A few days earlier, a figure had silently appeared in the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was handling the documents in his hands. Without looking up, he asked casually, "How did it go?"
Shinnosuke removed his hood, revealing his square face, and shook his head.
"Lord Third, there was no sign of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Indeed, just as Sora Uchiha had guessed, the mission appeared to be a pursuit of a missing-nin, but in reality, it had been a test to see whether Sora Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And the bait was... Kazuki Utsuki.
After Shinnosuke noticed that Kazuki Utsuki had developed feelings for Sora Uchiha—feelings an Anbu member should not have—he had planned this operation.
Of course, the missing-nin was real as well. He had simply happened to appear at this point in time and been used by Shinnosuke.
Moreover, Konoha's intelligence had not been leaked. The person from Sunagakure who had initially fled with the information had been killed by Shinnosuke not long after leaving Onsen Town.
"No?" Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured as he opened a drawer. Inside were several photographs depicting the devastation left behind by the battle in the mountains behind Takigakure.
He stared at the photographs, his gaze deep and unreadable.
"According to your report, Sora Uchiha was the only Anbu member who went to the rear mountains first. After intense battle fluctuations erupted, you took these photographs at the battlefield.
"Then, following the bloodstains, you found Sora Uchiha on the brink of death. Tsunade also denied causing that battle. If Sora Uchiha had nothing to do with it... there would be no explanation."
Shinnosuke fell silent. There were no other traces at the scene. According to Eagle, the Takigakure shinobi had only rushed over after hearing the explosion, so the battle had not been