The patrol reports from Konoha's perimeter arrived at the Hokage Building early that morning.
The Inuzuka Clan's ninja dogs were the first to detect the anomaly.
They lingered outside the Third Training Ground for a long time, but could not pick up a complete scent trail.
There was only a broken stretch of lingering scent.
As though someone had appeared there, then vanished into thin air the next instant.
The Anbu on patrol recorded it as an ordinary trace of infiltration.
But when Gen saw the transcribed report, his heart immediately sank.
An ordinary infiltrator would not leave a break like that.
Ninja could conceal their scent, erase their footprints, and use the Substitution Technique to mislead pursuers.
But a person's movements always had continuity.
The strangest thing about this report was precisely that lack of continuity.
The trace appeared beside a tree and vanished three paces away.
There were no signs of climbing, jumping, or Earth Release in between, nor any residue from a Flying Thunder God Formula.
It was as though the person had not walked across the ground at all, but had been swallowed directly by space.
Gen pushed the report toward Shisui.
Shisui read only two lines before his expression changed.
"The same kind of trace as on the Night of the Nine-Tails?"
Gen nodded.
"Very similar, but fainter than that night."
Shisui did not speak right away.
The outside mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails had always been a secret the Uchiha could least afford to disclose carelessly.
They knew that person existed.
They also knew that person was no ordinary infiltrator.
But knowing was not the same as being able to prove it.
Konoha's willingness to believe that the Uchiha had not directly controlled the Nine-Tails was already a result they had painstakingly