The monitoring room fell into temporary silence, and Mokgetsu let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
Since the memory couldn't be examined, the matter became simpler. He could just insist that Ishijima Hideyuki was a spy and a traitor.
Mokgetsu looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose expression remained unchanged, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.
Mokgetsu was fully aware that the situation could be either big or small, entirely depending on how Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to handle it. If Konoha wanted to pursue the matter and insist that Ishijima Hideyuki was sent by the Hidden Mist to cause trouble, there was no problem with that.
At that moment, the door of the monitoring room was pushed open, and Danzo entered with two Root Ninja.
"You Hidden Mist have some nerve, daring to assassinate our genius ninja from Konoha!" Danzo barked as soon as he stepped in.
"If you want war with Konoha, we will be more than happy to oblige."
Danzo launched into a tirade, as if the Hidden Mist had officially declared war on Konoha.
Mokgetsu calmly explained the situation again, reiterating Ishijima Hideyuki's identity as a spy.
"His mind being damaged by Jutsu doesn't necessarily mean he's a spy. Maybe you Hidden Mist are just trying to deflect suspicion from yourselves," Danzo retorted relentlessly.
"If you want to prove your innocence, then let all the Hidden Mist undergo a memory search," Danzo suggested as his solution.
"If you're really without fault, I'd be willing to personally apologize."
"Elder Shimura, are you joking? There's no way I'd agree to such a thing," Mokgetsu said, feeling strained, thinking Danzo's demands were ridiculous.
Indeed, a memory search could prove their innocence, but it would also expose all of the Hidden Mist's secrets to Konoha.
As an elder of the Hidden Mist Village, Mokgetsu knew too many secrets. Even if he were to die in Konoha, he would destroy his mind first to prevent them from obtaining his memories.
Not to mention himself, the Jonin he brought along wouldn't easily let Konoha see their minds either. That would be the same as giving away the Hidden Mist's secret techniques for training ninjas for free.
Compared to the confidential information in their minds, Danzo's apology was worthless, even less than having Danzo commit suicide.
"Are you feeling guilty?" Danzo gazed coldly at Mokgetsu.
"In this matter, my conscience is clear, but I cannot let the Hidden Mist's secrets be leaked," Mokgetsu replied, unfazed, staring back at Danzo.
"Rest assured, we Konoha Ninjas are known for our integrity. They won't look at what they shouldn't," Danzo continued.
On the surface, Mokgetsu maintained a pleasant demeanor but inwardly scoffed. How could he have become an elder of the Hidden Mist if he believed Danzo's words? Not looking at freely-given confidential information would be ridiculous.
Mokgetsu adamantly disagreed with Danzo's proposal, while Danzo intensified his pressure, suggesting that their refusal meant they had something to hide.
"There are many doubts about this issue, directly reviewing Elder Mokgetsu's memories indeed seems inappropriate," Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke up at this point.
"But this is the fastest and most accurate method," Danzo replied, dissatisfied.
Mokgetsu silently observed the scene, forming a rough prediction in his mind about the outcome of the situation.
Konoha, for the moment, did not seem inclined to start a fight. After all, they already had the Hidden Rock Village and The Hidden Cloud Village to deal with, and even a hawk like Danzo wouldn't likely want to face three Great Ninja Villages simultaneously.
Yet, Konoha certainly wouldn't swallow the insult. Whether Ishijima Hideyuki was a spy was irrelevant; the key point was that Ishijima Hideyuki was a Hidden Mist ninja, at least until his death he wasn't stripped of his Hidden Mist identity.
Thus, it wouldn't escalate to warfare, but Konoha certainly wouldn't let Mokgetsu and his people leave casually; they would at least demand some benefits.
Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen were clearly playing good cop, bad cop; first, Danzo proposed a solution that Mokgetsu would absolutely refuse, and then Sarutobi Hiruzen would play the good guy, offering a solution that, though uncomfortable for the Hidden Mist, would be acceptable.
Yet, the monitoring room wasn't the place for discussions. Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly led Mokgetsu and the others out of the monitoring room to a dedicated conference room to discuss solutions.
Mokgetsu left a Shadow Clone in the monitoring room to continue watching the surveillance, while his real self went to the cafeteria at the Central Tower for dinner.
The second stage of the Chunin Examination lasted a total of five days. During these five days, both the candidates and the proctors had to stay within the Forest of Death, even if candidates completed the requirements and reached the Central Tower on the first day, they still had to remain until the end.
Because after the exam ended, rules relevant to the third stage would be explained.
In addition, if too many candidates passed the second stage, an additional test might be conducted to eliminate some candidates, thus improving the quality of the third stage participants.
The third stage of exams was different from the first two; Konoha invited many officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants to observe. In order to make the exam more exciting and demonstrate Konoha Ninja's strengths, both the number and quality needed to be controlled.
Not every Chunin Examination was conducted in this manner; only when particularly large exams were held were officials and nobles invited.
After all, Konoha stably held two Chunin Examinations a year, inviting people every time would be too frequent.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, don't you find it unappetizing when you eat others' food?" After dinner, Obito asked curiously.
In Obito's heart, there was only one best-tasting dish, and no second, as he felt others paled in comparison to Mokgetsu, the gap as vast as that between a Jonin and a Genin.
"It's alright, after all, I can't always cook for myself," Mokgetsu replied with a thoughtful smile.