After Morikawa Kai mentioned "the person wearing a mask," no one on the rocky riverbank immediately pressed him for details.
Gen raised a hand, first letting the recorder finish writing down his exact words.
Before the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Border route intelligence.
A person wearing a mask.
Every word had to be put on paper exactly as spoken.
Crow watched the record take shape, his expression growing darker.
If that statement held true, the Night of the Nine-Tails would no longer be merely an unresolved case within Konoha.
It would connect to the border intelligence, outside routes, and residual spatial traces.
Shisui asked quietly, "How did you confirm it was the same person?"
Morikawa Kai struggled for breath for a long time.
"An Uzumaki-pattern Mask."
He raised his hand and traced a very slow arc beside his face with his fingertips.
"His voice was kept very low. Where his right eye should have been, it looked empty, yet also as though something inside was watching people."
Itachi quickly wrote down the description.
Gen did not let him elaborate with his own judgments.
"When?"
Morikawa Kai closed his eyes briefly.
"About seven days before the Night of the Nine-Tails."
That timing matched the anomalous access records involving the old patrol permissions.
Crow immediately realized this.
"What route did you pass along?"
Morikawa Kai looked at him.
"The border patrol rotation."
As those words fell, the air across the river distorted slightly again.
Everyone noticed it.
The masked man was still there.
He had not attacked.
He seemed to be merely listening.
Or rather, checking whether Morikawa Kai would keep talking.
Shisui's fingers twitched slightly, but he did not move from his position.
Gen looked at the recorder.
"Write this down: another space fluctuation occurred during the testimony."
Crow did not