Once the larger situation had been settled, Senju Haruto set out to return to the village, accompanied by Tenzo, Uchiha Izumi, Zabuza, Haku, Terumi Mei, and a third of the Root operatives.
What surprised Haruto, however, was that after spending so many days in the Land of Waves, and then staying for a time in Kirigakure, he had fully expected that by the time he returned to Konoha he would hear of Sarutobi Hiruzen's passing.
Instead…
The Chūnin Exams had only just concluded their second trial.
Those who had advanced to the final tournament were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Gaara, Kankurō, Shikamaru, and Temari.
Aside from Sakura taking the place of Tōji, there was virtually no difference from what Haruto had anticipated.
But this was only natural. With the exception of Sakura, the other seven were unquestionably among the most outstanding participants in this exam. There was nothing surprising about them defeating their peers to secure their places.
As for Sakura, she was no longer the little girl who always needed Naruto and Sasuke to protect her. Though she had not played a decisive role in the Wave Country mission, under Haruto's personal guidance she had now mastered monstrous strength. That alone was enough to let her surpass Ino, whose abilities were otherwise equal to hers.
Meanwhile, Naruto had been forbidden from using Sage Mode or his golden form during the exams, yet even drawing on the slightest measure of the Nine-Tails' chakra was enough to overwhelm many opponents.
And Sasuke—needless to say—still had access to his Lightning Chakra Mode.
"Haruto."
The moment word spread of Haruto's return, Kakashi hurried straight to him.
"What is it?"
Haruto had barely settled into his office when Kakashi burst through the door, his expression grave.
"Yugito Nii… is gone."
Kakashi drew in a deep breath and said it outright.
While Haruto had been away, Kakashi had already reported this once to the Third Hokage. Now that Haruto was back, he felt compelled to bring it to his attention personally.
"Yugito has disappeared?" Haruto frowned slightly. The news genuinely surprised him.
"Yes…" Kakashi nodded, then began explaining in detail.
According to all available intelligence, Yugito had simply vanished into thin air. There were no signs of her prison being breached, and none of the ANBU assigned to guard her had been harmed.
It was no exaggeration to say… there wasn't a single clue.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen himself was completely baffled as to how Yugito had managed to disappear.
"And there's more… Mitarashi Anko has reported sightings of Orochimaru."
Kakashi's voice grew low, heavy, as if facing a dire threat.
Neither he nor Haruto were strangers to Orochimaru.
Especially during the Grass Village incident—Orochimaru had personally witnessed Haruto's terrifying strength.
And yet, despite that, he had chosen to return to Konoha.
That could only mean one of two things:
Either Orochimaru had discovered some method to counter Haruto—perhaps an even more refined version of Edo Tensei—
Or he had learned for certain that Haruto had been absent from the village.
But whichever was true, neither was a trivial matter.
It meant either Konoha harbored an enemy spy… or Orochimaru no longer feared Haruto.
"Haruto, do you think these two incidents could be connected?" Kakashi finally asked.
It was only a speculation, with no real evidence—but the thought weighed on him.
And truthfully, Kakashi wasn't even convinced that Orochimaru would care about Yugito or the Two-Tails in the first place.
"Hard to say," Haruto replied after a brief pause, deliberately hesitant, neither confirming nor denying the possibility.
In truth, though, he knew perfectly well—Orochimaru had no particular interest in Tailed Beasts.
The only thing in Konoha that would ever matter to him… was Uchiha Sasuke's body.
And as for spiriting Yugito away without leaving a single trace? That reeked of Obito's doing.
It seemed that Akatsuki, wary of Haruto's growing influence, had decided to accelerate their plans.
"But that much is normal. Akatsuki's ostensible leader may be Pain, but the true hand behind the scenes is Obito—and behind even him, Black Zetsu. Their capacity for intelligence gathering far exceeds any of the Great Nations."
"After the Land of Waves, where I casually eliminated Kakuzu and Hidan, the so-called immortal duo… if Obito and Zetsu were still able to sit quietly and do nothing, that would have been truly strange."
"To me, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The more they throw the shinobi world into chaos, the easier it will be for me to push forward with unification."
Haruto thought this quietly to himself, deciding not to worry over Yugito's fate for now.
"For the time being, don't alert them. Whatever Orochimaru's plans may be, they don't warrant concern."
"…There is one more thing," Kakashi said hesitantly, seeing how little Haruto cared about Orochimaru. He decided not to push further, and instead shifted the topic.
"Oh? What else?"
"Well, it's like this…"
Kakashi drew in a long breath before explaining everything.
It concerned an old friend of his, Might Guy, a fellow elite jōnin of the village.
Guy's team had also participated in this year's Chūnin Exams. Unfortunately, his student Rock Lee had faced the Sand Village's Gaara.
The result had been disastrous—Lee had suffered catastrophic fractures in both arms and legs.
According to the medics, his shinobi career was effectively over.
The blow to Guy had been immense.
And though Kakashi often pretended to be indifferent toward Guy, in truth he deeply valued their bond.
Beyond that, Kakashi himself had been present during Lee's match.
Most people dismissed Lee as dead last among the rookies—unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu.
But for precisely that reason, he had blossomed into a genius of taijutsu. At such a young age, he had already opened the Five Gates of the Eight Inner Gates technique.
To see his future ended here… it left Kakashi with a heavy heart.
If Haruto had not returned, perhaps there would have been nothing to be done.
But in Kakashi's eyes, Haruto was someone closest to the power of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
If even he could do nothing for Lee's condition, then no one could.
Of course, Kakashi did not truly believe Haruto would be helpless.
"…Team Guy, then?" Haruto murmured. "I recall Guy somewhat. He was of your generation, wasn't he? Notable in the field of taijutsu."
"Yes," Kakashi nodded quickly, confirming.
"Still… as for someone who hides behind others and entrusts his student's future to another's hands—"
Haruto had been about to say that if Guy truly cared for Lee, then he should come and face him personally.
But before he could finish the thought, the office doors suddenly burst open with a resounding bang.