Konoha, the Hokage's Office.
Tsunade, Ling, Kakashi, and several key personnel sat around the conference table, the atmosphere heavy. Spread across the table were the newly compiled combat reports and the hazy images Uchiha Itachi had transmitted through his ocular power, as relayed by Ling.
"An island shrouded in thick fog... contamination as viscous as living tissue..." Tsunade tapped her knuckles against the table. "Zetsu mentioned unusual energy fluctuations leaking from Orochimaru's old laboratory. That site is also on the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Earth, not too far from the Land of Water. I doubt these two things are a coincidence."
Kakashi spoke gravely. "Itachi's intelligence points us in a very clear direction. Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, is a loner who values his freedom. He spends most of his time wandering isolated offshore islands or the lakes along the Land of Water's borders. That fog-shrouded island is very likely his current hiding place. He is almost certainly the Akatsuki's next target."
"The new form of contamination is an even bigger problem," Ling added. A trace of simulated energy curled around his fingertips, its properties modeled on Itachi's description of the images. "Unlike the Fungal Mat's previous 'erosion and assimilation,' this form leans more toward 'proliferation and mutation.' It resembles living tissue and may possess greater physical destructive power and a stronger ability to reshape its surroundings. If this contamination erupts where Utakata is hiding, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"We must warn Kirigakure immediately!" one of them said urgently.
"But how do we explain the source of our intelligence?" another questioned. "Do we say outright that it came from Uchiha Itachi? That could expose him and make Kirigakure question its authenticity."
Tsunade considered it briefly, then gave a decisive order. "Issue the highest-level