"That was exactly what happened. That is all."
Xia Yan knelt before the elder, speaking calmly with a trace of warmth in his voice.
Things had gone just as he had expected. After returning to the area where he lived, he had been summoned before he could even go home.
For an Anbu operative, spending more than half a month away on a single mission could mean only one thing.
The mission he had undertaken was extremely important, and extremely difficult.
This elder of the Senju Clan was named Shōma Senju. In his youth, he had studied under Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
There were even stories that after Tobirama Senju established the Anbu, he had joined and spent a long time there.
Xia Yan did not know whether any of this was true, but true or not, he knew that the elder took an unusual interest in the Anbu's movements.
Besides that, his hatred for Hiruzen Sarutobi ran very deep.
After being summoned, Xia Yan had dutifully given a "relatively detailed" account of this operation.
It could be said that the only things he had left out were that he had personally killed Kusunoki, and Sasori's true identity.
He had told Shōma Senju everything else, from Lizard Maru and the Third Kazekage Puppet to the examination he had undergone after returning to the village.
His words made Shōma Senju frown. At that moment, Shōma Senju felt somewhat bewildered and conflicted.
He was delighted and excited, because what Xia Yan had gained through this series of operations was almost unimaginably substantial.
A Summoning Beast on par with a Kage-level fighter, one that could even hold its own against a mysterious puppeteer controlling what appeared to be a Third Kazekage Puppet.
Back in the Senju Clan's heyday, he probably would not