In the alleyway, there was deathly silence.
The air was filled with the weird smell of blood and embarrassment mixed with fermentation.
Nakamura and more than a dozen instructors, their bodies were as stiff as stone sculptures, and the excitement of "removing harm for the people" had not completely faded from their faces, which were covered with a layer of gray confusion and shame.
They looked at the corpse of Tsukiki on the ground, and then at the few practitioners who reported the news. Finally, their eyes seemed to be attracted by a magnet, and involuntarily focused on the unbelievably calm man.
Did I kill the wrong person?
This sentence did not sound, but it was like an invisible slap, repeatedly slapped on everyone's face, causing burning pain.
They were filled with righteous indignation just now and kept saying that they wanted to "take down the madman" and "remove harm to the village". Now they looked like a group of clowns who were being played around.
The boss who protects the murderer and besieges the victim?
If word of this gets out, they will never be able to walk in the village with their heads raised again.
"Minister, I..." Instructor Nakamura opened his mouth, but his throat was dry and he couldn't say a word. He wanted to apologize, but found that he was not even qualified to speak.
Several other people also hesitated to speak, not knowing what to say.
Senju Chen ignored them.
In this suffocating atmosphere.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several figures wearing masks descended from the sky like ghosts, landing silently in every corner of the alleyway, blocking all exits.
The first person was not wearing a mask.
He is tall and has sharp eyes like knives. He is the captain of Kirigakure Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, Elite Jonin of the Hozuki Clan--Hozuki Anyue.
"Anbu service."
Hozuki Anyue's voice was cold and devoid of emotion. His eyes quickly swept across the whole place, including a corpse, a group of stunned instructors, a few trembling students, and... the new High Tower minister, Kirisame Ryo, standing next to the corpse.
"What's going on?" He looked at the instructor nearest him.
"This... this..." the instructor hesitated, his old face turning the color of pig liver.
"Let me tell you."
Senju Chen stood up and turned his head. The face of that thousand-year-old iceberg now had a trace of ferocity and undisguised exhaustion.
"Instructor High Tower, Tsukiki, killed graduate student Zabuza Momochi. I found him on the spot and escaped." He pointed to the body on the ground, his tone was calm, but it contained the imminent eruption of a volcano, "I cleared the door."
Hozuki Anyue raised his brows slightly when he heard this.
At this time, a Anbu member also brought Zabuza Momochi's body over.
Hozuki Anyue walked to the two corpses and squatted down to inspect them.
The first is "Zabuza Momochi". The fatal injury was through the chest. The technique was clean and neat, killing him with one blow.
Then came Tsukiki, whose chest was also penetrated. Hozuki Anyue's brows were raised slightly.
"Witnesses?" Hozuki Anyue stood up and glanced at the students.
"Yes... yes...! We saw with our own eyes that instructor Tsukiki suddenly took action and killed Zabuza Momochi!" These students had also heard of Special Assassination and Tactical Squad's prestigious name and said tremblingly.
Hozuki Anyue nodded, already having a rough judgment in his mind.
He turned to look at Senju Chen and announced coldly, "The facts of the case are basically clear. But the procedure still needs to be carried out. Minister Kirisame Ryo, before the matter is thoroughly investigated, you need to come with us and accept the investigation."
"Yes." Senju Chen answered simply and neatly.
He seemed to have expected this result.
Watching this scene, Nakamura and others felt mixed emotions. They knew that this was Special Assassination and Tactical Squad's standard procedure, but for some reason, seeing that aloof figure being taken away, a trace of guilt arose in their hearts.
"Bring the body and all related personnel back to the headquarters!" Hozuki Anyue gave the order, and then his figure flashed and disappeared into the night.
Special Assassination and Tactical Squad headquarters, interrogation room.
Cold walls, dazzling lights, an iron table and two chairs.
Senju Chen was sitting on a chair with an indifferent expression, as if he was not here to be interrogated but to drink tea.
Hozuki Anyue on the opposite side interrogated him personally. He looked through the preliminary report of the scene and asked without raising his head, "You and Zabuza Momochi have a good relationship?"
"He is a student that I am very optimistic about. If it weren't for that lunatic Tsukiki..." Senju Chen answered with a hint of resentment on his face.
"So good that you would violate the village rules and kill a colleague in public?"
"According to the investigation, I heard that you didn't even give him a chance to explain, and you even wanted to kill instructor Tsukiki by force despite everyone's obstruction?" Hozuki Anyue put down the report, crossed his fingers, and pierced Senju Chen's heart with a sharp gaze.
"Captain Anyue. That lunatic killed High Tower's best graduates on the spot. This is the root of our Kirigakure! I am just an instructor, and graduates like Zabuza Momochi are the cornerstone of our Kirigakure's future. Do you think people like him should die?"
"Moreover, he didn't give Zabuza Momochi a chance to speak! It must have been me, a student, who discovered some of his ulterior secrets before he killed him. Even if he dies, you must investigate him!"
Hozuki Anyue's eyes narrowed.
This person is interesting. It seems that he is asking the question, but the other person has been trying to control the direction of the conversation.
He changed the question, "How are you sure Tsukiki is the murderer? Just based on the words of a few students?"
"I saw it with my own eyes." Senju Chen pointed to his eyes, "When I arrived, Tsukiki was preparing to silence those students. The murderous aura in him cannot be faked."
Hozuki Anyue pressed forward step by step, "But if you kill him, you will die without any evidence. Kirisame Ryo Minister, have you ever thought that this might be a trap for you?"
"Trap?" Senju Chen sneered as if he had heard some big joke, "Using the life of a talented graduate to frame a minister who just took office? Captain Anyue, I don't think I am worthy of such a trap."
"It has only been more than ten days since you took office. As soon as you came, such a big thing happened to High Tower. Don't you think it's a coincidence?"
Senju Chen Hearing this, he slowly raised his head, and for the first time, his calm eyes revealed a heart-stopping sharpness.
"What a coincidence?"
"Maybe."
"But it's also possible that it's not me who caused the trouble. It's just that my new stone happened to hit the calm pond, making it impossible for some smelly fish and shrimps hidden under the mud to hide."
He looked at Hozuki Anyue and said word by word, "Captain Anyue, I suggest you check out the instructor named 'Tsukiki'. He has been in the village for so many years and is so popular that everyone is willing to speak for him..."
"He neither marries a wife nor fights for power. Don't you think this is problematic in itself?"
Hmm???
Hozuki Anyue's brain buzzed.
Yes! He had been struggling with the motive and procedural justice of Kirisame Ryo's murder, but he had ignored the most fundamental point!
Tsukiki!
It may be that Kirigakure's murder and death have become so common recently that he didn't think too deeply about Tsukiki's murder motive.
But Chunin, a commoner with no bloodline, no background, and mediocre strength, was able to get along like a fish in water with High Tower, who has complex interpersonal relationships, and became recognized as a "good guy." This in itself is the biggest abnormality!
A true "good old man" cannot live that long in Kirigakure!
"Minister Kirisame Ryo, this is just a routine inquiry. Please take a short rest. You can go back after the investigation is completed."
"Okay, Captain Anyue." Senju Chen said nonchalantly, with a pitiful expression on his face, as if he was sighing for his student.
Hozuki Anyue looked deeply at Senju Chen (Kirisame Ryo) again, then turned around and went out.