The air inside the council chamber was heavy with incense and distrust. Shadows flickered against the tatami walls, drawn long by the lanterns burning in the stillness. Uchiha Shigure could feel all the eyes pressing against his small frame—judgmental, suspicious, searching for weakness. He stood straight anyway, his dark eyes glinting with defiance. He wasn't about to bow, not to these men.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, had just begun to speak when a sharp voice cut through, dripping in accusation.
"The first matter is about you killing members of the Uchiha clan!" Uchiha Fugaku's jaw was tight, his expression cold and accusatory. His voice rang out across the chamber, interrupting the Hokage without hesitation.
Even Shigure, still a boy by appearance, nearly scoffed aloud. To interrupt the Sandaime Hokage so bluntly? Foolish. Dangerous. But Fugaku wasn't here for diplomacy—he came dragging blame like a blade unsheathed.
Hiruzen's words faded, the old man merely observing in silence now, as though waiting to see how far Fugaku would go.
Shigure crossed his arms. "That's strange. When exactly did I kill an Uchiha? Do you have proof?" His tone was deliberately calm, edged with mockery.
Fugaku's glare deepened. "Don't play dumb. Every Uchiha who entered the Chūnin Exam venue was killed. You, with your tainted bloodline, bore hatred toward our clan. This was revenge!" His words landed heavy, echoed by the room's stony silence.
For a moment, the boy was quiet. Then laughter burst out like a crack of thunder.
"Hahaha!" Shigure clutched his stomach, laughing so hard his voice bounced against the wooden rafters. "That's… hilarious!"
Danzo's voice came low and sharp from the shadows, his single exposed eye narrowing. "And what exactly is so funny, boy?"
Shigure's smirk didn't falter. "Your Uchiha clan is the largest in Konoha, esteemed, powerful. And me? I'm nothing but the discarded child no one wanted. I'm just five years old. Yet you're claiming I wiped out a squad of your clan's shinobi all on my own? You want me to take responsibility for that? That's not an accusation, that's a bedtime story."
Fugaku's jaw twitched. If he agreed, if he admitted that even a child no older than five could kill Uchiha shinobi, his entire clan would be disgraced.
Danzo, always watchful, cut in. "Perhaps you did not act alone. Perhaps others assisted you."
Old fox, Shigure thought scornfully. Always twisting words.
"Assisted?" Shigure arched a brow. "My team is made up of Hatake Kusuo—the son of Hatake Haiya—and Hyūga Akane, the daughter of the Hyūga elder. Both clans were founding pillars of Konoha, each as proud as your Uchiha. Do you honestly believe they would secretly conspire with me to kill members of your clan? Really?"
That silenced even Danzo for a moment. Pride ran deep in both the Hyūga and the Hatake. To suggest they would sully their name by plotting with a child? Ridiculous. But the accusations didn't stop.
Mito Kado En, another of the aged advisors, furrowed his brow. "Just months ago, Uchiha Mamoru, Uchiha Kaku, Uchiha Fēng, and an Uchiha ANBU were found dead. This, too… was it not your doing?"
The words made Fugaku's eyes flare with renewed intensity. "Yes! Mamoru bullied you, and you resented it. You killed him, and along with him his comrades! The ANBU took you to interrogation, and you slaughtered him too, didn't you?" His finger jabbed toward Shigure, his voice rising.
Shigure didn't look nervous. He smiled. "You're accusing me of murders from months ago? I was four years old. Four! My strength back then wasn't even one-thousandth of what it is now. You want me to believe I killed three fully-trained Uchiha and an ANBU at that age? Even for a sneak attack, that's laughable."
He tilted his head, his grin widening. "Are you telling an investigation report, or narrating a bedtime story for children? If you're into stories, you should pick up that new one I heard about—'Naruto: The Strongest Bloodline'. I hear it's quite the read."
"Shut your mouth!" Fugaku slammed his fist against the armrest of his seat. "Do not mock us!"
Shigure raised both hands innocently. "I only meant—your accusations are about as believable as fiction."
But Fugaku was building momentum, his face red. "Then explain the fighting signs in your house on the day Feng, Mamoru, and Kaku died! The ANBU who scouted afterward confirmed that your home was the only one reeking of Fire Release. How do you explain that?"
For once, Shigure almost wanted to laugh harder. His face turned mock-serious.
"Fire Release? Ah, yes, that day. I was trying to cook Ichiraku's cup noodles. Our stove wouldn't light, I didn't smoke—and naturally, I thought, why not use Fire Release as a quick fix? As you might guess, my chakra control wasn't the best. The gas tank exploded, and voilà—the house looked like a battlefield."
He described it so vividly, complete with hand gestures, that several of the advisors nearly faltered, caught between disbelief and unintentional amusement. Fugaku, however, looked ready to explode himself, fists clenched so tightly the veins in his hands bulged.
"Ridiculous! You dare mock the council!"
Shigure shrugged casually. "If you suspected me then, why didn't you arrest me? Such a grave failure of leadership. Let me apologize for the great tragedy caused—by me simply trying to eat noodles." He paused, smirking. "Guess I'll have to stick with dining at the actual Ichiraku shop instead."
His irreverence finally grated on Danzo, who snapped coldly, "Do not think that hiding behind Hiruzen makes you untouchable. Were you not the disciple of the Sandaime, you would have faced judgment already."
Shigure cocked his head with an innocent face. "Judgment? For what crime? Who is the murderer you keep speaking of? Certainly not me."
The Sandaime finally raised his pipe and waved his hand. His eyes, suddenly grave, turned on Shigure. "Answer truthfully. Did you kill members of the Uchiha clan?"
There was no hesitation. Shigure shook his head firmly. "No."
Hiruzen exhaled softly. "There. He has spoken. Clearly, it was not him."
The room erupted. "What!?" "Can we believe him?" "This changes nothing!" Voices clashed.
But then Hiruzen laid out the truth, pulling from his robes a pair of scrolls—one deciphered, one not. He spread them across the low table for all to see. "During the Chūnin Exams, our candidates were attacked by Kirigakure's so-called Eighteen. Shigure himself saw Uchiha shinobi fall to them with his own eyes. This encrypted scroll we intercepted confirms their target."
Koharu leaned forward, examining the text. "The pattern matches Kirigakure's ciphers. The chakra residue is water-aligned. These bear the signature of their assassins."
One by one, reluctant nods formed around the room. Even Danzo fell quiet as the message was read aloud.
"Observe the target. New directive—kill the Uchiha."
Hiruzen's voice was firm. "That is the truth. Kirigakure targeted our village and the Uchiha specifically. Shigure is innocent of these charges—the guilty are those already dead."
But that cut no comfort into Fugaku's pride. His eyes blazed with defiance, his composure cracking. "Dead men cannot defend themselves. You can invent any tale you wish! Do not think I will accept this so easily!"
Anger rippled through the room at his outburst. To defy the Hokage's words so openly was dangerous, even reckless.
"Fugaku." Danzo's voice came sharp now, anxious for once. "Enough. Leave."
But Fugaku lingered, his fists trembling, his gaze boring holes into Shigure. Only when Danzo barked again did he finally rise, storming out of the chamber with his clan's fury following behind him like a stormcloud.
Silence settled over the room, thick and uneasy. The accusations had been silenced, but not buried.
And as Shigure stood calm under the weight of so many suspicious eyes, he thought to himself: This is far from over.
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