"In other words..."
Araki doesn't take Sora Hyuga seriously at all!
"So he won't kill Sora Hyuga!"
Mikoto spoke, one sentence at a time.
"?????"
Fugaku and Ueki were filled with more and more questions. They looked at Mikoto together, unsure whether to say what they wanted to say.
Disregarding the other party?
Can this really be considered a reason why he/she is not the murderer?
This feels so strange!
Fugaku and Ueki exchanged a glance. They both had a strange feeling, as if Mikoto had become a different person since her return, and was no longer the Mikoto they used to know.
"I know you'll have many questions after hearing my explanation, but that's the feeling I have. Araki didn't take Sora Hyuga seriously, so he didn't care about any of Sora Hyuga's actions, and naturally, he wouldn't kill him!"
When Mikoto said those words, a faint emptiness flashed in her eyes.
Because she felt that she was exactly like Sora Hyuga at that moment.
Araki knew he was being investigated, but he didn't do anything about it. If Araki were truly a ruthless killer, he would have taken care of himself long ago.
Mikoto follows this kind of logic.
After all, last night was a perfect opportunity to have a drink.
If Araki had been willing to do it, she wouldn't be able to see the sun today, but he didn't, and instead took good care of her.
This indirectly gained Mikoto's trust to some extent.
"This feeling is like..."
"You saw a dog barking at you from the woods as you walked by the roadside."
"Would you kill that dog because of this?"
Mikoto shook her head as she finished speaking. Her expression was very solemn and serious, and her brows revealed a strong sense of confidence. This confidence stemmed from her own reasoning and her faith in Araki.
The answer is definitely no!
Why?
"Because I simply don't care!"
Mikoto muttered to herself. After saying these words, she looked at Fugaku and Ueki again and found that the two of them were staring at her in complete bewilderment, unable to keep up with her train of thought.
"Cough cough cough..."
Fugaku coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, then said, "Are there any other reasons?"
"Yes, but not exactly. It's not really related to the case, but I think it has some influence." Mikoto said, pursing her lips, " Araki is just too hardworking. He dedicates every moment of his life to training. I've never seen a young boy do that before, so I believe he wouldn't kill anyone!"
"How hard does he work?" Ueki seemed a little jealous of Mikoto's exaggerated words and said irritably, "Works harder than Fugaku?"
"Of course," Mikoto replied without hesitation.
"You know him very well?" Fugaku's expression suddenly turned somewhat grim, and he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis. At that moment, he realized that Mikoto seemed to have some special feelings for this boy named Araki.
"I don't know much about it, I just know a little."
Mikoto's dark eyes suddenly lit up, like stars in the night sky, twinkling with each blink, and a look of expectation appeared in them.
"I know Araki has been training in Taijutsu with Might Duy, which has made his physical abilities incredibly strong!"
"I also know that Araki is studying medicine with Lady Tsunade, and he has already mastered at least the level of Mystical Palm Technique Medical Ninjutsu. In the future, he may even become an excellent medical-nin!"
"I also know that Araki has an extraordinary talent for making Explosive Tag. He can make seven or eight Explosive Tag a day, and he has earned money at a young age through the Explosive Tag he makes."
As Mikoto spoke, her face was full of longing. At this moment, she still felt that Araki was like a book full of mystery, and every time she opened it, she could feel more new things.
Especially last night's Truth or Dare game, a game she had never played or even heard of before, which, in a way, might be an original creation by Araki.
Moreover, it was based on the game she proposed that underwent refinement and improvement.
This made her admire Araki's talent even stronger, and she wanted even more to understand Araki more deeply.
"Wait, Mikoto, are you even human? How can he cultivate so many things all by himself?" Ueki asked incredulously.
"I didn't believe it either before I met Araki, but now I can tell you with certainty that there really are people who can control time with incredible precision, allowing them to train infinitely within a limited timeframe," Mikoto said with a smile.
"This is a bit insane!" Ueki had never heard of someone so hardworking before, and was momentarily shocked. He then turned to look at Fugaku and said, "If what Mikoto said is true, she is indeed more hardworking than Fugaku!"
"..."
Fugaku's face darkened. He himself didn't understand why he felt a pang of bitterness when Mikoto mentioned the other boys.
In the past, I would only praise myself on occasions like this every day.
But now...
Mikoto has changed!
They've started praising others in front of me!
"Of course it's true!" Mikoto said, hands on her hips. "Why would I lie to you about something like this!"
"I won't go into the Taijutsu and Medical Ninjutsu, but you're talking about Explosive Tag? It's obviously fake. How could someone make seven or eight Explosive Tag a day? Can you make money that fast?" Ueki said, puzzled.
"That's really true. I've seen him make Explosive Tag; he did it all in one go. He's incredibly skilled!" Mikoto's voice rose considerably as she spoke, as if her own possessions couldn't be easily insulted by others.
"Etc!"
Just then, Fugaku suddenly widened his eyes, his pupils contracting sharply, as if he had imagined something.
" Explosive Tag!"
"Yes!"
" Explosive Tag!"
"A lot of Explosive Tag!"
"Why didn't I think of that before!"
Suddenly.
Fugaku looked up and stared at Mikoto.
His gaze was extremely solemn.
"Are you sure Araki can make seven or eight Explosive Tag a day?"
"OK!" Mikoto nodded.
"Then Araki is a prime suspect!" Fugaku suddenly exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Mikoto was taken aback, clearly not expecting Fugaku to say such a thing, and her tone was full of dissatisfaction. " Araki's ability to make Explosive Tag is a recent development, and it has nothing to do with Sora Hyuga. How can there be any suspicion?"
"I'm not talking about Sora Hyuga's case, but the explosion that happened last night!" Fugaku said. "I've been wondering what kind of explosion could cause such a flash of Kakkō. Now that you mention Explosive Tag, I've got it—it's Explosive Tag!"
"How could Explosive Tag have such power?" Ueki's lips twitched slightly. He knew more or less about yesterday's case and felt that what Fugaku said was a bit outrageous.
"If it weren't just one Explosive Tag Explosive Tag, but many, it would cause a much more powerful explosion, like bundling twenty or thirty Explosive Tag together and detonating them!" Fugaku said in a deep voice, "We haven't been able to figure out what kind of ninja tool could cause such an explosion, but we've overlooked the simplest possibility: stacking Explosive Tag. After all, when we first started thinking about it, we didn't expect anyone to be so extravagant as to use so many Explosive Tag together to explode. But now it seems that Araki has the ability to make Explosive Tag, so he has the means to do so."
"But didn't you say the murderer was from Kumogakure?" Ueki asked, puzzled.
"Actually, there's another possibility, which is the most authentic version of the case: the four dead were all ninjas from Kumogakure, and the murderer was from Konoha. But at the time, I always felt that I needed to take office to make such a fuss, so I didn't fully consider the suspect. But if we're talking about using Explosive Tag, anyone can do it, even Araki!" Fugaku analyzed.
"I see!" Ueki nodded in agreement.
"Enough!"
Mikoto couldn't take it anymore. She had gathered everyone here to clear Araki of suspicion, but she hadn't expected that the absurd bombing case would also make Araki a suspect.
" Araki has sold all his Explosive Tag, and I was the one who sold them all. I got some blank tags and money in return. Brother Fugaku, since you think anyone can ignite Explosive Tag, why not investigate who bought so many Explosive Tag during this period, instead of who made Explosive Tag?" Mikoto said seriously, "If we suspect Araki of being involved in the bombing just because he can make Explosive Tag, wouldn't that be the same as the previous case of Sora Hyuga, where we suspected Araki of killing Sora Hyuga because he Araki Sora Hyuga?"
"You only helped him sell Explosive Tag Explosive Tag, but you don't know how many he actually has. And it's possible we were all deceived by him. The case might actually be the real one. Perhaps, as you said, Sora Hyuga bullied Araki, so Araki killed Sora Hyuga. And because he had so many Explosive Tag Explosive Tag, he used them to kill those Kumogakure ninjas. All of this makes sense, because Araki's own strength wasn't enough to defeat those Kumogakure ninjas!" Fugaku said coldly. He just couldn't stand Araki; he seemed like the murderer no matter how he looked at him, even though he hadn't actually seen him.
"Are you crazy?!" Mikoto said irritably.
" Fugaku, calm down. This case might indeed be related to the Explosive Tag, but the four victims were all tied up, so it might not really be Araki who did it." Ueki had calmed down.
"Exactly." Mikoto rolled her eyes at Fugaku.
"Wrong!"
Fugaku immediately shook his head and said, "You've all been fooled by Araki!"
Is there any possibility...?
"After studying with Might Duy, Araki is now a master of Taijutsu, and it's possible for him to bind all of these people."
"That way we can make them all comfortable and then blow them up!"
Fugaku analyzed the situation quickly.
"Are you out of your mind!" Mikoto's tone turned extremely unfriendly, her voice becoming icy as she said, "Although I don't know the details of this case, there are two major flaws in what you've just said."
"The first one!"
"Since they are ninjas from Kumogakure, and there are four of them, let alone Araki, I ask you, Might Duy, if you can handle them."
" Might Duy is just Genin!"
"If even the teacher can't do it, how can this disciple really do it?"
"The second one!"
"Even if we take a step back and assume we could bind these four Kumogakure ninjas using Taijutsu, why not use the simplest and most direct method—slitting their throats—instead of wasting dozens more Explosive Tag?"
"Is it because you have so much money you don't know what to do with it?"
"I still want to use this method to tell everyone in Konoha that I created the Explosive Tag. I'm using this method to remind everyone that I am the murderer!"
"Brother Fugaku!"
"If your analysis remains this naive..."
"I'm genuinely worried about your prospects of getting into the Konoha Military Police Force!"
When Mikoto said these words, she showed almost no mercy to Fugaku, saying everything she could to the point of near-fatalism, completely negating Fugaku's proposed idea.
certainly.