Chapter 23: Closing In Step by Step (Part 2/Revised)

Danzo's eyes remained fixed on Nanshu, then shifted toward the direction of Fugaku.

Nanshu was merely a lead-in; his life or death was unimportant. The true big fish was Uchiha Fugaku.

Danzo turned back to the Cloud Shinobi and said, "Envoys of the Cloud, Konoha expresses its deepest apologies for the death of your leader. Regardless of the circumstances, we will provide you with a satisfactory answer. I, Shimura Danzo, give you my word here."

The Cloud Shinobi, having already reached an agreement with Danzo beforehand, nodded silently and sat back down in their seats.

"As for whether the Uchiha committed murder intentionally—"

With Nanshu's face reflected in his cold, venomous gaze, Shimura Danzo spoke: "I believe the truth of the matter will eventually come to light. No matter who intends to threaten the safety of the village, they will absolutely not be let off easily."

"Lord Danzo, what was just said is nothing but baseless slander from the Cloud Ninja. They are merely using this method to change the subject!"

Nanshu attempted to make a remedy, even though he knew full well that Danzo would never listen.

"Facts cannot be changed! However, since both sides are now sticking to their own stories, let the parties involved in the incident explain it themselves."

Danzo interrupted Nanshu and decided to deliver the fatal blow.

"Clan Head Hyuga, it is your turn."

At this moment, Hyuga Hiashi, sitting on the side, was both an eyewitness and a participant in last night's events; his words could be said to carry the most weight in the entire incident.

As long as Hyuga Hiashi was willing to testify for Nanshu and tell everything that happened last night, the suspicions against the Uchiha and Nanshu would naturally be cleared.

And "hope" is a beautiful thing. Nanshu looked at Hyuga Hiashi with a nervous gaze. He did not yet know the Hyuga's stance, but he hoped that, in light of the fact that he had helped their clan last night, they might return the favor today.

Not to mention the extravagant idea of proving the Uchiha and himself innocent, as long as Hyuga Hiashi could prove that foreign envoys had infiltrated the Hyuga estate and broken the curfew while wearing night-crawling gear, Uchiha Nanshu would have a way out.

But looking at the expression on Danzo's face, which suggested everything was under control, Nanshu prayed that Hyuga Hiashi would not betray this expectation.

"Regarding this matter..."

The current situation was clear: the Cloud Ninja needed an explanation, Konoha had the choice between the Hyuga and the Uchiha, and the higher-ups had chosen to protect the Hyuga and push the Uchiha out. At this moment, as long as Hyuga Hiashi nodded and followed Danzo's intentions, the Hyuga Clan would certainly be able to pass through this storm safely.

But for Nanshu, if the most important direct witness (the Hyuga) stated that this incident did not happen, then everything Uchiha Nanshu said would be nonsense, and he would undoubtedly be executed for the crime of "assassinating a peace envoy."

Clearly, Nanshu had also thought of this. He tried his best to keep his expression calm, but in reality, his nerves were already taut. He stared straight at the Hyuga, not daring to let his guard down for even a second. He had never been this nervous before; anxiety and unease left his palms covered in sweat.

"The Hyuga Clan, regarding this matter..."

Hyuga Hiashi looked at Nanshu's slightly youthful face. The latter seemed to notice Hiashi's gaze, and their eyes met in the air.

Looking into the boy's eyes, he felt a sense of guilt and involuntarily shifted his gaze away.

——？！

This action made Danzo nod in satisfaction; no one knew what he was thinking. However, one could vaguely sense that his mood must be quite good. Day and night, he had been looking forward to sending the Uchiha Clan to the tribunal just like this. Although only Fugaku was sitting there now, Danzo seemed to see the future of the Uchiha Clan through Fugaku's embarrassment today—a beautiful future where he would eventually send these pests of the village to the underworld with his own hands.

Watching Danzo's look of certainty, the Third Hokage merely glanced at him faintly, then turned his head as if he had discovered nothing.

"Last night..." Hyuga Hiashi said, "During the time I was out clearing my head due to feeling restless, no abnormal situation occurred. I only happened to encounter lost Cloud Ninja envoys who had strayed into our clan grounds. My intention was to politely ask them to leave, but I did not expect to be stopped by the Military Police Force that suddenly appeared."

"And as for my daughter being kidnapped by the Cloud Ninja? Such a fallacy clearly ignores how strict the security of the Hyuga house is. Let alone kidnapping my daughter, even invading the Hyuga house itself is an absolutely impossible thing to happen."

"I do not know why this young man would say such misleading things; I suppose he must have his own reasons."

Every word Hyuga Hiashi spoke made Nanshu's mood sink deeper, down into the abyss.

"Clan Head Hyuga!"

Nanshu could not help but speak up, but unexpectedly, the other party did not give him a chance at all.

"Therefore!"

"The statement made by the Uchiha boy just now is purely absurd. I have never..."

Hyuga Hiashi paused here, a look of struggle appearing on his face.

However, this wavering was quickly suppressed. Hyuga Hiashi had already decided to sacrifice everything, sparing no cost to protect the Hyuga. Although after this, he would likely never be able to face himself again, but—everything was for the Hyuga Clan, and that made it worth it.

"I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing happening!"

"Clan Head Hyuga!"

*Slap! * Under the gaze of Danzo, whose conspiracy had succeeded, Nanshu finally could not stand it anymore, stepped forward, and shouted.

"Hyuga Hiashi, do you know what you are actually saying!?"

It must be said that at this moment, Nanshu even had the urge to kill, because Hyuga Hiashi's betrayal was enough to put him to death.

"What I saw that night is completely different from the story Uchiha Nanshu told."

This was a brand-new version that had never been heard before. In this version of the story, what happened last night was like a dream. There was no hijacking or breakout by Cloud Ninja envoys, nor was there any restless pursuit by the Hyuga Clan. The focus of the story was placed on Uchiha Nanshu, and the kick he had delivered out of necessity—intending to stop Hyuga Hiashi from killing the Cloud Ninja envoy—was described by Hiashi as a so-called "deliberate sneak attack."

Hyuga Hiashi directly overturned all of Nanshu's previous descriptions and justifications. Uchiha Nanshu, who had built everything on the theory of "protecting the victim," instantly became the murderous culprit who destroyed the peace. All his reasons and excuses at this moment became sophistry to cover up his own crimes.

The more Nanshu listened, the more desperate he felt. As his mood sank to the bottom, his face was covered in frost.

"In the end, I only heard the Cloud Ninja envoy let out a scream and fly away. As for whether they lived or died, I do not know."

He ended this bizarre story with words that gave people infinite room for imagination.

Nanshu's face was ashen. He could no longer suppress the rage in his heart and stared at Hyuga Hiashi, gritting his teeth.

"Hyuga!!!"

"You were indeed doing this on purpose!"

Before Nanshu could act on his rage, the Cloud Shinobi were the ones to start the trouble.

"You Uchiha scum!!!"

The entire conference room was like hot oil splashed with cold water, instantly exploding everyone present. The Cloud Ninja stood up directly, pointed at the two Uchiha, and cursed loudly. All sorts of filth were poured onto Nanshu as if they cost nothing, and they even clamored to cut off Nanshu's head as an explanation to the Cloud.

"As expected of the cold-blooded Uchiha Clan, the things you do are truly despicable!"

"You are not human at all; you are just a bunch of cruel and heartless murderers!"

"Uchiha madmen, you must pay the price for this!"

"Sneak-attacking a peace envoy of a village! Do you not have a shred of shame!"

The Cloud Shinobi pointed at the noses of Fugaku and Nanshu, cursing loudly, spraying spittle everywhere, wishing they could drown the two of them with their saliva.

But don't let the Cloud Shinobi look like they were all filled with righteous indignation; in reality, they were already overjoyed in their hearts.

It wasn't that they didn't understand politics, but that Konoha's politics were too insane—openly bribing outsiders to target a prominent clan of their own village. If this behavior happened in the Cloud Ninja Village, it would be enough to have someone's bones ground to dust!

However, who let this be Konoha Village? It would be a waste not to take the benefits, not to mention being able to enjoy a grand show of infighting.

The Cloud Shinobi cursed with increasing vigor, with all sorts of greetings emerging one after another, while Uchiha Fugaku's expression grew colder and Uchiha Nanshu's gaze became increasingly silent yet filled with fury; the Cloud Shinobi acted as if they saw nothing, and not only did they not restrain themselves, but under the intentional indulgence of the Konoha higher-ups, they became even more radical.

"This is slander; I have never done such a thing! Clan Head Hyuga should know clearly what happened that night, although I do not understand why he would lie and even splash dirty water onto the head of his own benefactor!"

Nanshu revealed a fierce expression and denied it repeatedly; he stared viciously at Hyuga Hiashi and said: "Clan Head Hyuga! Before today, I had always held considerable respect for the Hyuga, who are on par with the Uchiha, believing that although you do not get along well with the Uchiha, you are a great clan with integrity and a sense of responsibility, but your words today have completely overturned the reputation and standing the Hyuga have built in Konoha for decades. The two great noble clans of Konoha? You Hyuga are not even fit to carry the shoes of the Uchiha!"

Upon hearing Nanshu's malicious verbal abuse, Hyuga Hiashi's face turned from green to white, and the knuckles of his tightly clenched fingers turned pale.

Nanshu's gaze swept over the Cloud Shinobi, whose faces were written with arrogance, then he slightly raised his head to look at Danzo sitting in the main seat, while the latter stared at Nanshu without expression, carrying a chill cold enough to freeze the heart as if looking at a corpse; only when Danzo used the corner of his eye to observe the Third Hokage's reaction beside him would a trace of emotional fluctuation flash in those indifferent and ruthless pupils.

Nanshu followed Danzo's line of sight to look at the Third Hokage beside him; if the Hyuga betraying him was under the guidance of the higher-ups, then Danzo must be the mastermind. But what about the Third Hokage? With such a question, Nanshu looked at the Third Hokage; originally, according to Nanshu's understanding of the Third Hokage, he should not have stooped so low as to use such methods, but perhaps he had somewhat underestimated the Third Hokage's political acumen?

"Now that even the only person involved has denied your statement, what else can you quibble about at this point?"

"Murderer, kowtow and confess your guilt obediently before the envoy you innocently killed, and then go die!!"

The Cloud Shinobi kept pressing forward step by step, wanting to completely confirm this matter, and Hyuga Hiashi's testimony made them even more emboldened, constantly clamoring for him to kneel before the corpse and kowtow in apology, and even then, they would still cut off his head to take back to Cloud Ninja Village to report the mission.

"Everything Hyuga Hiashi said is a lie; the truth is that I..."

"You people of Konoha, what are you still waiting for? Take him down immediately!"

At this moment, Danzo realized the timing was ripe.

"Men!"

Two members of Root walked out from the corners of the shadows, and beneath the animal masks they wore were two pairs of eyes without any emotional ripples.

What the two radiated from their entire bodies was not killing intent, but a kind of silent "death aura."

"Take him!"

Danzo pointed at Nanshu and gave the order.