Seeing Ghosts

Tsukimi followed Shikaku straight to the Administration Department Archives Room.

The Administration Department assisted the Hokage in governing the village and issuing orders. It was effectively Konoha's government office, and it handled the villagers' Household Registration Records.

Security there was not as tight as in the Confidential Archives Room, but not just anyone could walk in. With Shikaku leading the way, though, no one stopped them.

It really helped to have friends in high places!

They pushed open the doors. Wooden filing cabinets stood in neat rows inside, holding the sealed Household Registration Records of every civilian and ninja in Konoha.

"You narrowed it down to a house with a single occupant in the residential district on Konoha's west side, right?" Shikaku went straight to the ninja records section and found the relevant area. As he searched, he checked with Tsukimi in a low voice.

"That's right."

A moment later, Shikaku's fingers stopped. He pulled out a yellowed file, and his pupils tightened slightly as he read it.

He looked up at Tsukimi and handed him the file. "Found him. He's a member of a branch family of the Yamanaka Clan. His name is Shinji Yamanaka, he's forty, and he works as an administrator in the Confidential Archives Room."

As Tsukimi read the file, understanding flashed through his eyes.

The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans were closely bound and knew one another's secret techniques well. Last night, when he had watched the man form hand seals through the Shadow Ninja, he had recognized the Mind Body Transmission Technique of the Yamanaka Clan!

The technique let its user communicate with teammates and pass on information over long distances.

More importantly, as a branch-family member of the Yamanaka Clan, Shinji had naturally escaped the higher-ups' scrutiny. His record showed that he had kept his head