Minato stared at Obito and the others with a grim expression. He knew the camp's current situation better than anyone. There were no long-term missions right now that would pull people from different teams and keep them out for days. If something like that existed, he would have known about it.
Kakashi caught the shift in his teacher's mood. "Minato-sensei, is something wrong?"
"Not sure yet," Minato said. He made his decision fast. "You're all coming with me. We're going to check this out with Jiraiya."
He turned and headed straight for the main command tent. The others followed without argument.
Jiraiya looked up when they walked in and immediately grinned. "Minato, weren't you supposed to be heading out on a mission? What are you doing dragging these kids in here?"
"Jiraiya-sensei." Minato's voice was tight. "Did you assign Yohei any kind of mission?"
"Yohei?" Jiraiya leaned back, looking relaxed. "Why would I send that kid out on anything right now? That'd be a waste of talent."
Then the words sank in. His expression sharpened. "Wait. You're saying Yohei actually left on a mission? How long ago?"
"Two days," Minato answered.
Jiraiya's face went dark. Every jonin-level operative was supposed to report their missions to him immediately. Yohei had been gone for two full days and he hadn't heard a single word. That wasn't possible unless someone had bypassed the chain of command entirely.
He turned to Kakashi. "Tell me exactly what happened when Yohei got that mission scroll. Every detail. The rest of you fill in anything he misses."
Kakashi nodded and started recounting the scene at the gate. Saori and Rin jumped in with extra details whenever he paused. By the time they finished, the picture was clear.
Jiraiya's jaw tightened. "The scroll had proper seals. Yohei checked them himself. Someone inside this camp faked a mission and sent him out."
Minato's voice was cold. "This isn't just sloppy. This is deliberate."
Obito looked ready to explode. "So what do we do? He's been gone two days already!"
Minato shook his head. "We don't even know where he is. The messenger wouldn't let him share any details with the rest of you. Right now we're blind."
Saori spoke up quietly. "It might not be as bad as it sounds."
Everyone turned to her.
"Yohei still has the sealing tag and the special Flying Thunder God kunai Taiichi gave him," she said. "If he ran into real trouble, he could've called Taiichi instantly. He's probably safe."
The tension in the tent eased a little. If Taiichi had been pulled in, the worst-case scenario was a lot less likely.
Jiraiya stood up. "Alright. You kids get out of here. Go train or whatever. We've got work to do."
Obito started protesting, but Kakashi and Rin dragged him out before he could make it worse. Once the tent was empty except for Jiraiya and Minato, the mood turned heavy again.
Minato spoke first. "How are we handling this?"
Jiraiya stayed quiet for a long moment, eyes hard. "We wait for Yohei to come back. He'll have the evidence we need. When he does, we hit Danzo with everything we've got. But we do it smart."
Minato frowned. "This is serious. Faking missions. Trying to kill one of our own. You're saying we still can't take him down completely?"
Jiraiya let out a tired breath. "The western front is barely holding because of Root. If we cut Danzo loose right now, that whole line collapses. The old man won't risk it."
Minato stared at him. "So we just let it slide?"
"No," Jiraiya said. "We make it loud enough that the old man has no choice but to do something. Yohei's the victim here, and the Uchiha clan is right behind him. If Hiruzen doesn't give them a real answer, we'll have bigger problems than one broken front."
While the camp buzzed with worry over Yohei, the man himself was currently in a lot of pain on purpose.
Taiichi had only healed the worst of his injuries. The rest stayed raw and obvious. They needed Yohei to look like he'd barely survived an assassination attempt. A clean return wouldn't force anyone's hand.
So Yohei dragged himself across the border alone, exhausted, chakra nearly gone, and injuries still bleeding. Three days of nonstop travel later, he finally reached the camp gates.
The moment he stepped inside, he let his legs give out. He hit the ground hard and didn't get back up.
The reaction was immediate. Shinobi nearby rushed over. Whispers turned into shouts. Within minutes a crowd had formed around the collapsed Uchiha.
Jiraiya got the report fast. His first thought was that it didn't match what Saori had said. Then he understood. This was the play. Yohei was selling the story hard.
He headed straight for the medical tents.
Director Fujita was already working on him when Jiraiya arrived. Half an hour later she stepped back and gave her assessment.
"Multiple wounds from wind and fire style. Some were left untreated long enough to get worse. He's also severely chakra depleted. Looks like he hasn't slept in days. He should wake up in two or three hours."
Jiraiya stared at the unconscious Yohei for a long second, then nodded. "I'll be back then."
Three hours later, Yohei slowly opened his eyes.
Jiraiya, Minato, Shikaku, and two other staff officers were standing around his bed. Kakashi and the others had been kept outside.
Yohei took one look at the group and knew exactly what Taiichi had predicted was happening. They were going to use this. Good.
He didn't ease into it.
"Jiraiya-sama," he said, voice rough. "There's a spy in this camp."
The staff officers exchanged sharp looks.
Jiraiya played along perfectly. "A spy? You're sure?"
Yohei pushed himself up on one elbow, wincing. "They used a real mission scroll. Real codes. They lured me out and tried to kill me. If I hadn't had Taiichi's kunai, I wouldn't be here."
He pulled the scroll from his pouch and handed it over.
Jiraiya checked the seals, read through it, then passed it around. When it came back to him, he spoke clearly.
"The scroll is authentic. Someone inside this camp has been feeding false orders."
Yohei leaned back against the pillows, breathing hard, but his eyes stayed sharp.
The performance had worked. Now they just had to see how far they could push it.