Searching

Beyond the prison stood a heavily guarded iron door. Even at this late hour, a Root member stood watch outside it. Through the gap in the door lay Root's Laboratory.

It was the other important place Fugaku had come to visit tonight. He stopped before the guard, and the black mist before his eyes thinned. A pair of spinning Mangekyo Sharingan appeared.

An almost imperceptible message passed through Fugaku's eyes into the guard's. In the Root member's mind, faint footsteps and the rustle of a Scroll broke the Laboratory's silence.

It sounded as though someone had slipped inside to read the experimental records.

The Mangekyo Sharingan vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The Root members hidden around the area noticed nothing amiss.

The guard immediately opened the iron door behind him and looked inside. The Laboratory was brightly lit, but no one was there.

A Squad Leader on duty walked over. "Black Crow, what's wrong?"

"I heard faint footsteps inside, and the sound of someone turning a Scroll."

The Squad Leader's expression turned serious. At his signal, six Root members emerged from the surrounding area.

"Spread out through the Laboratory. Search carefully from left to right. Don't let so much as an ant slip past."

"Yes."

The Squad Leader was a veteran of Root whom Danzo had personally promoted, and he was utterly loyal to him. He knew what experiments the Laboratory was conducting. If they came to light, Root and Danzo would be in serious trouble.

The Root members searched from the entrance onward, checking every room and corner of the Laboratory. They found no sign that anyone had broken in.

The Squad Leader breathed a sigh of relief and patted Black Crow on the shoulder. "Maybe you're just on edge. It wouldn't be easy for any Ninja