As soon as Inuzuka Ze spoke, the three others barely flinched.
That caught Ze off guard. "You already suspected?"
"Yeah," Tokuma replied. "The Curse Tongue Eradication Seal isn't exactly a state secret."
As if on cue, the prisoner's jaw jerked open, revealing the grotesque script etched across his tongue—the mark of silence.
The presence of the seal didn't definitively prove he was Foundation, of course. Other villages had mimicked the technique. But paired with everything else, it all pointed in one direction.
"If it were just personnel placement or our route being leaked," Tokuma continued, "we could chalk it up to a spy inside the village. Or maybe a captured shinobi spilling details under torture."
"But the enemy knew where my Byakugan couldn't see," he added grimly. "When I was ambushed by that shadow clone, the real attacker hid just beyond my field of perception. That level of precision? Only my clan or someone who's worked missions with me would know that."
"And who outside of my clan knows my Byakugan's limits?" Tokuma glanced at the group. "Only the Hokage, and Danzo."
"Could be I'm just being paranoid."
"I don't think so," Ishiki Kujo said, voice even. "The jutsu combos used to neutralize Reo—they were practiced. Synchronized. That Stand's only ever been revealed to Danzo, the Hokage, and two ANBU."
Ze let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah. These tactics are familiar. I've run missions with Foundation before. Their MO hasn't changed much."
"They weren't trying to kill us here at the border. Not directly." His expression darkened. "They wanted to delay us. To expose us. They timed this so Iwa and Kusa would spot us."
"I don't know why, but once we're back—either at the forward camp or in the village—I'll report everything to the Hokage."
Aburame Muta adjusted his glasses. "So they anticipated I'd blow up the kite mid-air?"
Ze nodded. "They had full intelligence. What they didn't count on was Ishiki's strength—it derailed their whole operation."
"But now we've got a bigger issue. Our presence in the Land of Grass isn't covert anymore. Every step we take could be tracked. Screw the mission—our priority now is escape."
"You think the intel's been fed to Iwa-nin?" Ishiki asked, voice low.
Ze's scowl deepened. "Maybe. I don't know what Danzo's playing at—but if Root set this up, they never intended for us to make it back."
A lifetime of loyalty to Konoha, and now this? Ze couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Do we even have anything that'd justify Danzo sending kill squads after us?" Tokuma muttered, baffled.
"…Maybe me," Ishiki finally said. "Back when I was in Root, I clashed with Danzo."
He said it carefully—deliberately. If this team couldn't trust each other, solo action might be better. His statement was a test. A probe.
Unlike the others—trueborn clan shinobi—Ishiki's lineage was modest. The Kujo family, once a minor clan, had long since faded into near-obscurity.
"No," Ze shook his head. "Danzo's not that petty. There's something we're missing."
Ishiki nearly sighed. Konoha's indoctrination really is thorough.
"This attack wasn't a mistake," Muta said coldly. "They intended to kill us. If we survive, Danzo will owe us answers. If we die, the Third still needs to hear about this."
Unlike Ze, Muta wasn't blinded by belief. He was already planning for the worst: if Danzo had turned on Konoha, the information had to reach the Hokage, no matter what.
Ze opened his mouth—but said nothing. A heavy breath. He couldn't even convince himself this wasn't treason.
Three of them—clan loyalists, true to Konoha's core. The fourth, Kujo Ishiki, had become a war hero on the Cloud front. If none of them were traitors, then Root was.
But Root operatives couldn't betray Konoha. Not with their seals.
And yet nine shinobi, armed with precise intelligence, attacked them. This wasn't spontaneous. This was a sanctioned mission.
And in Root, no mission moved without Danzo's approval.
Which meant if Root attacked… Danzo ordered it.
"Maybe someone framed him?" Tokuma offered.
Ishiki nearly scoffed. What—Hiruzen Sarutobi himself decided to frame Danzo?
The deeper they thought, the darker their expressions turned.
If Danzo had betrayed Konoha, the fallout would be catastrophic.
"We need to move. Now. Get the intel out," Ze said. Tone absolute.
No one objected. Not even Ishiki. Not out loud.
But he knew better than any of them—Danzo was no fool.
Everything they were thinking? It might be part of Danzo's plan.
He wanted them to conclude he'd gone rogue. Because once they did, Ishiki's options shrank drastically.
Option one: stick with Ze, cross the border, force their way back to the village. Danzo would anticipate this—he'd have more ambushes waiting.
Option two: eliminate the other three, or go solo. Return to Konoha from another path, claiming mission failure. But that would draw suspicion—an investigation would follow.
Ishiki was already calculating alternatives.
He could use The President. He always kept a shadow clone stationed somewhere safe—an escape route ready.
He could open the door and send the team straight back into Konoha territory.
But doing so would reveal the full extent of The President's power—and Nibi, Matatabi, was still inside that dimensional room. Exposing her was another risk.
Letting Matatabi loose in the open world? Not an option.
Yet maybe… this whole mess was an opportunity.
Ishiki stared at the three before him. Thought hardened in his chest, cold and calculated.
A plan was forming.