Senju Hikaru's first match had no suspense at all. Even he didn't feel it was difficult.
He watched a bit of the remaining selection matches and quickly lost interest—either they were complete stomps with no reference value, or both sides fought to the limit so clearly that Senju Hikaru could tell at a glance where their ceiling was. Nothing especially worth studying.
Fortunately, the morning's matches were basically finished by noon. Even though the number of candidates wasn't small, the total was still under ten bouts.
In the afternoon, Senju Hikaru had to do routine patrol duty. For him, that was practically the same as taking a break.
Assassinations and long-range deployments were ANBU's "big" missions, but ordinary patrols were their everyday work.
Bringing Kakashi with him, Senju Hikaru set out quickly.
This patrol route was… interesting.
It was the same area where Senju Hikaru and Kakashi had run into Root last time.
"So it's here…" Kakashi clearly remembered the place. "Let's hope we don't run into trouble again."
"I agree. I don't like them, and I don't want to meet them either," Senju Hikaru nodded in full agreement.
As long as someone in Konoha knew Root existed, very few of them actually liked Root.
Senju Hikaru did. Kakashi did too.
Kakashi had been in ANBU long enough now—he'd already absorbed the necessary background knowledge and understood a fair amount about Root. The previous encounter had been bad enough; neither of them wanted a repeat.
This time, they weren't unlucky. The patrol went smoothly.
Maybe Root's pathetic showing last time earned them a harsh lecture from Danzō.
Or maybe it was simply too early in the day for them to be moving.
Either way, Senju Hikaru and Kakashi found nothing suspicious in the sensitive areas they patrolled.
Senju Hikaru even used his sensory ability to probe the surroundings.
Still nothing.
"Did the sealing barrier get reinforced?"
After learning sealing techniques, Senju Hikaru discovered his perception had become somewhat sensitive to sealing barriers.
Average ones were easy for him to notice.
But truly advanced ones? Not so much.
And right now… that was the problem.
Last time, he'd already witnessed the barrier here. Normally, he should've felt something familiar.
Yet he couldn't sense anything at all.
That could only mean one thing:
The barrier had been strengthened.
"And if they strengthened it, there must be a reason…"
Other than the one incident where he and Kakashi accidentally exposed Root once, there shouldn't have been any problems here.
And even that time, nothing truly concrete was revealed.
Root was careful—but not so extreme that they'd abandon an experimental base they'd built for who-knew-how-many years over something minor.
Besides, plenty of people were effectively backing it. There was no need to overreact.
If they didn't need to relocate, yet still reinforced the barrier…
Then maybe the opposite was true:
Maybe they were deliberately choosing this location—and turning it into an even more important facility.
"Hide it under the lamp" wasn't a brilliant strategy in general, but it became viable when protected by a strong power.
Root fit that description.
And the strong protection here wasn't just one layer.
"Could it be… they're doing something even more important inside?"
Senju Hikaru's interest stirred.
If that was the case, he could potentially gather material.
After signing a contract with Lizardmaru's entire lizard clan, Senju Hikaru knew there were plenty of small lizards he could use—some tiny enough for infiltration, others capable of communicating with animals. Any of them could become tools to penetrate and investigate the facility.
If he could obtain more intelligence—or even fully map out the underground lab—
Then he'd be holding a much bigger card.
A card big enough to trade with Minato for greater, more valuable exchanges.
And what Senju Hikaru could gain through Minato would let him do even more—perhaps even convert it into real leverage and profit.
With that in mind, Senju Hikaru made a decision, and he didn't intend to delay.
Right now, Danzō was with Hiruzen—and even Minato was with them.
At a moment like this, Danzō wouldn't have time to come here personally.
And the people guarding this place probably weren't many.
Most importantly:
Senju Hikaru's patrol route was already in this area.
If he didn't seize an opportunity this good, he might not get another one soon.
"Kakashi, let's split up and patrol separately," Senju Hikaru said. "There are only two of us—sticking together is inefficient. The sooner we finish checking, the sooner we clock out. Honestly, I don't even think this place needs that much attention."
"True. This is their territory," Kakashi nodded, fully agreeing. "If we can finish early, even better. I'll check the north side."
"Alright. Also, keep an eye out for the Security Force," Senju Hikaru added, thinking of something. "If you see them coming toward this area, just urge them to leave. This zone is technically within their search and patrol scope too, but they usually don't come here."
"I understand, Captain," Kakashi replied seriously. "I read about it in the briefs. I know how to handle it."
The Security Force did have jurisdiction over this area—technically, they had authority across all of Konoha. But ever since the Security Force became a department staffed only by the Uchiha, their power looked big on paper yet shrank in reality.
And because they were exclusively "their own people," they were short-staffed. Covering all of Konoha was extremely difficult.
Senju Hikaru mentioning it was partly a captain's habit—and partly a way to keep Kakashi vigilant.
Kakashi didn't waste words. He turned and left quickly.
Senju Hikaru scanned the area once—
Then moved off as well.
Only this time, his direction subtly… deliberately…
drifted toward the underground facility he'd discovered before.
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