Rasa?

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

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

Orochimaru's raspy voice carried a strangely mesmerizing rhythm.

Caught in the genjutsu, the Sunagakure jonin could not resist. He spoke mechanically. "The Third Kazekage issued the mission. A jonin from our village brought back the intelligence. He discovered this new poison during a mission and reported it once he had confirmed its source and value."

"This new poison poses a serious threat and has considerable potential for use, 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 investigate the source and collect samples of the poisonous plant."

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

"Did you notice any secret movements within Sunagakure before or after you took this mission?"

Orochimaru pressed on, trying to dig up something deeper.

Unfortunately, the Sunagakure jonin only shook his head blankly. "My clearance is too low. I have no access to the leadership's covert deployments."

Orochimaru questioned him repeatedly, but his account remained consistent. Nothing more useful came to light.

"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 hidden operative must have acted unusually when the mission was assigned.

He couldn't have come all this way to lurk around just because he enjoyed it, could he?

Orochimaru looked surprised, but he did not object. He kept the Sunagakure jonin under control and had him answer.

"Yes, all six of us follow Lady Pakura. Nothing unusual happened when we took the mission. But if anything was strange, it was that Rasa, who normally competes with Lady Pakura, didn't try to claim it this time."

So there was something going on!

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

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

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 poison in the Land of Rivers had a traceable source, and the mission had been assigned openly. The entire process was beyond reproach. Yet the Sunagakure team had arrived just as Tsukimi's group traced their investigation here and dug up the metal fragments meant to frame Cloud Hidden. A clash was inevitable once the two sides met. It was coincidence after coincidence.

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

And then there was the hidden Sunagakure operative nearby. Tsukimi did not believe so many coincidences could happen at once.

Tsukimi had good reason to be suspicious. In the original story, Rasa had a record of doing this sort of thing. After the Third Shinobi World War, Rasa, then the Fourth Kazekage, had practically sold Pakura to Kirigakure as part of a political deal. Selling out a few ordinary Ninja now would hardly weigh on his conscience.

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

First, he had deliberately leaked news of the poisonous plant to Sunagakure, prompting the village to act officially and ensuring the mission would be assigned in the open. He had exploited Pakura's eagerness to earn merit and lured her into taking it, then treated her squad as expendable. The resulting clash would muddy Tsukimi's group's judgment, leaving them unable to tell whether Cloud Hidden or Sunagakure was responsible.

By exploiting Sunagakure's internal factional struggle, he could weaken his rival's faction and muddy the waters at the same time.

If Tsukimi had not discovered the hidden Sunagakure operative on the perimeter, appearances might really have fooled him.

If those six Ninja had died in battle, that would have been the fortune of war. But being sent to their deaths by one of their own, using an official mission to do it, was a bitter way to go.

Of course, Konoha was hardly in a position to judge. It was no better.

Right, Danzo?

Tsukimi nodded to Orochimaru to show that he was done asking questions. Orochimaru then released the Genjutsu.

Once the genjutsu broke, the Sunagakure jonin regained control of his body. Realizing he had revealed the mission's details, he looked utterly hopeless. Shadows bound his limbs and held his jaws shut. He could not even kill himself.

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

If that hidden observer wanted to watch a show, they would put one on for him.

Orochimaru deliberately raised his voice so the man could hear him. "The interrogation has made things clear. Sand Hidden Village was conducting a routine investigation and probably has nothing to do with the mastermind. It seems Cloud Hidden is still where we should focus!"

"Clean up the site immediately, recover the evidence and leads, then return to the village and report."

"Understood!"

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

Asuma quickly cleaned up the battlefield, burying every trace of the fight and every bloodstain. Kurenai carefully gathered the metal fragments linked to Cloud Hidden and the puppets, then sealed 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 set off without delay. They followed the route they had taken in, withdrawing toward the Land of Fire until their figures disappeared into the dense forest.

The four grew farther away. Only when their presence had passed completely beyond the hidden operative's sensory range did the Sunagakure ninja slowly rise from his hiding place in the forest.

Still suppressing his presence, he watched the direction in which they had gone.

He had recorded everything that had happened here, along with the Konoha squad's conclusions. But he did not immediately return to report. Instead, he moved quietly and kept the four within the outer limit of his sensory Ninjutsu.

He needed to make sure Tsukimi and the others really were heading back.

Through the Shadowkhan's shared vision, Tsukimi could clearly see the hidden operative following them with steady patience. He relaxed into his usual lazy manner, a faint smile on his face.

At this point, Rasa was almost certainly behind this elaborate setup. Tsukimi just did not know what the man wanted.

If they could not find him directly, they would follow the tail behind them to its source.

Let's see who's better at lurking in the shadows!