Ninja Hospital.
Sakura pressed a hand to her forehead and said,
"This is already the seventh one this week. I never thought even Sai would get hit..."
"Everyone who's had their chakra drained these past few days has the same symptoms as Sai?" Shinju asked in confusion.
Sakura nodded. "Yes. It's all chakra exhaustion. Thankfully, it's nothing too serious..."
"By the way, Sixth-sama, where did you find Sai? Do you have any leads on the culprit?"
Shinju shook his head. "There aren't enough clues yet. We still need to investigate."
After saying that, Shinju turned to leave. Across from him, Sakura was clearly fidgeting, obviously still wanting to say something. (Ծ ̮ Ծ)
Shinju saw right through her thoughts at a glance. "You want to ask about Sasuke, right?"
"Don't worry. I sent him to the Land of Lightning to help negotiate some business. If everything goes smoothly, Sasuke should be back in the next couple of days. ╭︎( ˙º˙)╯︎"
Sakura blushed. "Got it. (´つヮ⊂︎)"
A few minutes later, Shinju left the Ninja Hospital and headed toward the Hokage's office...
...
Inside the archives room.
Shikamaru stared at Shinju in shock.
"Huh? Shinju, weren't you just—(꒪⌓꒪) ...oh~ that was a clone. This one's the real body."
Shinju didn't bother explaining much and went straight to the point.
"Pull up the detailed files on the 'Gozu Tennō' plan from the Root organization."
Although Shikamaru didn't know what Shinju was planning, being as sharp as he was, he didn't ask a single unnecessary question and found the information Shinju wanted as fast as possible.
"Thanks," Shinju replied, then opened the relevant files.
[The 'Gozu Tennō' was a plan proposed by Shimura Danzō. The plan involved using the cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, to create biological weapons capable of absorbing chakra and then exploding...]
Shinju: "Is there anything more detailed? These records are way too vague. They don't even include specific experimental results... I don't even know whether the creature was successfully created, or what it was called..."
Shikamaru sighed and replied, "After Danzō died, the Root organization was basically disbanded. The records stop around that time."
"As for whether the remaining Root members continued the experiments after that, there are no detailed experimental reports in the archives."
"You can take a look at this personnel list and investigate further." As he spoke, Shikamaru pulled out another folder.
Shinju opened the folder and carefully scanned the names inside. In the end, his gaze stopped on one name—Shigaraki Tanuki.
"Shigaraki Tanuki. Experimental personnel of the 'Gozu Tennō' plan. The only surviving participant of the project. He took part in the Fourth Great Ninja War and currently lives on Nanga Street in Konoha..."
"That's him! (*Ӧ)σ" Shinju said excitedly.
Shikamaru asked in confusion,
"Why are you suddenly looking into this plan? Did something happen in the village again?"
Shinju explained cheerfully, "Over the past couple of days, the remnants of Root have been acting up again, and there have been multiple cases of chakra exhaustion. I started wondering whether these two things might be connected."
"Then just now, I personally witnessed Sai's chakra being extracted, and it reminded me of the 'Gozu Tennō' plan I saw when I read Danzō's memories..."
Shikamaru: "You think the remaining forces of Root are using the 'Gozu Tennō' to extract chakra? (≖╻≖;)"
Shinju: "Exactly. (＾ワ＾)"
Shikamaru's expression changed slightly. "Then we need to act fast. According to the files, the creatures created by the 'Gozu Tennō' plan absorb chakra and then explode... The Root remnants might be planning to blow up Konoha! ╭(°A°`)╮"
"I'm going to check it out right now!"
As soon as the words fell, Shinju vanished from the archives room!
...
Nanga Street, No. 135.
"Knock knock knock—"
Shinju knocked on the door politely.
Soon, the door opened. The one who answered was Shigaraki Tanuki's wife.
Seeing the Sixth Hokage personally visiting, she asked in confusion,
"Sixth-sama, you've come all this way for...?"
"I'm here to ask your husband to assist with an investigation. Where is he?" Shinju asked.
Shigaraki Tanuki's wife believed Shinju and answered,
"He went out early this morning. He didn't tell me where he was going."
As she spoke, she seemed to realize something was wrong.
"Sixth-sama, did Shigaraki Tanuki do something wrong?"
"Please don't kill him... He also participated in the Fourth Great Ninja War and contributed to world peace..."
Shinju: (ー_ー)!!
"Don't worry. I'm not the kind of person who kills the innocent indiscriminately. I'll get to the bottom of this," Shinju said, doing his best to make his smile look friendly.
Shigaraki Tanuki's wife wanted to say more, but Shinju didn't have time to listen and left.
...
Konoha wasn't particularly big, but it wasn't small either. As Shinju walked through the streets, he pondered where Shigaraki Tanuki might have gone.
"It's a shame I've never met that guy. If I'd sensed his chakra before, finding him would be much easier..."
Shinju muttered to himself.
After saying that, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Pa!" He remembered that when he was talking with Sai in the park, someone had passed by the park entrance!
At the time, he'd thought it was just some passerby. Now that he thought about it, that person might very well be the true culprit who turned Sai emo!
With that thought, Shinju immediately activated Dual Sage Mode, expanding his sensory range to search for that chakra he had sensed before!
Very quickly, Shinju locked onto the area—Konoha Shinju Park!
...
It was afternoon, and there were far more people in Shinju Park than around mealtime. The moment Shinju entered the park with Dual Sage Mode activated, he attracted countless gazes!
"Holy crap! Look at that! What is it?!"
"That chakra is insane! So cool!"
"He's got horns on his head! That's awesome! (´◊ω◊｀)"
"Wait, why does his face look kind of familiar... kind of like the Sixth on the Hokage Rock! ∑(°Д°)"
"If that really is the Sixth, that's just too perfect!"
"I used to think the Sixth was just generically handsome, all looks and nothing else, but now it's different... what man could resist a red little dragon-man! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"
"Calm down! Calm down! If the Sixth activated this kind of mode, there has to be a reason! I think everyone should step back a bit so you don't get caught in the crossfire!"
"You've got a point! ୧⍢⃝୨"
...
On the other side, the moment Shinju entered the park, he locked onto that chakra signature!!
The owner of that chakra was a stubble-faced man with a middle-part hairstyle—he didn't look like a good guy at all!
Across from him, Shigaraki Tanuki noticed Shinju's gaze and immediately turned and ran!
But with his scrawny build, how could he possibly outrun Shinju in Dual Sage Mode? Shinju caught up to him with a single burst of speed!
"Shigaraki Tanuki, you're the one behind the chakra extractions, aren't you? Come with me to the interrogation room! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)" Shinju said, lifting Shigaraki Tanuki with one hand like he was carrying a chicken.
Realizing he couldn't resist at all, Shigaraki Tanuki's eyes turned vicious.
"Since you've found me out, there's no point hiding anymore! (▼ヘ▼#)"
"Summoning Jutsu—Nue!! ٩(๑`^´๑)۶"