Chapter 12: Nara's Wild Imagination Leaves Everyone Terrified

Hearing this, Uchiha Shisui could no longer hold back.

"Hokage, it is absolutely impossible," Uchiha Shisui quickly spoke up. "Jin is an Uchiha; how could he possibly kill his own clan?"

"They had grievances with each other, which is common in the Uchiha clan, but it could never escalate to murder."

"Besides, Jin is just a fresh graduate; he doesn't have the capability!"

However, in response, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.

He neither nodded nor shook his head.

Time slowly passed.

After a long while.

Fugaku Uchiha spoke.

"Uchiha Shisui makes sense; Uchiha Jin lacks the ability."

His words were firm and decisive.

In his eyes, Uchiha Jin was merely an ordinary clansman.

In fact, he could be called trash!

How could he possibly have the power to kill three elite clansmen?

Inoichi Yamanaka hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up.

"I must remind everyone of the state of the three Uchiha when they died."

"They were killed in an instant; from start to finish, they offered no resistance."

"The culprit's Body Flicker Technique was incredibly powerful, and they shattered the hearts of the three Uchiha with a single punch."

"This is a taijutsu expert specializing in Body Flicker!"

Hiss!

Hearing these words, everyone was shocked once again.

Yes.

Although they all knew about this incident, they were unaware of the specific details.

Now that Inoichi Yamanaka had said this, they immediately began to ponder.

In the current ninja world, are there any ninja who specialize exclusively in taijutsu?

Yes!

But those who could truly be called taijutsu masters were practically non-existent.

The only possible candidate would be from the Hidden Cloud Village, where there might be a slight possibility.

After all, everyone knew.

The Third Raikage, A, created a secret technique that used lightning to refine the body.

Therefore, the ninja of the Hidden Cloud Village possessed strong taijutsu.

There we go.

We are back to the Hidden Cloud Village again.

Upon hearing this, Koharu Utatane couldn't help but speak: "The Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Leaf are already at war; do they have a reason to use such tactics?"

"The key point is, if it truly was the Hidden Cloud," Homura Mitokado spoke, "then what was their true purpose in doing so?"

"Or more accurately, what benefit could they gain?"

As the two elders spoke, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy once more.

Yes.

After this discussion, the possibility of Uchiha Jin being the perpetrator had been completely forgotten by everyone.

An Uchiha waste was not worth the time.

He didn't have the ability!

The power struggles in the ninja world were still at a very basic stage.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was the most skilled at power struggles, was, in truth, at a primary school level compared to Uchiha Jin's past life.

So.

Even if they racked their brains, they could not comprehend Uchiha Jin's thought process.

Instead, Uchiha Shisui.

Listening to everyone's discussion, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's fine.

No matter what we end up discussing, at least Uchiha Jin is safe.

Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke up.

"Nara, speak."

"I want to hear your thoughts!"

As the Hokage spoke, everyone else's gaze also focused on Nara Shikaku.

Yes.

When it comes to strategy, the Nara clan is the face of the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Itachi can fully trust the Nara's wisdom.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Nara Shikaku pinched his chin with his left hand, thinking since a moment ago.

Now.

Seeing everyone looking at him, he finally let out a heavy sigh, then spoke with a hint of confusion.

"Actually, I've been thinking."

"Have we made this problem too complicated?"

"Perhaps this matter is simple in itself."

"Here's what I suggest."

"Let me start from the beginning. Everyone, think about whether my guess makes sense."

"Two years ago, a Cloud Village squad came to the Hidden Leaf to seize a Kekkei Genkai, but with everyone either dead or captured, one Cloud ninja eventually grew afraid."

"So, he fled."

"Then, some time ago, the Cloud Village captured this ninja again."

"Now that the Cloud Village and the Hidden Leaf are at war, they simply decided to make use of this waste, which is why they staged this whole thing."

"As for their goal, it is also very simple."

"It is to cause the Hidden Leaf to fall into complete internal chaos."

"After all, at this moment, the Cloud Village has no reason to strike directly."

"But in reality, it clears the Cloud Village of suspicion."

"Making the various clans of the Hidden Leaf suspect each other, and choosing the Uchiha as the target, is a brilliant move."

"Everyone knows the Uchiha's temper."

"Under normal circumstances, the Uchiha clan would surely erupt into a huge internal conflict over this matter."

"The Uchiha moderates might be fine, but the radicals would never give up."

"Especially since the Uchiha control the Military Police Force, investigating this would surely stir up chaos throughout the Hidden Leaf."

"By then, the Hidden Leaf would definitely be in turmoil."

"Even without considering the Hidden Leaf's side, purely within the Uchiha themselves, chaos might break out."

"Everyone, try to imagine this: our Hidden Leaf is currently fighting on four fronts."

"If internal chaos erupts under such circumstances, what kind of situation would that be?"

"There are experts within the Cloud Village!"

Hiss!

After hearing Nara Shikaku's guess, everyone was shocked.

However.

After everyone thought it over carefully, it seemed that was indeed the case.

At this critical juncture, the enemy certainly hopes for internal chaos in the Hidden Leaf.

In that case.

The other ninja villages would not need to exert any effort to directly destroy the Hidden Leaf, the strongest ninja village.

With such a huge temptation, could they really remain unmoved?

Subconsciously.

Everyone accepted this reasoning.

"Yes, that's it."

"The Cloud Village's heart is too black; they are utterly shameless."

"We must not fall for their trap!"

"Especially at this critical moment, we must be united as one."

"..."

Everyone present spoke up one after another.

Sweat poured down their foreheads; they were all terrified by this guess.

Especially, the Uchiha.

After hearing these words, Fugaku immediately made a solemn pledge.

"Hokage-sama, and everyone else."

"I, Fugaku, guarantee here and now that the Uchiha clan will not cause any trouble."

"I swear by the honor of our ancestors: during the war, whoever dares to cause trouble, I, Uchiha Fugaku, will be the first to oppose them!"

He was covered in cold sweat.

If the Third Great Ninja War were to fail because of the Uchiha.

This burden is too heavy; he truly cannot carry it!

So, without a single word of nonsense, he immediately began to swear oaths.

In fact, let alone others.

Even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was now sweating profusely.

Good heavens, truly terrifying.

He himself had almost fallen for it.

One can imagine.

If he had truly investigated this matter deeply, it would have caused a major crisis!

One must remember that the Hidden Leaf Village is now surrounded by enemies on all sides.

The Hidden Cloud, the Hidden Stone, the Hidden Sand, and the Hidden Mist.

Four ninja villages have declared war on the Hidden Leaf, which is already desperately short of ninja.

Even fifth-year students are now being forced onto the battlefield.

If an internal conflict were to erupt over this matter, the trouble would be truly immense.

Regardless of the truth, this investigation must stop.

What matters most now is to stabilize the hearts of the Hidden Leaf.

Considering this, he immediately rose and spoke.

"This matter ends here."

"This is the Hidden Cloud's conspiracy, attempting to incite internal chaos within our Hidden Leaf."

"Fortunately, the Jonin Commander, Shikamaru Nara, was wise enough to expose the Hidden Cloud's plot directly."

"I shall proclaim this to the entire ninja world, so that all may know the treacherous cruelty of such villains as the Hidden Cloud."

"And I shall issue a solemn warning to all: attempting to target the Hidden Leaf with such malice will absolutely not succeed."

"Do not say I did not warn Itachi!"