External Liaison Office

Tekka gritted his teeth. "The clan head has already had Shinsuke's residence sealed off."

"There's a hidden compartment in his residence, containing two takeout receipts."

"They look like they're from ordinary merchants."

"But we checked the merchant list, and that shop hasn't taken any orders from the Uchiha compound recently."

Shin-getsu took the paper and pondered for a moment.

"Takeout receipts."

"This suggests the handover point might not have been a direct meeting, but rather the transmission of information disguised as everyday consumption."

Tekka was taken aback.

"You can even figure that out?"

Shin-getsu glanced at him.

"If Root is going to plant people in the compound, they have to consider concealment."

"Direct contact is too easily discovered."

"Using seemingly ordinary material distribution is the safest."

Tekka said gravely, "What do we do now?"

Shin-getsu handed the paper back.

"Investigate that shop."

"Investigate the delivery routes."

"Investigate who entered that shop in the name of 'clan procurement' in the past week."

"If Shinsuke met with the other party, there will definitely be overlapping traces."

Tekka took the paper back, his expression complicated.

"Your brain..."

Shin-getsu said lightly, "I'm just used to thinking about the worst-case scenario for everything."

Tekka felt a pang of unease after hearing that.

For a nine-year-old child to develop such a mindset was not a good thing in itself.

It meant he was truly forced into an environment where he had to be constantly wary of everything.

Tekka looked at Shin-getsu and said in a low voice, "You were right at the clan meeting tonight."

"The Uchiha don't need a banner to be pushed to their deaths."

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone push you onto that stage this time."

Shin-getsu smiled.

"Senior worries too much."

"Those who want to push me onto the stage have already started showing themselves."

Tekka snorted coldly.

"Then we'll pull them out one by one."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint sound came from outside the courtyard wall.

Both of them turned their heads simultaneously.

Shin-getsu's eyes changed.

[Causality Perception] vibrated slightly.

There was something.

Not a person.

Nor ordinary patrolling cats or dogs.

It was more like some kind of... artificially set trigger point.

Shin-getsu raised his hand, signaling Tekka to stay put.

He slowly walked towards the courtyard wall.

Under the moonlight, a needle-thin black pin was stuck in a crack in the stone at the corner of the wall.

A short length of red thread was wound around the end of the needle.

Shin-getsu bent down to look, and his expression instantly turned cold.

"This is a Trigger Needle."

Tekka frowned.

"What is that?"

Shin-getsu didn't answer immediately, instead carefully using a kunai to pick up the needle.

The needle was extremely thin, its surface coated with a layer of almost invisible light gray powder.

"Someone hid it by the courtyard wall."

"As soon as I got close, or if a patrolling ninja had carelessly stepped on it, it would have triggered."

Tekka's face changed drastically.

"A trap?"

Shin-getsu nodded.

"And not one meant to kill."

"It's for tracking."

Tekka's pupils contracted.

Tracking?

Shin-getsu continued:

"The red thread on the tail of this needle should be connected to some kind of short-range chakra sensing tag."

"As long as it comes into contact with the target's chakra fluctuations, it will record their aura."

"This way, the other party can confirm if I was in the training ground tonight, if I activated my Sharingan, and if I frequently mobilized my chakra."

Tekka was furious.

"Root again?"

Shin-getsu didn't nod directly.

But this time, there was no need to guess.

Who else could be behind such a sinister thing, if not those under Danzo?

Tekka gritted his teeth.

"I'm going to report this to the clan head right now."

Shin-getsu, however, raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait."

Tekka froze.

Shin-getsu stared at the Trigger Needle and said slowly:

"Don't alert them this time."

"Since they've come again, it means they haven't discovered that Shinsuke has already been exposed."

"This Trigger Needle isn't a kill setup; it's more like a follow-up confirmation."

Tekka frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Shin-getsu said:

"They want to confirm if I continued my training tonight."

"If I did, it means I wasn't influenced by the clan meeting."

"If I didn't, it means I might have been held back by the clan after the meeting."

"They need to judge their next step, whether to continue to praise me into ruin, or to use other methods."

The more Tekka listened, the darker his expression became.

"Then what do we do now?"

A cold glint flashed in Shin-getsu's eyes.

"Play along with their plan."

"Leave it here."

Tekka's eyes widened.

"Leave it?"

Shin-getsu nodded.

"Don't remove it yet."

"Let the other party think it's still working normally."

"Then, we'll set up a counter-reconnaissance sealing line next to it."

"As soon as someone comes to retrieve it, or to check again, the sealing line will record their chakra signature."

Tekka stared for half a second, then grinned.

"You're a truly sinister kid."

Shin-getsu said calmly, "I learned it from Root."

Tekka's smile froze instantly.

He cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, that old bastard Danzo really turns people into ghosts."

Shin-getsu did not speak.

He simply stared at the Trigger Needle, more certain of one thing than ever before.

Root was not only planting spies within the Uchiha Clan.

They were also constantly monitoring his personal growth rate.

This meant that in Danzo's eyes, Shin-getsu was no longer just an "orphan who could be easily snatched away," but a dangerous variable rapidly spiraling out of control.

This was troublesome.

But it also proved that he was heading in the right direction.

As soon as the enemy begins to take you seriously, it means you have become a piece on the chessboard that cannot be ignored.

Shin-getsu stood up and said to Tekka:

"Senior, go find Inabi."

"Have him cross-reference the Delivery Receipt Route found at Shinsuke's residence with the placement of this Trigger Needle from today."

"If the two lines match, it means their Communication Method is fixed."

Tekka nodded.

"I'll go right now."

He took two steps, then couldn't help but look back.

"Aren't you going to rest?"

Shin-getsu had already raised his hand again, beginning to condense Lightning Chakra.

"I'm still a little short."

Zzz.

Blue-white electric arcs danced once more.

This time, they were steadier than before.

Tekka watched him for two seconds, ultimately said nothing, and turned to leave.

The courtyard fell silent again.

Shin-getsu continued his training.

He had to at least reach the threshold of Lightning Style: Earth Flash today.

Because he knew very well that after Shinsuke was exposed, Root would not stay quiet for long.

They would change personnel.

They would change methods.

They would change communication lines.

They might even start testing him directly.

And what he had to do was turn himself into a blade that was harder to break before they made their next move.

Half an hour later.

Hasty footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate.

It was Tekka, having returned.

His expression was even worse than before.

"Shin-getsu."

"Something happened."

The lightning on Shin-getsu's hand dissipated, and he looked up at him.

"What is it?"

Tekka took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"Shinsuke talked."

"But not completely."

"He said that the Messenger he met last night is not from within the Uchiha."

Shin-getsu's pupils constricted.

"Who?"

Tekka enunciated each word clearly.

"Someone from the Hokage Building's External Liaison Office."

"And what that person gave him wasn't an order."

"It was a deputy cover page for Hokage documents."

Shin-getsu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

A deputy cover page?

How could something from the Hokage document system fall into the hands of Root?

Unless...

Someone at a higher level had opened a convenient door for them.

Tekka gritted his teeth and said:

"The clan head sent me to ask you."

"Should we report this matter directly to the Hokage Building?"

Shin-getsu didn't answer immediately.

He looked at the night sky, and after a long pause, slowly spoke:

"Don't report it yet."

Tekka froze.

Shin-getsu's gaze was deep.

"If Shinsuke is telling the truth, then this matter is deeper than we thought."

"Reporting it now will only make the other party cut ties prematurely."

"We need to catch that person from the External Liaison Office first."

Tekka said in a deep voice:

"How do we catch him?"

Shin-getsu slowly raised his head.

"Tonight."

"I will go meet him."