Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón @
[ https://www̧̧.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]
The link is also in the synopsis
———
.
"May I?" Takuma asked Fujita, pointing at the latter's chair behind the table.
Fujita, whose skin had paled in real-time from stress, nodded with some hope glimmering in his eyes. Someone had just made a move to screw him over. He was going to take any hand that would pull him out of his sinking doom.
"Who are you?" The smugness had vanished from the man's voice as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Takuma picked up the patrol record file that was presented as proof of Fujita's blunder. They didn't match the reports shown to him previously, which would mean one of those reports was falsified. He didn't know which one was false. Automatically siding with Fujita wasn't logically sound because the outpost leader could be trying to cover up his incompetence, but this investigation party was just too suspicious. For now, he was going to operate on a temporary assumption that Fujita's version of the record was true.
"Who is your informant?" he asked.
"I can't give you that information. Who are you?"
"I can understand that. An informant's identity is to be protected, after all. I won't push for it... for now," Takuma said as he placed the investigation order on the table. "Who are you?"
"I'm Chunin Nomura Renjiro. I'm in charge of this investigation... And you are ANBU?" said the man with slicked-back hair.
"Correct. Since when have you been on this case, Chunin Renjiro?"
"... A little less than a week, a few days."
Takuma smiled behind his mask. The response was carefully considered. It was clear that this had been in the plans for a while, but they couldn't say that because they would have to answer why ANBU didn't know about it.
"Wow, you guys sure move quickly. Who ordered this investigation?"
"Jōnin Hanezawa Souta."
Takuma tapped his finger against the table. He wasn't familiar with the jōnin beyond the name and some public details. That was a positive sign, as in the past few months, he had conducted extensive research on jōnin who had close connections and dealings with Danzo. Hanezawa Souta had dealings with Danzo—so did all Hidden Leaf because the old warmonger was like that—but they were at the minimum one could have with the old bat.
Thinking about why a jōnin would order this investigation was beyond his scope. He would let Itachi handle why that was important.
"Well, usually, ANBU's jurisdiction supersedes everything else, but seeing that you were sent here by Jōnin Hanezawa himself, I'm going to honour his decision. Let's work together to put this matter to bed."
He wanted to ensure they wouldn't leave by using ANBU as an excuse because they were caught off guard by him. It gave him more time to dig in and find out what they were trying to do, because investigating was not the goal.
"Now, let's get this mess cleared up." Takuma turned to Fujita. "Please order the original and all existing copies of these patrol records. I want to see if there are discrepancies in the records."
"I'll also call the people mentioned in this report," Fujita said.
"That'd be great," Takuma nodded as he stood up. "Excuse me for a moment."
He entered the washroom and locked the door behind him. He started the tap before popping open the sizeable frosted glass window and slipped out. As he stood on the wall, he signed hand seals for a Shadow Clone Jutsu. The smoke bounced off the building's wall as a clone emerged on the wall.
They nodded to each other before the clone walked away, while Takuma returned to the building. The group was chattering and whispering among themselves, but stopped the moment the tap water stopped flowing. He entered the office and found that Fujita wasn't there.
"So what do you think?" Takuma asked Renjiro. "Do you believe your informant?"
"Confirmation of the information is important," Renjiro replied. "But we just got the confirmation? You and Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita might say otherwise, but these matching records are proof that he was incompetent."
"What about the people who went on those patrols? What if they say otherwise?"
Renjiro shook his head calmly. "The staff here has all the incentive to lie. Depending on the severity of the situation, they're all at risk of being fired. Everyone knows that even the best-case scenario will end in a shake-up, so it's everyone's incentive to dress up this ugly situation as best as possible."
Takuma nodded. He couldn't refute that point. If he were in their position, he wouldn't've believed the staff over-recorded proof, but he had seen Fujita's records, and that changed his view of the situation.
"Should we end the investigation by today? We have the proof, and I'm sure an ANBU-nin like you is also busy," said Renjiro.
"I can't end it today. I'm not sure about you, but I'm here to resolve this entire thing. I'd like to get rid of these bandits before I head home," Takuma said as he observed their expression.
All five of them looked at him admirably, which wasn't the reaction he was expecting. What if they were merely pawns in the grand scheme, who knew nothing about this case's connection to ROOT? As long as they were told to wrap up the investigation quickly and hang the blame on a scapegoat, they would accomplish their intended goal.
Not to mention, if they truly believed Fujita to be the main wrongdoer based on the patrol records, they would also be morally correct.
"I think hanging it on Fujita is premature." He noticed a wave of displeasure and continued, "I'm not saying you should disregard clear evidence, but I ask you to present an in-depth report to Jōnin Souta because if he's interested, he could very likely request my report as well, and I don't think the difference in our reports would look good on you."
They looked like they didn't want to accept it, but couldn't express that because his words were true. He guessed that these people didn't really care about finding the truth, but they did care about satisfying their jōnin. All of this would mean nothing for them if their jōnin didn't think they did a good job.
Of course, he wasn't going to say that if Takuma's report differed from theirs, all of their work would mean nothing because an ANBU-nin's report would trump theirs if his work was stronger.
"Tell me about this whistleblower of yours. If we are to work together, I'd like to talk to get a better look at the case," said Takuma.
"We don't know," Renjiro sighed while running his palm over his head. "It's a true anonymous source, so we actually have no idea who blew the whistle."
Takuma didn't know if he believed that. "Did you bring the letter?"
One of Renjiro's men produced the letter and gave it to Takuma, who clicked his tongue when he saw that it was typed. There was no way to match the handwriting. The contents weren't special and claimed that Fujita was doing close to nothing to resolve the murders and provided the patrol records as proof.
Fujita entered the room with a sheen of sweat on his face and a panicked look in his eyes that he tried to keep down. He controlled his expression, but he was still a shinobi and was moving a smidge too quickly.
"Someone is setting me up!" He all but rushed to Takuma's side, aggressively waving a loose stack of papers. "None of these are right! They are switched—"
"All of them?" Takuma asked.
"No!" Fujita took a deep breath only to explode again. "I can't say for sure, but probably half!"
Renjiro scoffed.
"What?" Fujita yelled, his face flushed red with anger, his expression one that suggested he wanted to rip Renjiro's head off. In response, Renjiro men also became defensive, and for a moment, a fight was about to break out in the office.
The heat in the room intensified as the two sides prepared for battle. Takuma flared his chakra with intent. Renjiro's man fell to the floor on their knees and back with harsh groans and painful whimpers. The leader himself struggled in his chair, but didn't seem like he was being affected greatly.
Fujita didn't fall nor did he freeze, but seemed faintly laboured as he glared at Takuma.
"Let cooler heads prevail before someone does something they regret," Takuma said and kept his intent-laden chakra bearing down on him for a moment before letting it up. "I understand we are all shinobi and well-versed in duking it out, but let's calm down and talk this out."
Takuma gazed at both parties. With new players involved and potential sabotage in play, he wondered how the dynamic was going to change
———
.
Takuma's second clone of the day had already gone past his five-hour limit by two hours, but it had been worth it, as what he was hoping to see had finally happened. It was three in the morning in a dark corner of the outpost where he could barely see his own boots.
The so-claimed anonymous informant wasn't so anonymous.
Until fifteen minutes ago, he had been hidden outside Renjiro's party's accommodation.
The previous clone had gone after Hyouma to see how the second-in-command was reacting to the news of another investigation, but the man had remained calm and hadn't made any irregular moves.
The second clone was created after the original had to separate from Renjiro's party and followed them for several hours. They had gone all around the outpost but hadn't made any irregular moves until the dark of the night.
The two parties that had acted all normal all day only to meet in the night like they were having an affair. It was pitch-black. Fortunately, it was also dead quiet, and he had fantastic hearing.
"Were you followed?" asked Renjiro.
There was a flash of a lighter's flame as Hyouma lit a cigarette. "Of course, I wasn't. I live here. I should be asking you that. Were you followed? At least you didn't bring the whole parade," he said.
"I wasn't followed. I made sure of it," Renjiro replied.
'Bullshit,' Takuma thought. The man had done the barest to shake off a tail.
"So, the patrol records were fake?" Renjiro asked
"Why do you say that?"
"The ANBU-nin and Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita claim so."
"And? You believe them?"
"I don't believe Fujita, but the ANBU-nin has no reason to lie."
In the darkness, only the tip of Hyouma's cigarette glowed. "Do you care if they are real or fake?" he asked.
"...Not really, but it'd be nice to know what else I can expect," Renjiro said, tiredly. It had been a long day for everyone.
Takuma considered the conversation. It seemed that while both of them were in cahoots, they hadn't planned all of this together. He could also tell that this was their first time meeting. However, it was strange how Hyouma had so openly claimed to have falsified the reports. If they were meeting for the first time, then why take the risk of being so brazenly reckless…
Unless someone informed him beforehand that Renjiro would accept anything.
There had to be a third party involved.
"What about the ANBU? Where is he?" asked Hyouma with an edge in his voice. "I don't like that guy. I can't soothe my nerves, and I'm up a pack. Do you have eyes on him?"
"We do. He's in his room. Curtains are drawn, but we saw shadows."
"And you didn't screw anything up when you saw him, right?"
"No thanks to you. How could you not be at the gate waiting for us? We managed, but it would've been so much more helpful if we knew what we were walking into."
"I'm the fucking second-in-command. People will stare holes into my body if I stand at the outpost entrance like a fucking statue. The ANBU would've already had me chained in the dungeon while he pulled my nails for foreplay. He's sharp, so don't fucking mess up!"
"I won't," Renjiro said. He wasn't happy with Hyouma's words and tone.
Hyouma grunted. "So, now what? Do you leave tomorrow? What about the ANBU-nin?" he asked.
"No, we will spend at least two more days here. None of this works unless we produce a strong report. Otherwise, the ANBU-nin could piss on a sticky note, and that would be accepted over ours."
Hyouma lit a second cigarette, and the erratic movement of the faint glow betrayed his steady, nonchalant voice as he said, "Yeah, whatever. Just make it quick." He turned around to walk away, but stopped. "The deal... That happens regardless of which report is accepted, right? I will gain control of the outpost after Fujita is ousted."
"Only if there's enough cause to fire Fujita," Renjiro said.
"Would that happen if the ANBU-nin's report is accepted?" Hyouma asked.
"Most probably. Fujita is screwed regardless of how you spin it."
That was true. Fujita's future at the outpost was almost non-existent. Even if they didn't fake records, Takuma didn't think he would be able to save himself. The man had done everything right and had a great track record, and he was sure that all would be taken into account, but someone had to be held responsible.
The higher-ups wouldn't care about the low-level details and just go for Fujita.
"Probably doesn't sound good."
Renjiro laughed. "Don't worry. When you become the boss here, everything will be worth it."
The meeting ended soon after that as the two men parted and went their own ways. Takuma waited for ten minutes in his spot before releasing himself.
.
———
Chat with me and the rest of the community on our DISCORD server.
The link is in the synopsis!