Suguru arrived at the nearest settlement when the sun began to rise. As he did so, he felt a piece of his chakra disappear. The marking on his note had invaded someone's body.
Although the mark did nothing but serve as a battery for his chakra, Suguru had plans for it in the future.
'I just hope that the peeping tom is a useful one.' He thought.
Unfortunately, he hadn't advanced much in Juinjutsu. He had yet to unlock those resources from Orochimaru's legacy.
'I also wasn't exposed to it as much,' Suguru lamented the lack of Juinjutsu technology in the world.
That void would eventually filled when he had more time.
In the meantime, Suguru created eight Shadow Clones. Each one used the Transformation Jutsu and appeared as a regular civilian.
Suguru did the same — he made himself much taller, carved muscles onto his body, and shortened his hair.
He attempted to look like a younger version of Kagami Suguru's father.
A small merchant caravan snuck into the settlement without any issue.
***
That same morning in Konohagakure.
Danzo sat in the Hokage's office. The paperwork that Hiruzen had been holding off due to his personality had been rapidly depleted.
The little threats that Kumogakure had been sprinkling across the Land of Fire would be quelled using a few swift and decisive strikes.
This wasn't the issue that caused Danzo to frown.
"This scroll contains information that no shinobi village has."
He looked at Hiruzen standing by the window. The former Hokage was watching Konoha slowly stir into awakening.
"Who made this?"
Hiruzen chuckled, "Take a guess. It isn't Shikaku. I also can't take credit for it."
Danzo's frown eased.
"A new seedling of the leaf... could it be?"
The peculiar report of one of his subordinates resurfaced in his mind.
—Gentle Fist without the Byakugan and the anonymous creator of the Blaze Battle Body.
A genius of the pen, not the sword.
"Hiryu Suguru," Danzo uttered the name for the first time, almost as if he spoke the name of the Devil.
"Could it be that boy, Hiruzen?"
Jiraiya appeared beside Hiruzen at that moment.
"I've combed through the entire village. Sensei, all I found were two abandoned laboratories. Both had been thoroughly emptied. However, there was one with this note left behind."
Warily was a glance given towards Danzo. For a moment, the two shinobi caused the air to shift by their meeting gaze.
Jiraiya swiftly disappeared. Even under Danzo's Sharingan, his movements were mysteriously difficult to follow.
Hiruzen took the note that began falling through the air. He unfolded it and sensed a foreign Juinjutsu mark enter his body.
'Hm?'
The chakra contained in the mark was familiar.
'When did that boy learn about Curse Marks?' Hiruzen was vaguely amused. He allowed the Curse Mark to enter his body and find its way straight to his heart.
The mark did nothing at the moment — Hiruzen was sure of that fact. Instead, it seemed like it was capable of some form of change.
'Will he develop it further when he returns?' He thought.
"What does the note say?" Danzo asked, oddly intrigued by Hiruzen's subtle surprise.
Chuckling, Hiruzen handed Danzo the note, "Have a look at it yourself."
Danzo received the folded piece of paper and his eyes widened.
"Indeed... To have come to this conclusion despite having such little information. He is a genius different from us shinobi. Where did you pick him up?"
"He came to Konoha of his own volition. Now, he has similarly left of his own volition."
Danzo's eyes darkened.
"Torune,"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," A masked Aburame appeared opposite of Hiruzen.
"Lead a squad and hunt down Hiryu Suguru. Preferably, bring him back alive. If he resists, then kill him swiftly and preserve his memories."
Danzo cursed.
"Don't let other villages know of his existence no matter what!"
Taking another glance at the note, Danzo's Sharingan spun.
'Amaterasu!'
He burned the note in a fit of frustration.
***
Later that day, a Council meeting was held.
When each member of the council, from the elders to the clan heads, entered one by one, they did not find anything wrong.
However...
Hiruzen, who had been sitting where the Hokage should have been... was sitting where Danzo would be.
Their gazes collectively moved.
In the Hokage's seat was a face that none of them wanted to see. Only Koharu and Homura seemed to find the scene amusing.
Staring back at them was a man with Sharingan that never turned off. Hiruzen took this opportunity to speak. His tone was very lackluster considering the bombshell he was going to drop.
"I have stepped down as Hokage."
Hiruzen announced lackadaisically, "Danzo will lead the village from now on."
Every member of the Konoha Council froze.
***
Several dozen kilometers away from Konoha, there was a small settlement that had gone silent. Its population of about fifty people had disappeared in around two hours.
No scent of blood, no dismembered corpse, nor any traces of battle had been left behind.
It was as if the villagers had just up and vanished into nothingness.
Men, women, children, the elderly... None of them existed any longer.
Suguru glanced at the empty village, feeling the hunger in his mind subsiding after a long time. He felt calm.
He was thankful that he was no longer bothered by a phantom rumbling stomach every hour of the day.
"There isn't much here," He spoke to himself.
Besides the chakra and the fresh human corpses, Suguru didn't gain anything else. Nonetheless, he was satisfied.
'Fourteen Shadow Clones...'
Fifty people equated to a chakra growth equivalent to two stable Shadow Clones.
It was an excellent meal.
'Time to continue moving. The next village I consume should be outside the Land of Fire.'
That way, its disappearance wouldn't be too unusual.
Suguru rushed in a different direction entirely. The village was positioned North of Konoha. Now, he was moving West to the Land of Wind. This way, he could deny any allegations in the future.
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