Chapter 33: A Perfect Scapegoat
"Well? What did you find?" The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, asked calmly, though the pipe clenched between his teeth betrayed a hint of tension. This was not the weary old man of the future, but a Hokage in his prime, his presence authoritative and commanding.
"Nothing conclusive, Lord Hokage. We found only a pile of ashes. But we did recover this scrap of fabric. The insignia appears to be from the Uchiha clan."
An Anbu operative knelt, presenting a charred piece of cloth bearing the distinctive Uchiha fan.
Sarutobi took it, his eyes shifting to the stoic figure of Uchiha Tajima, who had been summoned to the scene. "Clan Head Tajima. Can you identify this?"
"This is indeed Uchiha attire," Tajima confirmed, his voice flat. "But I cannot say who it belonged to."
"Then I suggest you check your clan rosters. Determine who is missing or who has sustained injuries," Sarutobi said, his tone turning cold. "I sincerely hope this incident has no connection to the Uchiha."
Tajima's own expression hardened. "Hah. Our Uchiha specialize in Fire and Lightning Release. The devastation here was clearly caused by Wind Release. It seems more likely that someone has targeted a member of our clan."
"Let's not jump to conclusions until the investigation is complete," Sarutobi countered. "In the meantime," he ordered his Anbu, "conduct a sweep for any suspicious individuals within Konoha. We cannot rule out infiltration by another village seeking to destabilize us."
After issuing further commands and watching the various clan heads who had gathered depart, Sarutobi was left alone amidst the wreckage. He let out a weary sigh, the official mask slipping for a moment.
"Danzo... was this your doing?"
The thought wasn't his alone. It had crossed the mind of every seasoned shinobi present. The evidence pointed to Wind Release, and while many in Konoha practiced it, the one person notorious enough, powerful enough, and with a motive to attack the Uchiha was Shimura Danzo. The man's feud with the clan was no secret. In their minds, it was entirely plausible that the "mad dog of Konoha" had finally snapped and taken one of them out.
But Danzo was a power unto himself. Without irrefutable proof, no one would dare voice the accusation aloud.
BAM!
"What did you say? Uchiha Kagami is missing?!" Uchiha Tajima slammed his fist on the table, shooting to his feet, his face a thundercloud of rage.
"Y-yes, Patriarch. We cannot locate him anywhere."
"Danzo... It has to be that old cur, Danzo!" Tajima snarled, his teeth gritted so hard they threatened to crack. "He has always despised our clan, undermining us at every turn! He is the only one who would do this! The evidence at the scene cannot be faked!" The loss of a mere clansman was one thing, but Uchiha Kagami had been a pillar of their strength, an Elite Jonin.
"This will not stand! Shimura Danzo, you will pay for this!" Consumed by fury, Tajima's Three Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in his eyes, unveiled for all to see.
"Patriarch, what of the Hyuga boy, Shinra, and the traitor, Mikoto? Do we proceed with the original plan?"
"Leave them for now!" Tajima waved a dismissive hand. "I am going to see Sarutobi Hiruzen. I will have my answers."
He didn't even use the title "Hokage," spitting out Sarutobi's name with pure contempt.
Storming into the Hokage's office, a heated, bitter argument ensued. It ended with Uchiha Tajima leaving in a foul temper, having gained nothing but a hollow concession: the Uchiha were granted command of a single, token Anbu squad. It was a paltry prize, but seeing Sarutobi's unyielding stance, Tajima had been forced to accept it. The matter was officially closed, with Danzo taking the full blame.
After Tajima's departure, Sarutobi sighed, a profound weariness settling on his features. "Danzo, Danzo... what a mess you've made."
He had just been forced to defend his old friend and rival, refusing to hand him over despite the overwhelming circumstantial evidence. In the end, he had to pay the Uchiha from the village's own resources to placate them.
Unbeknownst to him, a livid Danzo was in his own base, having just received a stern warning from the Hokage to "lie low."
"Find out who did this!" Danzo roared at his Root operatives, his face dark with humiliation. "I will not have this filth smeared on my name!" To be framed so blatantly was an insult he could not abide.
But a thorough search of Konoha would yield nothing. No one would ever suspect a five-year-old boy. It was simply unthinkable. By all logic, a child could not possibly kill an Elite Jonin. Even a quasi-Kage would find it difficult to eliminate one so swiftly. Only a true Kage-level combatant could achieve such a feat, and the idea of a child possessing that power was pure fantasy.
They had no idea that Hyuga Shinra was the ultimate outlier, a Jonin in a child's body for whom defeating a higher-level opponent was as natural as breathing.
And so, Danzo was left holding the bag, the perfect scapegoat. The incident drove another, deeper wedge between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's leadership, fostering a fresh wave of resentment and alienation.
Hyuga Shinra, meanwhile, was utterly unconcerned. He had hoped the blame would fall on Danzo, and it had. It wasn't personal; he just found the man's existence irritating and was happy to cause him trouble.
After a pleasant picnic with Mikoto, they returned home as evening fell. Mikoto went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Shinra retreated to his room, locking the door behind him.
He retrieved the two Sharingan, preserved in a saline solution. They had reverted to their dormant Three Tomoe state.
"I wonder what abilities these Mangekyo possess," he mused aloud, holding the vials up to the light. "Not that it matters much to me."
For most, the Mangekyo Sharingan was the ultimate prize, a power to be coveted. But for Shinra, who possessed the Tenseigan, they were little more than curiosities. Not even the promise of an Eternal Mangekyo could stir his envy.
"The Tenseigan's puppet mastery ability, however... that could be very useful in the future." He couldn't forget that particular power, one that would make Sunagakure's finest puppet masters weep with frustration.
Still, he was curious. Each pair of Mangekyo was unique, their abilities wildly different. Some even developed truly broken, reality-warping powers. He wondered what secrets this particular pair, forged in a crucible of terror, held within them.