Late that night, after Sakumo's funeral had ended, Konoha seemed to have sunk into a deep sleep. The uproar and oppressive atmosphere of the past few days had apparently subsided for the moment.
Yet beneath that silence, hidden currents were stirring in ever more secretive ways.
Beneath Shinji Uchiha's residence, in a secret chamber he had quietly built using his authority as an elder and his own Earth Release abilities, the air was so heavy it almost seemed to drip with moisture.
Miwa Kato was fully focused on monitoring Hatake Sakumo's vital signs as he lay flat on a stone platform, though the Turtle-Breath Secret Medicine had weakened those signs to almost nothing.
Pale green medical chakra wreathed her fingertips. Like the most precise of instruments, it detected the faint thread of life buried deep within that motionless body.
"The medicine's effects are wearing off steadily. The window for waking him will open in two hours," Miwako reported softly, her voice unusually clear in the confined space. "Teacher's bodily functions have been preserved intact. There haven't been any side effects."
Shinji nodded. His Sharingan glimmered in the dim light as he maintained the chamber's barrier and monitored everything outside.
The plan had reached its most critical step-getting the "dead" Sakumo out of Konoha without anyone knowing.
Their transport route came from Torifu Akimichi.
This Konoha elder was not only Shinji's business partner but also a staunch political ally who had long been at odds with Danzo.
After Shinji had discreetly revealed part of the truth to him-without mentioning the details of the faked death, but stressing that Sakumo had been framed and remained at risk-
Torifu had almost without hesitation activated a top-secret route he had maintained for years, one used to move supplies and personnel in emergencies.
The route