Obito Uchiha's attempt

"Lord Hokage, the Anbu who infiltrated Kirigakure have sent back intelligence." A staff member entered the Hokage's office carrying a document envelope.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. You can get back to your duties."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped what he was doing and opened the top-secret envelope.

"They found no trace of the Hyuga Clan in the Land of Water?" As he read the intelligence sent back by the Anbu, Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face creased into a deep frown.

Looking at the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to wonder whether Kirigakure had secretly disposed of the Hyuga delegation that had gone there on a visit.

The Anbu sent to Kirigakure this time were no ordinary operatives. They belonged to the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan, both exceptionally skilled at finding people. If even they could find no trace of the Hyuga Clan, something was seriously wrong.

Before leaving Konoha, they had even made a point of taking personal belongings from the visiting delegation to help track them down.

"Has Hyuga Keisuke really managed to hide them that well?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected that something might truly have happened to them.

Meanwhile, the rescue squad that had infiltrated Kirigakure followed the guidance of their ninja dogs and insects, arriving at the place where Neji had killed the Hyuga Clan's visiting delegation.

One kept watch while the other two entered the residence to search. They worked quickly, and in less than half an hour, the Anbu conducting the search came back out.

"They may have stayed here. That would explain the lingering traces of their scent," one of the Anbu who had searched said.

The other said, "But their trail ends here. Even after I scattered my specialized tracking insects, none of them detected their scent. This seems to have