"We haven't touched the scene yet; we've just collected some basic evidence. You've arrived early enough, so let's take a look together. Come with me."
Uchiha Nanagen'u nodded to the group, then his gaze finally settled on Araki, a rather strange light flickering in his eyes.
immediately.
Jiraiya led the three of them into Uchiha Mikoto's house.
Just as they stepped into the entrance hall, they saw Mikoto standing at the door, her hands and feet bound, looking dejected. Clear tear tracks were still visible on her fair face, indicating that she had just been crying.
" Mikoto, are you alright?!" Kushina rushed towards Mikoto, but was immediately stopped by several members of the Konoha Military Police Force around them.
" Kushina?"
Uchiha Mikoto couldn't believe her ears. She slowly raised her head, her dark eyes now dull and lifeless, devoid of their usual brilliance. She thought she had misheard until she saw Kushina's figure and then she realized what had happened.
Then, she looked to the side and immediately saw Minato and Araki.
" Araki, you're here too..." Mikoto immediately lowered her head in embarrassment, not wanting Araki to see her disheveled appearance.
" Mikoto, what exactly happened?" Kushina asked impatiently.
"I... I don't know either. I didn't kill anyone, I really didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill the Ueki!" Mikoto's eyes flickered with confusion, but clearly even she herself didn't know how to explain it. She then said, "When I woke up, I was sitting in the backyard. The Ueki in front of me was dead, and I was holding the knife that killed it, with blood still flowing from it. Before I knew what happened, the Konoha Military Police Force personnel arrived. I still don't know what happened!"
When Araki heard this, he frowned slightly, already having a rough idea of what had happened.
A frame-up case!
Someone killed Uchiha Ueki and wanted to frame Mikoto for it.
If successful, not only will the matter of killing the Uchiha be over, but another Uchiha will also be killed in the process, which is simply killing two birds with one stone!
Chapter 12 The real killer is someone else!
"Snort!"
Upon hearing Mikoto's words, Uchiha Nanagen'u snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with hatred. After all, the person who died was his son, and in his heart, he had already decided that Mikoto was the murderer.
Seeing Mikoto's pitiful appearance now, one would assume that she was deliberately feigning helplessness in hopes of being rescued.
"I'll take you to see it for yourself!"
Uchiha Nanagen'u couldn't stand the scene any longer, so he strode towards the backyard.
"We'll come see you again later!" Seeing the scene, Kushina knew she couldn't stay any longer. She nodded to Mikoto, signaling her not to worry too much, and then added, "We'll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!"
Araki said nothing, silently following behind Uchiha Nanagen'u. He didn't know what was going on either. This was an unexpected situation, unlike anything he had seen in anime before, so he was quite cautious.
" Lord Nanagen'u, I have a question."
As Araki walked, he suddenly spoke up, and without waiting for Uchiha Nanagen'u's agreement, he asked directly, "You just said that Ueki and Mikoto have a conflict. Do you know what kind of conflict it is?"
"Why..."
Uchiha Nanagen'u pursed his lips, sighed helplessly, and said, "I knew you'd ask this. Now that Ueki is dead, and things have come to this point, I have nothing to hide. It's like this..."
Uchiha Nanagen'u drew out his words and paused. This pause wasn't to keep him in suspense, but rather as if he had made up his mind.
" Ueki has always liked Mikoto!"
"I knew about this a long time ago, but I never stopped it, after all, it's a matter for the children."
"I know Mikoto doesn't like Ueki; they're just friends."
"Just a few days ago, for some reason, Ueki suddenly confessed his feelings to Mikoto, only to be rejected, and then..."
At this point, Uchiha Nanagen'u took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind again, and he looked very conflicted.
"When Ueki tried to force himself on Mikoto, Mikoto was kicked hard in the groin just as Mikoto was about to get close. He was in so much pain that he went home and lay in bed for three whole days. I gave him a good scolding for it!"
Uchiha Nanagen'u paused here, glanced slightly at Araki, and said in a deep voice, "I admit that I failed to raise my son properly, leading him to commit such a beastly act, but I cannot accept killing my son for that reason!"
"Why do you think Mikoto killed Ueki?" Araki asked again.
"Around 11 a. m. today, I was on my routine patrol. Around 12:30 p. m., I returned home with lunch for Ueki, only to find Ueki gone. He had left a note saying he should go apologize to Mikoto. I immediately sensed something was wrong. I know my son too well; after something like this, he wouldn't dare face Mikoto for at least a few months. How could he go to Mikoto so soon? I was afraid he would do something wrong again, so I immediately called the Konoha Military Police Force to go to Mikoto's house. As soon as we arrived, we saw Mikoto staring at the dead Ueki. Who else could it be but her who killed him!" Uchiha Nanagen'u stated with absolute certainty.
"That's why you're prejudiced. Why didn't you think about what Mikoto said?" Minato, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke up.
"Such a lame excuse can only fool a bunch of greenhorns like you. I'm the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, and I face all sorts of lies every day. If I were naive enough to believe everything, then Konoha would be a better place by now!" Uchiha Nanagen'u said disdainfully.
Araki remained silent. At this point, if they wanted to clear Mikoto, they had to present the facts and evidence; anything else was useless.
but...
A big question mark popped into his head.
He had seen Uchiha Ueki, and his impression of him was alright. He could tell that Uchiha was someone who could suppress his emotions, especially with Uchiha Fugaku around.
If nothing unexpected happens, these feelings from my youth will likely remain buried deep inside me for the rest of my life, never to be spoken of to anyone.
However, an accident still occurred!
Uchiha Ueki doesn't seem like the type to use confessing his feelings as a rallying cry, especially since he resorted to force after his confession was rejected. This raises some questions.
Soon, the group passed through the courtyard's connecting corridor and arrived at the backyard of Uchiha Mikoto's house.
Araki had no time to marvel at the Uchiha Clan's extravagance; instead, he immediately focused his attention on a wall.
Not only him, Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina's gazes were focused there.
Even though there were some Uchiha Clan members surrounding them, the extremely bloody scene was still visible.
This immediately made Kushina feel extremely uncomfortable, but she suppressed her feelings and tried her best to open her eyes wide to see the scene in front of her, since this matter was closely related to Mikoto.
Has no one touched this place?
Araki immediately walked towards the scene. His year and a half of experience in Orochimaru's laboratory gave him a strong resistance to such bloody scenes, and he didn't even react to them.
This is something that neither Minato nor Kushina possesses!
Even Jiraiya, who had experienced war, frowned and his pupils dilated sharply upon seeing the scene before him.
"We've only been here a short time, and the scene is in such a state. I'm heartbroken, but we're still waiting for the Anbu to handle it," Uchiha Nanagen'u said in a deep voice.
"That's good."
Araki nodded silently and walked towards the scene. Before he got too close, the people did not stop him.
If the scene remains undisturbed, it's possible to find some clues.
Araki immediately began to examine the scene before him.
The backyard of Uchiha Mikoto was covered in bloodstains, looking crimson. In the very center of the bloodstains, Uchiha Ueki sat leaning against the wall, with a huge wound on her neck. Clearly, the blood was flowing from that wound.
"This..."
The moment Araki saw the scene, he had a very strong intuition that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was. He muttered to himself, "Was it cut open by Kunai?"
"That's right, the Kunai that cut Ueki's neck is in Mikoto's hand." Uchiha Nanagen'u said through gritted teeth as he walked over beside Araki.
"Where was Mikoto when you arrived?" Araki asked again.
"It's over there." Uchiha Nanagen'u pointed to the other side of the courtyard.
"You mean..." Araki's eyes suddenly lit up, realizing what the problem was. He then pointed to the location of Mikoto that Uchiha Nanagen'u had mentioned and said, " Mikoto threw Kunai from that spot, slit the throat of the Ueki, and then the Kunai flew back into her hand?"
"What do you mean?" Uchiha Nanagen'u didn't understand Araki's meaning for a moment, instinctively feeling that Araki was arguing for the sake of arguing. However, considering that Jiraiya there, he still tried his best to be patient and said, "Of course, it was Mikoto who walked Ueki, slit Ueki's throat, pretended to return here, and then we discovered her."
"So you're just going to let Mikoto slit your throat if Ueki?" Araki asked again.
"Perhaps he Ueki out of remorse, but he didn't expect Mikoto to be so ruthless," Uchiha Nanagen'u sighed.
" Lord Nanagen'u, are you going to convict Mikoto in such an ambiguous way?"
Araki's lips twitched slightly. Now he finally understood why the Konoha Military Police Force had such a negative reputation in Konoha. It wasn't because their efforts were in vain, but because this casual approach could lead to many wrongful convictions.
Perhaps many of those arrested and imprisoned in Konoha Prison were innocent victims, but the Konoha Military Police Force's power was too great, leaving them with no recourse but to be imprisoned unjustly.
Of course, the indulgence of the Konoha High Command also played a role!
To destroy something, you must first make it mad. Over the years, the Konoha Military Police Force will gradually swell until the entire village can no longer contain them.
"From what I've seen so far, there are two inexplicable points of doubt!"
When Araki spoke, he simply raised two fingers. His voice wasn't loud, but the scene was very quiet. With Jiraiya present, everyone in the Konoha Military Police Force immediately put down their work and focused their attention on Araki.
"Which two?" Uchiha Nanagen'u asked instinctively.
"First, look at the Ueki. Do you see anything unusual?" Araki said, squinting.
"Something's not right?" Uchiha Nanagen'u frowned, looking again towards his son's corpse. However, every time he saw such a bloody scene, he lost his mind, his blood rushed to his head, and he even lost some of his analytical and judgment abilities. He then said impatiently, "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush with me."
"Such a large wound on his neck Ueki confirms that the carotid artery was severed directly. The blood spurting out was instantaneous. Centered on his body, there was dense blood everywhere, but no blank areas. Do you understand what that means?" Araki said in a deep voice.
"This..." Uchiha Nanagen'u's eyes widened suddenly as he re-examined the scene. He immediately noticed that the blood around the Ueki was splattered in a fan shape, everywhere without any cover. As a member of the Konoha Military Police Force, he reacted instantly.
"This means that when Ueki was having his throat slit, there was no one around him. Otherwise, the spurting blood would have been blocked by that person, creating a blank area." Araki gestured with two fingers and continued, "This is my second point. When we saw Mikoto just now, I observed her carefully. There was no blood on Mikoto's clothes. You don't think Mikoto had time to change her clothes before you arrived, do you?"
Are you trying to say that Ueki is suicide?
After being enlightened by Araki's words, Uchiha Nanagen'u was somewhat unwilling, but he also realized the strangeness of the situation. Considering the blank area in front of him where there was no blood splatter, he couldn't help but suggest such a possibility to test Araki.
Just then, a masked Anbu Ninja arrived. He was responsible for collecting and disposing of the corpses, but after seeing the scene before him, he didn't say anything and stood aside silently waiting.
After all, with Lord Jiraiya present, it wasn't his turn to speak yet.
"No, it was definitely not suicide!"
Araki shook his head immediately. He pointed to the hand that Ueki and said, "If Ueki was suicide, then that Kunai should be in his hand, not Mikoto's. More importantly, if he wanted to atone for his sins through suicide, he wouldn't have come to Mikoto to do it. This would just be causing trouble for Mikoto!"
"So you mean..." Uchiha Nanagen'u didn't even realize that he had been led astray by Araki's train of thought.
"The real culprit is someone else!" Araki explained, "After killing Ueki, he wanted to frame Mikoto in this way. However, he handled the scene too carelessly and didn't even consider all the details. It was only because you were so eager to avenge your son that you didn't notice the problem."
"Can you find out who the murderer is?" Uchiha Nanagen'u re-examined the boy in front of him. The scene of their first meeting was still vivid in his mind. At that time, a student died at the Ninja Academy without any trace, and the case is still unsolved. This boy seemed to have a meticulousness that was beyond his years, which made him realize that the boy in front of him might be related to the case from back then. However, he was more concerned about his son's matter now.
"I need an autopsy!" Araki said immediately.
"What did you say?!" Uchiha Nanagen'u was immediately shocked, shaking his head almost without thinking, and said, " Ueki is already dead, and you still want to damage his corpse? I cannot allow you to do that!"
" Lord Nanagen'u, I am a medical-nin. I can use Chakra Scalpel to cut open Ueki's skin, examine his vital signs, and then sew him up again with Chakra Threads. Only in this way can we determine how he died. This will not only clear Mikoto's name but also help us find the real culprit. Don't you want to find out the truth about Ueki's death and let him go to the Pure Land without knowing why?" Araki's voice suddenly became sharp and firm.
"This... this... this..."
Uchiha Nanagen'u fell into deep thought. He had never imagined that there would be an autopsy. In the past, when the Konoha Military Police Force were solving cases, they could make a judgment just by looking at the body. He was still somewhat resistant to this suggestion.
But...