Malphegor
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UTBW: Ch. 72
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 09:49:22 +0000 UTCListening to the words of the Uchiha ninja, the two boys' expressions stirred with excitement.
"No! No! No!" Danzō was scared stiff, his face filled with panic as he backed away repeatedly. But inside the cell, chained up, he had nowhere to run.
"Go ahead." The Uchiha ninja patted the two boys on the shoulders, then walked out of the cell.
Inside the cell, the two boys eyed Danzō, licking their lips.
"He's a bit old, but still... a rare specimen."
"Yeah, never tasted this kind of thing before."
Danzō's hair stood on end from what he heard. He screamed in terror, "I'll talk! I'll say everything! Don't let them touch me! Come back here!"
Outside the cell, Tetsuya and a few other clan members watched cheerfully through the glass.
"Stop! I'm ordering you to stop! Tetsuya, you'll die a miserable death!" Danzō's face turned from pale to dark and back again, twisting with madness.
---
"Isn't this going too far?" Inoichi couldn't bear to watch.
Tetsuya and the others, however, were thoroughly enjoying the show. Nearby, the next scheduled interrogator also watched with curiosity.
"None of the others have a problem. Only you do," Tetsuya turned to look at Inoichi with meaningful eyes. "It's hard not to be suspicious of you like this."
Inoichi's face changed drastically.
Before he could explain, Tetsuya continued, "You're officially in charge of this interrogation. If you think my methods are wrong, feel free to use your own. But if anything goes wrong, then the responsibility is all yours. You've heard, haven't you? Hiruzen is hospitalized, and not doing well."
Tetsuya smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Inoichi broke into a cold sweat, his face pale. He didn't dare ignore Tetsuya's threat. The Shimura, Mitokado, and Koharu clans had all been wiped out cleanly.
If he made a mistake and gave the Uchiha a reason... Would the Yamanaka clan be next? Or would the Nara and Akimichi clans be implicated too, ending the Ino-Shika-Chō legacy?
Yeah, the situation for the three advisor families is really bad, he thought bitterly. The biggest backer of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio has already fallen.
He took a deep breath, and the pity in his eyes vanished.
Sorry, for the sake of Ino-Shika-Chō, I'll have to let you suffer.
He looked expressionlessly at the prison cell.
In the time that followed, the Uchiha gave suggestions, while the others carried them out and watched with amusement.
There wasn't any real interrogation. Some evidence couldn't be found, no need to waste time.
Might as well take this chance to vent their anger before Danzō was broken beyond use.
And so, all kinds of disgusting and torturous methods were inflicted on him one by one.
---
Night fell, and in one of the most upscale restaurants in Konoha, a jonin called out with a laugh, "You finally made it! As the host, how come you're later than us?"
"Apologies. The clan's busy with reconstruction, it delayed me a bit." Junichi, dressed in formal attire and wearing wooden sandals, walked slowly into the restaurant.
Behind him, the Uchiha elders followed in equally formal dress, also stepping in with wooden sandals.
As the Uchiha group entered, the restaurant doors were shut by the attendants. Tonight, the place was fully reserved by the Konoha shinobi.
"Then you've got to drink a few extra cups!" the Inuzuka clan leader raised his sake gourd with a hearty laugh.
"Of course." Junichi smiled gently and walked to the central seat of honor. He picked up a sake gourd from the table and looked around the venue, every elite ninjas from the village had arrived.
Kakashi, Guy, they were all present.
The clan leaders and elders from all the major families had taken their seats. You could say, everyone present tonight represented the elite core of Konoha's strength.
"Thank you all for coming to this celebration. I won't say much, please, eat well! Drink well!" Junichi raised his gourd and toasted the room. "Let us toast to Konoha!"
"To Konoha!" Everyone raised their cups in return with enthusiasm.
---
Meanwhile, inside a hospital ward, the secretary gently wiped the drool from Hiruzen's mouth and spoke softly, "Sandaime-sama… You're awake?"
Hiruzen slowly came to, his eyes unfocused, his head groggy. He stared blankly at the ceiling, hoping this was all just a dream. But reality's weight dragged him back cruelly, his heavy, useless body reminding him, he was truly paralyzed.
"..."
Despondent, he moved his eyes and noticed a gift box on the table. He felt slightly comforted. Someone still remembered him.
"Mm-mm!" He made a noise while staring at the gift box.
The secretary, who had served him for years and knew him well, immediately answered, "It's from Hiashi. This afternoon, many clans sent people to visit you. They brought many gifts, but the room couldn't fit them all, only a few were left here."
Hiruzen listened, but fell into silence. He keenly sensed something was off.
"Mm?"
The secretary sighed.
"Mm-mm-mm!" Hiruzen suddenly became agitated, locking his gaze on her.
Unable to resist, she finally answered, "The clan leaders didn't come personally, they just sent people with gifts, wishing you a speedy recovery."
Upon hearing that, Hiruzen's heart sank to the bottom. If this had been before, wouldn't those clan leaders have come in person?
And now?
They sent someone else with a few things, and that was it? Was this what it meant to lose power?
Unwilling to accept it, he stared at the secretary and made another noise. "Mm-mm?"
"Kakashi, Guy, and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio came in person, but you were resting then," the secretary replied, understanding what he meant.
Hiruzen's eyes grew even sadder.
Only them? Only they had come to see him in person. Everyone else, had already abandoned him.
When Hiruzen was grieving, he failed to notice the flash of resentment in the secretary's eyes.
I've taken such diligent care of him, and he doesn't even spare me a glance?
If that's how it is…
A dark thought suddenly surged in her mind.
Startled, the secretary quickly adjusted her emotions and suppressed the terrifying idea.
No!
This is the Third Hokage, who has done me a great favor!
She tried to convince herself. But that thought clung to her heart like a festering wound.
