Mikoto took the pill, examined it carefully, and then gently placed it into her ninja tool pouch. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she casually remarked, "I remember Fugaku saying something similar to me when he was on a mission, and he seemed to have given me something too, but I can't quite recall."
" Fugaku gave you something?" Araki's eyes suddenly widened, his pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes were filled with shock, vaguely realizing that this matter had broken through.
"I can't remember..."
Mikoto rubbed her temples hard, her expression pained, and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "I don't remember anything at all. I just remember Fugaku saying something about giving me something to protect me, but I can't recall it. Or maybe he didn't say that? No, he should have said that, but what did he give me? I have nothing..."
"..."
Araki silently watched Mikoto, and at that moment, he suddenly realized that the key issue at hand was what Fugaku had given Mikoto.
That thing is very likely related to the Ueki.
If Mikoto can recall what that thing was, he can use its characteristics to determine whether Fugaku was the murderer who killed the Ueki.
certainly.
There's another premise here.
That's the Mangekyō Sharingan!
If Uchiha Fugaku had successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at this point in time, he must have experienced something deeply painful, which would have changed him completely. If he saw Mikoto being bullied, he might even have murderous intent towards her, even if she was a former friend.
That's not a problem!
Everything is within the bounds of logic.
but...
If Uchiha Fugaku hadn't awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan by this point...
Araki no longer believed that Uchiha Fugaku was the murderer.
The reason is very simple: the Uchiha Clan possesses extreme love and extreme hatred. These transformations often occur at the moment of the sacrifice of a beloved person, who may be a relative or brother, or someone they want to protect.
Therefore, I would never do something like killing a friend before I've lost all hope.
certainly.
For Araki...
There's no point in speculating about these things now.
Once Fugaku returns from his mission, tell him about this and observe his attitude and reaction; you'll be able to guess the general situation.
"What to do?"
"I think I forgot!"
"I can't remember any of it at all!"
It's like I haven't experienced any of this at all!
"But I do remember Fugaku giving me something!"
Where did it go?
"How strange!"
"Have I lost my memory?"
Am I dreaming?
"Was that just a scene I imagined in my dream?"
"..."
Mikoto muttered to herself, one sentence after another, and it was clear from her tone that her mind was in complete disarray.
"Etc..."
Araki was suddenly drawn to Mikoto's words and turned his attention back to Mikoto, immediately asking, "What did you just say?"
"I mean... um... could it be a scene from my dream?" Mikoto looked up at Araki with a confused expression, saying something that even she herself didn't believe.
"Right!"
Araki's eyes shone brightly as he continued, "It's the scene from the dream! You were dreaming! I understand now, I understand everything!"
"What do you understand?" Mikoto was completely confused.
"What Fugaku gave you is just something from your dreams. In reality, he gave you nothing. Don't dwell on it. After going through this, just relax and rest. Don't worry, you're not in any danger." Araki said with a smile, his mood noticeably improved, as if some knot in his heart had been untied.
"Huh?" Mikoto didn't expect to be driven away so suddenly. She was quite enjoying her time alone with Araki, even though they were talking about the case. It was one of the few topics she could come up with right now.
Even now, she is not tired. The main reason is that she ate the special Military Rations Pill that Araki gave her, which calmed her frightened heart and put her in a state of near tranquility.
This was something she hadn't expected at all. She thought she would be terrified and feel sad about dying in the Ueki, but at this moment, she didn't have any particularly strong emotions. This was all thanks to the specially made Military Rations Pill, which had suppressed the transmission of her neurons.
So much so that when she was telling Araki these things, she was in a state of narration and acting.
"Go back quickly, I need to cultivate too, I have a mission tomorrow."
That's all.
Araki completely ignored Mikoto.
He vanished in a flash.
The speed was astonishing.
"Fool!"
"Wood!"
Why are you running so fast!
"I'm not the murderer!"
I can't eat you!
Mikoto stomped her feet in anger, a strange feeling creeping over her, as if Araki was running away.
Araki was nowhere to be seen, and there was no point in staying here. Bored, I decided to go home.
Araki ran deeper into the forest. He needed to find a relatively quiet place to cultivate. His usual cultivation spots were no longer suitable; he feared that the Konoha Military Police Force would come looking for him while he was cultivating.
Araki's lips curled up slightly; he now knew exactly who the murderer was.
Uchiha Fugaku!
The probability that this name belonged to the murderer was 99% in his mind, leaving only a 1% margin of error. Unless Fugaku hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, nothing unexpected would happen.
At this very moment.
Araki's thoughts raced.
A series of clear ideas burst forth in his mind.
"If I'm not mistaken, Mikoto did indeed receive something from Fugaku, but it wasn't a simple thing; it was a pre-ordained Genjutsu!"
"I'm not particularly clear about the specific abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Even Orochimaru probably didn't have a particularly in-depth understanding of this aspect. Perhaps the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, was the one who knew the Sharingan best, but how much he knew about the Mangekyō Sharingan was still unknown."
"Based on the scenes depicted in the Naruto anime, the Mangekyō Sharingan should be able to pre-install certain techniques, which will automatically trigger after certain conditions are met."
"For example, when Madara Uchiha died, he automatically activated Izanagi, successfully escaping the risk of death."
"Furthermore, Uchiha Itachi had planted the Genjutsu of Kotoamatsukami inside the crow, which, by a twist of fate, successfully freed him from the constraints of the Impure World Reincarnation."
"In addition, Uchiha Itachi also wrote Amaterasu into Sasuke's eyes..."
"These cases all demonstrate that the Mangekyō Sharingan can pre-plant Genjutsu. Therefore, if Uchiha Fugaku mastered this ability, he could pre-plant Genjutsu in Mikoto's eyes."
"Whenever Mikoto is in danger, the Genjutsu will be triggered, briefly taking over Mikoto's actions and casting the Genjutsu Tsukuyomi on the target enemy. This will create the illusion of her being killed by Tsukuyomi while Ueki, and then the genjutsu will briefly control Mikoto to deal with the scene."
"Such a clumsy handling of the situation was likely intentional on Fugaku's part. He probably thought that with the capabilities of the Konoha Military Police Force, they should be able to find traces of a staged scene here. However, he underestimated the Konoha Military Police Force's capabilities, and when faced with that bloody scene, his brain couldn't keep up with the thought process."
"At this point, Fugaku himself should still be outside the village on a mission, thus clearing him of suspicion of orchestrating Mikoto's death. He also has a solid alibi, making this a cold case."
"You just didn't expect me to guess that..."
Araki's lips curled slightly as his brain raced, considering every possibility and trying to unravel the truth from the events unfolding before him.
"So... there's one last question: where did all that blood come from?"
As medical-nin, Araki knew very well that blood contains clotting factors, which are components that can cause blood to coagulate. Therefore, the blood that was spilled must be fresh blood. If it wasn't human blood, then where would it come from?
He just couldn't understand it.
The bloodstains at the scene were clearly sprayed; they were not on Ueki or Mikoto, but only in the area around Ueki. They were not visible anywhere else, with a clear boundary area outside of that area.
How did you do that?
Araki felt that he had revealed everything, but this one point left him with a deep sense of unease.
The existence of this question does not affect his judgment of the murderer's identity; he is only thinking about how the murderer conjured up blood out of thin air and then made it disappear just as easily.
etc...
out of thin air!
Araki's pupils contracted slightly, then relaxed, and the corners of his mouth curled up even wider. By now, he had completely figured out how Fugaku had committed the crime remotely from another location.
Space-Time Ninjutsu can achieve spatial teleportation!
Of course, this isn't referring to the advanced Space-Time Ninjutsu Flying Thunder God used by Minato, but rather the most basic Space-Time Ninjutsu that more than half of the ninjas in Konoha know...
Summoning Technique!
"According to the blood pact between ninjas and their summoning beasts, they can use Summoning Technique to summon them. If I'm not mistaken, Mikoto and Fugaku's summoning beasts are of the same type, which would allow them to bring out the blood that Fugaku prepared beforehand..."
Araki paused on a branch, feeling a gentle breeze on his body, and became even more acutely aware of the dangers of the ninja world.
This danger wasn't just limited to war; it also involved various schemes and intrigues. He clearly remembered watching anime where ninjas would go through countless calculations in a single battle, a series of traps leading to another trap.
Especially for highly intelligent ninjas like Shikamaru, fighting is like playing chess; they can already see dozens of moves ahead.
Such is the nature of battle.
The same applies to scheming.
As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you; Araki way.
It was truly beyond his expectations that Fugaku, who appeared to be such an "honest man," could secretly orchestrate such an alibi murder plan.
Chapter 18, C-Rank Mission