"Someone, come in."
An ANBU member appeared in the office.
"Have any of the former Root ninja shown unusual behavior lately? Anything out of the ordinary?"
The ANBU ninja paused, then said thoughtfully, "Many former Root ninja have lost the emotions of ordinary people.
"They often don't know how to express happiness, anger, or sadness. A lot of ANBU members find them strange to be around.
"But we haven't seen any particularly unusual behavior. They're all trying to adjust to normal life, and none of them have done anything beyond the bounds of normal behavior."
The Third Hokage nodded. "Keep watching the former Root members. As long as they do nothing suspicious, don't interfere with them."
"Yes."
The ANBU ninja vanished. Only then did Homura speak again. "Should we announce what happened, or keep it secret?"
The Third Hokage sighed. "We can't keep this secret. Don't forget, the news came from Iwagakure. Ōnoki even tried to use it to demand the Tailed Beast."
"What should we do? Do we hand it over?"
"Let's hold a Jonin Meeting to discuss it. Knowing Ōnoki, he won't keep this quiet for Konoha. If we say nothing and the news reaches us from the Land of Earth instead,
"it will confuse the people of the Land of Fire and our village's ninja, and hurt morale. Homura, make the arrangements. We'll hold the Jonin Meeting in the Hokage Building's conference room this evening."
"Yes."
On the streets of Konoha, Fugaku was leading a squad of ninja on patrol when a gray hawk began circling overhead, crying out.
Fugaku was surprised. Its call was the signal to assemble the jonin, but the village had been peaceful lately. Nothing had happened.
"Keep patrolling. Don't wait for me."
"Yes."
By evening, the conference room was packed. Fugaku scanned