Natsuki took the opportunity to discuss the matter of the investigation team with everyone else.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was, ultimately, a lurking threat. No one knew when he might suddenly jump out—and when that happened, there'd be no guarding against it.
Rather than waiting on the defensive, it was better to take the initiative: find his trail, then wipe him out in one thunderous strike.
Gaara raised the obvious question. "Natsuki, we don't have a single clue. Where do we even start?"
The other Kage nodded as well. "Yeah. Forming an investigation team isn't the problem—we have our best tracking and intel shinobi. But we have no idea what Kaguya's partner is actually like. Even if we stumble onto a lead, we might overlook it."
That really was the core problem.
If you had zero leads, there was nothing to investigate.
But Natsuki knew ani inside and out. The idea that a villain could sit still forever? Please. In ani, villains were always up to sothing.
And as long as they were up to sothing—whether in the open or in the shadows—there would be traces.
Natsuki analyzed calmly, "Kaguya's partner is definitely in the shinobi world, and he's been hidden for a long ti. Finding him won't be easy. But as long as he still has the sa objective Kaguya did, then he'll act. So our investigation needs to lock onto two elents: one, unusual; two, mysterious."
Everyone looked blank.
They could understand each word he said. They just didn't understand what he was really getting at.
Neji, sharp as ever, picked it up first. "Unusual and mysterious… aning a mysterious organization, and unusual behavior?"
Sasuke followed imdiately. "If he has the sa objective as Kaguya, then even if he's hiding, he won't do nothing. He might've built a secret organization. As for unusual behavior—gathering intel across the shinobi world, especially prying into Fourth Shinobi World War information about Kaguya and the Ten-Tails. That fits both 'unusual' and 'mysterious.' We start from those two points!"
Natsuki stared at the two of them, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't even explained it properly yet, and they'd already grasped it.
They really were growing fast—not just in strength, but in perspective. They were already capable of being excellent leaders.
The others saw it too, and they all nodded in recognition.
At the sa ti, they couldn't help but feel jealous of Konoha. Konoha's talent pool was absurd.
Luckily, they also saw Naruto scratching his head and looking tortured, which restored their emotional balance a little. Apparently not every powerhouse ca with a powerhouse brain.
Naruto had started participating in miscellaneous work, but his comprehension still couldn't keep up.
That wasn't really his fault. He'd been a lousy student since he was little—aside from growing stronger, he struggled to keep pace in other areas.
In the original story, before Naruto beca the Seventh Hokage, he'd spent years cramming under Kakashi's supervision before he finally took the baton. Even then, his administrative speed was still far behind—he couldn't even properly attend his daughter's birthday, and Boruto was often furious enough to want to kill his own father.
Anyway—back to the investigation team.
Now that they had a direction, everything beca much simpler.
A said, "So we cast a wide net. Any suspicious individuals or organizations—none of them get a pass."
Ōnoki added, "In that case, the investigation team needs not just sharp instincts, but numbers. We gather every suspicious bit of intel across the shinobi world, then analyze it together. It's like looking for a needle in the ocean—but if the enemy is unusual enough, finding traces won't be difficult."
The other Kage nodded, and then they began discussing personnel assignnts for the investigation team.
Konoha's side planned to put Kakashi in charge. He was an all-around talent—strong, smart, and steady. Having him lead was the most reassuring choice.
And with Kakashi, he could freely pick mbers from the Abura clan, the Inuzuka clan, and the Hyūga clan.
Those three clans were the strongest when it ca to information gathering. With their support, the investigation would be effortless.
Seeing Konoha go that hard, the other villages naturally refused to be outdone. A pushed forward his best right-hand man, Darui. Ōnoki even had his own son, Kurotsuchi—no, not Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi—take charge. i assigned Ao. Gaara assigned Kankurō.
All of them were elites of their respective villages. Whoever took point, it would work.
After they'd more or less finished the discussion, Mifune intended to properly host everyone.
But as always—if nothing unexpected happened, then sothing unexpected had to happen.
A slip of paper suddenly appeared in front of Natsuki. He grabbed it, scanned it rapidly, and his eyes narrowed. "Looks like Konoha will have to miss Mifune-dono's hospitality."
Everyone froze.
They instantly understood: sothing had happened.
Natsuki directly handed the note to Neji.
Neji knew it was a ssage from Tenten. He snatched it up and read it—and in the next second, rage exploded across his face. "So he finally showed himself… and he dares kidnap my little sister. He's dead."
Naruto's face changed. "Hinata was kidnapped?!"
The others hurried over to look as well.
The note said: Hanabi, while carrying out a genin mission, had been kidnapped by soone claiming to be Ōtsutsuki Toneri. Current location unknown.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri? Ōtsutsuki!
Everyone sucked in a breath—because they'd literally just been talking about investigating the Ōtsutsuki, and now one had practically walked into the net on his own.
Though the one kidnapped wasn't Hinata. It was Hanabi.
Sasuke frowned. "He kidnapped Hanabi… for the Byakugan? Then he probably isn't Kaguya's partner."
Neji nodded. "Definitely a descendant of Hamura on the moon. Natsuki said their target is the Hyūga clan. He probably learned Hanabi's Byakugan is unusually pure, so he set his sights on her. And he likely saw the village's defenses were tight, so he waited until she left the village on a mission!"
Hanabi now was different from the original story.
In the original, because Hanabi replaced Hinata's position and was ant to inherit the Hyūga clan head seat, even during the Academy—and after graduating—she wouldn't be assigned to a squad. She'd remain within the clan's controlled arrangents.
But now, because Neji had changed the Hyūga clan, Hanabi had reached twelve or thirteen, graduated, and was naturally placed into a small team like normal—going out on missions.
And on one rare trip outside the village, Toneri had set his sights on her.
Toneri wanted to use Hanabi's eyes so he could obtain the Tenseigan.
Natsuki said, "Neji, this concerns the shinobi world, but it's also Konoha's matter—and it's directly your Hyūga clan's matter. What do you plan to do?"
Natsuki intended to hand the matter to Neji. It involved the Hyūga, and as clan head, Neji had the authority to decide.
Besides—this was a perfect chance for Neji to show leadership.
Neji didn't lose his cool. He glanced at Natsuki and said evenly, "I want this resolved without you having to step in, Natsuki."
Natsuki blinked. He hadn't expected Neji to say that.
But Sasuke imdiately understood what Neji ant. "Neji… you don't want to rely on Natsuki, do you? Because Natsuki's just too strong."
(End of Chapter)
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