"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Toukan is leading a squad of the Military Police Force toward the Shimura clan's compound."
"What?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelid twitched violently, though for the moment he couldn't quite figure out what Uchiha Toukan was aiming for.
"Lord Hokage, let me go. I'll try to stop him." At that moment, Uchiha Itachi, who was on duty today, suddenly stepped out from the shadows, dropped to one knee, and requested the mission.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Uchiha Itachi for a long while before letting out a long sigh. "I'm counting on you, Itachi. The village can no longer withstand internal strife."
Uchiha Itachi accepted the order and departed, speeding among the rooftops of Konoha. Before long, he reached the outer perimeter of the Shimura clan's compound, where Uchiha Toukan and his leisurely advancing group arrived at the exact same time.
Inside the Shimura compound at this moment, everything in sight was draped in white mourning cloth, and the distant sounds of dirges drifted over.
Looking at the person blocking his group's path—though he wore a mask, given that height, which ninja in the entire village didn't know who the sole minor in the Anbu was?
"Itachi, we are here to summon relevant suspects from the Shimura clan to the Police Department to assist with our investigation. Did Lord Hokage send you to assist us?" Uchiha Toukan asked.
Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Uchiha Itachi simply stopped pretending and took off his mask of his own accord.
"Brother Toukan, go back. The village can no longer withstand internal strife," Uchiha Itachi said.
"So you're saying you're here to stop me?" Uchiha Toukan's gaze turned cold. "Is this your own idea, or Lord Hokage's?"
At this point, the purpose of Uchiha Toukan's deliberate, slow march through the village became apparent. After all, with such a large procession, there were bound to be a few curious villagers looking for a spectacle. Moreover, the location of the Shimura clan's compound happened to be in a relatively prosperous district of the village; by now, quite a few onlookers had already gathered around them.
"Shimuzo Danzo's desecration of the First Hokage's remains and his attacks on fellow villagers have been proven beyond a doubt, and the Shimura clan shares financial ties with him. We are merely asking them to come back and submit to an investigation, yet you stand in our way. What is your intention?!" Uchiha Toukan spoke up only when he saw that a crowd had gathered.
"Brother Toukan..." Uchiha Itachi felt somewhat uncomfortable under the gazes of the onlookers.
"Use official titles while on duty!" Uchiha Itachi interrupted mercilessly. "If this is Lord Hokage's order, I'll turn around and leave this very second."
Uchiha Itachi turned to look at the spectators, who looked eager to stretch their necks twice as long. Could he possibly say this was Lord Hokage's order?
After a night of fermentation, yesterday's events at the village gates had long since spread to every corner of the village.
"Clan Head..." Amidst the strange looks from everyone, Uchiha Itachi could only lower his head.
As for Uchiha Toukan, he led his men right past him.
Soon, members of the Shimura clan also learned of what had happened at the compound's entrance, and the current head of the Shimura clan, Shimura Hiroshi, brought men out to block Uchiha Toukan's path within the compound.
"Apologies, the Shimura clan is not receiving guests at the moment." Wearing a pure black kimono and a stern face, Shimura Hiroshi spoke to Uchiha Toukan.
"Then I suppose we picked a bad time to come," Uchiha Toukan nodded. "It looks like the Shimura clan is holding a funeral?"
"Your Uchiha clan still has the nerve to show your faces here!" At that moment, an emotionally agitated young Shimura ninja suddenly snapped and charged toward Uchiha Toukan. The Police Department members behind Uchiha Toukan made as if to move, but Uchiha Toukan raised a hand to stop them.
The agitated Shimura clansman was quickly dragged back by the surrounding Shimura ninjas.
"A junior in the clan doesn't know the rules; please forgive us for this unsightly display," Shimura Hiroshi said.
"Understandable, understandable," Uchiha Toukan smiled. "However, I'm not here as a guest today."
Uchiha Toukan put away his smile. "I must ask Clan Head Shimura to have Shimura Retsuto, Shimura Arashi, Shimura Yusuke, and the others come with us to assist with the investigation."
Behind Uchiha Toukan, the Police Department members, who had already been bottling up a bellyful of anger, immediately prepared to step forward upon hearing this, while the Shimura ninjas present naturally were not going to sit idly by.
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be in accordance with the rules," Shimura Hiroshi said in a low voice.
"We're merely asking them to cooperate with an investigation. After all, the account books found by the Police Department in the Root base show deep financial ties between the Shimura clan and Root. Personally, I believe in Clan Head Shimura's innocence," Uchiha Toukan said as he produced the mostly burnt ledger from his portable sealing scroll.
"Clan Head, what is there left to say? The Uchiha clan harbors wild ambitions, and Elder Danzo died at their hands—avenge Elder Danzo!" the restrained Shimura ninja roared.
"It seems the Shimura clan truly colluded with Shimura Danzo and intended to betray the village." Uchiha Toukan's expression grew cold and sharp, and the three tomoe in his eyes shifted into Mangekyo at that moment.
Shimura Hiroshi wanted to lash out, but seeing the Mangekyo Sharingan spinning in Uchiha Toukan's eyes, he could only suppress the impulse in his heart and said, suppressing his fury, "Stop! I'll have them go with you, old man."
As Danzo's cousin, Shimura Hiroshi had witnessed firsthand the great battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara back in the day. He clearly understood what kind of terrifying power the Mangekyo Sharingan possessed; otherwise, where had such a massive tract of land like the Valley of the End come from? Furthermore, once Uchiha Toukan unleashed his full power inside the Shimura clan's compound, the final outcome was hard to predict, but not a single member of the Shimura clan would escape alive.
At the same time, Uchiha Toukan had come bearing the banner of righteousness; if a conflict broke out between the two sides, they really would never be able to wash themselves clean, even if they jumped into the Naka River.
"Wouldn't it have been simpler if you'd just cooperated from the start?" Uchiha Toukan chuckled lightly, waving a hand to signal Uchiha Enyu and the others to make the arrests.
"Clan Head!" The young members of the Shimura clan instantly refused to stand for it. Having grown accustomed to lording it over others in the village on a daily basis, how could they stomach this kind of grievance?
"Clan Head Shimura, don't make things difficult for me." Uchiha Toukan walked up to Shimura Hiroshi and spoke softly in his ear.
Shimura Hiroshi's mouth twitched, but in the end he said nothing more, forced to step forward and signal his clansmen not to get agitated.
The arrest process did not last long, as the individuals Uchiha Toukan had previously named were all right there. Once Uchiha Enyu clapped handcuffs on them, he returned to report to Uchiha Toukan.
"Clan Head Shimura, thank you for your cooperation." Seeing that they had secured their targets, Uchiha Toukan relaxed. "However, I must offer you a word of advice: holding a funeral for traitors to the village at a time like this is probably rather inappropriate."