Fumori masaki and six other Konoha higher-ups entered the medical department and went into one of the rooms, where medical ninjas led by Tsunade were busy examining the secret medicine brought by Hattori Hanzō and others. The medical ninjas were meticulously analyzing its components.
"Have you found anything?" Seeing that the examination had temporarily concluded, Fumori masaki looked at Tsunade, who had stepped out, and asked.
"We've had some success, at least." Tsunade's expression was somewhat solemn. She knew the origin of this secret medicine and understood the importance the higher-ups placed on it, so she had examined it very carefully. "This isn't a simple secret medicine; it doesn't rely entirely on its medicinal properties, but rather on something else."
"Something else?" Fumori masaki glanced at the secret medicine. It looked very ordinary on the surface, but his sensory abilities detected a subtle aura from it. If it were just medicine, it would indeed be somewhat unusual. The moment he first saw the secret medicine, he felt it was not simple.
"The secret medicine's components do contain some conventional medicinal properties, but their effect isn't too strong; they can't compare to the secret medicines passed down by certain clans at all." When Tsunade said this, she glanced at Akimichi Torifu.
Akimichi Torifu nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. After hearing about the secret medicine of the Jashinists, he was naturally very curious. His clan's secret medicine wasn't simply researched; it was the crystallization of the Akimichi clan's wisdom over many years, and they even collaborated extensively with the Nara clan, who were skilled in cultivating medicinal herbs.
Yet, the rootless Jashinists were able to produce a secret medicine comparable to the Akimichi clan's. Akimichi Torifu was eager to know the reason, but now he learned from Tsunade that the Jashinists' secret medicine wasn't that potent in terms of its medicinal properties.
"Then why does the secret medicine have such an effect?" Shimura Danzō quickly asked.
"It's because during the production process, a certain special energy was mixed into this secret medicine. I can't explain this energy clearly, but it's a type of chakra," Tsunade said.
"Special chakra, you say?" Fumori masaki was silent for a moment, then turned to Uchiha Kagami and said, "Kagami, take a look and see if you recognize it."
Fumori masaki recalled sensing a certain aura similar to the Soul World when facing the Jashinists. He asked Uchiha Kagami, who had also experienced the Soul World, to examine it and see if he could identify the true nature of this chakra.
Uchiha Kagami nodded, and then the group walked over to one of the unexamined secret medicines. Uchiha Kagami's eyes turned red, then transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan. He concentrated and observed carefully. The Sharingan could observe chakra to some extent, and the Mangekyō Sharingan had even greater precision.
After a while,
Uchiha Kagami's eyes returned to black. He let out a sigh of relief and said to the others, "If it were a Byakugan, it would be able to observe it more closely, but I think this energy might indeed have some connection to the Pure Land World."
Everyone present knew about that miraculous Pure Land World, but no one who hadn't truly died could experience how wonderful this world was. Uchiha Kagami, who had once been on the brink of death, had only walked the path of the Underworld and had not truly arrived at the Pure Land World.
"What exactly is the origin of this secret medicine, and who made it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen gently stroked his beard, a hint of confusion on his face. He didn't know who could use the power of the Pure Land World.
"Pure Land…" Fumori masaki murmured softly, looking at the secret medicine and recalling the Jashinists who used it. He suddenly had a guess.
In the original story, Mōryō was summoned to this world from another dimension. Connecting this with the events in the Land of Demons, Fumori masaki had once suspected that the so-called "Jashin" summoned by the Jashinists' ritual was Mōryō, but there was no evidence.
Because the real world would more or less differ from the original story, Fumori masaki didn't definitively state that Mōryō would certainly appear, but there might be other things. In that Jashin incident, Fumori masaki had eliminated the monster summoned by the Jashinist leader sacrificing himself, but at the time, he felt as if it hadn't been completely eliminated.
Now, combined with the information provided by Uchiha Kagami, Fumori masaki already had a rough guess in his mind. He understood the true identity of the Tobi in the capital.
Originally, Fumori masaki wouldn't have connected it to that person so quickly, but this time Hattori Hanzō and Namikaze Minato provided an important piece of information—during this mission, they encountered a mysterious enemy who was completely black and wouldn't die even if his head was cut off!
Fumori masaki carefully learned about the enemy's appearance and was startled to realize that this guy was none other than Black Zetsu. If there was Black Zetsu among the Jashinists, then the mastermind behind the Jashinists would immediately become apparent.
Of course, Fumori masaki had a god's-eye view to make this judgment, but he couldn't convince others because others didn't know who Black Zetsu was, and naturally, they wouldn't know the relationship between Black Zetsu and Tobi.
If Fumori masaki wanted others to understand this, he would have to find other evidence. He thought it might be found among the innocent civilians who had been abducted. As long as he could find evidence, he could make others understand and also confirm the connection between Tobi and the Jashinists. At that point, the Konoha Ninja Village would have an advantage.
"Tsunade, thoroughly research this secret medicine and see if you can develop a special poison that can counteract those who use this type of medicine," Fumori masaki told Tsunade.
"Yes." Tsunade nodded. Those skilled in medicine are also skilled in making poisons. Developing a poison that could negatively affect the physique of users of such secret medicines, based on the secret medicine's components, was not a difficult task.
"Good." Seeing this, Fumori masaki said to the others, "Let's go to the Intelligence Division."
Next, the group headed to the Intelligence Division, to one of the rooms where intelligence ninjas were extracting the memories of those civilians. The main force consisted of members of the Yamanaka clan, skilled in mental secret techniques, including Yamanaka Takuma, whom Fumori masaki knew, the Yamanaka clan head, and Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino Yamanaka's father in the original story.
As the heir to the Yamanaka clan, Yamanaka Inoichi possessed formidable skills at a young age and was highly proficient in using mental secret techniques, serving as a deputy in this memory analysis.
However, everyone noticed that the work of the intelligence analysis team was not going smoothly. Every Yamanaka clan member using the secret technique showed a subtle, solemn expression on their face, and a slight sweat beaded on their brow.
They were just ordinary people, not spy ninjas with sealing formulas left in their brains. Logically, they shouldn't have been so troublesome for the intelligence department personnel to deal with.
Fumori masaki did not speak to disturb them. Only after the intelligence personnel stopped using the secret technique did he step forward, and the intelligence personnel, having come to their senses and seeing the Hokage and other higher-ups arrive, quickly stood up.
"No need to rush. You all look very tired. Is memory probing very troublesome?" Fumori masaki waved his hand and asked.
Shimura Danzō, standing nearby, frowned and said, "They're just ordinary people, yet you all look so serious. Is there some special reason?"
"Yes. These people's bodies, somehow, contain a special energy, probably a type of chakra. We initially thought it was genjutsu, but it doesn't seem to be. However, it can produce an effect similar to genjutsu, but rather than temporary genjutsu, it's closer to a physical alteration," the Yamanaka clan head said solemnly.
No matter what kind of genjutsu, it cannot permanently change someone's thoughts, unless the genjutsu is continuously used for control. In later generations, only the "Kotoamatsukami" could have a permanent effect without continuous genjutsu control—of course, this might also cause the affected person to change their mind on their own, as their independent thinking ability is retained. Genjutsu control, however, does not have this hidden danger; as long as the genjutsu control ability persists, it can keep someone under one's control.
Compared to the genjutsu influence of chakra, making physical changes is a more lasting method. Fumori masaki and the others immediately thought of the secret medicine. These civilians had all been given the medicine, used to control their minds, and those medicines might also contain components of the secret medicine.
"Is memory analysis very difficult?" Fumori masaki asked again.
"It's not particularly difficult, but under the influence of this energy, their memories are very chaotic. We can only find some fragmented information with great difficulty," the Yamanaka clan head shook his head helplessly.
"Have you found any information yet?" Shimura Danzō asked.
"Currently, it appears that those Jashinists are led by someone named Zetsu. This Zetsu, how should I put it, doesn't seem to be a normal person. In their memories, Zetsu is a mysterious person who is completely black," the Yamanaka clan head said.
Everyone exchanged glances. The Black Zetsu that Namikaze Minato encountered was not a secret, but only Fumori masaki knew that this guy was Black Zetsu, while everyone else didn't know who this guy was. Now they knew that this guy was called Zetsu, and he was the leader of the Jashinists.
"Is this guy the leader of the Jashinists?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"It doesn't seem so. Some of those who took the medicine more deeply, who might have been close to joining the Jashinists, knew a bit more. This Black Zetsu is just a clone of the leader; the real leader isn't here," the Yamanaka clan head replied.
"Then where is he?!" Shimura Danzō immediately widened his eyes, hoping to hear the answer he desired from the Yamanaka clan head.
"The exact location is unclear, but it is said to be in a very important place. Those Jashinists said that they would eventually overthrow the entire Land of Fire." When saying this, the Yamanaka clan head's voice was somewhat lowered. He felt as if he had stumbled upon a tremendous secret.
Although there was no direct evidence, it wasn't necessarily needed for judgment. The higher-ups took a deep breath. They basically all concluded that this so-called important place was the capital, and therefore, that Tobi was probably the leader of the Jashinists.
"You must keep this a secret," Fumori masaki patted the Yamanaka clan head's shoulder. "Continue analyzing and see if you can find any other clues."
"Yes." The Yamanaka clan head nodded in agreement.
The higher-ups left the Intelligence Division and went to a secret discussion room in the Hokage Office Building. This was where the Hokage's inner cabinet held discussions. They began discussing the clues they had just obtained.
"I didn't expect the leader of the Jashinists to be mixed in with the Daimyō. Hmph, to be deceived by such a person," Shimura Danzō said coldly, showing contempt for the Daimyō.
"The Daimyō might not be unaware that Tobi is strange; it's just that because we have the Konoha Ninja Village, he can temporarily overlook that," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"Then he's just asking for trouble, thinking he'll benefit by suppressing us? Since this guy is the leader of the Jashinists, he can't be loyal to the Daimyō. They'll only be loyal to their so-called Jashin!" Shimura Danzō said.
"Yes, compared to that, we are also loyal to the Daimyō, but he doesn't appreciate it." Fumori masaki shrugged, but he was just saying it. He understood that the existence of the Konoha Ninja Village was certainly unacceptable to a monarch like the Daimyō, unless after a reform, the Daimyō could no longer restore the old monarchical system; only then might he accept such a situation.
And what Fumori masaki intended to do now was to reach such a situation. The current existence of the Daimyō was already affecting the development of the Konoha Ninja Village and the stability of the Southern Alliance.
"We still don't have direct evidence to convince others. Even if we determine Tobi is a Jashinist, the Daimyō can choose to refuse," Mitokado Homura said.
"Hmm, we still need to gather evidence, but we can also start preparing. With the Jashinists being wiped out again, Zetsu probably escaped, and he might have taken someone with him. There was no one with rumored immortality in this operation, Zetsu might be one, but I don't think he's the only one," Fumori masaki said.
"Since Zetsu escaped, Tobi in the capital should also get the news. He might take some measures against us. We need to be careful from now on," Akimichi Torifu said.
"By the way, Masahiro, you also need to remind Asuna and the others. Our conflict with the Daimyō will intensify, and their situation there will become increasingly dangerous," Uchiha Kagami reminded him.
"I will have the Anbu notify them. In short, everyone, be vigilant in the coming days, especially the Intelligence Division. Increase intelligence gathering. After this operation, Tobi might not make any moves, or he might use the Daimyō to counterattack. We must be cautious." Fumori masaki looked at Shimura Danzō.
Shimura Danzō nodded and said, "I understand. I will gather the clues as quickly as possible so that the village can counterattack the Daimyō and prepare public opinion."
"Good, Danzō will be responsible for these, and the others will be responsible for combat and logistics. This might be the most dangerous battle since the establishment of our village. Not only are there external enemies eyeing us, but there are also internal enemies watching us," Fumori masaki said, sighing involuntarily.