"Minato, I have some intelligence to share with you!" Hatake Ziyan said to Minato Namikaze, who was seated at his desk.
"Lord Ziyan? Didn't you go away on business? You're back already!" Minato Namikaze asked in surprise. "What intelligence did you want to share with me?"
Hatake Ziyan frowned. He hadn't told anyone he was going away on business. How did Minato know I left? Had I guessed wrong?
"Why would you say that, Minato? I haven't left the village," Hatake Ziyan said, probing.
"Hm?" Minato Namikaze sounded puzzled. "You really haven't left the village? Then why did Lord Third tell me you were away on business?"
A cold gleam flashed through Hatake Ziyan's eyes. Then he asked calmly, "When did Little Monkey tell you I'd left?"
After speaking, Hatake Ziyan stared intently at Minato Namikaze's face, watching for any change in his expression.
Minato Namikaze's expression didn't change at all. "Just this morning. When he came over, he talked to me about his son. He wanted me to help transfer his son back from the Land of Fire's Twelve Guardian Ninja. I told him I couldn't do that, and that you were probably the only person in the Land of Fire who could. I told him to see you, but he said you weren't in the village and had gone away on business!"
Throughout Minato Namikaze's explanation, Hatake Ziyan kept his eyes fixed on his face, watching for subtle changes in his expression that might reveal a lie.
"Oh! So that's how it was!" Hatake Ziyan said with a nod.
"Yes. Lord Ziyan, when you came in, you said you had intelligence to share with me. What was it?" Minato Namikaze asked.
Hatake Ziyan didn't answer Minato Namikaze. He was still thinking about what Minato had just said.
Although