In the office of the Hokage Building, Kakashi gave a full account of that afternoon's clash.
He covered everything, from the Sunagakure trio blocking their path in the street, to the collision of killing intent, to their Jonin leader Baki stepping in to settle things.
When he reached the part where Baki mistook Hayashi for their supervising Jonin, the Third couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Supervising them... hahahaha, he wasn't entirely wrong."
After the laughter died down, Kakashi added:
"One more thing, Lord Third. During that clash of killing intent, Hayashi controlled his very well—he kept it all gathered in front of him and didn't let it touch a single innocent bystander."
"Oh?" The Third raised his eyelids, glanced at Hayashi, and nodded.
He tapped out his pipe, rose, and retrieved a roster from a cabinet, turning through the pages until he found the Sunagakure section.
The entry was straightforward: one three-person team, led by the Jonin Baki, with three names neatly listed on the page.
The first was Gaara.
"The roster Sunagakure submitted did mention these three children."
The Third tapped the paper with the stem of his pipe.
"But a jinchūriki is something they'd do everything they could to conceal. Why would they put that down on paper?"
"Grandpa Third," Hayashi said, "there's something else."
"That Gaara doesn't seem to be in a very good mental state."
"Right there in the street, he announced that he wanted to take Sasuke's life. And when he released his killing intent, it wasn't just to intimidate people. He didn't seem capable of keeping himself under control."
The Third nodded, his expression growing grave.
"I understand. We'll add another layer of security around the village."
He paused, as if something else had occurred to him, then gave an irritated snort.
"That brat