The First Step to Proving Oneself

Kakashi froze for a moment, then showed a faint approving smile. "Good. You've got guts.

"But the scene has already been sealed off. You'll have to go with the Anbu.

"Shinku, take them there."

"Yes!"

Yuhi Shinku replied, then looked at Kawaki Aoba. "Aoba, prepare yourself mentally.

"The scene of the Hokage's assassination attempt... may not be a pleasant sight."

Kawaki Aoba nodded, but there was not the slightest hint of retreat in his heart.

This mission concerned not only the Third Hokage's safety, but possibly Konoha's future as well.

He had to give it everything he had.

The group arrived at the scene near the Hokage Office.

Sure enough, there were corrosive pits in the ground just as Kakashi had described, and a faint, pungent odor still lingered in the air.

Kawaki Aoba crouched down and carefully examined the traces on the ground.

The edges of those pits were unnaturally charred black, as if they had been eroded by some highly toxic substance.

"Aoba, do these marks seem familiar to you?"

Standing beside him, Yuhi Shinku asked in a low voice.

Kawaki Aoba frowned as scenes from the Land of Rivers replayed in his mind.

He suddenly remembered that during the supply handover, the man in black had accidentally knocked over a wooden board. When it hit the ground, its edges had seemed to bear similar charred marks, though he had not paid them any attention at the time.

"Teacher Shinku, I saw similar marks in the Land of Rivers!"

Kawaki Aoba abruptly looked up, his tone urgent. "They were where that man in black knocked over the wooden board. Its edges had the same kind of charred marks. They weren't as obvious, but I'm sure they were the same!"

Yuhi Shinku and Kakashi exchanged a glance, and a