Without chakra, there was no way for Shimizu to sense the other party's exact position.
But he was certain that the person was currently hidden somewhere inside this spacious hospital room.
This person assigned to Shimizu, codename "Lyra," was an elite Anbu under the First Anbu Battalion, and also a hidden guard responsible for Shimizu's safety.
The First Anbu Battalion…
Even Shimizu knew very little about this mysterious Anbu unit. After all, in the original story, there had been very little concrete depiction of the Anbu.
What he could confirm was that ordinary Anbu members still had the possibility of retiring, while every member of this unit was a nameless shinobi who walked in the shadows for life.
Because in order to become one of the thirty-six members of this unit, one had to give up the life of an ordinary person.
They would wear that mask for their entire lives, and their Anbu codename would be their only name.
They were death soldiers.
People who had never "existed."
Shimizu suddenly thought of an unsolved mystery from the original story: the true identity of Konohamaru's father, Asuma's older brother, the eldest son of Konoha, had never been revealed.
Other than knowing that he was a direct Anbu subordinate of the Third Hokage, nothing else was known.
"Are people in your First Battalion allowed to have children?"
The room was completely silent, as though Shimizu were talking to himself.
"Then do you know who your biological parents are?"
The silence was so deep it felt chilling.
"Tell me, do you think Lord Hokage would send his own child into this First Anbu Battalion?"
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
"That's impossible, right? Lord Hokage is such a kind and approachable person, after all."
Seeing that the other party still did not answer, Shimizu could only let this ancient mystery sink back into the depths.
So he changed the subject.
"For Lord Hokage to assign you to protect me, he must have sensed something, right?"
Still, there was only wordless silence.
Why are the people of the First Battalion so dull?
"Danzō's Root must have suffered serious losses over the past few years. I imagine he started looking for fresh blood a long time ago."
"I'm actually quite curious. Why would Lord Hokage tolerate the existence of an organization like Root?"
"If it exists to clean up unpleasant messes, aren't you people enough?"
"Or is it because of some old affection from the past? But that doesn't seem to make sense either…"
Shimizu seemed to fall into thought.
"Aren't you afraid that one day, Root will turn things around and become the master of Konoha, with Danzō becoming Hokage?"
"What do you think, Lyra?"
After another long silence, a man's voice finally came from the air.
"Root is only Root. It will always remain buried beneath the earth, and darkness can never stand in the light."
However, it was impossible to judge the other party's exact age from his voice.
"You're very young," Shimizu said with absolute certainty. "So your judgment is wrong."
After all, in the original story, Danzō really did become Hokage, even if only for a very short time.
Lyra did not refute Shimizu's judgment and once again fell into a long silence.
"That makes sense. You people are forever in the darkness, so the angle from which you view problems can naturally only come from that world of yours."
Lyra still gave no reaction.
"Ah, then I'll have to trouble you one more time."
Shimizu sounded somewhat helpless.
"In any case, Danzō is already planning to deal with me… so perhaps I should learn from Orochimaru. Before the other party makes a move, I'll strike first."
"Lord Hokage will not allow it," Lyra replied.
"You're wrong."
Shimizu said confidently, "It is only that he would not allow it beforehand…"
Because what a Hokage needed to consider first was often stability.
A conflict between Shimizu and Root would inevitably affect Danzō of Konoha. That was not something a Hokage would want to see.
But if the outcome had already been decided…
No matter who won or lost, for a Hokage seeking stability, that would be a fortunate thing.
White Fang died, and Konoha still continued operating just fine. The Uchiha clan was wiped out, and the villagers still lived their happy lives as usual.
"Root is also a blade of Konoha, one that belongs to the darkness."
"If the light were truly strong enough, how could there still be shadows?"
This time, both sides fell into a long silence.
Only after quite some time did Shimizu suddenly say, "I'm just bored from being alone, so I said a few random things. You won't take it seriously and report me to Lord Hokage, right?"
"Shimizu Uzuki, I know you."
Clearly, by "know," the other party did not simply mean knowing his name on the surface.
"Back then, the Third Hokage once asked me what I thought about you."
"Regrettably, at that time, I did not actually approve of your plan to launch a long-range raid on Sunagakure."
"If not for the Third Hokage's insistence, I suppose there would not have been your great victory later."
"Lord Hokage values you greatly. I only hope you do not disappoint him."
"Heh…"
Of course, Shimizu would not challenge the limits of the Third Hokage's patience with him. Not only that, for now, he would do his best to maintain this relationship.
Although politicians were heartless, compared to Shimura Danzō, who recognized neither kin nor reason and with whom he had already formed a grudge, the Third Hokage was undoubtedly much more kind and approachable.
That trust had been built bit by bit through countless amounts of blood and tears.
…
Outside Amegakure.
Behind Minato stood more than a hundred Konoha Anbu, while Orochimaru stood not far ahead, personally scouting the enemy situation.
Suddenly, Orochimaru raised his arm, signaling for Minato to lead the team back.
Minato did not doubt Orochimaru's judgment and immediately led the main force in an orderly retreat.
Only after they had completely moved away from Amegakure did Orochimaru speak.
"This should be far enough."
"Orochimaru-senpai, did you find something abnormal?"
"It was clearly a one-sided battle. Hanzō had no reason to ask Konoha for aid."
It turned out that although many days had already passed since the battle between the Amegakure forces led by Hanzō and the Akatsuki, and the rain had washed away many traces, the other party's unprofessional battlefield cleanup had still allowed Orochimaru to notice some clues.
At the very least, the battle that had taken place in this loess wasteland had been a one-sided slaughter.
As for who had slaughtered whom, that was unknown.
"Hanzō eliminated the Akatsuki?"
That was Minato's instinctive reaction.
In truth, from a personal emotional standpoint, Orochimaru was more inclined toward that possibility as well. After all, the Hanzō of the past had been far too powerful.
He truly could not imagine Hanzō losing.
"If Hanzō has already won, yet still came to Konoha asking for aid, then we are probably the prey."
What kind of mission issuer would conceal the truth to such an extent?
If someone said the other party had no ill intentions toward Konoha, who would believe it?
So Orochimaru's caution was hardly surprising.
However, Minato's thinking was also quite agile, and he had already considered another possibility.
"What if the Akatsuki won, then used Hanzō's name to lure Konoha reinforcements here?"