Iwahashi's earlier testimony had only explained the attack on Liuchuan Town.
This time, he began describing the hiring chain itself.
The first contact had taken place at an abandoned watermill in the Land of Rivers.
Iwahashi had entered the building as instructed by the Black Market. A deposit and a mission summary were already waiting on the table.
There was no one inside.
Yet a voice came from the wall behind him.
"When I turned around, the wall was still intact."
At this point, Iwahashi still glanced instinctively around the room.
"There was no hidden door, no footprints. It was as if that person stood on the other side of the wall-or spoke straight out of it."
The second contact had taken place on a rainy night.
The contact wore a loose cloak with red clouds on its cuffs, revealing only half a pale face.
They handed over Enhancement Drugs and old Iwagakure equipment, instructing them to take half a map to Gray Bell Relay Station after the attack.
"Was it the same person?"
"The voice was different."
"Are you sure they weren't disguising their voice?"
Iwahashi shook his head.
"I'm not sure."
He did not force a definite answer just to make his testimony seem more valuable.
The third contact had been the attempt to silence them in the mine.
That ninja had used Senbon and Explosive Tags, and had operated differently from either of the first two contacts.
The contact chain had deliberately been broken into many segments.
Each person knew only a small part of what came before and after them.
Even capturing Iwahashi would not lead directly to the person who had actually issued the orders.
Kakashi asked about the knocking code.
Iwahashi repeated one long knock and two short ones, then added the second half.