Inside the Hokage's office, Kakashi gave a faithful report on what he'd seen in the Police Force. However, when it came to matters concerning the White Fang, Kakashi hesitated and decided to keep that part to himself.
After listening to Kakashi's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked again at Yamato, who stood next to him and sighed deeply.
"Child, what's your name?" Hiruzen asked.
The boy remained silent. Hiruzen didn't mind, walked over, and personally untied his restraints.
"No name? Then, from now on, you'll be called Tenzo," Hiruzen said. "The past is in the past. Danzo is dead. From now on, live well as a Konoha ninja."
The boy was momentarily stunned, looking at the man whom Danzo had ordered him to assassinate years ago.
"Since you possess the First Hokage's Wood Release, then inherit his will to protect the village as well."
The boy—now Tenzo—trembled slightly, wanting to say something but ultimately remained silent. He just glanced at the Third Hokage, then turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi, please look after this child from now on," Hiruzen said.
"Understood." Kakashi nodded, then left the Hokage's office with Tenzo.
After they departed, Hiruzen returned to his seat and lit a cigarette.
Uchiha Seiryu's unexpected act of returning the Wood Release ninja had left Hiruzen confused. After all, this was Wood Release—if the Uchiha truly intended to rebel, why would they willingly hand over such power? Could Seiryu truly be a Uchiha who was loyal to the village?
Hiruzen couldn't help but question himself.
That night, Hiruzen was destined to be lost in thought.
…
The next morning, Uchiha Seiryu brought the now mindless Yamanaka Fu to the Hokage's office.
When Seiryu arrived, the office was already filled with people. Besides the two advisors, Nara Shikaku—who'd just been officially appointed as the Hokage's assistant following Danzo's death—stood beside Hiruzen.
Seeing the scene, Seiryu smiled slightly. Under the threat of Kotoamatsukami, Hiruzen wouldn't dare meet with him alone. But this big scene was just what Seiryu wanted.
"Hokage-sama, Deputy Captain of the Police Force, Uchiha Seiryu, here to report," Seiryu said with a light bow.
"Seiryu, you're here." Hiruzen nodded and smiled kindly.
"Uchiha Seiryu, under the guise of investigating cases, you eliminated dissidents and falsely accused innocent villagers—how do you explain this?" Before Hiruzen could speak, Mitokado Homura couldn't wait to attack.
Seiryu glanced at him disdainfully. These old men only had their seniority to lean on, Seiryu had never taken them seriously.
"Is that what Hokage-sama thinks as well?" Seiryu asked, looking at Hiruzen.
"Seiryu, the Uchiha's methods were a bit excessive," Hiruzen admonished, not directly agreeing but trying to warn Seiryu.
"Facing a cancer like Shimura Danzo and his clique, can we use soft methods? We must strike hard!" Seiryu said sternly. "Just from our recent investigations, what we've uncovered is shocking!"
As he spoke, Seiryu placed the crime report on Danzo, which he'd written overnight, on Hiruzen's desk.
"Shimura Danzo—just for my clan's bloodline—deliberately caused the deaths of 14 Uchiha during the Third Great Ninja War, according to records! That's not all. Even after Hokage-sama explicitly banned human experiments, Danzo colluded with the rogue ninja Orochimaru, kidnapping village orphans as test subjects. Some of those children were as young as two!"
"For such inhuman devils and their accomplices, do the two advisors still intend to shield them?" Seiryu looked at Homura and Koharu. "Can you face the Will of Fire or the First Hokage's original intent in founding this village to protect children from war?"
"You—" Koharu was furious, but Seiryu's accusation was too heavy—so much so that even they couldn't bear it.
"Seiryu, calm down. They didn't know about Danzo's actions," Hiruzen sighed, trying to excuse his two old friends. Then he picked up Danzo's crime record.
Looking at the list of Danzo's crimes, even Hiruzen—who knew some of the inside story—was dumbfounded. Danzo's audacity was beyond his imagination.
"These crimes were all confessed by Danzo's core subordinate, Yamanaka Fu, himself," Seiryu said, dragging the dazed Yamanaka Fu forward and dumping him in front.
At this name, Nara Shikaku—who'd been silent all along—sharpened his gaze at Seiryu, only to meet Seiryu's eyes.
Seiryu smiled faintly at Shikaku and said, "Although there was a hiccup during the interrogation—this man tried to use the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques against the Sharingan's genjutsu, causing severe brain damage—he confessed everything before that."
"Abba... abba abba!" (Yamanaka Fu, now mentally broken.)
Seeing the drooling Yamanaka Fu, Shikaku sighed deeply. With his intellect, he knew: This was the Uchiha's warning to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. If they weren't careful, their whole clans could be ruined in the high-level struggle between the village and the Uchiha. He bowed his head decisively, realizing there was nothing more he could do.
"Hokage-sama, to prevent this from happening again, please assign some ANBU interrogation specialists to assist us. After all, the Police Force does lack professional interrogation methods for ninja," Seiryu said.
Hiruzen thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll send people to assist."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Seiryu's eyes flashed.
Hiruzen probably agreed to monitor the Uchiha, but Seiryu wasn't worried—whether they could stay depended on him anyway.
Then Hiruzen saw the last part of the crime report—the White Fang incident.
"Seiryu, this..."