(POV: ROOT – Hidden Leaf Village, Underground Facility)
The chamber was silent.
Two masked shinobi knelt beneath the dim glow of wall-mounted lanterns, unmoving. The stale air of the underground chamber felt thicker than stone. At the far end, half-veiled by shadows, Danzō Shimura sat in silence.
When he finally spoke, it was with a voice that cracked like parchment.
> "Report."
The taller operative leaned forward slightly.
> "Transfer route was clear. Southern ridge passage, 0200 hours. No signs of patrols. But… there was an anomaly."
Danzō's fingers shifted on the armrest, though his face remained hidden in the dark.
> "What kind of anomaly?"
> "Short-range teleportation, or something close to it. A subtle distortion. There was no signature, no trace. Just the sudden presence… and then absence."
The second operative continued.
> "Crates were untouched. But all three chakra marker scrolls had been triggered. Whoever it was, they saw us. And wanted us to know."
Danzō didn't speak for several moments.
His voice was softer when it came again.
> "No damage. No pursuit. Just a message."
> "Yes, sir."
He stood slowly, one step echoing across the chamber.
> "Then this is not an enemy," he said. "At least not yet. Possibly a field test. Someone testing their reach. Or a curious rat sniffing the wrong tunnels."
The agents exchanged glances. One spoke cautiously.
> "Could it be another faction within the village? ANBU experimentation?"
Danzō's head tilted, just enough for the candlelight to catch the edge of his cheekbone.
> "Not without my knowledge."
He stepped forward.
> "Sweep the ridge. Chakra traces, footprint depressions, residual seal signatures—everything. Look for clues in the technique used. It may give us a clue to the user's origin."
> "Should we expand surveillance?"
> "No. Not yet. This seems… unrefined. Young. Not a threat, but a variable."
He stopped walking, eyes narrowing into the dark.
> "Variables are watched. Not crushed."
There was a long pause. Then:
> "Increase monitoring near our external storage points and dead-drop caches. Quietly. But do not act. Not until we know more."
> "Understood."
The operatives disappeared like smoke, their orders clear.
Danzō remained behind, silent once more.
In another part of the village, a boy knelt beneath flickering candlelight, marking seal formulas with a steady hand and a curious mind. He believed no one had seen him that night.
He was mostly right.
For now.