Monster Beyond the Files

The Yamanaka ninja's answer fell, and the morgue went completely silent.

Danzo stared at the head that had been brought back, his face livid.

Uchiha Lieyang again.

He was not an unidentified ninja from another village, nor an elite from an enemy nation who had infiltrated the Land of Fire.

From beginning to end, the only person who had killed the Root ninjas was him!

"Continue."

The Yamanaka ninja closed his eyes again and pressed both hands against the dead man's head.

More fragmented memories were gradually pieced together.

White mist blanketed the forest.

Hundreds of kunai collided in midair.

Shadow clones suddenly burst from underground.

Hand seals formed with one hand.

Earth Release, Water Release, Lightning Release.

And Lightning Body Flicker, so fast even jonin could not react.

The Yamanaka ninja's breathing grew heavier, and cold sweat soon beaded across his forehead.

These memories were far too chaotic.

The deceased had suffered severe stimulation before death, leaving the images in his mind full of gaps. Even so, the intelligence pieced together from those incomplete fragments was still shocking enough.

Several breaths later, the Yamanaka ninja released his hands.

"Lord Danzo."

"The target used Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique and Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears. He also possesses a high-speed Body Flicker Technique that stimulates the body with Lightning Release."

"His Shadow Clone Technique is also unusual."

Danzo asked coldly, "How is it unusual?"

"The shadow clones can fight independently. Their ninjutsu, swordsmanship, and genjutsu have no obvious flaws."

The Yamanaka ninja paused.

"Until the moment of his death, the deceased could not determine which one was the original body."

"What else?"

"One-handed hand seals."

Danzo's grip on his cane abruptly tightened.

"Are you certain?"

"The memories may be incomplete, but they would not contain images that never existed."

The Yamanaka ninja lowered his head.

"Uchiha Lieyang formed hand seals with only one hand, and the seals were greatly simplified. Earth Flow Spears required only two seals, activating far faster than a normal ninja could manage."

Danzo's expression darkened completely.

According to Konoha's records, Uchiha Lieyang possessed only two chakra natures: Fire and Wind.

He excelled at Fire Release, genjutsu, and ninja tool throwing.

His taijutsu was average.

His greatest recorded achievement was no more than killing two chunin by himself.

Yet the Lieyang in the dead man's memories wielded Water Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release, Hidden Mist Technique, Lightning Body Flicker, one-handed hand seals, and unusual shadow clones.

This was no longer an oversight.

He had been disguising himself from beginning to end!

"Leave."

"Yes."

The Yamanaka ninja left the morgue.

After the door shut, Danzo remained where he was for a long time without moving.

At last, he understood why the Flowing Moon Squad had been wiped out.

Why the three people sent afterward had not even managed to send a distress signal.

It was not because someone had helped Lieyang.

Nor was it because enemy ninjas had infiltrated the Land of Fire.

It was because Uchiha Lieyang's true strength was completely different from the files Konoha possessed!

"Hidden for so many years..."

Danzo gritted his teeth and slammed his cane heavily against the floor.

Thud!

"The Uchiha truly cannot be trusted!"

Lieyang knew full well that Konoha had the Yamanaka Clan, who could read the memories of the dead, yet he had still left behind the corpses and heads.

This was not negligence.

It was provocation!

He simply did not care what Konoha could uncover.

It was almost as if he had deliberately allowed those corpses to bring the intelligence back, so Root would understand just how absurdly wrong its previous judgment had been!

Danzo did not remain in the morgue.

That very night, he rushed to the Hokage Building and pushed open the office door.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still handling documents.

When he saw Danzo enter, he set down his pen.

"More news?"

Danzo threw the compiled memory report onto the desk.

"Read it yourself."

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the report.

After reading only the first page, his gaze stopped.

The further he read, the darker his expression became.

"Water Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release."

"One-handed hand seals, simplified seals, unusual shadow clones..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up.

"All of this intelligence came from the dead men's memories?"

"The Yamanaka Clan has confirmed it."

Danzo planted his cane on the floor, his voice cold and harsh.

"Hiruzen, do you still think he may have been attacked?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer.

Two Root squads had been annihilated.

In the memories of the dead, every clue pointed to Uchiha Lieyang as the murderer.

This was already irrefutable proof of defection.

Danzo continued, "He lived in Konoha for twenty years."

"Yet his special jonin file did not even record his chakra natures completely."

"Water Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release, one-handed hand seals, and those shadow clones capable of independently killing jonin."

"How long had he been hiding all this?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked through the report again.

"Some of these abilities may have been acquired recently."

"Recently?"

Danzo sneered.

"A special jonin suddenly masters three chakra natures within mere days of leaving the village, learns several unregistered ninjutsu, and gains the ability to form hand seals with one hand?"

"Hiruzen, do you believe that yourself?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.

There truly was no explanation.

Ninjutsu could be copied through the Sharingan.

But chakra natures, hand seal methods, and combat habits could never undergo such tremendous changes in only a few days.

The only reasonable explanation was that Lieyang had long possessed these powers, but had never displayed them before the village.

"He has been deceiving Konoha all along."

Danzo's voice grew colder and colder.

"ANBU investigated him for three years, and Root gathered intelligence on him as well."

"Yet everyone saw only what he wanted us to see."

"An Uchiha deliberately concealing his true strength, building prestige within his clan, establishing businesses in the village, and currying favor with ninjas and civilians."

"Do you still think it was only to improve the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe without speaking.

Danzo stepped forward.

"During the Nine-Tails Incident, the one controlling the Nine-Tails used the Sharingan."

"In recent years, the Uchiha Clan has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the village, and radical voices have continued to emerge within the Konoha Police Force."

"And now, an Uchiha Lieyang who had concealed himself for years has appeared."

"This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"He had been preparing to defect for a long time!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "The Nine-Tails Incident has not been fully investigated. We cannot treat every Uchiha as an enemy."

"But Uchiha Lieyang is already an enemy!"

Danzo did not yield in the slightest.

"He killed two mission companions, then wiped out Root tracking squads one after another."

"He openly displayed abilities that had never been registered before, then deliberately left behind corpses for the Yamanaka Clan to read their memories."

"He is telling us that he is not afraid of Konoha sending more people after him!"

Danzo's one exposed eye, visible beyond the bandages, stared fixedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Someone like him must be killed."

"Otherwise, he will take more Konoha intelligence with him, and more ninjas will die by his hand."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the casualty records on the desk.

Takeno Sota.

Ayakawa Yukina.

The Flowing Moon Squad.

The subsequent tracking squads.

Each name represented a ninja Konoha had spent vast resources to train.

Now, all of them were dead.

"His actions truly are abnormal."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said quietly, "If he had decided to defect, the most sensible choice would have been to conceal his abilities and leave the Land of Fire as quickly as possible."

"But he did not leave."

"He even deliberately left behind corpses whose memories could be read."

Danzo said coldly, "Because he is arrogant."

"He believes Root cannot kill him."

"Hiruzen, further hesitation will only worsen the losses."

"Uchiha Lieyang must be hunted down without mercy. His corpse, eyes, and brain must all be brought back to Konoha. None of his intelligence can be allowed to fall into the hands of other hidden villages."

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally set down his pipe.

"Continue the investigation."