"As expected of Uchiha Fugaku!"
"This boy is said to be a genius of the Uchiha Clan!"
"He might inherit the position of clan leader in the future!"
"That's really impressive!"
"Is this the end of the case?"
"..."
The ninjas present no longer complained about being stopped; their hearts were now filled with curiosity, and they wanted to stay and witness Fugaku's investigation firsthand.
"Can you find the culprit?" Uchiha Nanagen'u's breathing became rapid, and his gaze towards Fugaku changed.
"Almost."
Fugaku nodded reluctantly, then said, "Let me see the scene first."
Come with me.
Uchiha Nanagen'u didn't refuse again, but instead glanced at the Konoha Military Police Force and said, "Keep an eye on everyone here. No one is allowed to leave."
"Yes!"
The Konoha Military Police Force answered in unison.
"Don't worry, we'll keep watch here ourselves. We won't let that murderer get away today!"
A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd; it belonged to one of the ninjas who had come to put out the fire.
"That's right!"
I'm keeping my eyes fixed on the person to my left!
I'm still keeping an eye on you!
"No one around me can escape!"
"I'm not leaving today! We have to bring that murderer to justice!"
"Me too!"
"..."
The ninjas on the scene made noises again, but this time they weren't as dissatisfied as before. Instead, they found the situation even more interesting.
This is a very strange phenomenon.
Even they themselves can't explain it clearly...
Despite being listed as a suspect by Fugaku, they weren't angry at all.
Compared to the other arrogant Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku was somewhat more acceptable to them, which was a more difficult feeling to explain.
In particular, he considered that Uchiha Fugaku was very likely to become the head of the Uchiha Clan in the future.
This is great news for them; perhaps the Uchiha Clan will undergo significant changes in the generation of Fugaku.
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Uchiha Fugaku followed behind Uchiha Nanagen'u, walking together toward the scorched clearing in the woods.
"Hiss..."
Fugaku gasped at the sight before him. Despite his mature demeanor, he was still just a boy, and this was his first time at a crime scene, having never seen such a gruesome corpse.
That's too cruel!
"This must be the killer's twisted sense of humor!"
"That killer must be a psychopath!"
As Fugaku approached the four corpses, he muttered to himself, and after examining them for a while, he found no substantial clues.
"Is this a ninja tool pouch?"
Suddenly, Fugaku noticed a burn mark on the waist of one of the corpses, and from the blackish-gray slag, he pulled out a mangled Shuriken.
"That's probably true." Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded and said, "Apart from some charred ninja tools, anything that could possibly record information has been burned to ashes."
"The purpose of this is very obvious: to conceal the identities of these four corpses. If I'm not mistaken, these four corpses are not ninjas from Kumogakure; they are simply trying to disguise themselves as Kumogakure ninjas who died in Konoha," Fugaku analyzed.
"That's what I think too." Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded and said, "Then what do you think the culprit is...?"
"Just like I just analyzed, the reason the murderer did this was to lure people here, then disguise himself among them to see if we would notice the ninja Forehead Protector. If we treated it as Konoha Ninja Forehead Protector, he might have jumped up and revealed this 'major discovery'," Fugaku said in a deep voice.
"It seems we discovered it too quickly," Uchiha Nanagen'u said with a wry smile.
"That's true..." Fugaku nodded and continued, "I think the culprit might not be from Konoha."
"How so?" Uchiha Nanagen'u's eyes lit up.
"If it were someone from Konoha, there would be no need for such a fuss. I just thought about it in my mind, and there are only a few possibilities."
As Fugaku spoke, he raised his finger and gestured in front of Uchiha Nanagen'u.
"Firstly, the murderer is from Konoha, and these four people are also from Konoha. Therefore, this is an internal case of the village. Labeling it as a case Forehead Protector Kumogakure is simply an attempt to escalate the nature of the case and mislead us about the identities of these four people. However, it's not very meaningful. We're not stupid. By transporting the bodies to the Anbu, we can naturally find out everything."
"Secondly, the murderer is from Konoha, but these four people are not. They might really be ninjas from Konoha, or they might not. In this case, I'm more inclined to believe that these four are ninjas from Kumogakure Kumogakure. But regardless, their presence here indicates that they are intruders. Killing intruders is not a crime, and there's absolutely no need to hide it."
"Thirdly, the perpetrator wasn't from Konoha, and these four people weren't from Konoha either. Similar to the previous situation, if these four weren't from Konoha, then they were most likely from Kumogakure. The probability of two intruders from different villages meeting in Konoha and fighting like this is extremely low, let alone causing an explosion that drew our attention."
"So..."
"Thinking about it carefully, there's only a fourth possibility left!"
"The murderer isn't from Konoha, but these four corpses are from Konoha!"
"After killing these four people, the murderer used a Kumogakure Forehead Protector to fake the deaths of Kumogakure ninjas, thus creating tension between the villages and luring Kumogakure envoys to Konoha for negotiations."
"By that time..."
"The village's situation became passive."
"This is the most likely scenario, in my opinion."
Uchiha Fugaku analyzed the case point by point, systematically outlining the entire situation, which made Uchiha Nanagen'u repeatedly in agreement.
"Then which village do you think the murderer is from?" Uchiha Nanagen'u asked immediately.
" Kumogakure!"
Fugaku answered almost without hesitation. He looked up at Uchiha Nanagen'u, his face solemn and his expression serious. He looked extremely grave.
"Only the people of Kumogakure possess such qualifications!"
"Tell me more." Uchiha Nanagen'u stared into Fugaku's eyes, lost in thought.
"Yes!"
Fugaku now felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment, something he had never felt before. In the past, when he talked to Uchiha Nanagen'u, the latter always thought he was a child and that what he said was unrealistic.
Even today, after hearing the explosion, he was struck by inspiration and suddenly thought of many possibilities.
"I have summarized the following points to suggest the possibility that the murderer is a ninja from Kumogakure!"
When Fugaku finished speaking, he paused slightly, raised his first finger, and waved it in front of Uchiha Nanagen'u.
"First point!"
"There are no Kumogakure ninja Forehead Protector in Konoha!"
"Even the items we captured earlier are all sealed away in the Anbu; ordinary people have absolutely no chance of getting their hands on them!"
There were at least four Forehead Protector Kumogakure ninjas on site!
That means...
There may be at least four perpetrators!
As Fugaku finished speaking, his pupils contracted sharply, his eyes becoming intense and explosive. He added, "They took the Konoha Ninja Forehead Protector from these four people, then placed their own Kumogakure ninja Forehead Protector here, letting the fire burn them to ashes. Afterward, they put on their Konoha ninja Forehead Protector and pretended to be putting out a fire, making everything seem perfectly logical."
"Continue." Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded, his eyes filled with more appreciation as he looked at Fugaku.
"Second point!"
Fugaku raised his second finger, seemingly sensing Uchiha Nanagen'u's praise. The whole scene radiated confidence, as if something good had happened.
"Since this is a frame-up, there must be a backup plan. If our Konoha Military Police Force doesn't solve the case tonight and provide a perfectly reasonable explanation, the envoy from Kumogakure will arrive tomorrow, insisting that our Konoha people killed their envoy and demanding compensation from us."
"If ninjas from other villages had done this, firstly, they wouldn't have the Forehead Protector of Kumogakure, and secondly, they wouldn't have needed to do something so beneficial for Kumogakure."
This is a classic case of the thief crying "stop thief!"
Fugaku said indignantly that when he saw the four corpses, he already considered them as his fellow villagers of Konoha.
"Hmm." Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded again and said, "How can you be sure the envoy from Kumogakure will arrive tomorrow?"
"They will definitely say that these people are from the envoy group and firmly deny that they are invaders. In that case, our Konoha will be in a passive position, and they can make exorbitant demands for compensation from us, and they will definitely threaten war!" Fugaku explained.
"What did you mean by your last sentence?" Uchiha Nanagen'u stared at Fugaku and asked, "Why war?"
" Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure —our four villages have just experienced the Second Shinobi World War. Now is the time for us to recuperate and rebuild, and it's not suitable for us to continue fighting. As for Kumogakure, during the Second Shinobi World War, they were constantly purchasing weapons from the Land of Iron, secretly accumulating strength. In terms of immediate combat power, Kumogakure is arguably the strongest in the Shinobi World right now. No one wants to go to war with them, so war is the best means of coercion, maximizing our benefits!" Fugaku explained.
"That makes sense." Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded. He suddenly realized that Fugaku had grown up; his perspective and logical reasoning abilities were in no way inferior to those of the other Konoha Military Police Force. He then asked, "Is there a third point?"
"Have!"
Fugaku immediately raised his third finger and said, "The first point covered conditions, the second point covered benefits, so the third point is about motives!"
"Only the Kumogakure would have such a motive!"
"One premise for saying this is to exclude factors within the village!"
"As I just said, the flames of the Second Shinobi World War have just died down. For Kumogakure, which did not participate in the war, they must seize this rare opportunity to strengthen themselves while the other major shinobi villages are weakened!"
However, the improvement of one's own strength is a relative concept!
In other words...
"It can not only enhance one's own strength, but also weaken the opponent's strength!"
"Certainly..."
"There's another way that's perfect!"
"Weaken the opponent's strength while increasing our own!"
That is plunder!