Naruto: I became a super shadow in the Anbu.

Chapter 226 Proving His Innocence (Part 2)

"Who exactly carried out the assassination?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at the scroll and said:

"A master of Fire Release techniques, especially skilled in stealth..."
Although Shimura Tanjiro and Sarutobi Yuu were somewhat lacking in strength, they were able to kill them and their guards without hesitation, indicating that they were at least Jonin or even elite Jonin level.

Protecting Sarutobi Yu was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. This combination was excellent in both offense and defense, yet they were killed by Fire Release techniques before they could even react…

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Among the Jonin of the Senju clan, there are no people who are particularly skilled in Fire Release, so it doesn't seem like it."

The Senju clan now primarily focuses on operations around Konoha Hospital, and their combat strength is not as formidable as it used to be.

Sakumo Hatake's subordinates had no time to commit the crime, Kawai was in a stronghold in the direction of the Land of Waves, and Yamashiroji and Gekkomune were in the village.

Although Sakumo Hatake was ambitious and wanted to implement his self-righteous policies, he would not kill his fellow villagers to achieve his goals.

A Jonin of the Uchiha clan... Could it be from the Uchiha clan?
First, check where all the Jonin of the Uchiha clan are currently located.

After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "I will speak with Tsunade, Sakumo Hatake, and Jon Uchiha in turn, and ask them to prove their innocence."

Meanwhile, the underworld and the core team are investigating covertly, leaving no clue unchecked.

The death of Sarutobi Yu caused Hiruzen Sarutobi great grief.

That was his own nephew, a very promising young man, who was an important assistant he left to his son.

Danzo then asked, "Should we kill some more? They're too arrogant; they dared to fight back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "Investigate the truth first, determine who the murderer is, and then use the truth to force them to submit."

Indiscriminate killing at this time could give others leverage against us, making us more vulnerable.

The struggle is a long-term one; don't rush it.

Danzo was disdainful, but he didn't object and turned to leave.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Orochimaru did not return to the Root base, but instead went to Konoha Hospital.

On the rooftop of the hospital's outpatient building, Orochimaru waited for Tsunade.

"Orochimaru, what do you want? You've been gone since you returned to the village; I've never seen you again."

Seeing the amused look in Orochimaru's eyes, Tsunade looked down at herself. She didn't seem to be acting strangely today, and she still couldn't see her shoes.

Orochimaru said, "Tsunade, I underestimated you. I didn't expect your counterattack to be so explosive."

"Counterattack? Who did I counterattack?"

Orochimaru said, "Whether you did it or not, they will assume it was a counterattack by you, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Jon."

"I don't understand. What did I say in retaliation?"

"Shimura Tanjiro and Sarutobi Yu, two special jonin who were about to participate in the jonin exam, one died in the Land of Grass and the other died in the Land of Hot Springs."

"What does this have to do with me? The Jonin team is undergoing rounds of assessments. Why aren't they staying in the village? What are they doing in other countries?"

Orochimaru explained: "The guardian ninja of the Land of Rivers is from the Shimura clan, and the guardian ninja of the Land of Hot Springs is from the Sarutobi clan."

They were there to help their clans stabilize the situation. The Shimura and Sarutobi clans were ranked last in the Jonin Exams, so they had plenty of time.

Tsunade frowned, immediately realizing the seriousness of the problem:
"That's slander! I was indeed angry because the Third Hokage rejected the person I recommended, but how could I assassinate someone from my own village?"

I will not kill even members of the Sarutobi clan or the Shimura clan.

Could it be that the Sarutobi and Shimura clans offended someone else, and that someone else took advantage of the conflict between me and the Third Hokage over the Jonin recommendation to kill me?

Am I being used as a shield?

"No, I'm going to find the Third Hokage. This has nothing to do with me."

After saying that, Tsunade jumped off the rooftop and towards the Hokage Building.

Orochimaru shook his head repeatedly, and half an hour later, Tsunade returned in a huff.

"Anyway, I've explained it clearly enough. I didn't do it, and I'm not taking the blame."

Orochimaru thought to himself, "You went to explain? You went to rub salt into the wound."

He could even picture Tsunade and Hiruzen arguing.

Orochimaru ignored the retaliation against the Sarutobi clan and asked directly, "Tsunade, do you support me becoming the Fourth Hokage?"

"Who? You? You, Orochimaru? You want to be the Fourth Hokage?" Tsunade exclaimed in disbelief.
"Forget it, it would be better to make Jiraiya the Fourth Hokage."

"I'm asking you whether you support it or not."

All I can say is that I don't object.

"You don't object?" Orochimaru said, "That's enough. Your lack of objection is the greatest support you can give me."

"You really want to become the Fourth Hokage?"

Orochimaru raised his hands, stared at them, and said:

"I need power, I need secret arts."

The village's power and secret techniques are now in the hands of the Third Master.

I asked Hiruzen-sensei for the Book of Sealing several times, but he refused each time.

Hiruzen-sensei said that the knowledge contained in the Book of Seals is too powerful for me to control and would lead me astray.

I don't believe there's any power I can't control.

Since Hiruzen-sensei wants me to become the Fourth Hokage, then I'll do it.

Once the power is in my hands, I will make better use of it.

There is no power in this world that I cannot control.

Tsunade knew she was the one with the fewest flaws among the Legendary Sannin. Looking at the slightly deranged Orochimaru, she said:
"The Third Hokage has held the Book of Seals for many years, but have you ever seen him learn any forbidden techniques?"

Forbidden arts require talent and opportunity; to rashly learn forbidden arts will at least result in self-destruction.

Orochimaru, it's normal to pursue power; you and I both pursue power. However, don't pursue power that you cannot bear.

Rather than learning forbidden techniques that are unsuitable, it's better to develop abilities that suit you.

Orochimaru suddenly looked at Tsunade's forehead and saw the diamond-shaped curse mark there.

"You...completed that technique?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "Yes, I've managed to seal away my usual chakra and use it in battle."

No sooner had Tsunade finished speaking than Orochimaru suddenly rushed forward.

The two figures briefly passed each other.

The rooftop floor tiles were broken and cracked all over the place.

With her back to Orochimaru, Tsunade slowly retracted the Yin Seal into the diamond-shaped mark between her eyebrows.

Orochimaru's eyes were downcast. He glanced at the Hokage Building and then instantly left the hospital rooftop.

He felt an even greater sense of urgency.

Tsunade's strength has improved dramatically, but she herself has yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Xinma walked briskly, rushing towards a training ground on the edge of the village.

Inside the training ground, Sakumo Hatake was instructing Minato and Kakashi.

Seeing Shinma waving to him from afar, Sakumo Hatake instructed Minato to guide Kakashi and then came to Shinma's side.

"Lord Shuo Mao! Something terrible has happened!" Xin Ma said urgently.

"In the final round of the Jonin Exams, two people were missing: Shimura Tanjiro and Sarutobi Yu.

I heard that both of them were assassinated, and that they and their guards were all turned into charred corpses.

Sakumo Hatake's first thought was that the Sarutobi and Shimura clans had deep-rooted power, capable of arranging bodyguards for their special Jonin. Then he realized, what if the village suspected him?
Shinma said from the side, "You recommended Baiyun and me to be Jonin this morning, but the village revoked our qualifications."

In the morning, Shiraku was questioned by the Shimura clan about whether his improved version of the Vacuum Sword was stolen from them.

I was almost killed. If it weren't for the Moonlight Sect leader arriving in time, I would be dead.

Now that the sons and nephews of the village's high-ranking officials have been murdered, aren't we now suspects?

Sakumo Hatake thought for a moment and said, "Shinma, you'll prepare an investigation report."

The report contains alibis of Gekko-michi, Yamashiro-ji, you, Zaojian, and five other special Jonin.

"Finish the report as soon as possible; I reckon the village will demand it sooner or later."

A member of the secret service suddenly landed in the training ground.

"Lord White Fang, the Hokage summons you."

Sakumo Hatake said, "I understand, I'll go right away."

Upon entering the Hokage's office, Sakumo Hatake was questioned by the Hokage. After saying that he had been in the village the whole time, Sakumo Hatake replied that he had been inside the village the whole time.

The Third Hokage demanded that Sakumo Hatake and his subordinates provide testimonies and reports, to which Sakumo Hatake agreed.

He wasn't the one who did it, nor did he instigate it, so Sakumo Hatake wasn't flustered.

As soon as he stepped out of the Hokage Building, Hatake Sakumo saw a mask that looked somewhat like a fox but wasn't.

He was very convinced that he had nothing to do with the death of Shimura Tanjiro Hiroyuki.

But at this moment, he suddenly hesitated.

No...it can't be him...

If it's him... Hatake Sakumo kept thinking, what should he do if it's a fox?
Did he really assassinate his fellow villager?
After leaving the training ground, Xinma went to find Baiyun Zaojian.

Bai Yun was practicing vacuum sword in his backyard that morning.

Through continuous hard training, Baiyun accidentally discovered the knack of releasing the vacuum sword with one hand one morning.

The vacuum sword has been simplified from three seals to a single hand half seal. The palm of the hand holding the sword rests against the hilt, and the fingers form a seal. The wind blade flies out with the blade, greatly increasing its flexibility.

He is very well-suited for the Vacuum Sword technique.

For this reason, the Shimura family questioned him for a long time, and if it weren't for Lord Sakumo's guarantee, he would still be under investigation.

The Shimura clan is a prominent Wind Release clan in the village, and they cannot believe that a commoner ninja could master such exquisite Wind Release techniques.

Shinma arrives at Shirakumo Hayama's house and tells her about the deaths of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu.

While practicing in the morning, Baiyun said, "There's such a thing? Didn't you tell Lord Shuo Mao first?"

"went."

"You went? Lord Sakumo didn't scold you for gloating, so he must have been one of your fellow villagers?"

"I'm not stupid, why would I show any schadenfreude in front of Lord Sakumo?" Shinma said.

"Tell me where you were two weeks ago. Who can prove that we were not present?"

"What? The village suspects we did it?"

When Shirakumo was humiliated by the Shimura clan, he hated them intensely.

It was as if Wind Release was exclusive to the Shimura clan, and no one else in Konoha could learn it.

Now suspected of murder again, Baiyun was even more furious in the morning.

If they can harm their own people, how could Baiyun Zaojian do such a thing?

He sighed and honestly told them where he was half a month ago, asking who could verify it.

He did not leave the village, which easily cleared him of suspicion.

Baiyun thought about it for a while in the morning, and suddenly said:
"Shinma, the last time you were in danger, it was because someone secretly alerted Lord Sakumo. This time, someone killed Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu. Do you think... these two people are the same person?"

Singaporean was stunned; he had never considered it from this perspective before.

Could it be?

Xinma said, "Has Lord Shuo Mao cooperated with some force? That force is well-informed and ruthless?"

Bai Yun nodded in the morning; he thought so too. He said:
"If it's true, that would be great. Lord Sakumo is good in every way, except that he's a bit too gentle."

I heard from Yamashiroji that during the Second Hokage's reign, Lord Sakumo carried out many extremely dangerous missions in the Anbu, sacrificing many comrades, and therefore he valued his comrades very much.

But things are different now.

During the Second Hokage's time, the Anbu didn't use ninja swords against their own people. Can you still trust the Anbu now?
I've heard that the current Anbu is extremely radical and has long since deviated from the original intentions of the Second Hokage in establishing the Anbu.

One of them, in particular, stood out for his extreme and ferocious nature.

I fought alongside him in the Land of Whirlpools, and he even saved me once. At first, I thought Copper Fox was a powerful ANBU member.

When he tortured Hozuki Ryougetsu, I heard Hozuki Ryougetsu scream.

My impression of the Bronze Fox changed from gratitude to fear.

The scream sounded like that of a vengeful ghost.

I was terrified. I'm a highly skilled Jonin, and I've never heard a ninja scream so pitifully.

If the moonlight were here, it would definitely have to say a few words in its defense.

The reason Hozuki Ryougetsu was screaming and howling was because he was falsely accused of revealing the secret technique of the Water Gun. It wasn't because he used any extreme torture methods.

Xinma nodded repeatedly. He had heard of the name Copper Fox many times; it was indeed ferocious.

While writing his innocence report in Singapore and Malaysia, Uchiha Zhong was in a state of utter distress.

The Senju clan and the White Fang faction currently have relatively few members, making it easier for them to prove themselves.

The Uchiha clan is different; the Uchiha clan has more than 900 members.

Investigating over 900 people and having solid evidence is extremely difficult.

As soon as Uchiha Zhong began his self-investigation, he discovered that the Anbu and Root were investigating the Uchiha clan.

Suddenly, everyone in the Uchiha clan territory felt insecure, wondering why the Anbu and Root had stopped their act and were conducting various investigations into the Uchiha ninja.

In particular, the Jonin and Special Jonin of the Uchiha clan must write a statement proving that they were not in the Land of Grass or the Land of Hot Springs half a month ago.

If it were just a matter of investigating these people, that would be one thing, but Root actually demanded that Uchiha Zhong provide a list of Uchiha ninjas who went missing on the battlefield in the past ten years to prove that they were not rogue ninjas.

Perhaps some Uchiha ninjas disappeared on the battlefield, secretly became rogue ninjas, and turned against Konoha, assassinating their fellow Konoha members.

During the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, no remains of Uchiha clan members could be found, meaning at least 50 shinobi went missing.

How could this possibly fulfill the requirements of the root?

Judging from the appearance of the Root, if the missing people cannot be proven to be dead, they will definitely become rogue ninja.

At the home of Hatake Sakumo.

Kakashi was very tired from playing. Like a child who has exhausted all his energy, he went upstairs to sleep.

In the living room on the first floor, ninja dog Pakkun stared at Sakumo Hatake across from him.

Sakumo Hatake had his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly lost in thought.

Parker waited quietly for half an hour, but did not receive a decision from Hatake Sakumo.

Parker couldn't help but speak up:
"Shuomao, we can't hesitate any longer. Xinma almost got killed. Can't you see what's going on?"

If the Konoha leadership is willing, a single mission can send a Konoha ninja to their death.

"Should I go see the fox? And if I do, should I break ties with him? You need to make a decision quickly."

(End of this chapter)