"Captain Namuki was poisoned to death."
Hikaru answered calmly. His chakra looked just as calm—no ripples, no panic, no sudden spikes.
Yamanaka Inoichi watched closely, felt closely, then finally let out a small breath and nodded. That answer didn't surprise him. Before he ca, he'd already read through Nightingale's full file—academy performance, ANBU record, mission style, temperant evaluations.
Everything in the paperwork pointed to one conclusion:
Excellent. Reliable. "Will of Fire" compatible.
Still, procedure was procedure.
"What exactly happened?" Inoichi didn't release the technique. "I need you to replay everything."
"Yes… Inoichi-san." Hikaru's voice drifted a little, as if fogged by the jutsu.
And in that mont, his chakra began to show tiny fluctuations.
They were fluctuations Hikaru allowed—carefully shaped, carefully tid.
If Inoichi's technique depended on the target's chakra responses, then Hikaru could simply… feed it a story, complete with the "right" emotions, the "right" rhythm, and the "right" internal images.
So Inoichi "saw" it.
He "saw" Namuki coughing black blood.
He "saw" Nightingale dragging him along, voice warm and steady.
"Nightingale… drop … he's catching up… You have to take the intelligence back…"
"Captain, don't talk nonsense. I'll take you back. I'll take you ho…"
He "saw" the desperate escape, the pursuit, the final collapse—poison overwhelming resistance. He "saw" the decision afterward: with the body already rotting, to prevent secondary casualties and to protect secrets, they used the ANBU disposal thod and let the corpse dissolve away.
Inoichi's eyes softened.
"So that's how it was…"
He sighed, picked up his pen, and wrote down the details. His heart wasn't made of stone. He knew ANBU casualty rates. He also knew how ugly it felt when you were forced to make the correct decision.
But even as he wrote, he still didn't withdraw his chakra.
Because he hadn't co here for just this.
He had been given another assignnt—one he didn't like, one he couldn't refuse.
A Hokage's order was a Hokage's order.
And for the Yamanaka clan, survival had always depended on understanding one rule: don't touch what you shouldn't—unless you're commanded.
Inoichi inhaled slowly, then increased both chakra output and ntal pressure. His gaze sharpened, more surgical now, less sympathetic.
"Second question."
His voice was gentle, but the blade was real.
"Who are you, really?"
"And—one month ago—who did you et in the forest, and what did you do?"
"Third question."
"That lizard summon of yours—what exactly is it?"
"I…"
Hikaru opened his mouth, then stopped. His expression looked conflicted, like soone fighting an instinct to clamp shut.
In truth, he wasn't confused at all.
He understood imdiately:
The truly dangerous part wasn't the mission replay. It was question two and question three.
Question two wasn't Inoichi's curiosity—it was Hiruzen's hand.
A month ago, Hikaru t Minato.
Not "ran into by chance."
Not "brief greeting."
He t him to learn and to exchange—sealing knowledge… and political intent.
And that was precisely why they were asking now.
They didn't dare mory-rape a Hokage's student with brute force.
So they sent Inoichi, and they used a "soft" thod.
But soft thods still cut.
As for the lizard—sothing that big, that strong, appearing out of nowhere?
No one on the top floor would pretend not to see it.
And that was when Hikaru made his decision.
If Inoichi was going to be forced to step into a swamp, then Hikaru would make sure Inoichi had a rope around his waist—a rope tied to Hikaru.
The easiest rope was also the most lethal:
Hikaru's true identity.
Hiruzen knew.
But Inoichi did not.
And once Inoichi knew, he wouldn't be able to "unknow" it.
That ant he would beco cautious. Controlled. Careful with his words. Careful with his reports.
In other words—
A perfect lock.
Hikaru's expression settled. The hesitation faded into a calm that looked like reluctant acceptance.
His chakra responded—smoothly, deliberately—like a door opening one finger-width at a ti.
Inoichi's pupils tightened.
His face changed.
Because in the flow of chakra and the "image" the technique pulled up…
He saw sothing he was never supposed to see.
And in that instant, Inoichi understood:
This wasn't just an ANBU incident anymore.
It was a political landmine.
And he had just stepped on it.
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