"Don't let that blond brat get close to her?"
Naruto leaned his head over, but before he could finish reading, Iruka caught his shoulder and pulled him back.
Jiraiya had already left, yet not one of the people remaining in the room relaxed.
Shikaku took the wooden plaque, examined the cuts first, then the bloodstains, and furrowed his brow.
"The words were carved on the spot. Whoever delivered it hasn't gone far."
Hiashi raised a hand, signaling the Byakugan Team outside the door to spread out.
"There are no chakra fluctuations within three miles beyond the east gate, but there are sword marks on the ground. They may have used a method to conceal their presence."
Kakashi returned from the doorway, pushed up the forehead protector over his left eye, and looked at the wooden plaque.
"It targets Naruto and Tsunade. It's more than a warning."
Sasuke did not look at Naruto. He simply handed the wooden plaque to Yamada Naoto.
"Seal it, record it, and send a copy to the Daimyo's Residence."
Naruto shook off Iruka's hand.
"Hey, why won't they let me get close to this Tsunade? Who is she, anyway?"
The Third Hokage opened his mouth.
With Jiraiya absent, the question fell to him, and that only made it harder to speak.
Sasuke tossed Naruto a personnel file.
"The First Hokage's granddaughter, one of the Sannin, a medical ninja, a compulsive gambler. She's been away from the village for years."
Naruto flipped through two pages, understood little, and latched onto just one term.
"A compulsive gambler? Is she reliable?"
Shikaku gave a light cough.
"More reliable than the Hokage Building is right now."
The Third Hokage's face went pale again.
Naruto looked at Sasuke.
"Then why does the wooden plaque mention me?"
Sasuke placed the new training