Chapter 113: Growing Suspicions, Rise Of Conflict
The patrolling team captain looked in the direction Tonan left and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, a teammate patted his shoulder and asked, “Captain, what are you thinking about?”
The captain was startled awake. He sighed, “Nothing, I just wonder if some things are right or wrong.”
That teammate looked a little sad and said, “In fact, you probably have also guessed it, isn’t it?”
The other members remained silent for a long time. They wanted to say something, but they swallowed back their words. Finally, the team captain opened his mouth, “All of you, don’t speak nonsense, this is just speculation.”
Meanwhile outside the ancestral hall, more than a dozen guards were stationed tightly guarding the entire hall. Tonan came to the door and stopped. Then, panting heavily, he shouted, “How’s Shisui?”
The guards at the door said coldly, “Shisui is fine and he awakened the Sharingan.”
Tonan immediately exclaimed in disbelief, “What! He awakened the Sharingan?”
Immediately after he spoke, the crying sounds from the ancestral hall suddenly stopped. After speaking, Tonan wanted to enter the ancestral hall. But the guards raised their hands, trying to stop him.
Tonan looked anxious as he said, “Let me enter.”
“Let Tonan enter,” the Great Elder’s voice came from the ancestral hall. As soon as Tonan entered the hall, he saw seven corpses covered with white cloths. The parents of these dead children were kneeling next to their child’s corpse. They were either bawling or weeping with grief.
Uchiha Fugaku and the Great Elder were sitting on their knees in the innermost area. Uchiha Shisui was lying in the Great Elder’s arms and sobbing non-stop at this moment. These children were his best playmates, but now, they were all lying on the ground, never to wake up again.
The young Shisui had suddenly lost his friends. The pain in his heart was no less than that of others. The atmosphere of the entire hall was gloomy, and it was filled with women’s sobbing.
The Great Elder lowered his head to look at Shisui and then raised his head to look at Tonan, who had just entered. A hint of suspicion flashed through his eyes, but in order to avoid conflict, he concealed his doubts.
The Great Elder was very suspicious of Tonan right now. He was wondering if Tonan had caused Shisui’s friends’ death to stimulate him and awaken the Sharingan to test his talent. And to make Shisui grow faster.
But this, after all, was just a suspicion. Even if Tonan had truly done it, the Great Elder wouldn’t expose it easily. After all, there was nothing wrong with Tonan doing this. A small sacrifice like this could be tolerated to strengthen the Uchiha clan.
The Great Elder said solemnly, “Tonan, you are here.”
Tonan frowned and glanced at the corpses on the ground. Those small bodies were lying on the cold ground. A look of torment flashed through his eyes. He bowed to Fugaku and the Great Elder and greeted, “Patriarch… Great Elder.”
Then, he asked, “Patriarch, did you find out who did it?”
Fugaku somberly answered, “The clan is still investigating. There are no clues for the time being. It might just be an accident.”
As soon as these words were said, the parents of the dead children looked up, their eyes wide open in disbelief. A parent among them sadly said, “Patriarch! Seven children drowned at once, and you are saying it could be an accident. It has been sunny for the past few days, and there was no flood.”
Fugaku was taken aback. He only mentioned the possibility of this being an accident. However, these parents were too emotional due to their child’s death and he couldn’t blame them.
“This matter should be investigated carefully. All of you don’t be too sad and make time to bury the children.”
Perhaps, these parents in the ancestral hall had heard Tonan’s previous words. One of the parents raised his head and stared straight at the Great Elder, “Great Elder, I have a question. Did Shisui go to the river today?”
The Great Elder raised his eyebrows hearing this. He could roughly guess this parent’s intention for asking such a question. But he still nodded and replied, “He did but I took him away later.”
After he spoke, several other parents also raised their heads and looked at him with doubt. The Great Elder took Shisui away, and the friends, who happened to be playing with him met such a tragic fate soon after. Even if this was not his handiwork, he might have known something about it.
“Great Elder, why did you suddenly take him away?”
Several parents questioned, but the Great Elder didn’t know what to say. Could he say he suspected Tonan would make a move against Shisui? Could this even be said?
Even if he did say it, not only would no one believe him but it would also make Tonan resent him. It would cause bad results on both sides. The Great Elder coughed lightly and said, “That’s because Shisui hadn’t completed his homework.”
Suddenly, a parent asked Shisui coldly, “Shisui, is what your grandfather said true?”
When Shisui heard someone asking him a question, he turned around and wiped his tears. He nodded, “It’s true.”
“So, what did you do after returning home?” As this question was raised, the Great Elder was stunned. He quickly looked at Shisui, hoping he wouldn’t say something detrimental. Shisui too had doubts in his mind now. A moment ago, he hadn’t noticed it, but now, he realized his grandfather had lied.
Why did grandpa lie? Shisui immediately looked at the Great Elder. However, the Great Elder couldn’t give any hints to him in front of everyone. He just looked gloomy. Anyone whose lie was about to be exposed would have such expression, not to mention an Uchiha.
Seeing his grandfather was not giving him any indicators and because he didn’t want to lie, Shisui decided to tell the truth. Therefore, he softly answered, “I… I was sleeping.”
When he said, all the parents approached the Great Elder at the same time and glared at him. “Great Elder, Shisui is so talented. He awakened the two tomoe Sharingan at such young age.”
The Great Elder could feel everyone’s hostility. He looked up and shouted, “Shut up, are you all doubting me?”
“We don’t dare.”
“We just want the truth.”
Their children had died tragically. Regardless of the consequences, they had to get an explanation. Seeing the situation was anything but reassuring, Fugaku pulled the parents away and persuaded them to make peace, “We still have to know the truth. I understand your feelings but we can’t jump to conclusions just because of guesswork. All of you rest assured that I’ll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you an explanation. Bury the children first.”
“Alright…”
Since Fugaku had said so, although everyone was unwilling, they could not do anything else. There was also not enough evidence now. Therefore, they didn’t dare to do anything to the Great Elder. After all, the most influential members of the Uchiha clan were the Great Elder and Uchiha Fugaku.
Moreover, they were not senior members of the clan. Even if they continued to ask, there would be no result. They could only pick up their children’s corpses and leave the ancestral hall.
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