"So fast?"
Shikaku and Hiruzen looked at each other and could see the shock in each other's eyes.
When Hiruzen had just arrived here.
Shikaku was the person who explained the situation here to Hiruzen, as well as his series of arrangements. Both knew that Choza was in charge of finding the Genin team that was still in the Forest of Death.
According to the statistics.
There were still two teams that had not been found.
One had to know...
Looking for someone in this huge forest.
It was like looking for a needle in the sea. Right now, there were only a few talented Sensor Ninjas here, and there weren't any beasts that could track the scent. After all, the support team had yet to arrive.
At this time.
Only Choza and a few proctors were just doing a preliminary search.
But.
How long had it been!
Could it be that he had already found them?
This situation was much faster than expected, to the point that even Shikaku and Hiruzen were shocked.
"Has anyone been found?"
Shikaku immediately looked into the distance. That was where Choza's voice had come from.
Hiruzen's expression calms down. A look of contemplation appeared on his face. After all, such a sudden situation made him have to think carefully about how to solve these problems in the future.
A few minutes later.
Choza brought a few proctors over to where Shikaku and Hiruzen were. There were several Chunin Exams participants following behind them. It was clear that they had found the remaining team.
"Shikaku, I found something!"
Choza's gaze fell on Shikaku. His tone was filled with surprise and bewilderment. After all, what happened here also surprised him, and he felt it was very inconceivable.
"There are some situations here. I think it is better to let them tell you. But before that, we should first look at Uchiha Kaede!"
Choza said to Shikaku.
After he said this.
He looked at Hiruzen, who was next to Shikaku, and immediately greeted Hiruzen, "Sandaime-sama!"
"Let's first take a look at Uchiha Kaede's situation!" Hiruzen nodded, indicating that there was no need to be so formal now. After all, they were in a very sensitive period.
Shikaku looked at the participants who were following Choza. There were six people, and five of them were carrying one person together.
The person being carried.
It was Uchiha Kaede!
At this moment.
There were mysterious black lines on Uchiha Kaede's body. These lines covered the latter's body, and Shikaku did not know what they were used for.
"What happened?"
Shikaku asked in a low voice. Seeing this scene, he already realized the problem. He could recognize that the lines on Uchiha Kaede were some kind of sealing technique. However, even he did not know these seals, let alone break them.
After Shikaku finished speaking, Hiruzen also curiously looked at these participants, wanting to know what had happened.
"Let me tell you..."
At this moment, the person who spoke was one of Uchiha Kaede's teammates.
Since the sealing technique bound Uchiha Kaede, these two teammates had not left even half a step. They had been guarding Uchiha Kaede's body. However, they did not dare to touch him. They were afraid of being contaminated by these inexplicable lines, and only now did they feel better.
"We are Uchiha Kaede's teammates!"
This Uchiha Kaede's teammate was the first to reveal his identity. Only then would the following words be meaningful.
"We followed Uchiha Kaede into the second exam."
"It was four days ago..."
"We were looking for the Scroll of Heaven."
"Suddenly hearing a little noise, Uchiha Kaede immediately chased after him. The two of us followed closely behind, but we could not stop Uchiha Kaede at all."
"Then..."
"The nightmare began!"
When Uchiha Kaede's teammate said this, he suddenly took a deep breath. Even if he was just recalling this matter now, he still felt a lingering fear in his heart. After all, this gave them a feeling of walking through the gates of hell. This kind of fear could already be said to have penetrated deep into their bones.
Shikaku, Choza, and Hiruzen all looked at this ninja. Everyone was quietly listening to what had happened to them.
Among them.
Choza had already heard it once.
But now that he hears this person talk about it again, he still feels very shocked. This was not a common thing. Anyone who heard it would feel an incredible feeling.
When Uchiha Kaede's teammate said this, he seemed to think of the situation at that time. He could not help but take a deep breath. After that, he slowly exhaled again and tried to calm his complicated emotions.
"Under Uchiha Kaede's lead, we caught up with that person. However, we found that from his clothes, he was not Konohagakure's ninja. When that person noticed us and stopped, we determined that the person was Kirigakure's ninja through the pattern of his ninja forehead protector!" Uchiha Kaede's teammate said in a deep voice.
"Kirigakure's ninja?"
When Shikaku heard this, he was stunned for a moment. A lot of question marks appeared in his head.
"Something is wrong!"
"Kirigakure did not participate in the Chunin Exams this time!"
"How could Kirigakure's ninjas appear in the Forest of Death?"
"Are you sure you didn't see wrongly?"
Shikaku stared at Uchiha Kaede's teammate and asked in a deep voice. His tone was also very serious. After all, this kind of thing was not a joke. If it were Kirigakure's ninja, things would become extremely complicated.
"I'm sure I didn't see wrongly!" Uchiha Kaede's teammate nodded and said. The expression on his face was extremely serious. He would never forget such a thing!
"I didn't see wrongly either. It is a Kirigakure's ninja!" Uchiha Kaede's other teammate also said.
"This..."
Shikaku was still skeptical when he saw the two people's confident expressions. However, he still did not say anything and motioned for the person to continue. However, he silently pondered this in his heart...
Why was it Kirigakure's ninja?
How did Kirigakure's ninja enter this place?
What kind of secret was hidden in this?
Question marks appeared in Shikaku's head one after another. These question marks intertwined together, forming doubts in his heart.
"After we saw this Kirigakure ninja, the other party intended to let us leave quickly and pretend that we didn't see anything. It seemed that he was in a hurry to leave this place. He didn't have the intention to attack us. He just told us not to get in the way." This Uchiha Kaede's teammate slowly said. He could only recall the general meaning of the other party, but he couldn't remember the specific words.
After he finished speaking.
He saw that none of them had any reaction, so he continued.
"But..."
"Uchiha Kaede doesn't want to let him leave just like that!"
"We have to keep that Kirigakure ninja even at the risk of not participating in the second round of Chunin Exams!"
"But..."
"The other party only touched Uchiha Kaede once."
"Uchiha Kaede's entire body is already covered with these strange lines."
"And Uchiha Kaede still hasn't moved until now!"
"We don't dare to touch Uchiha Kaede. We are worried that these strange lines will fall on us. If we all can't move, it will be too dangerous!"
"So the two of us stay by Uchiha Kaede's side and wait for the rescue. At the same time, we will drive away the beasts that appear around us."
"Just like that..."
"We stayed in the forest for four days."
"Then we met their team."
"Finally, we met the chief examiner!"
After Uchiha Kaede's teammate finished talking about the key parts, he felt a sense of relief all over his body, as if the last string hanging from his spirit was eliminated in this way. He felt relaxed suddenly and didn't care so much that when he talked about it later, he couldn't remember so many details and couldn't say anything anymore.
"Kirigakure ninja, who knows how to use the sealing technique?"
After listening to the ninja, Shikaku understood the situation they were facing.
But what happened now?
It was already beyond his knowledge.
Suddenly.
Shikaku looked at Hiruzen who was beside him, his eyes flashing with an inquiry.
"Sandaime-sama, do you know what is going on? A Kirigakure ninja who knows the sealing technique is in the Chunin Exams venue. This is a big problem!" Shikaku asked doubtfully. He was very puzzled, but when he looked at Uchiha Kaede's teammate, it did not seem like he was lying. However, if it was the truth, it was ridiculous.
"Sealing Technique..."
Hiruzen's expression suddenly became gloomy, and his pupils suddenly shrank. A figure suddenly appeared in his mind.
That person...
It was the ninja who treated Danzo.
Even he did not know why.
Although he had never seen this so-called Kirigakure ninja, and he was not sure if the ninja of the Uzumaki Clan had anything to do with Kirigakure, in his heart, he vaguely felt that this so-called Kirigakure ninja had some connection with the ninja of the Uzumaki Clan.
"I still have some doubt in my heart."
Hiruzen did not say the words in his mind, but he began to doubt. He faintly felt that the Kirigakure ninja was just a cover. He was more willing to believe that this was the ninjas of the Uzumaki Clan coming here for revenge.
"What else did that Kirigakure ninja say?"
Hiruzen asked Uchiha Kaede's teammate. Now he was more concerned about this so-called Kirigakure ninja. He also felt that the death of the three Iwagakure ninjas was related to this Kirigakure ninja.
"It seems like he said something..."
"And it seems like he didn't say anything..."
"We were too scared at that time..."
"We couldn't remember it..."
Uchiha Kaede's teammate said helplessly. When he recalled what happened at that time, it was as if he recalled a nightmare he had experienced.
Many things had already become blurry.
It seemed to be so.
It also seemed to be like that.
After all, in that extremely frightening environment and going through a terrifying thing, the brain defense mechanism would deliberately make it difficult for people to remember such a thing.
"Alright!"
Hiruzen nodded. After that, he took a step forward and walked toward Uchiha Kaede. As he walked, he said, "Let me see his condition."
"Yes!"
These participants immediately placed Uchiha Kaede on the ground. Then, they took a step back one after another, and all of their gazes fell on Hiruzen.
Under everyone's gazes.
Hiruzen arrived in front of Uchiha Kaede, slowly squatted down, and raised his hand to touch Uchiha Kaede's forehead.
"It is indeed a sealing technique!"
Hiruzen slightly narrowed his eyes. His research on ninjutsu was very profound. He had dabbled in every type of ninjutsu and was even called "Professor". He also had some research on the seal techniques field. However, compared to ninjutsu, it was not that profound.
This was the sealing technique of the Uzumaki Clan!
Hiruzen silently thought in his mind. After checking, he immediately made this analysis. However, he did not say these words. After all, this would easily cause others to panic.
Afterward.
Hiruzen quickly made a series of hand seals, and his tyrannical chakra surged. He raised his right hand and slapped Uchiha Kaede on the forehead.
"Release!"
Hiruzen shouted sternly, and his voice entered everyone's ears. Then, the black lines on Uchiha Kaede's body quickly disappeared.
"Sandaime-sama..."
Uchiha Kaede's weak voice slowly sounded. He had been sealed for four days. During this period, he could not do anything, but he still knew what was happening in his surroundings. He knew everything around him, but he could not control his body.
This feeling was like sleeping in a daze. He could hear everything around him, but he could not wake up.
"It's almost like that..."
"That Kirigakure ninja..."
"Too hateful!"
Uchiha Kaede's voice sounded cold. His heart already hated Kirigakure's ninja. Although the latter did not kill him, this made him feel extremely humiliated.
However...
This also made him re-examine these two teammates.
Although he has no relationship with these two teammates, for him, these two people were just tool-man who appeared temporarily to form a team and the kind of person who will abandon him when they think the team was broken up. Yet when it was time, they guarded him for four days.
This made many complicated emotions arise in Uchiha Kaede's heart.
This was something that even he could not tell exactly what was going on.
"I understand."
After hearing Uchiha Kaede's words, Hiruzen nodded heavily. However, he did not think that the person Uchiha Kaede saw was Kirigakure's ninja.
If he did not guess wrong.
That person...
Was an Uzumaki!
Hiruzen's face turned grim. Now he had truly realized the seriousness of the matter. The potential enemy was not Iwagakure, who was talking to himself from afar, but the Uzumaki Clan's ninja hiding somewhere.
"Choza, send them into the tower to rest. I have already learned everything. What they need now is rest," Hiruzen said in a low voice.
"Yes!" Choza immediately responded. After that, he nodded at these participants, indicating for them to follow him.
These participants immediately followed Choza and left.
Among them.
Uchiha Kaede obviously still seemed to want to say something, but when these words reached his mouth, he did not say a single word; all of them were swallowed back.
There was no need to say anything more.
They had already said everything that needed to be said.
Right now, he only hoped that the Third Hokage could capture that Kirigakure ninja!
After Choza left with these participants, only Shikaku and Hiruzen were left at the scene.
"Sandaime-sama, was this really done by Kirigakure ninja?" Shikaku immediately asked doubtfully. He still felt that this matter was very inconceivable. After all, how did Kirigakure ninjas enter Konohagakure? And how did he get out of the second round venue? This was a question he could not figure out.
"Whether this person is a Kirigakure ninja or not is not important!" Hiruzen shook his head. He already had an answer in his heart. However, he could not tell this to Shikaku. He trusted Shikaku, but that did not mean that he had to tell Shikaku everything he had done. He said, "We can only confirm that he is not Konohagakure's ninja."
"What should we do now?" Shikaku asked again.
"Wait for Yamagata Ken's result!" Hiruzen said with a serious face, "If I'm not wrong, these three Iwagakure ninjas died on the first day they entered the venue. As for that person, he should have left a long time ago."
"Left?"
After hearing Hiruzen's words, the doubts in Shikaku's mind deepened. His eyes were full of confusion. He could not think of a specific way to analyze what was happening in front of him.
After all.
For him.
The information he possessed was incomplete.
For example, the matters regarding the Uzumaki Clan.
He did not have any relevant information.
He only knew what happened in the Chunin Exams. All the clues are still very inexplicable to him.
"I don't quite understand."
"How did he get into the venue?"
"How did he leave?"
"This is too strange!"
Shikaku was still thinking about this. Although it seemed small, it was related to a very important matter. If he couldn't figure it out, he didn't even have a goal to suspect.
"If he can't even do this, there is no need to come here and cause trouble. I probably know the identity of that person. Let's not talk here. Let's go to the tower."
Hiruzen waved at Shikaku, then took the lead and walked into the tower. At this time, he was also thinking about all kinds of things.
The revenge of the Uzumaki Clan!
This was what Hiruzen was thinking.
Other than that.
He could not think of any reason.
However.
It just so happened that the result made him feel even more headache.
This was more complex than just a conflict in the Chunin Exams!
If Konohagakure's ninja killed Iwagakure's ninja, then he would compensate Iwagakure. In other words, it would be a small matter. This was a simple matter, especially for Hiruzen.
Suppose the ninja who killed Iwagakure ninja was really like what Uchiha Kaede and his companions had said and belonged to Kirigakure. If this matter was spread out, it could resolve this current crisis and transfer it to Kirigakure.
However.
The most difficult thing to deal with.
It was that this ninja was a ninja from the Uzumaki Clan, who pretended to be Kirigakure ninja and killed Iwagakure's ninja.
If this was the case, then he had no way to prove that this person was a ninja from the Uzumaki Clan. After all, the Uzumaki Clan had already been known as an extinct clan. This was something that everyone in the world knew if he had not found that ninja from the Uzumaki Clan, no one would believe such an excuse.
After all, if Kirigakure's ninja were really impersonated, not only would Iwagakure not transfer this anger to Kirigakure, but they would also feel that Konohagakure was deliberately provoking them, and things would become even more troublesome.
"This is so troublesome!"
Hiruzen walked in front, his mind quickly thinking about this matter. He saw the masked medical ninja in Danzo's room, which was also the ninja of the Uzumaki Clan that he had judged. At that time, he knew the village might not be so peaceful anymore.
How long has it been...
Since the Third Ninja World War broke out, it was not easy for the village not to be involved in the flames of war for the time being, but the ninja of the Uzumaki Clan had already started to make trouble.
As a result.
Things were getting more and more troublesome.
"Sandaime-sama!"
Just as Hiruzen entered a room on the tower's second floor, a few voices rang out simultaneously. The direction of the voices happened to be right behind him.
Instantly.
Hiruzen turned to look at the source of the sound.
He immediately saw two people.
Yamanaka Inoichi and Yamagata Ken.
"Sandaime-sama, Yamagata Ken-sensei has already made a judgment. Now I'm bringing him to you to report!" Inoichi said in a low voice.
"Tell me." Hiruzen suddenly became interested and looked at Yamagata Ken.
"Sandaime-sama!"
Yamagata Ken immediately bowed to Hiruzen. He was wearing the uniform of a medical ninja, and his expression was very serious. He then raised his head and looked at Hiruzen.
"The reason for the deaths of these three people is very strange!"
Yamagata Ken immediately began his own analysis. After he said these words, he immediately attracted the attention of Hiruzen and the people around him, including Shikaku and Inoichi.
Inoichi was the one who brought Yamagata Ken here.
However, he didn't know the exact result.
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes again. He had encountered many strange things recently, which were not lacking at all.
After hearing Hiruzen's question, Yamagata Ken nodded silently and then began to speak slowly.
"First of all."
"All three of them suffered extremely clean and deadly attacks!"
"Killed in one blow!"
"All of them were killed by the most basic attack: a kunai pierced through their hearts!"
"Secondly."
"There are traces of a fight on the bodies of these three people, but it is not obvious. This means that it is only a small bump, and there is no lethal restraint."
"But each of their lungs has a lot of water, which means that they have been drowning before, or choking."
"Lastly."
"These three people died three days ago."
"But they died in the Forest of Death, and the blood on the corpses was almost drained, but there was no other injury at all."
"They were not eaten by beasts."
"This means that these corpses were protected very well!"
"Based on the above reasons..."
"The time of death of these three people was about three days ago when the Chunin Exams' second round had just begun. The reason for their deaths was that a kunai had pierced their hearts, but they had already drowned to a certain extent. Moreover, their bodies were kept intact during this period of time, and they were even hung up on the tower unknowingly."
"This is too strange!"
Yamagata Ken told Hiruzen the results of his investigation. He had already restrained himself from deducing based on the results of his investigation. After all, that was the matter of those people. He was too lazy to waste so many brain cells to think about such things, and he was even more unwilling to let the subjective reasons he could produce affect the judgment of others.
"Do you mean..." After listening to Yamagata Ken's analysis, the corners of Hiruzen's mouth slightly curled up, and he said, "The person who did this thing knows medicine?"
"Ah?!"
Yamagata Ken was stunned for a moment. He really couldn't think of any connection between this and knowing medicine. However, since the Hokage asked this, he had to think about it to confirm the truth.
Shikaku looked at Hiruzen deeply. He was also thinking about these things quickly in his heart, but he didn't know what exactly happened.
It was just as Yamagata Ken said.
These things were intertwined.
But he really can't figure it out.
Yamagata Ken thought about it for a while. After that, his eyes focused on Hiruzen.
"If it is necessary to say whether the other party has medical skills, there is no evidence to prove it based on the information I know so far. However, he did hit the heart very accurately. It can only be said that the other party is familiar with the heart position!" Yamagata Ken said very seriously.
"I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Hiruzen nodded to Yamagata Ken. He did not say anything more, but everyone understood what he meant.
"Sandaime-sama, Konoha Hospital is busy. If there is nothing else, I will go back first." Yamagata Ken immediately understood what Hiruzen meant. There was no longer any place for him to remain, so there was no need to continue staying here.
"Go."
Hiruzen nodded. After that, he once again revealed a pondering expression, and his entire person fell into deep thought.
Right now, he has more than 90% confidence in his heart.
He felt that the person who did these things.
It was the Ninja of the Uzumaki Clan.
But he didn't have any evidence.
He only relied on the feelings in his heart.
"Shikaku, I think we can let those participants who have not passed the Chunin Exams leave. This matter has nothing to do with them," Hiruzen said indifferently. He had only looked at the death of the three Iwagakure ninjas. After hearing Yamagata Ken's report and the seal on Uchiha Kaede, he could already confirm that the person who had done this was not a ninja participating in the Chunin Exams but someone else.
"Isn't it a bit early?" Shikaku hesitated for a moment and asked. After all, if the person who had done this was in the crowd, then once they were released, it would be more difficult to find them.
"They are not our Konohagakure's people. There is no point in forcing our people to stay here. Besides the two teams that arrived at the back, almost all the other teams did nothing suspicious until they saw the three Iwagakure ninjas being hung up. This has already been proven." Hiruzen's tone was still very light.
"I see!"
Shikaku also had this kind of analysis in his heart. However, he felt that this was one of the many possibilities.
However, when he heard Hiruzen talk about this matter, he changed his mind.
Then, he went back to Hiruzen's topic.
"I'll let everyone go when we get out!" Shikaku nodded and said.
"The ninjas who passed the second round will have their third round schedule arranged. You can just tell them to wait for the notice." Hiruzen warned again.
"Yes!" Shikaku answered again, understanding Hiruzen's meaning.
"Find a few Sensor Ninjas from the Yamanaka clan. I want to know the last memories of these three people. It must be fast. Don't wait for their memories to fade away!" After thinking for a while, Hiruzen said this sentence. He wanted to see what these three people had experienced before they died, and they died so strangely. Moreover, he also wanted to see if there was any figure of that Uzumaki Clan ninja inside.
"Inoichi has already done this. Now the ninjas from the Yamanaka clan have arrived, right?" Shikaku immediately looked at Inoichi.
"No!"
Inoichi shook his head and sighed helplessly, "At this time, every Sensor Ninja has a mission, so they can't rush over the first time. They need to finish the task at hand. But this way, I don't know when they will come."
"The body has died for three to four days." Shikaku said helplessly, "Is there no other way?"
"There's no other way. Right now, all Sensor Ninjas with some strength who can read memories of the dead are carrying out different missions." Inoichi spread out his hands and made a helpless gesture. In the end, he said reluctantly, "Why don't I do it..."
In fact.
Inoichi didn't want to do the work of reading memories.
This would cause some damage to him.
This was also the reason why he did not take the initiative to talk about this matter.
At this time.
As long as he could not read memories.
Then he would not read memories.
Unless the Hokage personally mentioned the matter of reading memories, he would choose to go into battle as a last resort.
One had to know.
Right now, his identity was the future head of the Yamanaka Clan.
And reading the memories of a dead person was too damaging to him. This was something he did not want to bear. He wanted others to do this even more.
"That's right!"
When Shikaku saw Inoichi's expression, his eyes immediately lit up. He had already realized that this old friend did not want to read memories.
He could only persuade this old friend if there were no other plans.
After all, the Hokage was here.
However.
A thought suddenly appeared in his mind. He thought of someone, which made his heart feel comfortable.
"Sandaime-sama!"
"Regarding the memory reading..."
"I have a better candidate!"
Shikaku immediately said to Hiruzen. His words surprised Hiruzen and made Inoichi open his eyes wide, full of doubts.
"Is there anyone more reliable than Inoichi?" Hiruzen asked, a little puzzled. He did not force Inoichi to do this. However, the only person who could do this was Inoichi. Moreover, Inoichi could do this perfectly. Now, Shikaku's words attracted his attention.
"That's right!"
Shikaku smiled and nodded. He immediately began to explain.
"There is someone more suitable here!"
"Inoichi has not read other people's memories for a long time. He is now very unfamiliar with the Yamanaka clan's mind-reading secret technique. These Iwagakure ninjas have been dead for several days. This will be a big challenge for Inoichi."
"However, there is a participant here. He is a member of the Yamanaka clan and a ninja working in the Konohagakure Intelligence Division. The number of times and frequency he uses the mind-reading secret technique is more than Inoichi."
"Such a person who is obviously more experienced..."
"He is more qualified for such a job!"
"I think that person is more suitable!"
Shikaku's eyes sparkled. He had already transferred these matters to another person. He stared at Hiruzen and deliberately dragged out his voice.
"That person is..."