AO nodded at the Patriarch's statement and stepped forward. He then looked at the people that had gathered in the hall and said "These two people were caught by me and my men sneaking into our estate." Everyone knew this but the hall was filled with whispers.
AO pointed at the twins and said "These two had dressed as servants and were moving toward the main mansion. Due to all this happening just 15 mins ago, we didn't have the time to interrogate them but I still chose to alert the entire estate."
Mei frowned as she heard this and said "AO if you haven't extracted any information from them, don't you think this meeting is a little premature? You could have interrogated them for a few hours and then called this meeting. Till that time we would have increased the security." Mei knew AO wasn't an idiot so she was genuinely curious as to why he took such a decision.
AO nodded and said "Yes that is what we have done if these two were any normal spies but things seem a bit different about them."
The Patriarch rested his chin on his hand as he leaned forward and said "AO like everyone else, we have 0 tolerance towards spies. What made you think that these two are different?"
AO bowed to the Patriarch and said "These two didn't kill anyone when they infiltrated our estate. They simply knocked the guards and servants unconscious while sneaking into the clan. When I saw one of them fighting with my people, they didn't target vital organs and only focused on running away. The thing which convinced me that these two aren't from the 4th Mizukage faction is when he said that he holds no enmity toward the hidden mist."
Mei and her father's eyes widened as they heard that. They both had the same thought. "Are you saying that these two are spies of a different village?" Mei asked as she glared at the twins.
AO nodded at Mei's statement as even he was convinced about the twins being from a different village.
The Patriarch of the Terumi clan released his pressure on the twins which made a chill run down everyone's spines. Even though it was focused on the twins, everyone else also felt a portion of that pressure.
'Is this how strong Uncle is? I need to become strong so that I can support elder sister Mei and the others.' Santo who was standing beside Enko and Wu thought. His training had become more rigorous since he came here.
The twins were properly trained in the village on how to go through torture and such pressure without divulging any information. They bit their lip and held their ground. They weren't going to spill any secrets, not until their sensei permits them to.
Seeing that the twins weren't giving in to his pressure, the Patriarch stopped and leaned back on his chair. "You two held out good enough. At least that tells me you are from one of the other 4 great villages."
Hearing this Daiki's expression changed and little which was more than enough for the Patriarch and Mei to get the confirmation that he was right. The Patriarch knew that he didn't have the time or the means to break a spy from the great villages.
He looked at AO and said "AO, seeing the current situation we cannot take the risk to keep them alive. When conflict with Yagura's people starts, we need to be focused on it and cannot get sidetracked because we have a spy in our prisons who could escape and leak the news outside."
AO was a little disappointed but he did understand the Patriarch's reasoning and said "I understand Lord Patriarch, I will dispose of these two spies and have our Anbu hunter corps find who all these two met. We could have more spies in the village so I will get to work."
AO decided to kill the two of them right in the hall as everyone present here were all shinobis including Toru and Nana. No one would have any problem watching two people get a swift death.
Hideki who standing at the back beside Chojuro was getting more and more anxious as time passed. He expected the twins to be in the prison but unfortunately, the Patriarch of the Terumi clan didn't want to take any chances when the situation is this fragile.
AO took out a Kunai from his pocket and walked toward the twins "Even though I wanted to keep you two alive but this is as far as you can go." The twins didn't say anything as they felt lucky to get such an easy death. Daiki was a little hesitant at first but seeing his brother stand tall beside him, Daiki chose to face death as well.
AO waved his kunai toward Daiki's throat but before the Kunai could touch Daiki's skin, a shuriken whizzed from the crowd in the hall and hit the Kunai in AO's hand. No one in the hall had expected this to happen, even the Patriarch. He quickly stood up to see who threw the Shuriken. Mei and AO were also searching for the man but their search didn't take long as Hideki dressed in civilian clothes stepped forward.
Everyone who knew Kenji as Hideki widened their eyes and loud whispers began among the crowd. They didn't understand why would the fruit vendor they know for so many years do this and how did he even manage to do it.
The Patriarch who was standing looked at Hideki and asked "Who are you ?"
Chojuro and Kana were about to step forward and explain everything but Mei signaled them to stay back. She herself stepped forward and glanced at Hideki once as she said "Father, he is Kenji a fruit vendor from the village. A few days go when Santo, Kana, and the others came to our land, and his 12-year-old nephew was among them. He had come here today to show his gratitude to Kana and Santo for keeping his nephew safe at sea."
The Patriarch turned his head toward Hideki and asked "Why did you stop AO from killing them and how are you so good at something that only a shinobi could do?"
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