The Foreign Guesthouse Death

The Foreign Guesthouse stood on Konoha's western side and usually housed delegations from other villages.

High walls surrounded the compound, hung with banners bearing the emblems of the Land of Fire and Konoha. The Kumogakure Delegation had been assigned the east courtyard, where Konoha Ninja and Kumogakure ninja guarded the entrance together.

By the time Naruto arrived, the tension in the courtyard was ready to explode.

A Kumogakure ninja had died in a guest room.

The body lay on its back on the Tatami, its lips black and a thin needle lodged in its chest. The needle's handle bore a Black Ring Mark identical to the one on the Scroll in the hospital's Underground Morgue.

Darui stood in the doorway, his face terrifyingly grim.

The remaining Kumogakure ninja behind him had all drawn their blades.

On Konoha's side, Jiraiya stood at the front to keep the two sides from fighting. Several ANBU guarded the courtyard walls and roof, while Kakashi had come from the Hospital Director's office with several documents in hand.

Darui's eyes went cold when he saw Naruto.

"Konoha just said it would treat our wounded, and now one of them is dead in the Foreign Guesthouse."

Naruto walked into the room.

"I didn't kill him."

Darui gave a cold laugh.

"And we're supposed to take your word for it?"

Naruto glanced at him.

"I don't use needles to kill people."

Darui had no answer.

It was an arrogant thing to say.

But he remembered the Kumogakure ninja Naruto had forced to their knees outside the main gate, and he couldn't argue.

Naruto crouched beside the body.

The dead man was the young Kumogakure ninja whose arm he had broken earlier.

Black veins of blood spread from the needle wound in his chest. Faint traces of contamination lingered at the back of his neck.

After examining him, Jiraiya said quietly, "Someone controlled him before he died. This wasn't just poisoning."

Kakashi handed Naruto the documents.

"We found this access log in the Hospital Director's office. Last night, he received forged orders sending him to the Foreign Guesthouse. He was attacked on the way and left unconscious in a medicine cart. Someone impersonated him to enter the Kumogakure patients' ward."

Darui frowned.

"Impersonated him?"

Kakashi nodded.

"The guards saw the director himself. But judging by the Chakra residue, it may have been the Transformation Technique combined with a medical identification seal."

Darui's expression eased slightly, but he still wasn't convinced.

"What's the Black Ring Mark?"

Naruto spread out the impression he had taken from the Scroll in the Underground Morgue.

"The same mark."

Darui's expression changed when he saw it on the paper.

"Konoha already knew about this?"

"We only just found it."

"How convenient."

Naruto stood and faced him.

"Someone wants you to think that."

Darui fell silent.

He wasn't stupid.

A wounded Kumogakure ninja had died in Konoha's Foreign Guesthouse with an unknown mark on his body, just before the Raikage was due to arrive.

Someone was clearly trying to drive the two sides into conflict.

But even knowing it was a setup, Kumogakure couldn't pretend nothing had happened.

One of their own was dead.

Darui said grimly, "Whoever set this up, a Kumogakure ninja died in Konoha. Konoha owes us an explanation."

Naruto asked, "What do you want?"

Darui looked at him.

"Before the Raikage arrives, Kumogakure will take custody of the body and join the investigation."

Jiraiya frowned.

"We can't let you take the body away on your own. It carries traces of contamination. It's vital evidence."

Darui's voice turned cold. "You intend to seize the body of a Kumogakure ninja?"

The tension rose again.

Naruto spoke. "Joint custody."

Darui turned to him.

Naruto said, "The body stays in the Foreign Guesthouse, guarded by Kumogakure, Konoha, the Hyuga, and the Uchiha."

Darui's eyes flickered.

The Hyuga and Uchiha would be involved too?

That meant Konoha wouldn't let the Hokage system handle the evidence alone.

In a way, that was more trustworthy than leaving it solely to the ANBU.

Hyuga Hiashi arrived at the doorway and, hearing this, said, "The Hyuga will take part."

Uchiha Tekka arrived soon after.

"The Konoha Military Police Force will too."

Darui fixed his gaze on Naruto.

"Can you speak for Konoha?"

Naruto looked toward the Third Hokage, who had just arrived.

The Third Hokage gave the body a weary glance, then turned to Darui.

"In this matter, Konoha agrees to custody by all four parties."

Only then did Darui nod.

"Fine."

Naruto turned to Kakashi.

"Where did the impersonator go?"

Kakashi unfolded another map.

"There are footprints by the Foreign Guesthouse's rear wall. They lead to an old drainage channel. It connects to three places: the hospital, the Morgue, and an abandoned culvert leading out of the village."

Darui immediately said, "Kumogakure will send people after him too."

Naruto looked at him.

"Fine."

Darui hadn't expected him to agree so quickly.

Naruto added, "Send two. Don't blame me if they can't keep up."

Darui's face darkened.

Two Kumogakure ninja behind him stepped forward at once.

Naruto said nothing more and leaped over the rear wall.

Nine-Tails Chakra swept along the ground.

The entrance to the drainage channel was narrow. Its iron grating had been cut open, and the cut was still fresh. Inside, it was damp and dark, with foul-smelling water flowing out.

As soon as Naruto entered, he sensed the black contamination.

It was fainter than in the hospital, but it hadn't fully dissipated.

Jiraiya followed, marking the walls with Toad Oil.

Kakashi and the two Kumogakure ninja came in after him.

Darui hadn't joined them. He had to stay at the Foreign Guesthouse and keep the delegation calm.

The drainage channel had many branches.

The figure in black knew his way around. Several times, he deliberately scattered his scent into the wastewater.

But the Nine-Tails' sense of smell was keener than ordinary sensory abilities.

"Left."

Naruto spoke.

The others followed.

After about fifteen minutes, an abandoned maintenance shaft appeared ahead.

There was blood on its walls.

It didn't belong to the wounded Kumogakure ninja.

The impersonator had left it there after being injured.

Kakashi crouched to examine it.

"The wound is deep. The Transformation Technique probably backfired when it broke."

One of the Kumogakure ninja said coldly, "Then he can't have gone far."

Naruto looked up at the Wellhead.

The cover wasn't completely shut.

A little light filtered in from outside.

He leaped up and pushed the cover open.

Beyond the Wellhead lay the Abandoned Training Ground.

A man in a white medical coat stood at its center.

His coat was stained with blood, and traces of the Transformation Technique still lingered on his face.

He turned, revealing a face none of them recognized.

But on his forehead, a Black Ring Mark was glowing.

He looked at Naruto and grinned.

"You got here fast."

"Looks like the Nine-Tails is more obedient than the hospital records said."

Naruto didn't answer. But the scent he had tracked was no longer just black contamination—someone was using the Nine-Tails' power to mark prey.