Rasa?

Orochimaru stopped probing. Yin Release Chakra flowed silently, and the Sunagakure Jonin whose eyes had been bloodshot moments ago went limp. The struggle faded from his eyes, and his pupils lost focus.

"Tell me everything about your mission to investigate the Poison, from where the intelligence came from to how you received the assignment."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, carrying a strange, hypnotic rhythm.

Caught in the Genjutsu, the Sunagakure Jonin had no power to resist. He spoke mechanically. "The Third Kazekage issued the mission. A Jonin from the village brought back the intelligence. He discovered this new type of Poison during a mission and reported it once he'd confirmed its source and value."

"The new type of Poison posed a serious threat and had great potential value, so Lord Kazekage decided to send people to investigate and collect samples."

The Sunagakure Jonin went on without holding anything back. "Lady Pakura wanted to build her reputation, so she volunteered for the mission and sent the six of us into the Land of Rivers to trace its source and collect samples of the poisonous plant."

"Our mission was to investigate and gather evidence. I intercepted you today because I saw the metal fragments you were holding and concluded you intended to keep the information about the poisonous plant to yourselves. That was a decision our squad made on its own."

"Before or after you took this mission, did you notice any covert movements within Sunagakure?"

Orochimaru pressed on, trying to dig deeper.

Unfortunately, the Sunagakure Jonin only shook his head blankly. "I don't have the clearance to know about the leadership's secret deployments."

No matter how many times Orochimaru questioned him, his account remained consistent. There were no more useful leads.

"You said Pakura wanted to build her reputation. So you're part of her faction? Did anything strange happen when you took the mission?"

Just as Orochimaru was about to end the interrogation, Tsukimi spoke up quietly.

If these six had been set up because of a factional struggle, whoever was behind the infiltrator must have done something unusual when the mission was assigned.

Surely that guy hadn't come all this way to lurk in the shadows just for fun?

Orochimaru looked surprised, but he didn't object. He kept the Sunagakure Jonin under his control and had him answer.

"Yes. All six of us follow Lady Pakura. Nothing unusual happened when we took the mission. Though if you mean anything strange, Rasa, who usually competes with Lady Pakura over everything, didn't try to claim it this time."

So there was something to it!

"Why didn't he?" A thoughtful look flashed in Tsukimi's eyes.

"Jonin Rasa has been busy with border affairs lately, so he didn't compete for this mission."

Busy with border affairs, my ass! They weren't at war. Apart from routine patrols, there was nothing important happening at the border.

On paper, the intelligence about the new type of Poison in the Land of Rivers had a traceable source, and the mission had been issued publicly. The entire process was beyond reproach. Yet Sunagakure had arrived just as Tsukimi's group traced their investigation here. They had even dug up the metal fragments meant to frame Cloud Hidden. With both sides meeting at that moment, a fight had been inevitable. There were too many coincidences.

Rasa, who was always competing with Pakura, had also given up on the mission because of his supposed border affairs. Another coincidence.

And with that Sunagakure lookout crouching nearby, Tsukimi didn't believe so many coincidences could happen at once.

He had good reason to be suspicious. In the original story, Rasa had done this sort of thing before. After the Third Shinobi World War, Rasa had been the Fourth Kazekage, yet he had handed Pakura over to Kirigakure as part of a political deal. Selling out a few ordinary Ninja now wouldn't weigh on his conscience.

If Rasa was involved, he had to be connected to the hidden force Tsukimi's group was investigating. Either they were working together, or Rasa himself was the mastermind.

First, he had deliberately leaked news of the poisonous plant to Sunagakure, ensuring the village would launch an official, public mission. Then he had exploited Pakura's eagerness to earn merit and lured her into taking it. By treating her squad as disposable, he could provoke a clash and muddy Tsukimi's group's judgment, leaving them unsure whether Cloud Hidden or Sunagakure was responsible.

He had used Sunagakure's internal factional struggle to weaken his rival while throwing the investigation off course.

If Tsukimi hadn't discovered the Sunagakure infiltrator on the perimeter, they might truly have been fooled by appearances.

If these six Ninja had died fighting on a battlefield, that would have been the fortune of war. But being led to their deaths by one of their own through an official mission was a bitter way to go.

Of course, Konoha was hardly in a position to judge.

Right, Danzo?

Tsukimi nodded to Orochimaru to show he was done asking questions, and Orochimaru released the Genjutsu.

Once the Genjutsu broke, the Sunagakure Jonin regained control of his body. Realizing he had revealed the details of his mission, he looked utterly hopeless. Shadows bound his limbs and clamped his jaws shut. He couldn't even take his own life.

Without betraying anything, Tsukimi gave Orochimaru and the other two a look, then tipped his head toward the dense forest. All three understood at once and pretended they had noticed nothing.

If that lurker wanted a show, they would give him one.

Orochimaru deliberately raised his voice, making sure the other man could hear. "The interrogation has made things clear. Sunagakure was conducting a routine investigation and likely has nothing to do with the mastermind. It seems we should keep our focus on Cloud Hidden!"

"Clean up the scene immediately. Collect the evidence and leads, then return to the village to report."

"Understood!"

Tsukimi and the other two answered in unison, playing along perfectly.

Asuma quickly cleaned up the battlefield, burying every trace of the fight and every bloodstain. Kurenai carefully gathered the Cloud Hidden metal fragments and the Puppets, sealing them in a Sealing Scroll for safekeeping. Tsukimi dealt with the remaining Sunagakure Jonin, leaving no loose ends.

Throughout it all, the four acted as though their mission was nearly over. Before long, silence returned to the valley.

"Move out."

At Orochimaru's order, the four left without delay. They turned back along the route they had come, retreating toward the Land of Fire until their figures vanished into the dense forest.

Their presence grew more distant. Only when they had passed completely beyond the infiltrator's sensory range did the Sunagakure Ninja in the forest slowly stand.

Still keeping his presence suppressed, he watched the direction in which the four had gone.

He had recorded everything that had happened here, along with the Konoha squad's conclusions. But he didn't return to report just yet. Instead, he moved quietly after Tsukimi's group, keeping them at the very edge of his Sensory Ninjutsu's range.

He needed to make sure they were truly heading back.

Through the Shadowkhan's shared vision, Tsukimi could clearly see the lurker following them with patient, steady steps. Tsukimi relaxed back into his lazy manner, a faint smile on his face.

By now, he was almost certain Rasa had a hand in this entire scheme. The question was what the man wanted.

If they couldn't find Rasa directly, they would follow the tail behind them to its source.

They would see who was better at lurking in the shadows!