Sarutobi Atsushi stared at the severed arm on the floor, blood still spreading. His eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
"Honestly," Shawn said gently,
"the mistake you made might not necessarily deserve death. What's the point of stubborn silence?"
"As my subordinate said—what if you were wronged?"
"If you don't speak, how would I know whether you're innocent?"
"If you don't speak, I'll just kill you."
"The Third Hokage personally granted Root the privilege of acting first and reporting later, you know."
As he spoke, Shawn's blade slid between Tsuchiya Naoya's legs.
Naoya's body trembled violently. He shut his eyes in terror.
"I… I'll talk."
"That's more like it," Shawn said warmly.
He patted Naoya's shoulder and released him.
The moment he let go—
Naoya suddenly spat something out.
A senbon shot straight toward Shawn's face.
Atsushi and the others were horrified—but too slow to intervene.
Shawn reacted instantly, raising his arm and deflecting the senbon.
"Looking for death."
With a reverse grip, Shawn drove his blade through Naoya's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"Flying Insect," he said coldly,
"let your bugs eat him."
"Start with the ears."
"Let him hear the sound of himself being eaten."
Behind the mask, Aburame Hii's eyelid twitched. Then he nodded.
"Yes, Captain."
It was cruel—but Naoya clearly had a problem.
There was no need for mercy.
Aburame Hii stepped forward and injected parasitic insects into Naoya's body. They began gnawing at his ears, bit by bit.
The physical pain was unimaginable—
But what broke him was the chewing sound.
Naoya's eyes widened in sheer terror. With his intact right hand, he tried desperately to claw at his ears—
Only for Shawn to casually pin that hand to the wall with a kunai.
Only then did Shawn slowly remove the senbon lodged in his own arm.
There was no poison.
The wound healed almost instantly.
"Leave this to you," Shawn said calmly.
"If he talks, Ape, you write it down."
"If he doesn't—let the insects eat him hollow.
Ears first. Then nose. Then eyes. Leave the mouth."
Dropping the senbon, Shawn turned and walked out.
He was a kind-hearted man.
He couldn't bear to watch something so brutal happen right in front of him—
so naturally, he stepped away.
A short while later, Inuzuka Ryō approached Shawn and handed him a small notebook.
"Captain… he confessed."
Shawn took it, flipped through a few pages, and smiled faintly.
"What a tragically beautiful love story."
Old-fashioned.
Bloody cliché.
Tsuchiya Naoya had once been saved by a female Sky-nin. Over time, he fell in love with her.
As a guard of Konoha's ninjutsu archives, Naoya began abusing his authority—
stealing sealing technique scrolls and handing them over to her.
"Hayami Mari," Shawn murmured.
"Nice name."
After that praise, Shawn returned inside.
Naoya's nose was almost gone.
Looking down at him, Shawn said calmly,
"At this point, do you really think you can still protect Hayami Mari?"
"The only thing you can do now… is atone."
"Tell me—where is your next transaction?"
"And the sealing techniques you already handed over—
do copies still exist?"
Shawn knew this well.
Once a person's bottom line was shattered, every past 'principle' collapsed with it.
Naoya's final defenses broke.
Hanging his head, he confessed everything.
There were copies—hidden beneath the bedroom floor.
The next transaction was two days later, near a lake on the outskirts of Konoha.
The scenery there was beautiful. Many villagers visited for leisure.
Every time Naoya was on leave, he met Hayami Mari there.
Not just to betray village secrets—
But also to "exchange affection."
Inuzuka Ryō quickly retrieved the sealing technique copies.
Shawn skimmed through them briefly, then handed them back.
"Make four copies."
Ryō froze.
Atsushi and Aburame Hii also looked at Shawn.
Shawn raised an eyebrow.
"Can you memorize all of it?"
Ryō swallowed nervously.
"Captain… isn't it wrong to privately take the village's secret techniques?"
Shawn patted Ryō on the shoulder and smiled.
"If you don't take them, how can I take them?"
"If you don't take them, if I don't take them—
how can Lord Danzo take them?"
Ryō wanted to ask whether Lord Danzo really needed to acquire them this way—
But Shawn's logic… strangely made sense.
He nodded.
Teachable.
Shawn was very satisfied.
Then he turned to Aburame Hii.
"Flying Insect—since he's confessed, give him a clean death."
"Wait!"
Atsushi suddenly spoke.
"Captain… since he's confessed, shouldn't we hand him over to ANBU and report this to the Third Hokage?"
Shawn's gaze turned razor-sharp.
It was cold.
Oppressive.
"It seems I need to remind you of something."
"Lord Danzo's will is my will.
My will is Lord Danzo's will."
"My command is Lord Danzo's command."
"You may have objections—
keep them to yourself."
"This is a military order."
Then, after a brief pause, Shawn added calmly,
"Since this is your first time, I'll explain."
"Whether we have ironclad evidence or not, laying hands on our own comrades is not something worth publicizing."
"Do you really want to hand him to ANBU—
so more people can know that we tortured and killed a fellow shinobi without definitive proof, under the banner of the Third Hokage?"
"Do you really want the Third Hokage to bear this darkness for us?"
Atsushi was drenched in cold sweat.
He bowed deeply.
"Captain… I was wrong."
Shawn replied flatly,
"If we are to protect the village from the shadows,
then we must have the resolve to carry the darkness ourselves."
"Do it cleanly."
With that, Shawn turned and left.
He was too compassionate.
He couldn't stand seeing killing take place.
Outside, he waited less than five minutes before the others emerged.
Aburame Hii reported,
"The body has been handled."
Inuzuka Ryō followed,
"All traces have been cleaned."
Shawn nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Back to the base."
After returning to Root headquarters, Shawn first ensured the sealing techniques were copied.
Only then did he take Naoya's original materials and head to Danzo's office to report.
He recounted everything in detail—
The mission.
The interrogation.
The intelligence.
The sealing techniques.
Even the fact that four copies had been made.
Danzo flipped through the materials casually and looked up.
"You're interested in fūinjutsu?"
Shawn bowed respectfully.
"It is thanks to you, Lord Danzo, that I gained the First Hokage's power."
"As long as it benefits you, I am willing to give everything."
I want to learn sealing techniques—for your sake, Lord Danzo.
Danzo neither confirmed nor denied it.
He also did not pursue the matter of Shawn's squad privately retaining copies.
Instead, he spoke calmly:
"Bring Hayami Mari back alive."
Shawn immediately acknowledged the order.
"Understood."