With no Anbu blocking their path, Aozora and his team reached the Temporary Command Post without any trouble and got straight in to see Elder Kosuke.
Aozora instantly reached a judgment. Although Elder Kosuke had been selected as a council member by The Third's faction, he clearly wasn't aligned with the Hokage's group—or at the very least, hadn't taken part in their current scheme against Aozora.
Before Kosuke could ask anything, Aozora spoke up the moment he saw him.
"Elder Kosuke, why did you order the Anbu to tell us not to take prisoners, but instead to launch direct attacks to destroy the black market?"
Hearing that, Kosuke—who was about to speak—paused mid-breath. "When did I issue such an order?"
"You didn't issue it?"
Aozora showed surprise on his face, then muttered, puzzled, "We found it suspicious too. Our designated sweep zone falls right within the Daimyo's jurisdiction—this kind of action could easily be misinterpreted by the Daimyo."
Kosuke frowned upon hearing this. If Aozora understood the political sensitivity of that area, why would they keep purging the black market—and even go so far as to attack innocent civilians?
Aozora continued asking, "Elder Kosuke, did you send other personnel into our squad's assigned area?"
Kosuke shook his head in shock.
Puzzled, Aozora pressed further, "Then why, just as we were heading back, did we receive Konoha's distress signal? And just so happen to clear out the black market and destroy the entire marketplace?"
Though it sounded like questioning, Aozora was actually briefing Kosuke on what had happened during his mission.
Rather than wait to be grilled by Kosuke, Aozora flipped the script and skillfully shifted the blame.
Sure enough, Kosuke fell silent, his brows deeply furrowed.
Before he could open his mouth, Aozora cut in again, "Elder Kosuke, we followed your orders and completed our mission. Why did Deputy Commander Yamato lead the Anbu to attack us?"
"What? Yamato attacked you?" Kosuke's mind was spinning from Aozora's rapid-fire questions.
"Uchiha Aozora, you're lying!"
Yamato stormed into Headquarters at that exact moment, followed by others.
Aozora smirked coldly. "Wasn't it *you* who started the attack?"
Unable to respond, Yamato could only listen as Aozora scoffed, "We trusted you completely, never expecting our own village ninja would stab us in the back—literally!"
Kosuke's eyes went icy. He fixed Yamato with a sharp glare. "I ordered you to recall Aozora and his team. Explain—why did you attack his squad?"
Yamato couldn't explain. Even he didn't understand why Bobcat had suddenly lost control.
After stammering helplessly for a moment, Yamato finally managed to reply, "The three of them refused to cooperate with our operation and provoked us intentionally. Bobcat flew into a rage and momentarily lost self-control."
Trying to shift the blame, he quickly accused, "Uchiha Aozora came at Bobcat with deadly intent—he almost killed him!"
Kosuke turned his gaze to Aozora, who briefly described what had happened, then said, "It was a life-or-death situation. I may have overreacted a bit in self-defense."
He added, "Besides, I only used [Great Fireball Technique]! Anyone who knows me knows I've mastered [Great Fire Dragon Technique], a B-ranked jutsu, since I was still a genin!"
"If I really wanted to kill him, why wouldn't I use my strongest Fire Release technique?"
Kosuke nodded and told him firmly, "Don't ever seriously attack your teammates again!"
Then Kosuke scolded Guy's team for their attitude toward mission execution and acted as a mediator.
After scolding Aozora and Yamato, Kosuke said, "You spoke too hastily before. Now tell me exactly how your mission to clear out the black market went."
Aozora didn't hesitate—he spoke plainly and without holding anything back about their mission.
During this time, Kosuke frequently interrupted with questions, inquiring about specific details from Guy and Junping, both of whom answered honestly.
Since none of them were lying, there were naturally no contradictions.
After hearing their report, Kosuke fell into deep thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "It seems like there's some force framing you."
Because of The Second, Kosuke held negative feelings toward the Uchiha clan, but he had no dislike whatsoever toward Aozora—in fact, he greatly admired him.
Because he'd lost teammates in his youth due to impatience and eagerness for glory, Kosuke always held great goodwill toward any Konoha ninja who protected their comrades.
He believed that Aozora, who had taken the initiative to lead Orochimaru away to protect the camp, would never have become a brutal killer who massacred civilians.
Yamato interjected, "That's just what they're claiming."
Aozora glanced at him, speaking with an expression of quiet desolation: "Fellow Leaf ninja—we are shinobi who've earned distinction through our accomplishments. Yet you choose to believe outsiders instead? Sigh..."
Junping stayed calm, but Guy was clearly moved by Aozora's words. His normally energetic demeanor also darkened.
Kosuke quickly reassured them, "I will certainly investigate the truth and clear your names..."
As he was speaking, the three heard an eagle cry outside. Then an Anbu member appeared in a Body Flicker Technique motion and handed over a secret letter.
After reading the letter, Kosuke furrowed his brow and said, "The Daimyo has already dispatched officials to the village. He's ordered us to swiftly hand over those responsible for attacking Autumn Leaf Collection—or else this year's budget allocation to the village will be halved! The Hokage wants me to immediately escort all of you back to the village."
Aozora looked at Junping and Guy; in their eyes he saw concern.
Kosuke clearly considered this point as well. He seriously looked at the three and said, "I believe in you. Let's return to the village and clarify everything."
Aozora knew this matter couldn't easily be explained, but he still nodded.
After saying this, Kosuke issued orders to other squads, then led Aozora and the others back to the village.
As Aozora and his companions returned to the village, rumors spread rapidly through Konoha:
"Have you heard? Apparently, some village ninja slaughtered civilians during a mission!"
"No way! The ninjas here have always been kind and amicable!"
"Would I lie to you? They say this reached the Daimyo's ears, and he became extremely angry—he even threatened to cut Konoha's annual budget by half! Without financial support from the Daimyo, the village will surely raise taxes on us commoners!"
"What?! That can't possibly be true?"
"A massacre of civilians by ninja—the impact is enormous! Of course, the Daimyo wants to make an example of them!"
"Speaking of which, since your information is so accurate—do you know exactly who committed these civilian killings?"
"I heard it was one of the Uchiha. They're bloodthirsty by nature. Our original mission was only against ninja — they went too far and even killed civilians!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Didn't the Uchiha help found Konoha?"
"That doesn't change the fact they're cold-blooded killers! As far as I'm concerned, they're not fit to be Konoha ninjas. They should be executed as an apology to the Daimyo!"
"If it really was the Uchiha, we certainly need to hold them accountable, but shouldn't we investigate first?"
"What's there to investigate? The Daimyo's personal Guardian Shinobi saw it with his own eyes. How could that be fake?"
"Calm down and keep your voice low. The Uchiha control the Police Force after all. Be careful or they'll take you away — then you'll really suffer."
"I'm not afraid at all!"
"..."
Even so, when they saw patrolling officers from the Police Force walking by, the whispering villagers immediately fell silent.
But how could regular people hope to match a ninja's sharp senses? The patrolling officers from the Police Force directly approached the villager who had been slandering the Uchiha.
"Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Spreading rumors about Konoha's honored Jonin. I now suspect you're a spy sent by enemy villages. You're coming with us."
The man tried to protest, "What gives you the right to arrest me? Isn't it okay to say something? I only heard it from someone else!"
Without a word, the officer grabbed some rope and effortlessly bound him, stuffing a cloth into his mouth.
Once they had the rumormongering villager bound, an officer warned another villager, "Don't spread rumors or believe lies. Trust the village's ninjas."
With that said, the officer escorted the captured villager directly toward the Police Force headquarters.
Watching patrol officers continuously bring villagers in, Kintai let out a quiet sigh.
The more villagers they captured, the more widespread the rumors became.
At this rate, not only will public opinion keep spreading, but the Uchiha will end up in an even worse situation.
After pondering for quite some time, he finally issued orders, "From now on, just warn the villagers spreading rumors — no more arrests!"
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