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Because they received an emergency order to return to the village, Team Minato galloped all the way back to Konohagakure, without even finishing the supply station construction.
Hokage's Office.
"Stop, only one person can go in at a time," an Anbu blocked the door with a cold tone.
Akira Tsubaki and the others looked at each other.
Is this interrogation style popular now?
"Akira, you go in first."
Pushing open the door of the office, Akira Tsubaki froze for a moment.
Not only was Sarutobi Hiruzen in the office, but also Danzō.
"Close the door," Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured.
"Akira, the Hokage and I are going to decide your fate. You must answer the next question truthfully," Danzō spoke with a serious tone.
"Understood," Akira Tsubaki nodded seriously.
"Regarding the killing of the three Root Ninjas, tell me everything you know! Don't be afraid, the whole village stands behind you!"
Being stared at by two powerful figures, Akira Tsubaki assumed a serious expression of reminiscence.
He began: "Our team helped Anko escort the supplies, and on the way, we saw several corpses and two seriously injured Sunagakure Ninjas."
"Namikaze Minato didn't show up then?" Danzō asked abruptly.
"Uh… No. Sensei arrived after we finished sending out the signal flares," Akira Tsubaki replied.
"I see~~"
Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen exchanged glances.
The second person to be interrogated was Obito.
"Uchiha Obito!"
Obito was startled immediately because Lord Danzō was too loud.
"Tell me about the process of killing the three Root Ninjas." With strong pressure in his tone, Danzō stared at Obito.
"Huh? I didn't see it!" Obito looked overly frightened.
He genuinely hadn't seen it.
Because Akira Tsubaki struck too fast.
The third person to be interrogated was Rin.
"Rin Nohara, if you were threatened, you are safe now. Tell me about the process of killing the three Root Ninjas by Namikaze Minato."
"Huh? Minato-sensei arrived later~~" Rin corrected him.
Next, it was Kakashi's turn.
"Kakashi, tell the truth about the situation when you met the three Root Ninjas."
"We were helping Anko…"
The last person to be interrogated was Ibiki Morino (Kiki).
He was not a member of Team Minato, so he was asked many additional questions.
Pity.
Akira Tsubaki had helped him avenge his teammates and had even threatened him to stab the corpse a few times. Kiki was destined not to betray Akira Tsubaki.
After the interrogation, Team Minato was told not to leave the village for the time being.
In the Office.
Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward the corner together.
Swish!
A Ninja appeared: Yamanaka Inoichi.
He was a member of Konoha's Sensory Division and the head of the Yamanaka Clan.
"Inoichi, what is your conclusion?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"Three people are not lying, namely Akira Tsubaki, Uchiha Obito, and Rin Nohara! The other two are lying," Inoichi answered truthfully.
Quiet!
Silence fell over the office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised; Danzō couldn't believe it. Even Inoichi was confused.
Because—
Akira Tsubaki's statement was exactly the same as Kakashi and Ibiki Morino's statement.
How could the same story result in two completely different levels of truthfulness?
"Inoichi! Are you sure your polygraph technique is accurate?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with a frown.
"It has never failed before," Inoichi replied.
This technique was a unique spiritual mystery technique of the Yamanaka Clan, and it had never failed. But now, there seemed to be a small issue.
Certainly.
This was also understandable.
Boom!
Danzō slammed his fist on the table, his face gloomy.
"I knew they were hiding the truth."
"It must be Namikaze Minato!"
"Calm down, did you forget what Inoichi just said? Akira Tsubaki didn't lie!" Sarutobi Hiruzen reminded him.
According to Akira Tsubaki's story, Namikaze Minato arrived only after the flare was fired.
"No! What if Akira Tsubaki was deceived?"
Danzō offered a different speculation.
There was only one possibility: Akira Tsubaki was fooled by Kakashi and Ibiki Morino, which is why the lie detector didn't register a lie.
"It's possible," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
Next, Danzō began to speculate further.
"Perhaps because Kakashi and Ibiki Morino found some clues, they were threatened by Namikaze Minato. Then, the two of them fabricated a lie to deceive the other three!"
"Danzō, although what you said makes sense, it's just speculation," Sarutobi Hiruzen reminded him.
"Speculation? How do you explain the fact that those two people lied?" Danzō countered.
"How about this."
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought for a while and offered a solution.
"You send someone to the front line to interrogate the two Sunagakure Ninjas. And when Minato returns, we will question him as well."
Training Ground No. 9.
Team Minato gathered, and Ibiki Morino was also present.
"Akira, what were you asked about?"
"What about you?"
They communicated and summarized the questions they were interrogated about.
Next, Akira Tsubaki sat on the rock, lost in thought.
"It seems there are no problems?"
After thinking for a while, he couldn't find any loopholes in the five people's synchronized answers.
Akira Tsubaki didn't know that while the five of them were being interrogated, a Yamanaka Clan leader was secretly performing a spiritual investigation.
He also didn't know that his [Super Immunity] had directly immunized him against this spiritual mystery technique.
And so.
Akira Tsubaki, the actual killer, was deemed innocent by Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
When Team Minato arrived at the ramen shop, the owner was so angry his teeth were chattering.
"Last time, you ran so fast!"
Staring at the brats, Teuchi (Tachi) held out his hand and demanded payment for the ramen from the previous time.
"Wait a minute! Did we even eat the noodles last time?" Akira Tsubaki asked, puzzled.
"You didn't eat, but you ordered them, and you have to pay for them!"
"What do we pay for if we didn't eat?" Akira Tsubaki countered.
"You ordered them, ordered them! Do you understand?" Teuchi was frantic.
"Then bring out the noodles we ordered last time."
Teuchi: "..."
Finally, Akira Tsubaki and the others were kicked out.
"Akira, weren't you a bit too mean?" Ibiki Morino said in disbelief.
He had hoped to grab a bowl of ramen from Team Minato, but he didn't get any noodles and was kicked out instead.
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and disappear!" Akira Tsubaki waved his hands, looking impatient.
Ibiki Morino left quickly.
Team Minato ran back into the ramen shop.