87 So troublesome!

Sarutobi didn't seem too satisfied with the response, but as long as he wants to maintain his facade, he can't press the matter further without seeming controlling. The throbbing vein under his hat swelled a lot at not getting more details.

And speaking of controllers, the few ninjas from Sunagakure have been giving me critical looks for a while, and it's quite annoying.

"Can you stop staring at me like this? The monitors are on the wall," I told them directly.

There was no response from them; they looked at each other, and I suppose they exchanged messages or something, because after nodding, they turned their gazes back to the screens.

Are they questioning whether I will be a problem for their plan against Konoha?

No way, I don't think I should bother too much with it, given how little they managed to do.

My team ended up stealing the scroll from the Ino-Shika-Cho team, and although the Konoha genin aren't very injured, now I'm not sure if they'll make it to the semifinal.

"Hokage-sama!" a Konoha ninja burst into the room.

"What's happening? Any problems with the exam?" Sarutobi asked with a concerned expression.

"It's just... there's already a team in the tower," the ninja said, looking uneasy for some reason.

Everyone (except me) was surprised and checked the clock to verify the time.

Thirty-four minutes—that was the time it took for the team to reach the tower despite having three days of margin. And everyone had the same thought.

It's ridiculous!

Even a jonin needs at least an hour to reach the center of the tower from the outskirts of the forest; a genin team would do a great job if they could make it in less than two days.

How the hell did they do it?

"Well, I'll go pick up my team then," I could feel the three waiting below with my Mantra, so I'll go pick them up to prevent any tricks from the old folks.

"And how do you know it's your team and not another one that made it?" Shikamaru's father asked, perhaps a bit annoyed by how everything unfolded.

"Simple, the others don't have the ability to achieve it," I affirmed casually, maybe sounding a bit arrogant in the process, but at the end of the day, it's the truth.

I'm pretty sure they must have used Haku's fruit to get there so fast; the others are too focused on surviving traps, bears, and such.

Yes, I think I sounded worse than I expected because everyone made a face at my statement. Well, the truth hurts, doesn't it?

POV Shikaku Nara

Something is wrong with the people of Seimeigakure.

It doesn't matter if they are the deserters, the genin, or their Kage; I have the feeling that things are not as simple as some think, and the lack of information is a headache.

The ninja who reported the situation, even with his performance, is easy to recognize as a subordinate of Danzo by his posture and gestures. And by the Third Hokage's reaction...

Damn it, they must have tried something with the Uzumaki women from Seimeigakure, and the shot must have backfired. Maybe they even thought of making the genin "disappear" in the Forest of Death when they were off-camera; it would be totally Danzo's style.

This is why it's so annoying to be uninformed; people make assumptions and castles in the air to plot their plans, and then wonder how they could fail.

In the best situation, the Seimeikage or his people accuse us, and we simply deny involvement, claiming that they must be disguised foreign ninja.

No evidence, so no crime.

But given the big man's quick steps along with the look he gave the Hokage, I think there is a possibility that he is already aware of everything.

Itachi's reports in the past mention that he could be a sensor ninja, but the range and ability were unknown.

But he couldn't have been sensing what was happening outside the forest from here, right?

My thought froze for a moment, and a drop of sweat slid down my forehead.

No, it's actually viable, as ridiculous as it sounds. It's the only way he could have found out so quickly, and there are precedents for monstrous sensor ninja.

Uzumaki Mito.

Maybe that explains why his ears are like that; some side effect of the technique?

This complicates things a lot; should I inform the Hokage and, by extension, Danzo?

Although it's just my hypothesis, taking some precautions might be necessary, and if a scandal arises from the attack, the villages will become hostile.

No, forget that; Sarutobi and Danzo's little trick DEFINITELY just cost the village the possible alliance with Seimeigakure. Whether it's information exchange, trade, or any real benefit, it just went down the drain.

And indirectly, it made their relationship with Kumogakure even stronger by finding a common enemy.

Unless a Fifth Hokage is named at last, there's no chance of redemption, and that's if the new one isn't a puppet of the previous one, as happened with the Fourth Hokage, who didn't even have real power.

I understood why they wanted the girls, and I didn't like it, but as a ninja, I understood.

But if he really was such a strong sensor, the estimate of his strength to back such an ability can't be less than the strength of a quasi-Kage or a full Kage.

Plus, there was something even more worrying on the list.

If my suspicions are correct—and I pray to the sage that they are not—it's possible that the slug princess has deserted the village. And from how she arrived with them, it's clear where she went.

After the box incident, I asked my friend to send the birds trained by the Yamanaka clan to check the Senju complex from the sky; it wasn't even necessary to intrude on the barrier protecting the place.

The results were burned after I read them.

The Senju complex was empty.

And I don't mean that there was no one there, but rather that there was NOTHING inside.

The garden of valuable medicines was completely dug up.

Even the cemetery was emptied; not a single tombstone remained!

Add to that the fact that Tsunade "disappeared" from the casinos' radar after delivering the box...

I can only say: Why did it have to be Minato and not you?

But I don't want to get involved in this mess caused by the Hokage and his secret lover; it's so problematic...

Forget it; maybe it can be used to get rid of the old man who clings to power with nails and teeth and put someone capable under the hat.

Wait... but Tsunade is gone, and qualified people only remain...

So problematic!