Intelligence Room.
Yamanaka Inoichi stared at the four corpses on the table with a mixture of melancholy and astonishment.
He possessed the ability to probe the memories of the deceased, and through this skill, he had obtained a vast amount of information from many dead people.
Yet he never imagined that one day he would use this ability on four of Konoha's top leaders.
Inoichi sighed. There was no time to feel sorrow; a group of people were anxiously waiting outside for the results.
Starting with the Third Hokage, he extended his hand, placing it on the deceased's cold forehead. Closing his eyes, he concentrated fully. This technique required complete focus—no distractions could be allowed.
After a moment, he entered a pitch-black space, his body floating. In front of him appeared a massive head.
Inoichi slid his hands into the mind, where numerous screens glowed white. Looking closely, one could see fragments of scenes, like film clips—the memories of the Third Hokage in life.
The more distant the memory, the harder it was to access. Memories from one or two days prior were far easier to retrieve than older ones. Fortunately, the Third Hokage's death was recent, and Inoichi quickly reached the memories from just before his death.
In the scene, the Third Hokage was having a meal with a young man—tall, with black hair and eyes. This was his second son, Sarutobi Asuma.
The next moment, the scene shifted. Asuma took advantage of his father's unpreparedness and stabbed him with a knife.
Inoichi watched in disbelief.
Asuma had personally ambushed his own father.
But what happened next was even more astonishing—a white-haired, red-eyed man infiltrated the house.
Seeing the man's face, Inoichi's shock rivaled that of Asuma attacking his father.
Tōshirō!
It was him—!
After witnessing the subsequent events, Inoichi understood some of the inner workings.
He withdrew from the Third Hokage's memories, slowly opening his eyes. The real situation was far more complicated than expected.
He then eagerly examined the memories of the other three corpses, gaining a rough understanding of the events.
Inoichi took a deep, heavy breath and spoke to those nearby: "Everyone, leave. And call Nara Shikaku in."
After the subordinates left, a middle-aged man with a distinctive pineapple-shaped hairstyle and a scarred face entered—Nara Shikaku.
Called alone to this room, Shikaku vaguely sensed something and asked in a low voice: "Inoichi, what's the result?"
Inoichi sighed, shaking his head: "It's very complicated."
The truth was too cruel. Revealing it to the village immediately would spark chaos. He had no choice but to tell Shikaku first, relying on his wisdom to make decisions.
Shikaku pressed further: "What… exactly happened?"
Inoichi looked around, stepped forward, and whispered in Shikaku's ear.
Shikaku's eyes widened in shock, almost popping out: "It… it could actually be like this…?"
◎
Outside the intelligence room, the crowd pacing anxiously awaited the results.
Click.
The door opened, and two people walked out. The crowd immediately approached. A stocky, middle-aged man asked impatiently: "What's the result? Who killed the Third Hokage and the others?"
Facing Inoichi and Shikaku, they both lowered their heads, silent as if holding back some unspeakable truth.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man became agitated, grabbing Shikaku's arm and shouting: "What's the result? You're killing me with suspense!"
The rest of the crowd could no longer contain themselves, clamoring for an answer.
Shikaku lifted his face, calmly glancing at one man in the crowd.
Noticing the gaze, the man smirked. His blue eyes turned red, emitting a faint threat: "Say it—who killed the Third Hokage?"
Damn it—!
Shikaku cursed inwardly. Facing Tōshirō's overwhelming power, he could only swallow his fury and speak: "It was… Asuma."
If the truth were revealed publicly, Tōshirō would destroy the village.
For the greater good, Shikaku might even have to go along with the charade.
Indeed—go along with the charade.
Tōshirō's bold and brazen presence clearly showed that he didn't care if the truth was exposed. In fact, he had calculated that no one would dare make it public.
"What did you say?"
At that name, the crowd froze in shock.
Shikaku reluctantly clarified: "Asuma… Sarutobi Asuma."
Tōshirō's lips curved into a pleased smile.
"Th-This can't be—!"
The crowd was in disbelief. Asuma was the Third Hokage's biological son—how could he do such a thing?
"I know it's hard to believe, but according to the memories before the Third Hokage died, it was Asuma who ambushed him. Otherwise, the Hokage would have had a chance to resist."
"That's impossible! Asuma couldn't do such a thing!"
Shikaku followed the voice—it was a young woman with black hair and red eyes, strikingly beautiful. She was Asuma's girlfriend. Naturally, she refused to believe her boyfriend capable of such a deed.
Shikaku sighed, facing the crowd: "Have you seen Asuma?"
The crowd froze.
Right—where was Asuma?
His father had died. As the only remaining son, shouldn't he have arrived immediately? Why was he still missing?
Only one possibility remained—he had fled in fear of his crimes.
Moreover, Shikaku's explanation had been so thorough that, even if they didn't want to believe it, the ironclad evidence was right in front of them.
They knew the Third Hokage's power—reputed as the strongest of all Hokages. If a transformation technique had been used, he would have recognized his own son.
If not, there was no way the Hokage would die so easily without making a sound.
And it was suspiciously coincidental—Asuma had returned just these days.
All signs indicated that Asuma had killed his father.
At this moment, a ninja directly broached the topic: "Asuma hasn't shown up yet. Could it be… he fled in fear of his crimes?"
The crowd fell silent.
In a sense, they tacitly accepted this possibility.
"No way…"
Akakiri bit her lip, utterly despondent.
Someone asked hesitantly: "Even so… could he really kill so many in one night? And there's no news of it at all?"
Shikaku spoke reluctantly: "There were accomplices."
"Accomplices?"
"They wore masks, so their faces were hidden, but their strength was impressive."
"Asuma… why would he do this? The Third Hokage was his father!"
"No matter the reason, there's no doubt—he's the prime suspect. He can no longer be treated as a comrade. From today, he will be handled as an S-rank rogue ninja, with the bounty at the highest level."
"…"
Seeing the crowd silently accept this without objection, Shikaku continued: "Now, let's proceed with the election for the new Hokage."
End of Chapter)
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