Ling all but crashed through the door of Tobirama Senju's workshop. Before he could catch his breath, he slapped the chart clutched hot in his hand onto the nearest table with a smack, then poured out his wild theory about tracking down the Sacred Lord's true body. He spoke so fast he nearly bit his tongue, and twice choked into a cough from sheer excitement.
When he finished, he stood rooted to the spot, his chest rising and falling, waiting for the dismissal he expected-or worse, a look that said he was insane.
Tobirama did not speak at once. He set down the crystal flickering with unstable energy and turned. His red eyes swept over Ling's slightly pale face, then settled on his trembling hands, and finally fixed on his eyes, which shone a little too brightly with excitement-or perhaps fear.
"Evidence." He uttered that single word, dry and unreadable.
Ling hurriedly spread out the chart, pointing at the peaks of several abnormal fluctuations. "Here, here, and here! The timing matches perfectly, and the decay pattern in the energy spectrum also... also resembles that model of cross-space energy transmission you showed me! It's faint, but there's a pattern! And..." He paused, his fingers unconsciously pressing against the space between his brows. "When I thought of this, the Beacon... reacted very strangely."
Tobirama stepped closer and bent over the chart, his fingertips tracing the data curves so quickly they left afterimages. He studied it with absolute concentration. The only sound in the room was the occasional faint crackle from the crystal.
After what felt like a century, Tobirama straightened. Rather than looking at Ling, he stared at a point in empty air, his gaze sharp enough to tear through space itself.
"Logically, it holds." At last, he spoke. His voice remained