After the spatial passage closed completely, the office fell deathly silent again.
Danzo stared at the spot where the Masked Man had vanished, the gloom in his lone eye deepening.
He was no fool who believed whatever someone told him.
Madara Uchiha?
That nonsense wouldn't fool a three-year-old. It might work on some bumpkin from another village.
If he really were that legendary man, he could have stormed straight into the Hokage Building. Why come looking for cooperation in the middle of the night?
Still, the Space-Time Ninjutsu the man had just displayed was genuinely impressive.
Moving freely through the layers of barriers around Root headquarters was no ordinary feat.
Danzo walked behind his desk, sat down, and pressed a concealed button underneath it.
The door soon opened.
Three Root ninja wearing different animal masks silently dropped to one knee before the desk.
They were Root's elite tracking squad, code-named "Shadow."
They specialized in concealment and tracking jutsu. Even Anbu squad leaders had trouble detecting their presence.
"Someone just left this room."
"He wore a black robe and an orange Spiral Mask."
"He used Space-Time Ninjutsu. The chakra fluctuations shouldn't have dissipated completely yet."
"You three are to follow him immediately."
Danzo tapped the desk, his tone stern.
"Remember my orders."
"Do not approach him under any circumstances, and do not attempt to engage him."
"Stay beyond the outer limit of his sensory range. All you need to find out is where he's staying and his true identity."
"At the slightest sign you've been discovered, retreat immediately."
The three Root ninja acknowledged the order in unison, then became three dark blurs and darted out through the office's ventilation shaft.
Danzo picked up the stone-cold tea on his desk and took a sip.
The tea was bitter, but he needed that