Uchiha Douhuan left the Root headquarters without looking back.
As for Kakashi, upon hearing the name spoken by Uchiha Douhuan, a violent shock went through his heart.
*(Obito's grandmother? Of course... All these years, out of guilt, I never once went to visit her...)*
*(I really... am a failure.)*
"Captain..." Seeing Kakashi standing frozen in place, an ANBU operative stepped forward to remind him.
"I'm fine." Recovering his senses, Kakashi waved a hand. "Clean up this place, and then head back to report to the Hokage."
...
After returning to the Military Police Force headquarters located within the Uchiha clan's district, Uchiha Douhuan headed straight for the interrogation room.
The Wood Release ninja brought back yesterday had already been interrogated for a full day. Coupled with Yamanaka Fu, who had just been brought in today, the two men were now securely bound in the interrogation room with their chakra sealed, having regained consciousness not long after being brought back.
However, the interrogation was not progressing very smoothly. After all, both men were seasoned ninja—and ninja who had come straight out of Root, at that. The interrogation room at the Police Force headquarters, normally prepared for petty thieves in the village, naturally proved somewhat inadequate for the task.
"Clan Head." When Uchiha Douhuan walked into the interrogation room, several clansmen responsible for the interrogation temporarily stopped what they were doing and stepped forward to bow.
"How is the interrogation going?" Uchiha Douhuan asked.
"Their lips are very tight, especially the one from yesterday. We beat him all night, but he still won't confess to anything. We were just about to ask a three-tomoe Sharingan Jonin from the clan who is proficient in genjutsu to come and help." The person in charge of the interrogation was only an ordinary Uchiha Chunnin with a single-tomoe Sharingan. After all, it was usually only used to deal with petty thieves in the village, so such strength was naturally more than enough. But facing two ninja of considerable skill, it fell a bit short.
"There's no need to go to that much trouble. I'll handle it personally," Uchiha Douhuan said, walking into the interrogation room and stopping in front of Yamanaka Fu.
Tied to the chair, Yamanaka Fu had clearly endured several brutal beatings during the past little while. Seeing Uchiha Douhuan arrive, hatred instantly flooded his face, and his eyes burned as if they wanted to tear Uchiha Douhuan apart piece by piece.
Uchiha Douhuan smiled faintly, simply looking at this poor bastard who had been thoroughly brainwashed by Danzo, and then waved a hand. The interrogators behind him stepped forward and unleashed another round of kicks and punches.
At this sight, even Uchiha Douhuan couldn't help shaking his head—there was definitely some personal grudge mixed into this. Understandably so; Danzo's Root had frequently clashed with the Uchiha clan in the past, and now that someone had finally fallen into their hands, they naturally had to treat him well.
Seeing that the beating was about enough, Uchiha Douhuan slowly stood up and walked over to Yamanaka Fu.
"I... won't say... a single thing." Seeing Uchiha Douhuan approach, Yamanaka Fu, who had just finished absorbing another brutal beating, breathed heavily while still fixing an unyielding glare on Uchiha Douhuan.
The midday sunlight poured through the window of the interrogation room, dazzling Yamanaka Fu to the point where he could barely keep his eyes open, and the face of Uchiha Douhuan right before him appeared somewhat blurred in his vision.
"I took a tour of your Root base. It's quite terrifying," Uchiha Douhuan said softly.
"Your Root wants to help Danzo become Hokage? Wants to eliminate the Uchiha?" Uchiha Douhuan reached out and gently wiped the blood trickling from the corner of Yamanaka Fu's mouth.
"Go take a look outside. Everything outside is unchanged; the village is still the way it always was." Uchiha Douhuan's face gradually grew clear in the eyes of Yamanaka Fu, who was now growing accustomed to the sunlight, but his words sent a chill right through Yamanaka Fu's bones.
"Actually, whether you confess or not doesn't matter at all. I never intended to get any information out of your mouth in the first place." With that, Uchiha Douhuan turned to look at the clansmen in charge of the interrogation. "Keep a close eye on him. Just make sure he doesn't die."
"Inabi."
"Here!" Uchiha Inabi stepped forward and bowed before Uchiha Douhuan.
"Call up the Second Squad and come with me," Uchiha Douhuan ordered.
"Understood." Uchiha Inabi nodded. "Clan Head, where are we heading?"
"Naturally, to the Shimura clan to arrest Danzo Shimura's accomplices." Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Make arrests directly?" Uchiha Inabi asked with a trace of disbelief, though his eyes faintly revealed a glimmer of excitement. Normally within the village, relations between the ninja of the Shimura clan and their own Uchiha clan could hardly be described as good.
"How can you call it an arrest?" Uchiha Douhuan smiled. "It is already an established fact with conclusive evidence that Shimura Danzo attacked ninja of the same village and desecrated the remains of the First Hokage. And I happened to find some evidence inside the Root base regarding financial dealings between the Shimura clan and him."
As he spoke, Uchiha Douhuan produced a heavily charred ledger from a sealing scroll.
"So, we are merely inviting them to come back and assist with the investigation."
Uchiha Douhuan's words caused Yamanaka Fu, tied to the interrogation chair, to widen his eyes in shock. He clearly remembered that all financial records belonging to Root should have been completely destroyed.
Uchiha Douhuan cast a timely glance back at Yamanaka Fu. Seeing the faint smile at the corner of Uchiha Douhuan's mouth, Yamanaka Fu finally understood why Uchiha Douhuan had said that whether he confessed or not was completely irrelevant.
Yamanaka Fu began to struggle violently, and just as he tried to roar, an Uchiha member nearby simply threw a punch straight into him, conveniently blocking his mouth.
He could only watch helplessly as Uchiha Douhuan led his men away.
Soon, the Second Squad of the Military Police Force—those who had no missions at this hour—had fully assembled.
Originally, the team members had harbored some complaints upon receiving a mobilization order during their rest time, but upon hearing that they were going to cause trouble for the Shimura clan, every single fine young man of the Uchiha clan instantly perked up.
"Reporting to the Clan Head, the Second Squad of the Military Police Force is fully assembled!" Outside the gates of the Police Force headquarters, the captain of the Second Squad, Uchiha Enp, reported.
Uchiha Douhuan nodded.
Uchiha Enp suddenly shouted, "Salute to the Clan Head!"
With a sharp snap, the members of the Second Squad delivered a crisp military salute: "Loyalty!"
Uchiha Douhuan looked at the scene with a wry smile. Ever since he had on a whim saluted Sarutobi Hiruzen yesterday, this greeting had rapidly caught on within the clan.
"Loyalty!" Returning the salute, Uchiha Douhuan led the squad and marched toward the district of the Shimura clan.
Such a massive commotion could naturally not escape the notice of the village. Sarutobi Hiruzen was currently nursing a headache in his office; he had originally intended to absorb the remaining members of Root under Danzo's command, but early this morning he had received news that the entire Root had been wiped out in a bloodbath by Uchiha Douhuan.
At the same time, Uchiha Itachi, upon reporting for duty at ANBU, had faithfully informed him of everything that had transpired at yesterday's clan meeting.
Upon learning that Uchiha Douhuan had become the head of the Uchiha clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
"The only good news is that Douhuan managed to suppress the Uchiha clan's notions of a violent rebellion. Besides, recruiting civilian ninja to join the Police Force—whatever his underlying motives might be—can generally be considered a good thing." Sarutobi Hiruzen thus comforted himself.