Only the faint crackle of tobacco burning in his pipe and Hiruzen Sarutobi's slow, deep breathing remained in the office.
He took puff after puff, white smoke curling upward and blurring his face behind it.
A full three minutes passed before the Third Hokage finally spoke, his voice carrying the rasp of a longtime smoker:
"Were there any witnesses or clues left at the scenes?"
"No. We found no signs of intrusion or suspicious objects at any of the scenes. As for when the symptoms appeared... according to the families, they seem to have started over the past two or three nights, but we can't pinpoint a single time."
"Do these people have anything in common besides having insulted Sakumo? Financial dealings? Family ties? Or... membership in the same circle?"
"We're still investigating, but we haven't found any obvious connections. Their social classes, occupations, and personal networks vary considerably."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for another moment, then waved a hand.
The Anbu understood and vanished in a blur.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was left alone in the office, along with the smoke that seemed as though it would never disperse.
He leaned back in his chair, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the ceiling.
Clean execution, precisely targeted attacks, a clear objective.
It was all to silence the most grating voices hounding Hatake Sakumo.
This wasn't something an ordinary ninja could pull off. Even most clans wouldn't have the nerve.
To make more than fifty households in Konoha "fall ill together" without a sound, and leave a Special Jōnin paralyzed... that required deep infiltration and intimate knowledge of the village, as well as an almost cold-blooded ability to carry it out.
Who was it?
Some hidden faction that sympathized with Sakumo?
*Or a clan hoping to use this opportunity to win over