r18novel Chapter 88: Bait?
Chapter 88: Bait?
Chapter 90: Bait?
The commotion and conflict had already attracted some ninjas who came to investigate, but seeing that the Uchiha clan and the Hokage were present, they did not approach.
Sarutobi didn't want the high-level conflict to become public, so he said, "There's really nothing to it. Let's talk about it when we get back."
"Why can't I say it? My Uchiha clan stole village secrets!" Lan Yu raised his voice and shouted.
The surrounding ninjas who heard this immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves.
Sarutobi's face darkened upon seeing this.
"Check his memory? I think we should definitely check—who said that a member of my Uchiha clan stole secrets? We need to thoroughly investigate his memory and see who instructed him. We can't let the Uchiha clan really bear the blame for stealing secrets, can we? If these secrets end up in other villages in the future, will they accuse us of colluding with foreign enemies?" Kensei pressed on relentlessly.
If we're going to check memories, it's not Akaishi's turn.
Who said they saw Akaishi or a Sharingan user stealing it?
"And the three of you? When exactly did you start stalking my Uchiha clan's sons? We'll find out in one interrogation!"
As Jian Cheng spoke, the Jonin of the Uchiha clan had already surrounded the three Root ninjas.
Seeing that a conflict was about to break out, many of the onlookers nervously stepped forward, unsure of what was happening.
Is the Uchiha clan really about to start an internal conflict?
"Stop it, all of you!" Sarutobi said, unleashing his stoic aura.
The Uchiha clan's Jonin then restrained themselves somewhat.
"Does the Hokage intend to subject my Uchiha clan to the crime of stealing village secrets?" Kensei asked leisurely.
Hearing Jiancheng say this, the other ninjas who had rushed over gradually realized that it seemed to be the Anbu—no, it was the secret department that Shimura had assisted in establishing, accusing the Uchiha clan of stealing secrets.
hiss-
Although everyone knows that the two sides are not on good terms, Shimura actually pinned such a huge crime on the Uchiha clan.
This is truly—
Two dogs fighting over food!
To the many ninjas of Konoha, both sides were undoubtedly "annoying people," and seeing that they were biting each other, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Jiancheng then spoke up, "This concerns a village secret—the mountain clan chief. Afterwards, I'd like to trouble you to check the guards..."
And also examine the memories of these three people; see if they have made any false statements!
Tatsuichi Yamanaka:————
Tatsuichi Yamanaka had been wondering why Shikazo Nara had left without coming to watch the excitement, and now he regretted not coming with him!
"This—" Upon hearing this, Yamanaka instinctively looked at the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was also greatly troubled by the Uchiha clan's persistent pursuit.
"Impossible." Danzo shook his head directly.
"Impossible?" Jian Cheng stared at him.
"The members of Root carry out top-secret missions. They have cursed seals to prevent their memories from being leaked. Even the Yamanaka clan cannot read their memories, and there's no way to break them." Danzo seemed unable to remove the seals and went on to say, "So, why not—"
When Akaishi saw Danzo looking at him again, he also had a calm expression. However, Sarutobi stopped him at this moment and said, "The Root has made a huge mistake in this matter. Shimura, you must reflect deeply on this. Also—we will discuss the mission of guarding the secret location again at the Jonin meeting. Until then, the Anbu will be in charge."
"Sarutobi—" Danzo paused upon hearing this. Seeing that criticism was not enough and that power was to be reduced, Danzo could no longer sit still.
"Enough! Go back and reflect on your actions in seclusion!" Sarutobi said without room for argument.
"It doesn't matter if the curse seal can't be broken. Our Uchiha clan has plenty of methods. Leave these people to us!" Jian Cheng said proactively.
"No need. This matter is full of trickery. There must be ninjas from an enemy village involved—" Sarutobi softened his tone as he tried to attribute the incident to "an external enemy."
but----
"How can my Uchiha clan suffer such injustice?" Jian Cheng, unlike Danzo, did not give the Hokage any face.
Akaishi watched anxiously from the side, but he knew that he had no right to interrupt at a time like this.
Although Akaishi felt that it would be better to retreat in order to advance at this point, after all, he had been tricked by various scheming women more than once while he was immersed in this situation, but—
If the Uchiha clan knew when to advance and when to retreat, they wouldn't be the Uchiha clan!
Finally, under Kensuke's "coercion," Sarutobi had no choice but to agree to hand over the three Root members, along with their guards—a total of four people—to the Uchiha clan for interrogation.
After all, the Uchiha clan had already adopted a posture of wanting to overturn the table, and even though Sarutobi hinted, they wouldn't listen. In the end, the Uchiha clan, with four "spoils of war," swaggered back in a somewhat tense atmosphere.
Danzo, who had just angered Sarutobi, eventually left with Sarutobi.
Seeing this, Akaishi felt uneasy, but he had no choice but to return with the clan leader and the others.
After returning to the Uchiha clan's territory, Jiancheng and Lanyu confirmed the previous events with Chishi again.
Akagi's statement was exactly the same as what he had told Hiruzen Sarutobi before. Even now, Akagi dared not tell the clan leader about the fact that "the Uchiha clan's nameless weapon, Old Deng, might be sealed at the original site of the Land of Whirlpools."
How did the "History of Sealing in the Warring States Period" disappear?
Akaishi had just finished an immersive session and still had one more chance to "go wild" —
Danzo's wicked plan was indeed flawless, and even though Sarutobi suspected Danzo of doing something wrong, the fact remains that the "Sengoku Seal History" ended up in the hands of Akaishi and the Uchiha clan.
Just in case, at least the raccoon beasts controlled by Akaishi should be restricted. For the sake of legitimacy, they can only accept Danzo's accusations, and at most, besides restricting the raccoon beasts, they won't impose any further punishment—ostensibly a minor deterrent.
However, it just so happens that Akashi can make this scroll disappear silently!
When Akaishi put it away, he had already planned that if he encountered a search, he would immediately "slip" away.
Therefore, Akaishi had already done this when the three Root ninjas appeared.
It was just a wasted opportunity to "slip through" the scroll; based solely on its craftsmanship, the scroll only sold for 30 taels.
Furthermore, since Akaishi originally carried a bag containing scrolls, and the "Sengoku Seal History" was also placed inside, no one noticed that something was missing, and everyone assumed that the scroll inside was the "Sengoku Seal History"!
As expected, nothing was found on Akaishi, and Akaishi even sent out a distress signal, putting Danzo and Root in a very passive position.
However, Chishi dared not reveal the truth to the clan leader now.
Chishi wasn't afraid that the clan leader would find out about his methods; he was mainly afraid that the guy would lose his mind and actually break the seal and release that old Deng!
After learning that the old man of the Uchiha clan was sealed there, Akaishi was very certain that the old man hated the Uchiha clan very much.
Although it was several other powerful ninja clans who joined forces to capture and seal her away, Akaishi had clearly seen everything when she was drowning—
That memory fragment was definitely influenced by the chakra emanating from this old man, which shows that the person she hates the most is clearly the Uchiha clan!
Akaishi didn't want to give the clan leader a chance to go mad.
Moreover, Akaishi has now realized that the Uchiha clan is too easily impulsive. He was even afraid that the clan head would really turn against the Hokage. If he were to tell them, it might be leaked one day. It's better to keep it to himself.
"I see—" Jiancheng nodded after hearing Chishi's words.
Lan Yu, standing to the side, frowned and said, "Why would that old scoundrel Shimura suddenly use this to frame Akaishi?"
"Don't forget—the Warring States Seal history. There's probably some kind of seal they don't want us to know about, especially now that Akaishi has gained the approval of the Uzumaki Tanuki!" Kensei said shrewdly.
Akashi felt fortunate that he hadn't told his clansmen about the drowning incident because he felt ashamed.
Otherwise, Akashi was afraid that the clan leader would figure out that the Uchiha clan was sealed in the whirlpool sea, and then Akashi would have to go and fish that old man out.
"However—Akaishi, why did you tell Hiruzen Sarutobi about seeing the scroll?" Lan Yu, who usually addressed the children as "Hokage-sama," was no longer pretending today. His face darkened as he asked, "And—why was your first reaction to inform him?"
Shouldn't you have come back and told us?
"Elder Lan Yu, this matter is clearly instigated by that old scoundrel Shimura. If I say it directly, the Hokage will definitely suspect him. Otherwise, if Shimura Danzo tells the Hokage the truth, wouldn't it make me look guilty?" Akashi quickly explained.
After much deliberation, Akaishi finally told the Hokage about seeing the scroll.
Now that we know it was Shimura Danzo who framed him, it's unlikely that Sarutobi Hiruzen would believe that the old scoundrel Shimura was just making baseless accusations without leaving any concrete evidence. Isn't that just typical of that old scoundrel?
It would be very strange if Akaishi didn't see this scroll at all from beginning to end.
Therefore, Akaishi made up the lie that "it disappeared before I could pick it up"—although it was a lie, it was very reasonable!
Danzo Shimura was perfectly capable of doing this, and from a motivational standpoint, "not wanting the Uchiha clan to actually see the contents" is entirely plausible.
Indeed, Hiruzen Sarutobi now harbors the same suspicion.
Upon hearing this, Lan Yu's expression softened slightly, and he accepted Akashi's explanation. However, he emphasized, "Yes, you have good intentions, but you don't need to be so hesitant in the future—our Uchiha clan is the foundation of Konoha!"
Akaishi:————
Akashi didn't respond. After all, in all the "immersion" experiences, what Akashi couldn't stand the most was being "tea-ed" by the other party, but then not being able to explain the key issues. Every time this happened, Akashi would get extremely anxious.
Now it seems—
Those who get immersed in the storyline aren't entirely without reason!
If it were an elder of the Lan Yu clan, or a significant portion of the clan, they would likely be the type who "doesn't explain" —