At that moment, the difference between "a lamb among tigers" and "a tiger among lambs" lay solely in one's own power.
From Sarutobi Hiruzen's and the Anbu's perspective, Chiyu's chakra and abilities were now sealed—he was like a tiger deprived of its fangs, waiting to be slaughtered at their whim.
But to Chiyu, this place was paradise!
A man who hates evil so passionately, thrown into Konoha's prison, was like a starving lustful ghost let loose in a brothel, or a fish diving into water. It was a perfect setup.
Outside the cell, every Anbu wore vicious, eerie grins. Further inside, in the prison's darkness, a group of hardened criminals had already been arranged there by the Anbu, their eyes gleaming with cruel intent. They were like predators drawn by the smell of fresh blood, poised to torture Chiyu to their hearts' content.
The Anbu had informed them: all of these inmates despised Konoha to the core.
And Chiyu was not only a Konoha shinobi but part of the Uchiha Police Force—he was the perfect target for them to vent their rage and hatred upon. What's more, the Anbu had partially loosened the seals on their chakra…
One of the Anbu sneered, "You can start anytime."
However, Aburame Kenpei stepped in to stop him.
"It's still broad daylight, and the situation isn't settled yet—someone might come by at any moment. It's best we wait until night.
"You heard me, right?"
The fiends lurking in the darkness let out cold snorts of discontent, but dared not defy the Anbu's instructions, lest they face even worse consequences.
Kenpei nodded in satisfaction at that, then waved a hand. "We're leaving.
"Uchiha Chiyu, we'll see you tomorrow—
"if you can still see the sunrise tomorrow."
They disappeared into the shadows. Now left behind were Chiyu and those heinous criminals.
To them, he was a sheep delivered to hungry tigers. Yet in reality… they were the sheep.
…
Chiyu shut his eyes. Silently, he triggered that flaw he'd left in the double-layer seal—a tiny whiff of chakra so insignificant it resembled a grain of sand in a towering structure. Yet with the slightest shift of that grain, the entire imposing building would collapse! That was the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan's jutsu—
Kuyebiko!
All ninjutsu contained weaknesses. Kuyebiko gave him the precision and power to perceive and exploit them.
In a flash—
Click.
A sound akin to a lock opening. The double-layer seal that bound Chiyu's chakra and physical strength… was undone.
The lion had freed itself from its shackles.
He merely waited, calmly, for nightfall.
…
Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital:
Uchiha Fugaku led a contingent of Police Force to visit Aoki and Yamakaze. Aoki remained unconscious, clinging to life. Yamakaze, glimpsing so many people, guessed some major event had transpired. He knew that with someone like Chiyu—who'd burst out of the hospital in a storm—there was no chance he'd ended things quietly.
"Fugaku-sama, what about the Captain…?" Yamakaze asked anxiously.
Fugaku patted his shoulder, forcing a slight smile.
"You just focus on recovering, Yamakaze. I'll see to Chiyu's situation."
He said that, but it only confirmed Yamakaze's fears were not unfounded.
"How's Aoki doing?"
Yamakaze shook his head. "The doctors say there's been no change. Whether or not he wakes depends on his own will to live…"
Fugaku stared at the young face on the bed.
"Don't worry. He'll pull through."
"…Yes, sir."
At that moment, a light knock came at the door. At Fugaku's nod, one of the Uchiha opened it, revealing three men: Hatake Kakashi, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Morino Ibiki. Fugaku's heart jolted.
Well, well…
These three basically represented the Anbu (Kakashi), Intelligence Analysis (Inoichi), and Interrogation & Torture (Ibiki). They really had brought out the big guns…
But Fugaku deduced this was unlikely on Hiruzen's direct orders. While Hiruzen had agreed to let Kakashi investigate, he certainly didn't want the matter fully exposed. This was more likely Kakashi's doing. No wonder Chiyu insisted on letting Kakashi handle the investigation—his eye for potential allies was as sharp as ever.
All that flashed through Fugaku's mind in a split second. He looked at the trio, brow slightly furrowed. "You intend to start investigating now?"
Kakashi gave a wry smile.
"My apologies, Patriarch Fugaku. This is too important to delay. To be thorough and fair, I invited Inoichi and Ibiki to join me, so there'd be no oversight."
Morino Ibiki's cold gaze swept over them, his scarred face fearsome as always. Yet Fugaku felt little concern about him—Ibiki cared only about extracting genuine information by any means.
The real variable here was Yamanaka Inoichi.
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio was Konoha's backbone, tightly connected to the Sarutobi clan. Each generation swore, under the Sarutobi clan's witness, to protect the village and their families. In that sense, would Inoichi be unbiased?
Seeing Fugaku's reaction, Inoichi seemed to understand his doubts but didn't dodge or avert his eyes. After a moment's thought, Fugaku said, "Aoki's still in critical condition. If you want answers, take Yamakaze—but I have a condition."
Kakashi replied, "Go on, Patriarch."
"This matter concerns both the Anbu and the Police Force, yet only the Anbu is leading the investigation. Surely that isn't fully fair, wouldn't you agree, Kakashi-taichō?"
Kakashi hesitated, then nodded truthfully. "That's true."
"So, I want Yashiro present, too."
"Hmm…" Kakashi scratched his head and sighed. "All right, that's reasonable. Inoichi, Ibiki, any objections?"
Ibiki said nothing, just gave a nod. Inoichi added, "I agree. That sounds logical."
Fugaku said quietly, "Thank you."
He turned. "Yashiro?"
"Understood, Patriarch."
Then he faced Yamakaze. "And you?"
Yamakaze rose firmly, though still missing an arm. "Don't worry, Fugaku-sama. The truth will come out—I'll make sure to clear Aoki's name, and Captain Chiyu's too!"
He walked out of the ward, pausing to glance back once at the still-unresponsive Aoki.
Kakashi, Yashiro, Inoichi, and Ibiki all nodded respectfully to Fugaku and followed after him.
When they left, Uchiha Yakumi muttered, "Patriarch, with Yashiro-sama around, Yamakaze shouldn't be in any danger. But about Chiyu—"
Uchiha Tekkā said anxiously, "Yes, Sir. Chiyu killed Sarutobi Shinnosuke. The Hokage hates him now more than anyone, plus he's been locked in Anbu's prison—where he's also killed so many people. They'll never let him go!"
"We're afraid…" he trailed off.
Fugaku lifted a hand. "Yakumi, post guards here at the hospital to protect Aoki."
"Then I'll head to the Anbu prison in person!"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
~~~
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