The day after the Final Handling Plan was sealed away, border intelligence arrived at the Hokage Building.
The timing was too convenient.
So convenient that Hiruzen Sarutobi did not immediately call a meeting when he first saw it.
The intelligence came from the Land of Fire's border.
A Former Informant was suspected of having made contact with external ninja.
The other party had once had an indirect connection to the Uchiha trade route.
More importantly, traces of abnormal chakra remained at the scene.
Danzo quickly offered a suggestion.
Suspend the internal investigation.
Prioritize the external threat.
His reasoning was perfectly sound.
Disputes within the village could be reviewed at leisure.
If external ninja were using a Uchiha Former Informant to approach the Land of Fire's border, responding had to take priority.
Mitokado Homura also leaned toward that assessment.
"We can't delay dealing with an external threat."
Utatane Koharu did not object.
Only Hiruzen Sarutobi did not immediately agree.
He remembered the words on the torn page.
Then he remembered the gaps in Root's roster.
Trouble suddenly breaking out at the border now was certainly plausible.
It was also far too convenient.
When the news reached the Uchiha Clan Compound, Fugaku was compiling his comments for the review of the Final Handling Plan.
After hearing it, Uchiha Jun's first reaction was to curse.
"Every time we reach a crucial point in the investigation, something new crops up."
Harsh as those words were, they captured what many people felt.
Just as problems were uncovered in the shop supply line, the Resettlement Zone's Complaint Template appeared.
Once the Complaint Template was dismantled, pressure from the Elders Council followed.
When gaps appeared in Root's roster, the distress caller arrived.
Just after the Final Handling Plan was sealed away by all three parties, another external