Minato stopped moving, the warmth on his face instantly replaced by seriousness.
"What exactly happened? Have you found his trail?"
"At the edge of the Forest of Death exam grounds," Yūto said, speaking faster. "A team of examinees was attacked by a Summoning Beast. After one of the team members died, his true form was exposed. It was a White Zetsu corpse."
"White Zetsu? Are you sure?"
Creatures like White Zetsu were extremely rare and mysterious, and Minato knew very little about them.
"Absolutely." Yūto nodded. "Back then, only Madara Uchiha controlled White Zetsu. Obito inherited Madara's legacy, and he's now their sole controller. If White Zetsu appears, it means Obito is active, and he's right near Konoha!"
Minato's expression grew grave. "This is serious. Suddenly appearing during the exams after lying low for three years... Obito must be plotting something..."
After thinking for a moment, Minato looked up again and asked, "Should we stop the exams immediately?"
"No, the exams can't stop."
Before coming here, Yūto had already thought it through. The Chunin Ninja Exams could not stop.
If they stopped the exams now, all the examinees from other villages would be stranded in Konoha.
Having so many people of unknown backgrounds gathered together would make managing them far more difficult, giving Obito more opportunities to exploit the chaos.
By maintaining the status quo and letting the exams continue, they could contain the situation within the relatively enclosed Forest of Death exam grounds.
At the same time, publicly announcing only that an examinee had died accidentally in a Summoning Beast attack would avoid alerting the enemy.
Minato considered this for a moment. He trusted Yūto completely, so he nodded. "Understood. We'll do as you've arranged. I'll put my current work on hold and stay ready for any direct attack.