Chapter Ten: The Killer Who Could Not Be Found

Security Department, deep within the prison.
As protectors of public order, whenever someone in the village committed a crime, the Security Department would temporarily detain them.
Yet, as tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan worsened, some responsibilities of the Security Department had been quietly taken over by the Anbu, leaving it a hollow shell.
For example, the deepest cells of the Security Department’s prison, once reserved for major offenders such as spies or rogue ninja, had not seen a new inmate for a long time.
Last night, however, they had just apprehended a "traitor," only for the prisoner to be found dead the next morning.
Uchiha Li made his way through the corridors, exchanging brief greetings with the guards as he carefully observed his surroundings.
Soon, he arrived at the cell where the Root agent was held; the corpse now lay sprawled across the floor.
"Lord Li, when we checked on him this morning, he was already dead," the warden reported.
Uchiha Li paused for a moment before asking, "From last night until this morning, who entered this place?"
The warden shook his head. "No one. The clan leader ordered us not to allow anyone near; the prisoner was considered important."
Li nodded, refraining from further inquiry, and crouched down to examine the Root agent’s corpse more closely.
The gash across the man’s throat indicated he’d been killed by a direct slashing.
But when Li pried open the corpse’s mouth, he noticed something amiss.
At the base of the tongue, there were traces left by a curse seal’s activation—its meaning was unmistakable.
Someone had secretly interrogated the Root agent, triggering the "Curse of Tongue Eradication."
Perhaps the interrogator failed to extract useful information, or perhaps sought to conceal their own identity—either way, the Root agent was killed outright.
"Who could possibly take an interest in a Root agent, and infiltrate the Security Department’s prison without anyone noticing?"
Li frowned, sinking into deeper thought.
Despite the department’s diminished reputation, its secrecy and rigor remained unquestioned.
These deep cells had been designed with security in mind, equipped with numerous safeguards.
Not only were there patrols, but also traps and guards lurking in the shadows.
Moreover, the defenses weren’t static; they changed almost daily.
In such conditions, even someone like Uchiha Li, without knowledge of the prison’s layout—and before he had acquired the Mangekyo—would have found it nearly impossible to sneak in undetected.
Thus, the person who killed the Root agent must either possess extraordinary strength or be intimately familiar with the Security Department.
Such individuals, while not numerous in the entire Leaf Village, were not rare either, making it difficult to pinpoint the culprit.

Recognizing how scant the clues were, Li rose and began to meticulously inspect the surroundings.
Though the guards had already searched the area, he felt compelled to see for himself.
"The lock isn’t damaged, there are no footprints, not even any sign the traps were disturbed…"
The more Li investigated, the heavier his heart became; he could find no flaw, no sign of intrusion.
This meant the killer was far more troublesome and terrifying than he’d imagined.
Just then, faint sounds of argument and intrusion echoed from outside the Security Department, drawing closer to the prison.
Someone was forcing their way in, and the guards outside were unable to stop them!
Li quickly deduced the situation—there was only one person who could break into the Security Department so brazenly, and whom the guards could not restrain.
With that realization, he swiftly formed hand signs and spat a ball of fire onto the Root agent’s corpse.
Under the intense heat of the "Great Fireball Technique," the body was soon reduced to bones scattered across the floor.
"Lord Li?"
The warden was startled by Li’s sudden action, but had no chance to intervene.
Li waved him behind, signaling for the warden to stay at his back as they awaited the intruder.
Soon, surrounded by Root agents, Danzo entered, leaning heavily on his cane, having pushed past the Uchiha guards and arrived before Li.
That chilling aura emanating from Danzo caused everyone to instinctively step back.
Li, however, stepped forward, his expression unchanged. "Danzo, you’ve brought your men and barged into the Security Department—are you planning a rebellion?"
Others might fear Danzo, but Li did not; now, with the Mangekyo in his possession, he was even less inclined to back down.
"Hmph," Danzo snorted coldly, demanding, "Hand over the prisoner you captured!"
At these words, the warden glanced at the pile of scorched bones, the smell of burning still lingering.
Danzo, of course, noticed it, and turned his gaze.
Seeing his Root subordinate reduced to such a state, Danzo’s face darkened, his eyes fixed on Li. "How dare you?!" he thundered.
For years, since he’d become the leader of Root, no one in the village had ever dared to treat his agents like this.
Now, a mere Uchiha had done so—this was a direct challenge to Danzo himself, a provocation against the entire Root.
Danzo understood well—even Uchiha Fugaku, with his temperament, would not have acted so decisively.
The only one capable of such a deed was the young Uchiha Li, who’d made a name for himself just last night.

Confronted by Danzo’s questions and the oppressive presence of Root agents closing in,
Li’s expression remained unchanged as he replied with confidence, "The Security Department has the right to interrogate traitors. He refused to cooperate and attempted to escape—I killed him, which is perfectly legal. What’s the problem?"
As he spoke, he took an aggressive stance, showing no intention of yielding.
From the moment he apprehended the Root agent, Li had resolved to confirm the man’s status as a "traitor"—there was no possibility he would hand him back to Danzo.
Even after death, the body had to be destroyed, to ensure absolute safety.
Seeing Li’s uncompromising attitude, and noting the other Uchiha around him—some even activating their Sharingan—
Danzo struck his cane hard against the floor, his voice icy. "Very well!"
Li calmly met Danzo’s gaze, saying, "If there’s nothing else, please leave. The Security Department does not welcome troublemakers."
Hearing this, Danzo gripped his cane so tightly it creaked under the strain, nearly buckling.
It was clear Danzo was at the verge of erupting, but he could not find a valid reason to unleash his fury.
Li insisted the prisoner was a traitor,
and now the man was dead—without evidence, there was nothing Danzo could use.
Even Danzo could not extract anything useful in these circumstances.
Suppressing his rage, Danzo spat, his voice cold and laced with undisguised murderous intent, "Uchiha Li, you’ll regret this!"
With that, Danzo waved his hand and led Root away.
As for the pile of bones left behind, Danzo had no desire to look further;
without value, Root had no use for them.
With Danzo dismissed, Li prepared to depart as well, but suddenly noticed a streak of red blood on his sleeve.
Just that morning, he’d seen blood on Yao’s clothes—and now he was stained as well.
He realized Yao would surely scold him for this, souring his mood.
Watching Danzo’s receding figure, Li murmured, "Danzo, you are not the Hokage."
At that moment, a sharp crack resounded—the cane splintered…