Goten had just closed Yamato's report when someone pushed the door open a crack from outside.
Temari leaned halfway in, her blonde braids loose, a light jacket draped over her and slippers on her feet. Clearly, something had startled her awake halfway through her sleep.
"There's activity over by the Stone Gate. More than twice as strong as before you left."
She walked to the window, lowered her voice, and pointed two fingers together at the ground beneath them.
"And... I sensed other people approaching that area."
Goten tossed the report onto the desk and stood up.
"How many?"
"Six. Their chakra is suppressed so low that ordinary sensory ninja wouldn't notice them at all. But after spending so much time around you, those deliberately suppressed fluctuations actually stand out more."
Goten patted her shoulder and turned toward the room next door.
"Come on. Let's get Trunks."
In a first-floor guest room, Trunks was still snoring. Goten kicked him awake, and he climbed up, cursing as he pulled on his clothes.
Under cover of night, the three climbed out the Ramen Shop's rear window and crept toward the restricted military zone behind Hokage Rock.
Goten pushed his Ki Sensing to its fullest.
Six presences lay ahead, evenly distributed, their chakra fluctuations suppressed to the limit. Their route never deviated in the slightest, and they maintained three meters between them throughout.
Trunks leaned closer, his voice very quiet.
"Those people aren't weak. At least Jonin level. Their movement pattern isn't a ninja squad's. It's an army's."
The corner of Goten's mouth lifted.
"Root. That old bastard Danzo finally couldn't help himself."
Temari frowned.
"What do we do? Force our way in?"
"You and Trunks keep watch around the perimeter. I'll go alone."
Temari was just about to object when Goten vanished