That night.
Inside Konoha.
In a remote corner.
Root's headquarters was located underground here.
At that moment, inside an office, Danzo was leafing through the documents in his hand when there was a sudden knock at the door.
Danzo frowned slightly, closed the file in his hand, and said, "Come in!"
Creak—
The door was pushed open.
A Root Ninja quickly walked in.
Danzo looked at him and said directly, "Otsu, what is it?"
"Reporting, sir. Shadow Ghost has gone missing."
Otsu answered concisely.
"What?"
At the news, a flash of astonishment crossed Danzo's face.
Then he frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Hearing this, Otsu did not conceal the slightest detail and immediately recounted the matter from beginning to end.
"Sir, half an hour ago was Shadow Ghost's fixed contact time with the base, but he did not send a signal. I was worried something had happened, so I dispatched Red Shadow Squad."
"And then?"
Danzo continued asking expressionlessly.
Otsu replied, "Red Shadow Squad followed the markings Shadow Ghost left behind and found the Seventh Training Ground. After that, the trail went cold. Shadow Ghost's fate is currently unknown."
Hearing this answer, Danzo's expression turned ugly, and he immediately asked, "What about that brat?"
"The target has already returned to his residence," Otsu answered.
"Was there anything unusual at the place where Shadow Ghost disappeared?" Danzo asked again.
"No."
Otsu shook his head and replied, "Red Shadow Squad inspected it carefully. There were no clues left behind by Shadow Ghost, nor any traces of a fight. Shadow Ghost seemed to have vanished into thin air."
The so-called Shadow Ghost was naturally the Root Ninja who had been monitoring Qian.
Qian had directly activated his Byakugan to locate him, then used Ame no Minaka to catch up in an