The file on Uchiha Yōwan was quickly delivered to the Hokage's office.
Contrary to the man's actions, Konoha's records on him couldn't even fill a single sheet of paper.
Even the photo they had was from the time he had just graduated from the Academy.
"This guy is just another no-name Uchiha? Where did you get this intel?"
Jiraiya, urgently recalled, looked at the photo in his hand. He really couldn't connect this childish face with the culprit who had attacked Konoha and left Sakumo severely wounded.
"The source of the intel can't be revealed for now, but its accuracy is very high."
As Hokage, Takeshi certainly couldn't admit the information had been obtained through Edo Tensei, so he brushed it aside.
Seeing Takeshi's expression, Jiraiya instantly understood a bit, and sensibly stopped pressing.
"But even if we have his photo, we still don't have intel on his hideout. We still can't track him down."
Minato engraved the face in the photo deep into his memory, then voiced his doubts.
The others nodded in agreement with Minato's thought.
Indeed—they had a photo and a name, but the most crucial piece of information, his location, was still a complete blank.
Takeshi didn't answer Minato's question. Instead, he turned to Tatsuma.
"Regarding his followers, has the Internal Affairs Division discovered any useful intel?"
Hearing Takeshi's inquiry, everyone else finally noticed that an Aburame clan member was present in the room, and their eyes shifted toward him.
"Nothing for now."
Aburame Tatsuma's expression didn't change, his tone somewhat cold.
He was always like this, and Takeshi didn't take issue with it.
Whether it was Yōwan's followers or his whereabouts, Internal Affairs had never made any useful progress.
"I still believe Amegakure is very suspicious. Setsuna once made a move against Hanzō of the Salamander, which proves it's entirely possible they're using what he left behind to cover their movements."
Amegakure, huh...
Jiraiya covered his mouth with his hand, weighing the odds.
"According to the intel we do have, Amegakure didn't fall into chaos after Hanzō's death. On the contrary, they became even more mysterious, as if a great hand had truly reorganized their order."
Aburame Tatsuma explained calmly: "Internal Affairs has sent operatives to infiltrate before, but without exception, every single one lost contact."
At the mention of infiltration, some people's eyes unconsciously turned toward Jiraiya.
Speaking of Konoha's infiltration specialists nowadays, only Jiraiya and Orochimaru came to mind.
But Orochimaru was buried in his research. That left Jiraiya as the only viable option.
"Ahahaha, in times of great peril, of course it falls to me, the man from Mount Myōboku—"
Jiraiya himself knew this all too well. He let out a hearty laugh and struck the pose he had always wanted to try.
"The Chūnin Exams are about to be held. Jiraiya must remain in the village to guard against external threats."
Takeshi suddenly cut in, interrupting Jiraiya's performance.
"This matter will be shelved for now. We'll make detailed plans after the Chūnin Exams."
As Hokage, Takeshi forcibly ended the discussion and ordered everyone back to their posts.
"Fifth..."
Jiraiya stopped his antics, his expression turning serious as he looked at Takeshi.
But Takeshi refused to meet his eyes, lowering his head to busy himself with paperwork that didn't even exist.
"Sensei, let's go out first."
Seeing Jiraiya was about to challenge Takeshi head-on, Minato reluctantly acted as a buffer between the two, managing to pull Jiraiya away.
Soon, only Takeshi and Hikari were left in the room.
"You wavered just now, didn't you?"
Hikari had just torn open the wrapper of her third lollipop of the day and was about to pop it into her mouth when Takeshi snatched it away.
The candy was bitten into with a crunch, the sound of chewing echoing in the empty room.
"Pfah."
The bare stick was spat out, and Takeshi leaned back heavily, eyes closed, clearly deep in thought.
"If you've got something to say, why not tell me?"
Normally, Hikari would've elbowed him the moment her candy was taken, but his whole demeanor screamed of someone facing a difficult choice.
She couldn't understand what Takeshi was hesitating over, or what exactly he was struggling with.
She had been freed from her seal for some time now, and she had a grasp of the current situation.
By rights, there shouldn't be any enemies Konoha couldn't handle at this point.
Even if that man called Uchiha Madara were to return, it would be no exception.
She was confident she could crush that so-called invincible junior and make him suffer a humiliating defeat.
So long as she and Takeshi were willing.
"The Rinnegan..."
Takeshi hesitated, speaking a word that sounded somewhat unfamiliar to Hikari.
He knew full well Jiraiya was one of the village's top infiltration specialists. But it was also a fact that their enemy possessed the Rinnegan.
In the original story, that lecherous sage had fallen before the Rinnegan.
Though Takeshi deeply disapproved of Jiraiya writing "The Tale of the Gallant Snow Woman," that didn't mean he could bear to watch the man die under his command.
Altering the storyline too much wasn't necessarily a good thing. He almost regretted not just letting Obito get crushed under falling rocks back then—
Wait. Obito?
Takeshi's eyes flew open, startling Hikari, who had been leaning in to sneak a look at his thoughts. She stumbled back a step.
...
"Obito's experimental progress?"
After politely greeting Takeshi, Hiruko began speaking smoothly without needing to consult notes.
"The progress is frankly astonishing. I've never seen anyone adapt to Hashirama's cells so smoothly. Not even Lady Tsunade could pull that off."
His words were laced with undisguised envy toward Obito.
Sometimes he even suspected that Obito might have some kind of hidden connection with Hashirama.
Like maybe he carried the combined bloodline of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara—
Of course, that was just a joke.
In any case, something that should've taken six months to show results was nearing completion after only two.
By contrast, Fugaku's compatibility was utterly hopeless.
No matter how Hiruko altered the cell ratios, Fugaku's body rejected them outright.
The kind of rejection where one injection meant certain death.
As clan head, Fugaku's bloodline was clearly very pure.
Which only made Obito's lineage all the more thought-provoking.
"So, the conclusion?"
Takeshi didn't want to debate technicalities with Hiruko—he just wanted the answer.
"Obito not only integrated Hashirama's cells, he also awakened Wood Release."
Though displeased at being cut off, Hiruko still gave the straightforward answer.