Chapter 46: The Last Words of Yotsuki Rin
"C."
"Yes, ma'am," C replied, his voice respectful. He and his patrol team immediately vanished in a series of swooshes.
Yugito quickly took out her small camera and photographed the symbol on the blade.
"As expected of a Jōnin of the Yotsuki clan," she murmured, a hint of admiration in her voice. "Even in defeat, he left us a valuable clue."
She then looked at Neji, her expression uncertain. "But... what does this symbol mean?"
The circular pattern was crooked and irregular. It was clear that when Rin had left the clue, he had been unable to control his chakra properly, perhaps even on the verge of losing consciousness.
"The circle... it could be the attacker's face," Neji said, his eyes narrowed. He hadn't just been able to decipher the clue because of his foreknowledge. It was crude, but Rin had managed to leave behind a surprising amount of information.
"One end is slightly wider, the other slightly narrower... it does look like a face," Yugito said, stroking her chin thoughtfully. With Neji's guidance, she quickly began to pick up on more details.
"And the black dot... it represents an eye?"
"It is an eye," Neji said, his grip tightening on the chakra blade. "And not an ordinary one. Look closely. There's a small, almost imperceptible tail on the black dot. It's... a tomoe."
"A tomoe?" Yugito froze, a look of shock on her face. "If it's a tomoe, then that means... the Sharingan?"
"Yes," Neji confirmed. "The enemy has a single Sharingan. The dot is on the right side of the circle, which means it's his right eye."
"That's not possible," Yugito said, scratching her head. "Neji, the enemy is an Uchiha? Could there have been a mistake somewhere?" The information they were gleaning from the clue was so outlandish that she was having trouble believing it.
"It's just a bold hypothesis, Captain. We still have to verify it."
"And even if it's true, it's too early to say the enemy is from Konoha's Uchiha clan," Neji said, his expression serious. "He could have transplanted a Sharingan, or he could be a rogue Uchiha, or something else entirely."
He couldn't let Obito's crimes be pinned on the Uchiha of Konoha.
Yugito shook her head, disagreeing. "An outsider who transplants a Sharingan can't use its full power, and it puts a huge strain on their body. As for rogue Uchiha... in the last few decades, the only one has been the legendary Madara. With the pride of the Uchiha, if they knew someone had gone rogue, they would have dealt with them a long time ago."
"And don't forget, Root is still in the Hidden Cloud."
"Neji, I'd say there's an eighty percent chance the enemy is a Root Uchiha."
Yugito was now forming her own bold hypotheses, and her reasoning was sound. If Neji hadn't known about Obito, he would have come to the same conclusion.
Rin's death is a good opportunity to make the Hidden Cloud aware that there's another powerful force lurking in the shadows, besides the Five Great Nations.
I can't let Yugito go down the wrong path.
"Huh?"
Neji feigned a look of surprise and held up the plastic bag containing the damaged forehead protector. "From the signs of the battle, Rin was completely powerless against the attacker. This forehead protector shouldn't be here. It was obviously left behind deliberately to mislead us. From that, we can deduce that the culprit is most likely not a Konoha ninja."
"..."
Yugito looked thoughtful. What he said made sense.
Two hours later, C and his patrol team returned.
To Neji and Yugito's surprise, he had actually found something.
"Lady Yugito," he said, panting slightly, "it's a good thing you sent us when you did. A little later, and all the traces would have been gone."
"What did you find?" Yugito asked, stepping forward impatiently.
"I found a single drop of dried blood on a fallen leaf, nine kilometers southeast of the village. The chakra residue on it matches Yotsuki Rin's."
"Nine kilometers?" Yugito was shocked. Rin had died in the village, and his body had been taken by the killer. Logically, the blood trail should have been found close to the scene of the crime. But nine kilometers away... it was unbelievable.
Neji clapped his hands together. "The enemy probably didn't travel on foot, like a normal ninja. He has a special method of movement."
"The village is constantly patrolled and protected by a barrier. We can rule out earth-style jutsu or flight. That only leaves one possibility."
Yugito had also come to the same conclusion. "Space-time ninjutsu?!" she blurted out.
"Yes," Neji nodded. "There's no other explanation."
"To move nine kilometers in an instant... that kind of space-time ability... only the two Hokage from Konoha were capable of that, but they're dead. Hiss... is there someone else in the world with space-time abilities on par with theirs?"
"That guy... he's likely awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Yugito's mind reeled.
A good ninja is skilled at analyzing intelligence. From a single drop of blood, she had deduced that Obito had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Neji wanted to applaud.
But it wasn't over yet.
He took out a map of the area around the Hidden Cloud. "C-senpai, can you show me on the map exactly where you found the blood?"
C thought for a moment. "It was in this wasteland," he said, pointing to a spot on the map.
Yugito looked at the spot he had indicated. "That area is uninhabited. The killer was probably just passing through."
"Then..."
Neji rubbed his chin.
A moment later, he took a pencil and drew a straight line from the spot where Rin had died to the spot where the blood had been found. The line extended outwards, pointing to a location deep in the ocean—the Land of Water.
"How could the Land of Water be involved?" Yugito exclaimed.
"Captain," Neji said, "we're dealing with a terrifying enemy. We have to make bold assumptions. No matter how outlandish they may seem, they could be the truth."
Yugito thought about it. He was right. The enemy was suspected to possess a Mangekyō Sharingan and be a master of space-time ninjutsu. A ninja of that caliber was bound to be a major player. It wouldn't be surprising if he had some connection to one of the great nations.
"The enemy's base is most likely in the Land of Water," Neji said. "From that, we can rule out the Uchiha of Konoha."