Tō stared at the heap of corpses before him, feeling a surge of irritation. How could he explain this to Kakashi? Was he supposed to claim responsibility for killing all these elite ninja? And in an instant, no less? It was hard to make anyone believe such a thing.
Questions swirled in his mind: those wounds were clearly from shuriken—if he'd only used his ninja tools, his technique must have been alarmingly powerful! This was especially troublesome considering he'd been sent specifically to investigate Rain Village. If he came back empty-handed, the Third Hokage would be angry.
In the span of a moment, Kakashi and Gai appeared from the nearby trees. Tō's frustration only deepened—there was no easy explanation now.
"Why are you here, Tō?" Kakashi asked, surprised at Tō's presence among the bodies. He looked exhausted, bruised, and had fought hard.
Tō sighed and retrieved a notebook from the Root squad leader's pouch—it was the unit roster. He handed it to Kakashi while Gai glanced at it with curiosity.
"These are Leaf ninjas, and I recognize some of these names... They weren't wearing headbands, just like us," Gai remarked.
Kakashi recognized them instantly. "These are Danzo's subordinates. It didn't happen like Tō claimed—all done by him in the blink of an eye, that's impossible." He then turned to Tō.
"They were Danzo's men," Tō confirmed calmly, pointing toward the tree line. "The moment we entered town, I noticed two groups trailing us. That's why I said we should wait—to see who they were."
Kakashi nodded, listening patiently.
"So I used Shadow Clones to mimic the three of us and slipped out of town. Danzo's group arrived first, so I engaged them in battle."
Kakashi nodded again, seeing Tō's fatigue and noting the battle marks.
"I wasn't able to beat those elites," admitted Tō, pressing a hand to his bruised side. "I got injured too." His voice shook with the recounting.
Gai's anger flared. "You did what? When we get back–"
"Shut it," Kakashi cut him off. He returned his attention to Tō. "You didn't kill them single-handedly with taijutsu, right?"
Tō shook his head solemnly. "No. I was retreating when another group showed up—these guys hated Konoha. Their power… it terrified me." Tō trembled with that memory.
He continued, "They slaughtered Danzo's men with Senbon and shuriken. But they underestimated me. They appeared to be Rain-nin."
"Rain-nin?" Kakashi leaned in. "That's who we're supposed to be investigating. Did they reveal anything?"
Tō managed a tired smile. "The key thing: I learned Rain Village's location and current status."
Kakashi considered that. "Location we already know—being a major ninja village. What else?"
Tō replied, "Hanzo is supposedly dead."
Both Kakashi and Gai exchanged a surprised look. Hanzo was a legendary ninja—one of the village's pillars.
"That death—was it caused by those Rain-nin?" Kakashi asked, voice taut.
Tō shook his head, pointing at the bodies, "No—they were not responsible. They hunted his men, yes, but…"
He paused as Kakashi and Gai studied his expression, their curiosity piqued.
Tō explained: "Danzo once allied with Hanzo during the Leaf-Village conflict. But the organization 'Akatsuki' discovered Danzo's schemes and began eliminating his agents. So Danzo teamed back up with Hanzo's followers to counter–they killed many Akatsuki operatives. But some Akatsuki escaped."
Kakashi asked, "So Hanzo's followers survived and struck back?"
Tō nodded. "Yes. They routed Danzo's men—those schooled by Hanzo now run Rain Village again. Akatsuki helped, but their leaders were mostly killed, so they left. They appeared just as Leaf shinobi attacked me."
"The Danzo men were dressed similarly, so I mistakenly assumed they were his, and eliminated them." He paused, looking at Gai and Kakashi. A self-deprecating smile crept across his face. "That's the truth behind it."
Kakashi nodded, though Gai looked confused and rubbed his head, silently pleading for more clarity. But Tō stayed silent—his worry that once Kakashi returned, more questions would follow.
"We'll wait two days in this town, then head to Rain to see for ourselves. Afterwards, we'll return," Kakashi decided, then vanished with Gai in a burst of Shunshin.
As they left, a paper clone of Konan appeared behind Tō. He recognized the mimicry instantly—another of Akatsuki's spies.
"You saw them. They're going to Rain Village soon," Tō warned, pointing after Kakashi.
Konan's eyes glinted with cold resolve. "Whether that story is real or a lie from Danzo… if you've discovered any conspiracy, you may end up dead."
Tō paused. He knew the origins of Akatsuki stemmed from Yahiko's death. He realized his paper clone remained undetected—perhaps because Konan's paper senses were different.
He forced a wry smile. "If tomorrow's mission succeeds, I don't care if I die. I've already been sealed once."
Konan nodded before fading away. Left alone, Tō sighed at the bodies strewn about. "Great… now I have to dispose of all these."