The old records from Kannabi Bridge had already yellowed.
When the Anbu responsible for keeping the archives delivered the files, he made a point of giving Fugaku an extra glance.
There was wariness in that look, as well as a probing edge.
The Uchiha requesting these records made it all too easy to think of Kakashi.
Fugaku offered no explanation.
He simply broke the seal in front of the Hokage's Anbu, the Nara witness, and the Archives Room ninja.
The first document was a mission briefing.
The second was a battlefield recovery record.
The third was a casualty confirmation report.
The fourth was an excerpt from the postwar account the Fourth Hokage had added later.
Gen stood to one side without touching the files.
He was only there to observe.
This time, the witness handled every step of reviewing the documents.
Whoever opened them recorded it.
Whoever handed them over signed for it.
The process seemed slow, but it could prevent a great deal of trouble later.
Shisui examined everything carefully.
He found the first missing page in the battlefield recovery record.
The numbering was consecutive, but a section of the contents was missing.
The Anbu archivist immediately explained, "Damage to old battlefield records is very common."
The Nara witness did not agree with him. He merely wrote "missing page" in the witness field.
Fugaku asked, "What kind of information is missing?"
The archivist checked the index, and his expression shifted slightly.
"Records of residual traces at the site."
The room fell silent for a moment.
If it had been an inventory of food pills, it would not have mattered much.
If it had been a temporary route, that could still have been explained.
But it was the residual traces at the site that were missing.
That was precisely the