The lights in the Hokage's Office stayed on all night.
The last traces of warmth in Room 3 had long since faded. Baishi sat upright behind his desk, with neither mountains of paperwork nor urgent battle reports before him.
There was only a cup of tea that had gone completely cold.
He did not look out at the streets, now orderly under martial law after ANBU had taken control.
His fingers tapped lightly against the smooth desktop in a steady rhythm.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound was quiet, yet it was like a ruler, precisely measuring the stagnant air in the room.
An ANBU wearing a blank mask appeared soundlessly in the shadows of the office, as though he had been there all along.
"Lord Hokage."
Baishi stopped tapping.
"Report."
"The Heroes' Families Special Care Group reports that the target's emotional state has largely stabilized. She is now housed in the Medical Department's third private recuperation area. Round-the-clock monitoring has begun."
The ANBU's voice held no inflection, as though he were reporting the procedure for placing an item in storage.
"What about the chaos in the hospital lobby?"
"The Konoha Military Police Force has cleared the scene and evacuated everyone. The official explanation is 'a brief panic caused by aging wiring.' All witnesses have signed confidentiality agreements."
"That nurse."
Baishi finally came to the point.
The ANBU leaned forward slightly. "Our investigation identified her as Hinata Aya, a genin. She graduated from the Ninja Academy three years ago and was assigned to Konoha Hospital. Her family background is clean, and she has no adverse records. During the chaos, she had brief physical contact with Uzumaki Kushina."
"Brief physical contact."
Baishi repeated those words, his tone betraying no emotion.
He did not order the nurse interrogated, much less searched. That would