Chapter 19: The Report

Inside the Hokage’s office, Kakashi reported his findings from the Security Department truthfully, though he chose to omit the details regarding the White Fang.

After hearing the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Yamato, who stood beside Kakashi, and let out a long sigh.

"Child, what is your name?" Hiruzen asked.

The one known as "Kinoe" remained silent. Undeterred, Hiruzen stepped forward and personally untied his restraints.

"No name? Then from now on, you shall be called Tenzō," Hiruzen said. "The past is behind us. Danzō is dead; from here on out, live well as a ninja of Konoha."

Kinoe was stunned, looking at the very man he had been ordered by Danzō to assassinate years ago.

"Since you possess the Wood Style of the First Hokage, you must also inherit his will to protect the village."

Kinoe—or rather, Tenzō—felt his lips tremble. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent. After casting one last look at the Third Hokage, he turned his gaze toward Kakashi.

"Kakashi, I leave this child in your care," Hiruzen said.

"Understood." Kakashi nodded and led Tenzō out of the office.

Once they were gone, Hiruzen returned to his desk and lit his pipe.

Uchiha Touhuan’s unexpected move of returning a Wood Style user baffled him. This was, after all, the power of Wood Style. If the Uchiha clan truly intended to rebel, why would they hand over such a weapon? Was Uchiha Touhuan truly a man whose heart was with the village? Hiruzen could not help but ask himself this. That night, Hiruzen was destined to be consumed by doubt.

***

The next morning, Uchiha Touhuan brought the now-feeble-minded Fū Yamanaka to the Hokage’s office.

When Touhuan arrived, the office was already crowded. In addition to the two advisors, the newly appointed Hokage’s aide, Shikaku Nara—promoted following Danzō’s death—stood at Hiruzen’s side.

Seeing this, Touhuan smiled faintly. He knew that under the psychological weight of Kotoamatsukami, Hiruzen dared not meet him alone. However, this grand display suited Touhuan just fine.

"Lord Hokage, Security Department Deputy Captain Uchiha Touhuan reporting," Touhuan said, bowing.

"Touhuan, you’ve arrived," Hiruzen nodded, offering a kind smile.

"Uchiha Touhuan! You used the guise of an investigation to purge dissenters and slander innocent members of the village. How do you explain yourself!" Before Hiruzen could speak, Koharu Utatane interjected impatiently.

Touhuan cast a look of disdain at her. These two old figures in high positions relied solely on their seniority; Touhuan had never held them in high regard.

"Is that what you think as well, Lord Hokage?" Touhuan asked, looking directly at Hiruzen.

"Touhuan, the Uchiha’s methods have been somewhat excessive," Hiruzen said, avoiding a direct admission but intending to chide him.

"When faced with a malignancy within the village like Danzō Shimura and his cronies, can one really afford to be gentle? We must strike with an iron fist!" Touhuan declared sharply. "In just these few days, the things we have uncovered are nothing short of shocking!"

With that, Touhuan placed the criminal record of Danzō Shimura—compiled the previous night—onto the Hokage’s desk.

"Danzō Shimura, for the sake of our clan's bloodline limit, deliberately sabotaged and killed 14 Uchiha clansmen on the battlefield during the Third Great Ninja War alone! That is not all. After you expressly forbade human experimentation, he colluded with the rogue ninja Orochimaru to traffic orphans from the village for his experiments. The youngest of these children was only two years old!"

"Are you two advisors still going to shield such an inhumane demon and his accomplices?" Touhuan looked at Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. "How can you justify this to the Will of Fire, or to the First Hokage’s original intent for founding this village to protect children from the ravages of war?"

"You..." Koharu was incensed, but the accusation Touhuan leveled was too heavy—so heavy that even she could not bear the weight of it.

"Touhuan, calm down. They were unaware of what Danzō had done," Hiruzen sighed, stepping in to excuse his old friends, before picking up the record on his desk.

***

As he read through the list of crimes, even with his prior knowledge of some inner details, Hiruzen was dumbfounded. Danzō’s audacity had far exceeded his imagination.

"These facts were confessed by Fū Yamanaka, a core member of Danzō’s criminal network," Touhuan said, pulling the vacant-eyed Fū forward and dropping him before them.

Upon hearing the name, Shikaku Nara, who had remained silent until now, narrowed his eyes. He looked at Touhuan, only to be met by Touhuan’s steady gaze.

A subtle, enigmatic smile played on Touhuan’s lips as he said to Shikaku, "Although there was a slight mishap during the interrogation—the suspect attempted to use the Yamanaka clan’s secret techniques to resist the Sharingan’s genjutsu, resulting in severe brain trauma—he had already confessed to everything prior to that."

"Aba... aba-aba!"

Looking at Fū drooling on the floor, Shikaku let out a long sigh. With his intellect, he understood perfectly: this was a joint strike and warning from the Uchiha clan against the Ino-Shika-Chō trio. He bowed his head resolutely. He knew clearly that this was no longer a matter he could involve himself in. In the power struggle between the high-ranking officials and the Uchiha, one wrong step would spell total ruin for the Ino-Shika-Chō houses.

"Lord Hokage, to avoid such incidents in the future, please assign some ANBU interrogators to assist us. The Security Department lacks the professional interrogation methods to deal with high-level ninja," Touhuan said.

Hiruzen thought for a moment before nodding. "I will send people to assist the Security Department."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Touhuan said, his eyes glinting.

Hiruzen might have agreed with the intention of using those people to monitor the Uchiha, but Touhuan did not care. After all, whether or not they could actually remain there would depend entirely on Touhuan’s own devices.

It was then that Hiruzen reached the final section of the criminal record—the part concerning the White Fang incident.

"Touhuan, this..."