Sarutobi Shinnosuke was not stupid.
In times of war, secretly passing crucial information to the enemy—especially the opposing side was a capital crime. Even as the Hokage's son, escaping punishment would be nearly impossible.
And worse still, there were far too many important figures present who knew exactly what was going on.
If I admit it… my life is over.
With that thought, Shinnosuke made up his mind. No matter how the other party questioned him, he would never admit anything.
Seeing that Shinnosuke was still stubbornly playing dumb, Shiki couldn't help but smile faintly.
"I see. Since that's the case…" Shiki said calmly, "then you must be familiar with the forbidden techniques of the Yamanaka Clan."
"What do you mean?"
Shinnosuke turned sharply, staring at Yamanaka Inoichi, who stood beside Nara Shikaku, shock written across his face.
The Yamanaka Clan's forbidden techniques allowed them to forcibly extract memories directly from a person's mind.
Whether you confessed or not didn't matter.
If you had done it, the truth would be exposed.
"If you're truly innocent," Shiki continued lightly, "then why not let Inoichi check? That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
Under Shinnosuke's stiff, disbelieving gaze, Yamanaka Inoichi stepped forward. His expression was cold and professional, devoid of emotion.
"Shinnosuke-sama," Inoichi said flatly. "Please cooperate. I also want to believe that the Hokage's son wouldn't fall this low."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Shinnosuke shook his head violently, sweat pouring down his face.
How could I allow that?
If they check… it's over. No matter what, I can't let them do it.
But the situation had already spiraled out of his control.
Konoha shinobi surrounded the area completely. Even if Shinnosuke wanted to flee, there was no chance left.
"Wait—what the hell is going on?!"
Asuma was completely dumbfounded.
Earlier, when he had been pulled out of the camp by his older brother for patrol duty, he was already confused. As the sons of the Hokage, why were they doing something like border patrol?
But it had been Shinnosuke's order. Asuma hadn't questioned it.
Now, seeing everyone turning their hostility toward his brother, Asuma immediately stepped forward and blocked Shinnosuke.
"Wait a minute!" Asuma shouted. "We're the Hokage's sons! What are you trying to do to my brother?!"
"Still don't get it?"
Shiki smiled faintly as he watched Asuma act on impulse.
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke has betrayed the village."
"Nani?!"
Asuma stared at him, eyes wide, utterly unable to believe it.
Betray the village? His brother?
But when Asuma turned around, all he saw was Shinnosuke's panicked expression. He didn't even need a confession anymore—anyone with eyes could see something was wrong.
"Wait!"
Even then, Asuma stubbornly stood his ground, staring straight at Shiki.
"Even if my brother really did something wrong, Hokage-sama will judge us himself! You're not qualified to judge us!"
Would the Third Hokage truly judge Shinnosuke fairly?
Perhaps.
But at best, it would be theater.
Shinnosuke would survive. Why?
Because he was Sarutobi Hiruzen's son.
The surrounding shinobi fell silent. Though anger burned in their eyes, none of them dared to move.
They weren't qualified.
And they didn't have the courage to strike the Hokage's sons.
But not everyone lacked that courage or that power.
Just as Asuma let out a small breath of relief—
A blinding flash of sword light passed straight through him.
"Lion Judgment."
Bang!
When everyone regained their senses, Shiki was already calmly sliding his blade back into its sheath.
"Idiot," Shiki said coldly. "Who gave you the courage to yell at me like that?"
Asuma's eyes remained wide open as his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
He never believed—until the moment he died—that Shiki would really do it.
"Asuma!"
Shinnosuke stared in disbelief. Fear vanished completely, replaced by raw fury.
"How dare you! How dare you do that?!"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Shiki replied indifferently, his gaze devoid of emotion.
"Do you decide what I'm allowed to do?"
"You bastard!"
Shinnosuke's eyes burned with hatred.
He knew—if he didn't act now, his fate would be no different from Asuma's.
"Fire Style—!"
He hastily formed a one-handed seal—
But before he could even finish speaking, another golden sword flash tore through the air.
Shinnosuke's remaining arm fell to the ground.
"AAAAAH!"
Years of training—gone in an instant.
Shiki didn't even spare him a glance.
The screaming wasn't over yet.
Shiki stepped forward, greatsword resting lightly against Shinnosuke's neck.
"You—" Shinnosuke tried to speak, but Shiki's cold eyes crushed the words in his throat.
"You were a rat from the start," Shiki said calmly, a faint red glint flashing in his eyes.
"The moment you showed malice toward me, your death was already decided. Only the date was uncertain."
The blade swung.
Shinnosuke collapsed beside Asuma.
With his back to the two fallen bodies, Shiki slowly withdrew his sword.
When his gaze swept over the patrol shinobi, every single one of them dropped to their knees.
"Lord Shiki! We didn't know anything!"
"Yes! We were just following orders!"
"We had nothing to do with Shinnosuke's actions!"
Truthfully, if they could've kicked Shinnosuke's corpse, they already would have. That idiot had dragged them into this disaster.
But Shiki wasn't unreasonable.
Shinnosuke had brought them along precisely to make his actions look legitimate.
"Get up," Shiki said calmly. "Shinnosuke was guilty. I don't blame you but I will investigate whether you're truly innocent."
Relief washed over their faces.
"Thank you, Lord Shiki!"
Unsurprisingly, Shiki's reputation rose yet again.
Without further nonsense, Shiki turned toward Nara Shikaku.
"Send word back to Konoha. Say that Sarutobi Shinnosuke betrayed the village. The evidence is conclusive."
"He leaked intelligence, resulting in massive casualties. Sarutobi Asuma abused his authority, resisted arrest, and was executed on the spot."
"Tell Hokage-sama he can rest easy and should thank me personally for cleaning up such a mess."
Thank you?
Shikaku sighed internally.
You slaughtered both of his sons. He'll want your head, not send his gratitude.
Still, this was exactly why Shikaku hesitated.
"Lord Shiki… are you sure?" he asked cautiously. "If we report it like this, the rift between you and Hokage-sama—"
"Just report it," Shiki interrupted calmly.
"Whatever comes, I'll bear it myself."
"…Yes."
Shikaku said no more.
The Ino–Shika–Cho trio exchanged glances, shrugged, and moved to prepare the report.
"Deal with the bodies. Everyone else, disperse."
Shiki pointed casually at the fallen Sarutobi brothers.
Soon, their remains were handled.
The farce was over.
As the shinobi dispersed, heated discussions erupted but none dared speak too loudly.
"Shiki-nii"
With the crowd finally thinning, Yuhi Kurenai hurried over.
"What happened?" Shiki asked, noticing her expression. "Why do you look so shaken?"
"I'm not scared," Kurenai said firmly, shaking her head.
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