Uchiha Fugaku spoke first and walked towards the Queen Mother with a faint smile on his face, seemingly as if they were old friends meeting again. But in reality, they both knew very well that they were not acquainted at all.
Chapter 43 Uchiha Fugaku
Araki quietly looked at Uchiha Fugaku in front of him. He hadn't expected the latter to be waiting for him here, and from the latter's words, he could clearly sense that he had been targeted by Fugaku ever since he entered Konoha.
" Fugaku, is there anything I can help you with?"
Araki asked casually, showing no wariness whatsoever from Fugaku's greeting, behaving as if he had met an ordinary friend.
"Last time I was on a mission outside the village for quite a while and didn't get back. When I returned, you were on another mission. It's been so long since we last met, I wanted to catch up with you."
A smile appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's face. If the two of them weren't fully aware of their relationship, outsiders would definitely think they were very good friends.
"Shall we catch up here?" Araki smiled, showing no displeasure at Uchiha Fugaku's seemingly abrupt request. Instead, he maintained a natural demeanor and said, "Let's find another convenient place to talk."
"It would be even better if we could go somewhere else." Fugaku nodded, actually quite surprised, because Araki's reaction was far too calm, something he hadn't expected at all. He had been wondering if Araki would be surprised when he appeared, but now it seemed he had overthought things.
"You choose the location," Araki said calmly.
Come with me.
Uchiha Fugaku was clearly more satisfied with this outcome. He took the lead and walked out, no longer lingering in the forest. Araki followed behind him, the two of them about a body length apart, appearing to be together, but not quite.
The two remained silent until they reached a teahouse located relatively close to the Uchiha Clan's territory.
"Do you usually drink tea?" Fugaku asked.
"I don't drink much." Araki shook his head.
"Is this okay?" Fugaku asked again.
"I'll follow your arrangements, I'm fine with anything." Araki nodded with a smile, showing no other unusual behavior.
"Then let's stay here." Fugaku immediately determined their location and walked straight ahead. Clearly, this teahouse was a place she frequented and knew very well.
Araki remained silent and followed Fugaku without uttering a word.
After entering the teahouse, Fugaku smiled at the owner, ordered a pot of tea, and then pointed to the stairs, heading upstairs.
The teahouse owner smiled and nodded, then gestured to the staff nearby to lead Fugaku and Araki upstairs.
Araki could tell from the way Fugaku and the teahouse owner were talking that his guess was correct; Fugaku often came here for tea, and their relationship was quite familiar.
The teahouse staff led the two of them to a private room, which was relatively quiet and undisturbed, and they didn't have to worry about their conversation being overheard.
After they were seated, neither of them spoke, maintaining a certain silence as if it had been agreed beforehand.
However, this silence didn't last long. The teahouse staff brought Fugaku over and then tactfully left, closing the door behind them as they went.
"The tea here is quite good, you should try some."
Fugaku picked up the teapot and poured tea into the two teacups. His pouring posture was quite standard, clearly showing that he had some understanding of the tea ceremony. These things didn't seem special to Araki, because he didn't understand them at all, but to the Uchiha Clan nobles, these seemed to be standard etiquette.
"Good."
Araki responded softly, reaching out with his right hand to pick up the teacup. He didn't care about etiquette; after all, he didn't know anything about it. If he pretended to know and made a mistake, Fugaku would cancel it anyway. He might as well just try it as he pleased, which might be a rather unusual experience.
However, no matter what kind of tea it was or whether it was good or bad, it made no difference to Araki. Before he transmigrated, he had no understanding of tea, and after arriving here, he had not focused on it at all. Therefore, no matter how good the tea leaves were or how elaborate the brewing method was, the tea tasted the same to him.
Araki took a small sip, and just as he expected, it tasted like ordinary tea. Nevertheless, he still said, "Good tea."
Fugaku, on the other hand, took a sip of tea in a different, more gentlemanly manner.
As if they had planned it beforehand, the two of them still didn't touch on any of the topics they wanted to reminisce about.
Some time passed.
Fugaku put down his teacup, staring intently at Araki. Though he didn't speak, his imposing aura was already palpable.
They've arrived.
Araki's mind immediately settled.
He understood that Fugaku was about to reveal his true purpose in inviting him here, and he had a vague feeling about it, because there was only one thing recently that involved Fugaku, but he still pretended to know nothing.
"I heard about Ueki when I returned from my mission. You were the one who helped clear Mikoto of suspicion. I thank you on Mikoto's behalf," Fugaku said earnestly, his sincere tone suggesting that his gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.
You mean that thing...?
Araki paused for a moment, as if he had rediscovered a long-dormant memory, then waved his hand casually and said, "You don't need to thank Mikoto for this. You already thanked me back then. If you hadn't brought it up, I would have completely forgotten about it."
"It's only right that Mikoto thanks you, and it's also only right that I thank you on Mikoto behalf. These are all essential. If it weren't for you, Mikoto might have suffered an injustice," Fugaku said calmly, a hint of dissatisfaction creeping into his tone, because he felt Araki's words had been extremely impolite.
"Actually, this matter is not a big deal. If it weren't for the aforementioned death causing Lord Nanagen'u to lose his composure, he could have easily found out the truth and wouldn't have wronged Mikoto. I was just an observer, it's insignificant, there's no need for this."
Araki is now almost certain that Fugaku came to find him because of what happened back then, and the questions that arose back then have resurfaced in his mind.
In fact, during this time, Araki had almost forgotten about that matter, because it wasn't anything special to him, and it wasn't that important.
Frankly speaking, if Kushina hadn't been so eager to solve the case, he might have chosen to stand by and do nothing, because based on the historical information he had, Mikoto wouldn't have any problems, and even if there were any minor hiccups, they would be resolved quickly.
From beginning to end, Araki never worried about Mikoto. His biggest question was who killed Ueki, but that question wasn't enough to satisfy him. He had no real curiosity and no desire to investigate further.
Araki knew very well that the more he knew, the more dangerous it would be.
This is a timeless truth: the less you know, the safer you are. Countless precedents have proven that curiosity can kill the cat. He doesn't currently have a strong desire to explore these things, and these matters have absolutely nothing to do with him, so he doesn't want to get involved too much.
Araki knew very well what he really wanted.
He possesses the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai Chakra to support his ability to use such incredible Ninjutsu. Therefore, he must put in extra effort to train his body and strive to accumulate more Chakra.
Under such circumstances, nothing is more important than cultivation. Therefore, he will try his best to avoid any obstacles on the path of cultivation. If he cannot avoid them, he will choose to eliminate them. In short, he will not create any trouble for himself.
For Araki, troublesome matters are something he'd rather avoid than risk getting himself into trouble.
so...
Uchiha Ueki's death had nothing to do with him; he couldn't be bothered to care about such things, and it didn't matter who killed him.
The truth wasn't that important to him.
He is not the one who reveals the truth about the entire ninja world.
Moreover, he had no inner faith or conviction about this matter.
After all, injuries happen almost every day in the ninja world, which is full of conspiracies and tricks. There are constant schemes and people dying. It would be impossible to uncover all the truth.
It's not fair to say that everyone has secrets, but many people certainly do. Araki doesn't want to uncover those secrets, because some secrets, once known, could lead to his death.
"This case was handed over to me for investigation after I returned to Konoha. Because I was too deeply involved with you in this matter, I have indeed lost my own judgment. However, I still have no clues after investigating for so long. You were the one who handled the body and made a clear judgment. I want to hear your opinion on this matter." Fugaku revealed his true purpose for coming here, his eyes fixed intently on Araki's, flashing with a sharp light.
"I'm sorry." Araki spread his hands and shook his head without hesitation, then said, "I don't remember anything about what happened back then."
"You can't even remember such a bloody scene?" Fugaku was clearly not satisfied with this answer.
"Yes, the more brutal and bloody the scene, the more our brains want to forget it, and we don't deliberately try to deepen our impression. So I really can't remember it, there are just some vague things, and I've forgotten everything about that case," Araki said, adding, "Besides, I'm not the one in charge of investigating the case, I'm not part of your Konoha Military Police Force, so there's no need for me to remember everything so clearly. Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"
" Araki, I'm asking you seriously. I hope you can provide some assistance with this case," Fugaku said sternly.
"I really can't help you with this." Araki shook his head, then looked at the tea in his cup and said, "Even the Konoha Military Police Force is helpless; how could someone as insignificant as me possibly do anything about it?"
"You really don't have any leads?" Fugaku frowned deeply, seemingly unwilling to give up. " Lord Nanagen'u came to see you that day. He said you gave him some information, but he was unwilling to talk about it. Moreover, even if he did, there might be certain factors to consider for Chang'an. So I want to hear it from you personally."
"I really can't remember that kind of thing."
Araki shook his head again without hesitation. He regarded all the questions raised by Fugaku as a situation, because in his heart, he already regarded Fugaku as a suspect in the case. Since he was a suspect, he was someone who was suspected of committing the case, but not someone who was particularly certain. In front of such a person, Araki did not want to reveal any potential threats to him.
This doesn't mean Araki was afraid of Uchiha Fugaku, but rather that he didn't want to cause himself any trouble in this matter.
"Oh, right."
Just then, Araki seemed to realize something and looked directly at Fugaku, instantly drawing the latter's attention.
"I've thought of something."
"What is it?" Fugaku immediately became nervous.
"We encountered a slight problem while on a mission. It seems someone sold information about our mission to other villages. Could the Konoha Military Police Force investigate this?" Araki inquired.
"What?" Fugaku was taken aback. What he heard was clearly not what he wanted to hear. After a moment of blankness, he stared at Araki again and said, "How can you be so sure that someone leaked your whereabouts?"
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure either, but I feel there's a possibility, so I didn't go directly to your Konoha Military Police Force. But seeing you now, I suddenly thought maybe you could help me investigate." Araki's lips curled up slightly. He didn't want to dwell on the previous topic any longer, because he already understood Fugaku's true purpose for coming here.
actually.
Judging from that sentence...
Araki can be certain that there are only two possibilities regarding Fugaku.
The first possibility is that Fugaku was genuinely serious and wanted to find out the real culprit behind his childhood friend's death by climbing Ueki.
Secondly, he suspected that Fugaku was the real culprit and wanted to see if he had any doubts about him.
No matter which one...
Araki didn't want to get involved in this matter anymore.
Chapter 46 When did you and Mikoto start dating?
Tell me, what happened?
After hearing Araki's words, Uchiha Fugaku frowned. He could sense that Araki was deliberately changing the subject to avoid discussing the Ueki incident further.
but...
However, he did not fully find the answer he wanted.
He still had some questions about Ueki, but the topic had changed, and asking further would seem too deliberate.
"We were on a mission, but I don't know if I can say what the specifics are, so I'll leave it at that for now." Araki's vague explanation caused Fugaku to frown deeply. The latter knew very well that such a description couldn't convey anything. Before he could speak, Araki's voice rang out again, saying, "Just as we stepped out of the gates of Konoha, we were immediately ambushed and attacked by about three ninja squads!"
"You were attacked?" A hint of surprise flashed in Fugaku's eyes.
"Yes." Araki nodded.
"Etc..."
Fugaku seemed to realize something, and suddenly understood. After silently calculating the date, he said, "Could it be a ninja from Kumogakure?"
"Yes." Araki nodded again. He suddenly realized something: the matter of the Kumogakure Kumogakure right after leaving Konoha. We were almost in danger, but thankfully Jiraiya-sensei helped us. I think our mission was leaked by someone with ulterior motives."
"This..."
After listening carefully to Araki's words, Fugaku's lips twitched violently. He was at a loss for words regarding this matter.
His dark eyes, which hadn't activated his Sharingan, stared at Araki for several seconds before finally looking away.
" Araki, I think you've misunderstood."