The emaciated corpse remained on the wooden bed, untouched. The severed head was not taken away but discarded like trash in the corner of the room.
Even the two Anbu agents buried outside the cell were still trapped in the illusion. Since the acting Fifth Hokage and the clan heads were coming to personally investigate, everything had been preserved as it was. The guards who arrived early had shifted their task from investigation to securing the scene.
"Is this the *Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu*?"
Seeing the two Anbu buried outside the cell, Torifu Akimichi immediately recognized the jutsu used against them.
"They're still alive. It seems the intruder had a clear objective," commented Hiashi Hyuga as he glanced at the two unfortunate Anbu, his brow furrowing slightly. "But... is this a genjutsu? It feels like..."
"It's the Sharingan!"
Sougen Uchiha finished Hiashi's sentence.
His eye twitched.
This was unexpected. Before coming here, they were speculating about the intruder's identity, wondering who could have made Hiashi Hyuga and Shibi Aburame deliberately allow them to act freely. Could this person have gotten caught up in the conflict themselves?
Could it be that someone from within the clan had dared to defy his orders and planned to personally end the lives of Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi? Did Hiashi and Shibi think it was his doing, so they covered for him?
Sougen stepped forward, crouching down, and pried open the eyelids of the two Anbu agents to examine them carefully.
"This feels... it's definitely the Sharingan, but something seems off!" Sougen was puzzled. The intruder had indeed used the Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on the two Anbu, but the execution was rather crude.
The person who did this felt to Sougen like a mid-level ninja from the clan, someone who had only recently begun practicing genjutsu.
They hadn't yet grasped the true subtleties of Uchiha's illusion techniques, relying instead on the brute force of their strong eye power to drag the targets into the illusion.
"Release!"
Sougen formed a one-handed seal, dispelling the genjutsu on the two Anbu.
Rather than waste time guessing the identity of the intruder, it would be faster to ask the two Anbu directly.
Still groggy, the two Anbu forced themselves to concentrate under the watchful eyes of so many important figures, racking their brains to recall any details from their brief encounter with the intruder. "The intruder was very skilled with Earth Release. We were dragged underground before we could react..."
"It seemed like there was only one person. We didn't see anyone else."
"...The Sharingan, yes, I saw the Sharingan... But it was strange. It seemed like there was only one Sharingan?"
"Yes, only one Sharingan."
Their responses provided a new clue.
One Sharingan?
This new information immediately expanded Sougen's thoughts.
Suddenly enlightened, Sougen realized that, perhaps because he had been overly concerned with internal issues within the clan, he had forgotten that the Uchiha were no longer the only ones in Konoha with Sharingan. There was also an outsider who, for certain reasons, possessed a single Sharingan.
"Kakashi Hatake?"
Torifu Akimichi recalled the name. "Hatake… the son of Sakumo. This really is quite a dilemma for me."
He felt a headache coming on.
Although he hadn't been involved in Sakumo Hatake's suicide, he wasn't blind or deaf. With the Nara clan's help in analyzing the situation, it wasn't hard for him to see what had happened.
He was, after all, an outsider with a clearer perspective. In his view, 60% of the responsibility for Sakumo's death lay in Danzo's scheming, 30% in Hiruzen Sarutobi's passive inaction, and the remaining 10%...
Who could have predicted that the feared White Fang, who terrorized enemies on the battlefield, would be so fragile? Just from a bit of gossip, without seeking anyone's counsel, he chose to end his own life.
In Torifu's opinion, Sakumo Hatake's death marked the beginning of Konoha's decline.
Losing such a pillar of strength made Konoha, once steady and confident, start to falter. It was like a chain reaction of collapse. Tsunade's hemophobia, which she had developed during the Second Great Ninja War, finally reached its peak, completely breaking Konoha's princess. From that point on, the legendary Sannin became one person short.
After that, the Fourth Hokage died young, Orochimaru defected, Jiraiya wandered, and the new generation of leadership was almost entirely wiped out. Konoha, once mighty, was now supported by a few elders well into their sixties and seventies. Torifu sighed deeply at the state of things.
If only... if only Sakumo Hatake had not died.
Even if Tsunade's hemophobia was inevitable, having a fighter of White Fang's caliber during the Third War would have meant Konoha wouldn't have struggled so much. Despite being the victors, they had to make concessions to Iwa to secure peace, making it feel like they had lost!
This left Torifu deeply disappointed in Hiruzen and Danzo.
"Kakashi Hatake... Yes, he does possess a Sharingan. But to be honest, even we Uchiha aren't sure if all our Sharingan have been accounted for. There are many clansmen who died in battle and whose bodies weren't recovered. To avoid making a mistake, I think we should investigate further," Sougen said.
Though Sougen was sure the intruder was Kakashi, he knew there was another person—Obito Uchiha—who also possessed one Sharingan. However, Obito had controlled the Nine-Tails before, so his genjutsu skills would be far more refined.
Besides, if it were Obito Uchiha, he wouldn't have left anyone alive.
In contrast, if the intruder were Kakashi, everything made sense: the rough use of the Sharingan and the mercy shown to the Anbu. It was at least understandable.
However, what Sougen thought in his mind was one thing; what he said aloud was another.
It didn't matter whether Hiruzen Sarutobi died at the hands of Zabuza or Kakashi. As long as Hiruzen died, that was all that mattered.
His priority was to delay as much as possible and not let anyone here interfere with the battle.
"That's true. We can't jump to conclusions just because they saw a Sharingan. It would be rash to assume Kakashi is responsible. We should investigate thoroughly to avoid accusing an innocent man. Hokage-sama, what do you think?" Hiashi Hyuga spoke, fully supporting Sougen's suggestion, then looked to Torifu Akimichi for approval.
Seeing Sougen and Hiashi in agreement, along with Shibi Aburame nodding in agreement, Torifu sighed. Although he didn't feel particularly motivated to stop Kakashi's revenge...
"Delayed vengeance?" Torifu Akimichi was silent for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "Very well, let's investigate thoroughly."
With that, their attention finally turned to the corpse inside the cell.
As for whether Kakashi was a match for Hiruzen Sarutobi...
That was a matter of opinion. Hiruzen's strength was undeniable, and even Sougen wouldn't underestimate him. After all, Hiruzen had managed to keep Danzo under control as his enforcer, which wasn't out of choice—Danzo simply couldn't defeat him.
However, Kakashi wasn't weak either. He became a Jonin at twelve, and now, seven years later at nineteen, he had shed his youthful inexperience. If he fought Hiruzen, it would definitely be a tough battle, not one where he'd be easily defeated.
What's more, if Kakashi were to die at Hiruzen's hands, that fact alone could be used to damage Hiruzen's reputation. The man who drove White Fang to his death would now have killed White Fang's son. Just spreading that news would be enough to tarnish Hiruzen's reputation completely.
Many of the older generation, like Torifu, who lamented Sakumo Hatake's death, would feel strongly about this. While Kakashi didn't seem to have many friends, as the top of his class, his name still held significance to many of his peers.
(Chapter end)