body. Master Orochimaru treated them, and they've already scabbed over." Ye Feng answered with an even more aggrieved expression. Whether they believed him was up to them.
At that moment, Shimura Danzō walked in. Ye Feng looked at him. His right eye was already covered with bandages, but his right hand was still exposed. He probably hadn't transplanted the First Hokage's cells yet. As for whether his right eye was a Sharingan, that was unclear.
As Shimura Danzō passed Ye Feng, his exposed left eye narrowed slightly as he looked at him, like a wolf eyeing its food. Ye Feng felt a powerful murderous aura. Danzo really was no ordinary man.
"Danzo, I called you here to ask whether those two people wearing Anbu uniforms were ninja from your Root," the Third Hokage said.
"I heard about this and have already checked. They weren't my Root ninja. I hope Lord Third will investigate thoroughly." Shimura Danzō played that move smoothly, denying it outright and professing complete ignorance.
Neither the Third Hokage nor the two Advisors believed a word Shimura Danzō said. Utatane Koharu even slammed the desk and sprang to her feet:
"Who besides your Root would act so brazenly!"
"Perhaps some spies wanted to assassinate one of Konoha's geniuses. We cannot take people like that lightly within Konoha. We must find them," Shimura Danzō said with apparent seriousness. "Besides, for something so serious to happen, the Military Police Force is also guilty of dereliction of duty."
The Third Hokage must have been cursing Shimura Danzō inwardly: Find them, my ass. They were definitely your Root people.
Shimura Danzō said this for three reasons: first, to distance himself from the incident; second, to show Uchiha Yefeng how powerful Shimura Danzō's influence was in Konoha; and third, to smear the Uchiha Clan, which controlled the Military Police Force.
But the Third Hokage had no intention of actually tracking down the assassins either. He was merely going through the motions, reducing a major incident to a minor one and then letting it fade away, while giving Shimura Danzō a warning in passing.
Ye Feng also understood what the Third Hokage was thinking. Shimura Danzō was his true love. Even producing the bodies and firmly accusing Danzo would accomplish nothing, so he simply professed ignorance about everything.
Since the victim hadn't seen the assassins and Danzo insisted his people hadn't done it, the Third Hokage took the opportunity to back down. He ordered the Anbu and the Military Police Force to assign more personnel to investigate, while also questioning the Military Police Force about its culpability. That was how the matter ended, with everyone heading home to their mothers.
Konoha Military Police Force.
Uchiha Clan Head Uchiha Tianchang was also the chief of the Military Police Force. Because of the Commercial Street Assassination, he too had rushed back to the Military Police Force to hold a meeting.
"This was obviously an assassination by Root, yet now it's become our Military Police Force's responsibility," a member of the Uchiha Clan said indignantly.
"What good does shouting here do? Do you have evidence? If you're so capable, catch them and dump them in front of the Third Hokage."
"This is clearly the Hokage's faction suppressing our Uchiha Clan."
Watching the Military Police Force descend into a noisy mess like a marketplace gave Uchiha Tianchang a headache:
"Enough. This matter is already settled. I'll write a self-criticism to the Hokage. Assign more people to patrol, and don't let anyone get anything on us again. That's all. Meeting adjourned!"
Before you continue