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After the second day of the inquiry, the populace was truly invested in the reporting. They resonated with the photographs showcased by the newspapers—capturing the tiredness in the eyes and the weight on the shoulders of Harada and others like him—and heard their words and stories recalled by talented radio jockeys. They related to their plight, became attached to their experience, and eagerly looked forward to hearing more about the horrid scheme of one powerful group taking advantage of so many for their own greed.
The journalists knew what their readership wanted when they received calls from their distributors, who informed them that the morning issue was selling far faster than normal and that they needed to increase the print run for the special evening issue covering the third day.
The journalists knew the evening issue and the regular issue the next day would be huge when the inquiry announced the next person they'd be hearing from.
"We call for the ANBU-nin who led the investigation into the chakra pest and the Aburame clan's alleged involvement in it." Toridasu paused and really narrowed his eyes at the paper on his desk. "I've been asked to inform the friends of the press that there'll be no photographing of the ANBU-nin, and any flash visible or audible shutter will be located, and the offender will be promptly arrested on the spot," he said in a dull monotone as though the words repulsed him and he was only saying them because he was being forced to.
On his balcony up above, the Hokage silently sighed to himself.
The words over the microphone were followed by a hush spreading over the hall before the gallery exploded into a wave of whispers. It was not every day one saw an ANBU-nin. They had seen two of them stand guard by the Hokage's side, but they were out of reach and inaccessible; this one was going to be on the floor and speaking for everyone to hear. They couldn't recall the last time an ANBU-nin had spoken in a public forum; aside from situations like this, their communications were handled exclusively by representative press spokespersons.
A door in the back of the hall swung open, and a figure donned in a white cloak—its hood pulled over his head with the bottom of a white mask peeking out from within—walked inside. People in the audience stood up to get a better look as the male figure made his way to the table in the centre of the room.
"Introduce yourself for the record," Toridasu said even before the ANBU-nin took a seat behind the microphone.
The ANBU-nin took his time settling down without hurry and only spoke when he was ready. If anyone was paying attention, Toridasu's tight smile was a sight to behold for those who knew him. Alas, all eyes were trained on the cloaked figure, who pulled his hood down to reveal a blank mask unlike the patterned ones of the Hokage's guards.
"My codename is classified information; I apologise that I won't be able to share it. I request to be addressed as 'operative'."
A chill settled over the hall as a distorted voice spilt out of the speakers. The audience glanced at each other, doubting their ears, but each other's expressions told them they had heard right. Even those familiar with voice modulation techniques wondered why someone would choose that particular voice.
"Your voice is disturbing, operative. If you think it's impressive in any regard, you're sorely mistaken, but if you want to embarrass yourself, have at it," Toridasu said.
The operative didn't respond, and with the mask, no one could really tell what he was thinking.
"What brought this case to ANBU's attention?" Toridasu asked.
"We received an anonymous tip that informed us that there was something amiss with the persistent chakra pest infestation and the pale beetles supplied by the Aburame clan," the operative replied.
"And does ANBU make it its business to look into every piece of anonymous grey mail?" Toridasu asked sceptically before explaining the meaning of grey mail for the hall's benefit.
"Even if most of the grey mail is false in nature, it'd be reckless of ANBU not to look into it in case even one tip comes bearing the truth. So, to answer your question: yes, ANBU does make it its business to look into every piece of grey mail."
Toridasu silently scoffed at the operative's words because he knew that while ANBU did look into each piece of grey mail, the effort they put into them was mediocre at best, as the operatives considered them a waste of time. The grey mail piled up over weeks and months until an operative rushed through them in an afternoon because of internal mandates.
The operative continued unaffected. "We, of course, were sceptical about the claims as the Aburame clan had been praised for their quick development of an answer to the infestation, but the letter inquired into the chakra pest, so we looked into pre-existing literature."
"And what did you find?"
"Most of the research was abandoned quite early due to a lack of commercial viability after the Aburame clan came forward with their pale beetles, but we found two reports that mentioned particular observations that we found to be suspicious."
Toridasu looked at the end of the panel as two documents were passed to him. He held them in front of him so they'd be visible to everyone even if no one could read the text from a distance.
"Are you talking about these?" he asked, announcing their titles and the names of the first authors.
"That'd be correct. They mentioned how they couldn't find the origin of the pests. To the researchers, it seemed like the pests had appeared overnight with no connections to the surrounding ecology."
"And what were their conclusions?"
"It was left inconclusive, as they were more concerned with finding a solution. We found that to be strange enough to pursue that thread. Our internal researchers looked into it and agreed that it was strange, so we had a study conducted to see if perhaps those researchers hadn't looked into it enough, but as it turned out, we couldn't find a connection either."
It was at that point that the Aburame table interrupted. The one to speak was the clan head. "We received that report not too long ago and are still in the process of reviewing it and will surely dispute ANBU's claim," Shibi said in a clear, calm, and confident fashion that made some people think that he might be able to do it.
"That is your right," Toridasu said before moving right on. He showed the ANBU report to the hall from his chair. "We couldn't take ANBU's word without verification, and unlike the Aburame clan, we had enough time to review it, so we had an expert of our own evaluate the study. I'd like my fellow panel member, Yajima Gen, to speak about his review of the ANBU's report."
The most surprising and controversial member of the panel was a civilian. Yajima Gen was a former shinobi who retired after his initial ten-year genin contract twenty-five years ago. Since leaving service, Gen had spent his life looking down at dirt to study all types of insects. He was a premier expert in the field of entomology. Unlike the Aburame, he was simply interested in their existence and role in the world. The Hokage had sent him a letter, penned personally, inviting him to participate in the panel.
The civilian looked nervous as he leaned closer to the microphone instead of pulling it toward him. "Thank you," he nodded to Toridasu before turning to the hall. "I've been told to keep my explanation so the layman can understand it without going into the technical details for the purposes of this session. In their report, ANBU explores the origin of the chakra pest. They propose that the chakra pests couldn't have appeared out of nowhere and must've originated from some existing species in the nearby ecology of the infested regions. They did this by meticulously reviewing the known catalogue of worm species found in the region and other well-known species that most closely matched the profile, and trying to form a link between them and the chakra pest. Unfortunately, they couldn't find such a link and eventually concluded that the chakra pest was an invasive species that was somehow introduced into the ecology and then subsequently wreaked havoc as it did."
"Is that right, Mister Operative?" Gen asked.
"Yes, you're right. It was after reading that report that we began to look into the grey mail's claim in earnest."
"I have had a question in my mind since I read the study. You suspected the Aburame clan to be behind the introduction of the invasive species. Did you ever consider that it might have been an accident? That there might be an unknown worm that was found in a region without chakra-rich plants and thus went undetected until it was introduced to a region with an abundance of its preferred food source and thus exploded in population?"
Gen's question raised more questions in the audience. The journalists furiously scribbled in their notepads and whispered thoughts to each other about whether this was all a power play on ANBU's part. Someone even made the mistake of snapping a photograph and immediately had their camera seized before getting arrested.
"We considered that, but given that we started with the grey mail, the invasive species conclusion was enough for us to suspect the Aburame clan," the operative answered calmly, but the distorted voice gave his words an eerie feel. "If you're concerned about bias or falsification because the study originated from within the department, then I'd like to state for the record that Lord Hokage has ordered an independent comprehensive on-site review to ensure there is no negligence."
Everyone in the room worth their salt noticed the operative look towards the Aburame table as he talked about negligence.
"Does that answer satisfy your question?" the operative asked.
Gen nodded before realising that he had everyone's attention and shrank back in his chair, unused to so many eyes on him.
"I'd also like to add that in all of the literature published by the Aburame clan on the topic, not once do they mention the origins of the chakra pest, much less try to explore it in any productive capacity as one would expect from the leading experts on entomology."
That one statement was enough to set the room on fire with speculation. The Aburame clan's reputation was trending down, and many people were already convinced of their guilt, so the fact that the origins of the pest were missing from their published research was highly suspicious and made everyone think that the reason it was missing was that they couldn't reveal it because the pest was home-grown.
"Order! Order! I'll have order in the session!" Toridasu's voice overpowered all other noise combined. He gave a short glance to the operative as though saying, 'This is how you do proper voice modulation.'
"Is the operative's claim true, Jōnin Shibi?" Toridasu asked.
Under everyone's gaze, Shibi could only respond with, "We'll have to verify it on our end before we can confirm it. We have published much on the topic over the years."
Aburame Shigeki, the creator of the pale beetles, said nothing.
At that point, the operative spoke again, pouring kerosene on the fire.
"The study given to the panel to review is old and outdated." The operative paused, waiting for all eyes and ears to return to him. At the Aburame table, Shibi was confused only for a moment before his eyes sharpened behind his shades; alas, he was too late. "In the raid, we seized concrete evidence that elaborates in extensive fashion about the chakra pest's origin, how it came to be, and which pre-existing species it is a modification of."
"OBJECTION!" Shibi's voice blasted within the hall. "I'd like to remind the lieutenant that he's not allowed to share any information originating from the Aburame clan's seized property protected by the kekkei genkai and hiden jutsu laws with those without the express security clearance! His raid and seizure warrant doesn't allow him to discuss the findings in a public forum like this!"
But it didn't matter. The press had already heard the operative's words loud and clear. ANBU had concrete evidence connecting the Aburame clan to the chakra pest. They couldn't verify it, but it didn't matter, as they could quote the operative's exact statement and get away with it without getting into legal hell with the Aburame.
"You will not say a word of confidential information that can't be confirmed, operative. This is your first and last warning. Do so, and I will personally make sure that you're punished, even if it means I have to fight your commander. Do I make myself clear?" Toridasu said, his words backed by a hint of intimidation expressed through his chakra that bore down on the operative.
"I wasn't going to," the operative said.
Toridasu stared him down for a moment before letting off the pressure. However, the operative wasn't done.
"Of course, as the leader of the panel, you have the clearance to see that evidence. You can always confirm my claims," the operative said, his voice akin to pure oxygen being pumped into the kerosene-fueled fire.
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