The village's Jonin had received word of the Jonin meeting early. Aside from some clan ninja and those who had to remain at their posts, all the Jonin came to the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and the other two advisers entered the room with grave expressions. Orochimaru looked rather sour as well, the result of Jiraiya pestering him all night.
"Regarding last night's explosion, the ANBU worked through the night and found only three enemy bodies. Our preliminary conclusion is that Root wanted to take prisoners while pursuing the enemy, so they trapped them inside a barrier. But they never expected the enemy to be determined to take everyone down with them and detonate the explosive tags on their bodies."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a low voice. Not only did he call the dead Root members enemies, he also attributed everything that had happened to Root's operation. Their carelessness and negligence had given the enemy the chance to use explosive tags.
Mitokado Homura continued, "The enemy wasn't just trying to gather intelligence. Carrying so many explosive tags, they probably planned to wreak havoc in Konoha from the start. They simply happened to be trapped there by Root's barrier."
After Mitokado Homura finished, Utatane Koharu added, "Aside from the two squads Root lost, there are no other reported casualties at present. Some residential buildings were damaged and will need rebuilding."
Danzo's expression was as dark and still as a deep pool. He had nothing to say. Responsibility for the incident had already been settled: it belonged to Root. And with a major war approaching, Root also had to replace the ANBU's personnel losses. After some discussion, two squads would be transferred from Root to the ANBU.
After all, Root had originally been established under the name of an ANBU training