Chapter 367 – Investigation Results (Double Length Chapter)
"Third Hokage-sama, this way."
Under the cold moonlight, the Third Hokage moved swiftly toward their previous rally point, escorted by ROOT operatives.
In truth, they were already late.
Reports said that when the first "Konoha earthquake" occurred, scouts had immediately gone to investigate. The results were said to be deeply unsettling. The sensory unit had delivered its report soon after, prompting the realization that something was seriously wrong—hence their hurried arrival.
They were not alone.
From every direction, ninja rushed forward at full speed.
All of them were headed toward the same destination—
The collapsed canyon at the very edge of Konoha.
By the time the Third Hokage arrived, over a hundred ninja had already gathered there, desperately trying to extinguish the raging flames.
The scale of the fire was almost unbelievable.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Technique!"
One water-style jutsu after another was unleashed.
Most of the responders were members of the Police Force, choking on thick smoke as they fought to contain the spreading wildfire.
But it didn't take long for someone to notice something strange—
Amid the flames lurked a distinct, pitch-black fire.
Under the cover of night, it wasn't immediately obvious, yet its ferocity was unmistakable.
Ordinary water techniques were completely ineffective against it.
Fortunately, these black flames seemed to be slowly fading for reasons unknown, sparing everyone considerable trouble.
Naturally, this was Amaterasu.
Although Kei and Fugaku had long since severed their control, allowing the flames to extinguish themselves, there were always a few remnants left behind.
Especially since Fugaku had used Kagutsuchi, an ability that expanded and intensified Amaterasu—making the flames far harder to suppress.
The Third Hokage slowly walked to the intact ridge above the canyon, staring down at the devastation below.
Pipe in hand, his expression darkened.
Why is it here again?
Why is it once more the place where I met Uchiha Shisui?
Ignoring all attempts to stop him, he leapt directly into the canyon.
The ROOT operatives had no choice but to follow.
He approached two figures squatting beside an enormous chasm—Nara Shikaku and Hyūga Hiashi—both deep in thought.
"Shikaku, Hiashi," the Third Hokage asked directly.
"What have you found?"
"Third Hokage-sama."
They immediately stood up.
"No need for formality," he said, eyes fixed on the massive fissure.
"You've been observing for quite some time—what's your conclusion?"
Shikaku exchanged a glance with Hiashi, then stepped forward.
"From what we can tell… this appears to be the mark of a blade."
A blade?
The Third Hokage placed his pipe between his lips and fell silent.
He hadn't disagreed—because he had noticed the same thing.
This colossal gash was undeniably a slash.
But what kind of blade could do this?
For ninja, even the longest swords were only a few meters in length.
No human-sized weapon could possibly leave behind a scar like this.
This wasn't something a normal ninja could accomplish.
"Could it be… Jiraiya has returned?"
The thought crossed his mind.
He knew Jiraiya's summoning techniques well.
The giant toad Gamabunta wielded a sword tens of meters long, capable of carving enormous scars into the ground.
The surrounding fire damage even vaguely fit Jiraiya's fighting style—oil combined with large-scale Fire Release.
But the Third Hokage quickly shook his head.
The residual chakra here didn't match Jiraiya or Gamabunta.
Instead, it carried an ominous, chilling quality—
A sensation he had felt before.
Orochimaru… and that damned Uchiha Kei.
Was it really that brat?
The Third Hokage frowned.
After a battle of this magnitude, Kei should have been severely affected.
Yet that same young man stood not far away—right beside Minato Namikaze.
From his aura alone, Kei showed no signs of injury or exhaustion.
At that moment, members of the sensory unit arrived.
The squad leader was someone the Third Hokage recognized—Yamanaka Masato.
Masato hesitated the instant he noticed both the Third and Fourth Hokage present.
The distance between them—and the complete lack of communication—made the situation painfully awkward.
After a brief struggle, Masato reluctantly approached the Third Hokage and bowed respectfully.
He then turned to lead his team toward the Fourth Hokage—
And froze.
Because he saw Uchiha Kei.
"Oh, Masato—you're here."
Minato turned with a gentle smile.
"Thank you for your hard work. None of us expected something like this to happen."
"Long time no see, Masato-kun," Kei added casually, smiling as he walked over.
"I heard you've been promoted to squad leader. Shame I never got the chance to congratulate you."
Masato's expression twitched.
"Hmph."
The Third Hokage snorted coldly.
"Fourth Hokage, Captain Kei—shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters right now?"
Being casually ignored like this made him distinctly uncomfortable.
"Y-yes—Fourth Hokage-sama, Third Hokage-sama, Captain Kei."
Masato let out a subtle breath of relief.
This kind of invisible confrontation—between the very core of Konoha's power structure—was something he absolutely did not want to be caught in.
People of his rank would be crushed instantly if they stepped into this arena.
Even his cousin, Yamanaka Inoichi, wouldn't fare much better.
Masato knew the truth.
Although the Ino–Shika–Chō clans had once drawn closer to Uchiha Kei—
They were now deliberately keeping their distance.
It was the only way to survive between giants.
He quickly knelt, pressed a hand to the ground, and closed his eyes.
Moments later, sweat beaded on his forehead.
He had sensed it.
The sheer terror of the power unleashed here—
And, more importantly, who had wielded it.
Not only that.
He had detected several other extremely subtle chakra signatures—
And recognized their owners as well.
The realization made Yamanaka Masato swallow hard.
Especially when he remembered that the owners of those chakra signatures—
No. Not two.
Four of them were present here.
And he knew, at this very moment, he was standing at a crossroads.
'Among those extremely concealed chakra signatures… one belongs to the future Head of the Mission Department, Imai Kenta. Another belongs to a Hyūga branch family member…'
Masato felt his head was about to explode.
'And another extremely concealed chakra signature… belongs to the Hokage himself!'
"What's wrong?"
Just as Masato felt his thoughts spiraling out of control, a gentle voice sounded beside him.
It was Minato Namikaze.
"Did you discover anything, Captain Masato?"
"Y—yes, I did…"
Masato jumped in fright the moment he heard the voice.
And the instant he spoke, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself.
"If you found something, then say it."
Kei also spoke gently, his tone calm and reassuring.
"I'm sure Captain Masato has made a discovery that will satisfy everyone."
Satisfy my ass!
You damn bastard—you caused all of this! How could you possibly not know what happened?!
Masato roared inwardly, yet his face remained perfectly composed.
After a brief pause, he raised his head and looked at Minato, Kei, and finally the Third Hokage—who was puffing on his pipe while staring straight at him with piercing eyes.
At that moment, Masato made his decision.
"I detected two chakra signatures here,"
"Both of them… stand at the very pinnacle of the shinobi world. I fear there may be no one capable of opposing them."
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"I've sensed countless chakra signatures in my life, but this is the first time I've encountered anything like this. Still, I am absolutely certain."
Hyūga Hiashi spoke in disbelief:
"When did such individuals appear in the shinobi world? Who are they?"
"At the very pinnacle…?"
The Third Hokage frowned slightly. His gaze flicked briefly toward Kei before returning to Masato.
"And what else?"
"I'm sorry—there was no blood, so I couldn't extract more precise information."
Masato continued carefully.
"But from the nature of the clashing chakra, one was extremely cold, while the other was intensely scorching.
Their fighting styles were completely different—one specialized in taijutsu, the other in ninjutsu.
And judging from the traces left behind… their bodies must have been enormous.
I fear that…"
He hesitated briefly before finishing:
"The ones who fought here… were not human."
Not human?
The Third Hokage frowned.
The answer was vague—too vague.
Yet when he looked at the utterly transformed terrain, the shattered earth, and the cleaved canyon…
He found himself unconsciously accepting the explanation.
Because really—
What kind of human could do this?
This simply wasn't something a human being should be capable of.
Not only him—Nara Shikaku and Hyūga Hiashi also seemed to accept that conclusion.
Only Minato and Kei wore slightly strange expressions.
Minato let out a quiet sigh of relief, then glanced at Kei with faint amusement.
Meanwhile, Kei's expression had darkened just a bit.
This guy… he did that on purpose, didn't he?
Was that his way of getting back at me?
---
"It looks like everything's settled, then."
Late at night, Kei invited all members of the Police Force who had participated in the firefighting effort to a tavern for a late-night meal.
By this point, the massive fire caused by his and Fugaku's battle had been fully contained.
Truth be told, shinobi were terrifyingly destructive—
But when their power was redirected, they were equally capable of extraordinary efficiency.
Of course, it also helped that Kei and Fugaku had extinguished the Amaterasu flames themselves.
Otherwise, suppressing the fire would have been impossible.
Minato shot Kei a glare.
This guy really had the nerve to say that?
If he and Fugaku hadn't gone all out in the final phase, how could they have drawn so much attention?
Minato had even been forced to step in personally—to shield Kei and ensure Masato absolutely did not say anything he shouldn't.
Though watching that battle had stirred Minato's blood and strengthened his confidence about the future…
Right now, his head still ached.
"You really have some nerve," Minato said helplessly.
"If the two of you had shown even a little restraint, things wouldn't have escalated like this."
"This incident won't stay hidden from everyone," he continued seriously.
"Even if they don't know who did it—and even if those who do won't dare speak—this level of destruction will only reinforce the suspicions of those with ulterior motives."
"And isn't that perfect?"
Kei tilted his head, lifting his teacup.
"If handled properly, Konoha could enjoy ten years—or even longer—of peace.
Only overwhelming strength can deter prying eyes."
"But you're overlooking one thing."
Kenta, seated beside Minato, spoke up.
"You can't act freely, can you? If you draw Kirigakure's attention, everything you did there gets exposed."
"I was thinking the same," Ayaka said calmly, tilting her head toward Kei.
"To be honest, we're not afraid of high-end power—but our mid- and low-tier forces still lag behind.
Your strength can decide entire battlefields, but if you can't use it… that deterrent loses its effect."
They were absolutely right.
Kei's actions in Kirigakure were still under intense discussion across the shinobi world.
One man holding back an entire battlefield.
Defeating a Mizukage controlling a tailed beast.
That wasn't just a threat—it was a nightmare.
No village would tolerate such an enemy.
And back then, the blame had been shifted onto Obito's mysterious organization.
If Kei were exposed now, it would be a slap to Konoha's face.
The entire shinobi world would lose trust in them.
Spies hidden throughout the Land of Fire would immediately move.
Worse still, Kei's handling of the Fire Daimyō had earned him the hatred of every feudal lord.
The pressure would be unimaginable.
Add to that the Nine-Tails incident—and the fact that Kei could control tailed beasts—
With enough propaganda, he might not even have a place left in Konoha.
Rumors may stop with the wise—
But "wise" people often abandon wisdom when benefits are involved.
Public opinion could easily become the deadliest weapon of all.
All of that hinged on one condition, though.
Kei exposing himself.
"Even if I were exposed," Kei sighed softly,
"there aren't many people who could stop me."
"Of course, I'm not at the point of doing whatever I want just yet.
But I do have a way to act—if the other side cooperates."
Minato paused.
"You mean… if they deploy a tailed beast?"
He immediately thought of the intelligence Obito had left behind—the mysterious organization hunting tailed beasts.
Of course, Konoha had to pretend ignorance.
But wherever there were tailed beasts, that organization followed.
Whether as a warning or another perfect scapegoat—
As long as a tailed beast appeared, Kei could act.
Disguising himself as a member of that group wasn't difficult.
After all, everyone already knew there were Uchiha among them.
The only complication was Susanoo.
But if Kei could manifest it through a shadow clone…
Then perhaps this time, he could completely sever himself from the "mysterious Uchiha."
The only unknown was—
Just how far could a shadow clone push Susanoo?
Because the one in Kirigakure had been utterly monstrous.
"Are Susanoo colors unique to each Uchiha?" Minato asked quietly.
"Hard to say," Kei replied after thinking.
"There are very few Mangekyō users.
As far as I know, there are only three Susanoo—mine, Fugaku's, and Madara's.
And all three are different colors."
"So even you don't know," Minato sighed.
"Then your 'clearing your name' plan will need careful groundwork.
Not too obvious—but not too subtle either.
At the very least, people need to believe that Susanoo colors can vary… or overlap."
At this point, Kei understood perfectly.
With the Hokage personally covering for him, his margin for escape was enormous.
But preparation was still essential.
Too heavy-handed, and people would notice manipulation.
Too light, and it would be meaningless.
Fortunately—
He had the Police Force at his disposal.
"Alright, it's late."
Minato stood, taking a sip of tea.
"Kushina and Naruto are waiting. I'll leave the rest of the night to you youngsters."
"You're not old," Kei laughed, standing as well.
"Even if you are a father now."
Kei, Kenta, and Ayaka bowed slightly.
"We won't see you out, then."
Minato nodded, glanced at the still-eating Police Force members—
And vanished in a flash of Flying Thunder God.
---
"Monsters… not humans?"
On the far side of Konoha, Nara Shikaku walked alongside Yamanaka Masato toward their clan lands.
Their territories were close, giving Shikaku a chance to speak privately.
Only when they were nearly inside did Shikaku finally ask:
"So… was it really monsters?"
Masato hesitated, then sighed.
"Don't ask, Shikaku.
Too many people are involved.
The situation is far too serious."
"For our own safety… it's better that it was monsters."
Shikaku frowned.
Too many people involved? Serious consequences?
Seeing Masato's unwillingness to elaborate, Shikaku knew he wouldn't get answers.
He knew Masato's character well.
Once he chose silence, nothing would pry it open.
On the battlefield, Masato had once been captured by Iwagakure—
Tortured for days without revealing a single word.
If not for Kei—
Shikaku froze.
Again… Kei?
Was this connected to him?
Shikaku rubbed his chin.
No—this felt bigger.
Too many people. Consequences too severe.
Could someone even more terrifying be involved?
And just how severe were those consequences?
Suddenly, realization struck—
Cold sweat broke out across Shikaku's back.