Companionship

As Nagato and Konan's mixed bath came to an end, Konoha's meeting was still underway.

"That concludes the intelligence my clansmen provided regarding the two intruders."

Fugaku finished speaking, and unease stirred throughout the hall as people whispered among themselves.

"Repelling people and ninjutsu in an instant? Hey, that ability isn't a joke, is it?"

"If that intruder hadn't infiltrated the Uchiha Clan and had instead caused havoc in Konoha like the others, could the Third and Fourth have still killed him so easily?"

"Who knows..."

At that moment, Yamanaka Inoichi said thoughtfully, "Setting aside the enemy Captain Fugaku mentioned who could repel attacks, the other intruder killed by the police force seems to match the appearance of Luonai, the envoy of the Kazekage from Sunagakure!"

The moment he said that, everyone's expressions changed.

"Hey, Luonai came to Konoha carrying the Fourth Kazekage's peace agreement. Was he... was he being used too!?"

"Minato..." Sweat beaded on Hiruzen's face as he looked at Minato beside him, who had not said a word.

At that moment, Danzo unconsciously lowered his head...

Luonai... had been killed by Dingmao, a Root subordinate Danzo had sent.

But just after Dingmao completed his mission, contact with him had been lost. That very night... Dingmao and Luonai had both attacked the village as intruders.

Among those present, only Danzo knew that the Rinnegan belonged to Nagato of Amegakure. But... he had no idea how Nagato had given all six people the Rinnegan and used them to attack Konoha.

Uncovering the truth behind Nagato's power was also why he had attended this meeting!

"Good heavens, what in the world... is going on!?"

"Why does it feel like the more we discuss and analyze this, the farther we get from accurate information about the enemy?"

"Lord Fourth, do you have any leads?"

"Sorry... I truly can't make heads or tails of it either." Minato shook his head, looking equally bewildered.

Yet an even more terrifying cloud of doubt settled over everyone's hearts.

Fear came from the unknown. That much was undeniably true.

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Shikaku Nara, who had remained silent for nearly the entire meeting, raised his head. "There is a possibility that has lingered in my mind for several days..."

"Swish!" In an instant, everyone's gaze, including Danzo's, focused on his face.

"Are you serious, Senior Nara!?" Guy rose directly to his feet, but immediately realized he had overreacted. After saying, "Sorry," he sat back down.

The hall became so silent one could hear a pin drop. Everyone waited for Shikaku to reveal it.

After gathering his thoughts, Shikaku said, "As everyone knows, on the night of the attack, the Ino–Shika–Cho Formation encountered that enemy who could absorb ninjutsu and chakra."

Shikaku glanced aside. "Ah, that was Dingmao, a member of Root's Seventh Branch..."

"..." Danzo lowered his eyes and offered no response.

Shikaku continued, "When I restrained him with my shadow, Inoichi used the Mind Body Switch Technique on that enemy to coordinate with the Ino–Shika–Cho Formation's tactics. However... the Mind Body Switch Technique failed for the first time ever."

"At the time, Inoichi concluded that the other party had no 'mind.'"

"At that moment, a term surfaced in my mind. A term that sent a chill through my entire body."

"Gulp!" Someone swallowed and slowly asked, "What term?"

Shikaku lowered his gaze and clenched his hand.

"Corpses."

What...!?

Shikaku's sudden words shocked even Inoichi. "Shikaku, if they're corpses, then aren't they the Human Puppets we considered from the beginning?"

Shikaku said, "You could say that, but they cannot be lumped together."

Hyuga Hiashi said gravely, "This is rather hard to follow, Clan Head Nara. Could you explain it more thoroughly?"

"Certainly." Shikaku said, "A Human Puppet is a corpse crafted into a puppet that can be manipulated. Its essence is Puppet Technique, which has been passed down in Sunagakure for a long time. Human Puppets may also be 'mindless,' but... they do not possess consciousness."

"But what were the enemies we encountered like? Each of them moved and spoke like a living person. That is the greatest difference between them and Human Puppets."

"Therefore, I believe the enemy's technique... differs from Puppet Technique. It is a technique on a higher level."

"Based on the intelligence gathered so far, I have made the following conjecture... The enemy's ability is a technique that grants his own consciousness to the dead, allowing them to act like living people."

"The intruders appeared to be six people, but in truth, they all carried out the will of one person."

His deduction left everyone deeply unsettled.

"Then... who exactly are the intruders?"

"I don't know, but there are only two possibilities."

Shikaku's gaze flicked once more toward Danzo.

"First, someone within our ranks has been secretly manipulating everything in a place beyond our notice, like darkness beneath a lamp... Of course, this is merely a conclusion reached through absolute rationality. Emotionally, I do not believe it."

"Second, and the possibility I favor: the intruder never physically infiltrated Konoha from the beginning. Instead, he remotely controlled those corpses and played us in the palm of his hand!"

"The final result was that although we gathered our forces and eliminated four of them, it had no effect on the intruder himself. We even had part of the Scroll of Seals taken from us!"

Choza Akimichi said indignantly, "Damn it, so the intruder truly came for the forbidden techniques created by Konoha's previous Hokage!"

"To conceal his true objective, he even caused widespread destruction in the village. This is utterly outrageous!"

"No, perhaps that wasn't the case." Amid everyone's shocked gazes, Shikaku made another startling deduction. "Combining the intelligence on all six enemies, the strongest was undoubtedly the one who could repel attacks. It would not be wrong to regard him as the main combat force among the six, but..."

Shikaku paused. He had not wanted to state what came next so openly, but with time, it would not be difficult for others to analyze it anyway. It was better to say it plainly.

"After the battle began, however, the enemy deployed his main combat force against the Uchiha Clan. What does that indicate? The Scroll of Seals was not his objective—at least, not his primary objective!"

"As for... what that enemy actually did within the Uchiha Clan, I have no way of knowing."

"Based on the information currently available, this is as far as my analysis can go."

In the silence... everyone's gaze turned once again toward Uchiha Fugaku.

The corner of Danzo's mouth curled faintly. Excellent. As expected of Konoha's greatest mind, Shikaku Nara. Thanks to you, many doubts I could not understand have become much clearer.

"Just as Mr. Shikaku said, there is only one intruder." At that moment, Minato took over, drawing everyone's attention back.

"Yet each person displayed different abilities, which is also highly concerning. But there is no longer any way to unravel the truth. The other party was very cunning and left behind no material evidence for us to analyze. Still, that night's rain truly came at the worst possible time."

"Rain..." The word Minato mentioned made Hiruzen's expression shift slightly.

He slowly lowered the pipe in his hand.

Seeing his expression, Minato asked, "Third, what is it?"

Hiruzen, the Third Hokage known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, slowly said, "I merely recalled a technique. It is a forbidden technique originating from Amegakure, called the Rain Tiger at Will Technique. It can infuse rainwater with chakra for wide-ranging perception..."

Fugaku lowered his eyes and quietly clenched the cuff of his sleeve.

Sweat appeared on Minato's face. "You mean..."

Hiruzen said in a low voice, "The enemy may be a Rain ninja, or at least may once have come from Amegakure! Perhaps... if we ask Amegakure's leader, Lord Hanzo, we might be able to..."

"Enough, Hiruzen."

Danzo interrupted him at that moment. "Hanzo of the Salamander and the Amegakure he commands once served as the battlefield for the three great nations during the war. Hiruzen, surely you don't naively think he would help us, his former 'invaders'?"

"..." Hiruzen put the pipe back in his mouth and said nothing more.

Realizing that it was inappropriate to continue the meeting any longer.

Minato concluded, "It seems that analyzing the available intelligence to this extent is already our limit. From now on, we must strengthen our defenses, especially in the field of perception. We must improve..."

It seems... I should also focus on improving the Senjutsu I'm not skilled at.

Amid a stifling and oppressive atmosphere, Konoha's meeting came to an end.

Nagato returned to the Jizo Temple in the Land of Rice, where Konan had already been waiting for a long time.

At this moment, Darui, Samui, and C had disappeared from the corner.

Konan said, "When I returned, the three of them had already slipped away while we were gone."

"As expected." Nagato asked, "By the way, why not stay at an inn?"

Konan said, "In a comfortable environment like an inn, I always unconsciously feel like falling asleep..."

She slowly leaned back against a stone pillar and sat down, saying lazily, "Nagato, don't stay up with me. Get some rest. We can't afford to lower our guard for tomorrow's meeting with Orochimaru."

"No, I said I would keep you company." Nagato sat down beside Konan.

He could not help but look worriedly at the dark circles that had appeared beneath Konan's eyes again.

He had the physique of the Uzumaki Clan. Though it was unpleasant, he could endure it... But Konan was different. It might not show now, but if she kept this up for a year, something would happen, wouldn't it? Setting aside her body, her mental state would be even more concerning...

It was precisely this worry that made him decide to accompany Konan throughout the entire process of completing that forbidden technique.

Konan's training in Night Netherworld Spider Lily had reached its third sleepless night. The trial had only just begun...