Che's expression was grim when the old-style directive samples were laid on the table again.
Not because he could not understand them.
But because he could.
The pattern had appeared once in the fake interview notice.
It had appeared once in Root's peripheral supply lines.
Now, beside the missing receipt from the week before the Night of the Nine-Tails, traces of that same format had appeared again.
The reference number sat slightly to the left.
The seal overlapped the line.
A single space had been left at the end of the directive.
These details were tiny.
So tiny that an ordinary person would never notice them.
But the older a paperwork system was, the more consistent its habits became.
When the same habit appeared repeatedly, it was no longer a coincidence.
Uchiha Jun grew irritated as he looked at them.
"Who can we implicate with this alone?"
Gen shook his head.
"No one."
Uchiha Jun froze.
Gen said, "But it can establish a formatting link between the missing records related to the Night of the Nine-Tails and the recent paperwork from Root's peripheral operations."
That answer was hardly satisfying.
Yet it was important.
They could not rush to accuse anyone now.
They could only prove, step by step, that the same methods connected the old case and the new ones.
The Hokage Building was examining these samples too.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the old-style directive format, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Konoha had indeed been in chaos after the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Simplified directives had been used for large numbers of emergency orders, rescue deployments, and security handovers.
That was undeniable.
It was precisely the point Danzo seized on.
"The post-disaster archives were in disarray, and temporary directives were widespread. Similar formatting alone cannot establish Root's involvement."
His