"What? Neji Hyuga left the village without filing any departure report?!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Jiraiya abruptly raised his head from the mountain of documents, his brow instantly knotting into a frown.
He had already been irritated by the tedious administrative work. Hearing his subordinate's report, that irritation was immediately replaced by shock and suspicion.
The ones reporting before his desk were Konoha's gatekeeper duo—Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.
"Yes, Fifth Generation," Izumo Kamizuki recalled the events of the previous night. "It was late last night. We were conducting our routine patrol and shift handover. We clearly saw a figure walking alone from inside the village toward the gate, without any companions."
Kotetsu Hagane added from the side, "When he came closer, we recognized him as Neji Hyuga of the Hyuga Clan. He was carrying a small pack, and it looked like he was heading out on a long journey."
"We found it strange at the time. At that hour, acting alone—normally, he should have had a mission scroll or a Hokage's written order in advance. So we went up to ask him the usual questions and verify his paperwork."
Izumo Kamizuki took over again. "We stopped him and followed procedure, asking whether he had permission to leave, where he was headed, whether he needed help registering, and so on... He stopped walking then and seemed to say only one thing... 'Sorry.'"
"And then?" Jiraiya leaned forward slightly and pressed for more.
Both Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane wore awkward, disbelieving expressions.
Kotetsu Hagane scratched the back of his head. "Then... then the two of us just... didn't know anything anymore."
"When we regained consciousness, dawn was nearly here, but Neji Hyuga had long since vanished. We checked the gate records, but there was no official registration of his departure."