"Strange?" The Third looked at Jiraiya and frowned.
Although Jiraiya was the most unreliable of his three students, he was also the one he could count on most, both for his fighting strength and his keen intuition.
Jiraiya tilted his head from side to side, staring at the Fourth Hokage Couple inside the cultivation tanks. "Old man, I feel like they're different from before. That special chakra is gone, too."
The Third's brows immediately tightened. He stepped up to the cultivation tanks and began operating the equipment.
After a series of adjustments, the cultivation tanks slowly opened, and the smell of medicinal fluid filled the laboratory.
Crouching on the floor, Kakashi activated his Sharingan and carefully examined the Fourth Hokage Couple's bodies. His expression grew increasingly grim.
"Lord Third, these aren't Minato-sensei and Kushina. They're replicas!"
"They are indeed replicas."
Jiraiya said gravely, "Minato and Kushina's existence is one of the village's most closely guarded secrets. Who could have switched them out? And these replicas are convincing enough to pass for the real thing!"
"Who could it be?" The Third Hokage sank into thought.
As far as he knew, only a handful of people, including Danzo and Orochimaru, could produce perfect clones of the Fourth Hokage Couple.
But Orochimaru had defected before the Night of the Nine-Tails and could not possibly have known such a closely guarded secret. Danzo would not have done something like this either. Though he had clashed with Minato, he had always acted for the village's sake.
At that moment, Kakashi asked, "Lord Third, is there surveillance footage of this place?"
The Third Hokage nodded lightly. "There is, but several months have passed since Tsunade's last examination. Going through all that footage would take a great deal of time."
"Leave it to me," Kakashi volunteered.
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