The air inside the tent at the Temporary Command Post seemed to have frozen.
Shikaku Nara held the meerschaum pipe in his hand. The slime clinging to it had been cleaned away, but a faint, putrid odor still stubbornly worked its way into his nostrils.
The family crest inlaid in silver wire reflected a cold gleam under the oil lamp.
The staff officers and Anbu Captain around him held their breath, their eyes fixed on an object that should never have been there. A personal possession of a senior advisor who had already "retired due to illness" had been found inside the belly of a monster that had just slaughtered the Daimyo Residence's special envoys.
The implications were enough to trigger a political earthquake in Konoha, if not the entire Land of Fire.
Shikaku said nothing. He simply wrapped the pipe carefully in a clean white cloth and placed it in an evidence box bearing a Sealing Tag.
He turned and issued orders to the Anbu Captain beside him.
"Preserve all traces at the scene. Verify the casualty list, then submit it through encrypted channels. Keep the survivor, Yamanaka Inoichi, under the highest level of life-support monitoring and isolate him for investigation. No one is allowed contact with him."
"Yes."
Shikaku walked over to the communications unit and picked up the receiver. After a brief pause, he connected to the top-secret line to the Hokage's Office.
"Lord Hokage."
Only a composed reply came from the other end.
"Speak."
"The attack on the investigation team has been dealt with. Of its thirteen members, twelve are dead and one is critically injured. An object was found at the scene. Preliminary identification confirms it as a personal possession of former Advisor Mitokado Homura."
Shikaku's report was extremely concise, with no personal judgments added.