The basement still smelled unpleasant.
But after coming down here enough times, Koji had gradually gotten used to it.
The first time was always the worst.
Once the body and mind became familiar with something, the second encounter usually wasn’t nearly as intense.
After enough repetitions…
even disgust could become routine.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Especially when something unusual was waiting for him.
By now, Koji had entered the hospital basement at least eight or ten times.
The smell barely bothered him anymore.
What surprised him instead was the atmosphere.
Unlike usual, there weren’t several medical ninja gathered around the central operating table.
Instead— two clearly separated groups stood hidden in the shadows.
One side belonged to ANBU.
The other belonged to Root.
Thanks to the memories returned by his Shadow Clone, Koji even recognized several familiar faces among them.
They had been part of the group that chased his clone through Konoha.
Naturally, Koji had no intention of walking over and greeting them.
The moment he saw those people— he already knew whose body was lying on the operating table.
The unfortunate Root operative he’d killed in the restroom.
Of course, as far as ANBU and Root were concerned…
this corpse belonged to the man who had attacked Danzo.
The same mysterious infiltrator who had supposedly remained hidden inside Konoha for nearly a year.
A highly dangerous enemy.
Looking at the blackened remains, Koji could tell that someone from ANBU or Root had already attempted to extract memories from the corpse.
Unsurprisingly— they hadn’t found anything.
Koji had sealed the body inside a scroll shortly after killing the man.
The time between death and sealing hadn’t been particularly long, but it was already enough to interfere with memory extraction.
Recovering memories from a corpse wasn’t easy to begin with.
Even Konoha needed the body preserved and specially processed as soon as possible if they wanted a good chance of success.
This corpse?
First it had been sealed.
Then it had enjoyed an intimate encounter with Fire Release.
Most of the dead cells had been badly damaged.
Extracting intact memories from tissue that had practically been cooked wasn’t exactly realistic.
Memories were ultimately stored through the brain’s cells.
If those cells were destroyed— what exactly were they supposed to extract?
More importantly, the dead man had been a Root operative.
Danzo’s people were bound by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
Once certain conditions were triggered—especially death—the protections placed on Root personnel were specifically designed to prevent outsiders from obtaining information about the organization.
If Koji had used an ordinary ninja as the substitute corpse, there might have been a flaw in his plan.
Suppose the Fire Release hadn’t burned the body thoroughly enough.
Koji would have been forced to run.
But there was no “suppose.”
Koji had deliberately chosen a Root ninja from the beginning.
That detail had already been accounted for.
Still— although he’d temporarily forced this Root operative to play the role of a Kumogakure infiltrator…
Koji was about to clear the man’s name.
The fatal wound created by a Chakra Scalpel was recognizable.
Plenty of skilled medical ninja could identify it.
If everyone else could see it but Koji somehow couldn’t, that would be far more suspicious.
As long as no one had witnessed the moment his Shadow Clone dispelled, Konoha’s investigators would most likely conclude that the real infiltrator had escaped.
They wouldn’t start searching among Konoha’s own people.
Koji stepped toward the corpse and began examining it carefully.
He already knew the answer.
But even the finest medical ninja couldn’t realistically glance at a burned corpse once and immediately announce a perfect conclusion.
Unless, perhaps, that medical ninja possessed a Byakugan.
Koji turned the corpse over.
Then— he stopped.
Every ANBU and Root operative in the room immediately focused on him.
They had brought the body here for one reason.
They wanted an answer.
“How is it?”
The speaker belonged to ANBU.
Judging by the subtle way the others deferred to him, he was probably the squad captain.
Koji looked toward him.
Then he sighed.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
The atmosphere tightened.
“This corpse probably doesn’t belong to the Kumogakure infiltrator.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The ANBU captain frowned.
“What do you mean?”
If this wasn’t the Kumogakure spy…
then where had the actual infiltrator gone?
Koji gestured toward the burns covering the corpse.
“At first glance, it looks like he died from Fire Release.”
“But these burns aren’t severe enough to have killed him.”
“At worst, if he’d survived, he would’ve spent quite a while wrapped head to toe in bandages.”
Koji paused.
“Assuming he was still alive when he was burned.”
Several people exchanged looks.
Koji pointed toward the man’s back.
“The actual fatal injury is here.”
He indicated a specific location.
“And the wound resembles one caused by a Chakra Scalpel.”
“One strike.”
“Straight through the cardiac vessels.”
“Whoever did this had terrifying precision.”
“Honestly, their Chakra Scalpel control may even be better than mine.”
Koji’s expression remained perfectly serious.
“And judging from the position and angle of the wound, suicide is basically impossible.”
Both ANBU and Root began to understand.
Even if a Kumogakure infiltrator had wanted to kill himself, attacking his own body from that angle would have been absurd.
It simply didn’t match human anatomy.
Koji continued.
“That’s roughly what happened.”
“And one thing I can confirm—”
“The Chakra Scalpel wound was inflicted before the burns.”
That was all he needed to say.
His role here was to examine injuries.
He had completed that task.
There was no reason to remain.
Koji turned and left the basement.
After he disappeared, the ANBU captain stepped closer to the corpse.
He pressed lightly against the area Koji had identified.
He barely applied any force— and a jagged wound split open beneath the damaged tissue.
The captain said nothing.
A normal Chakra Scalpel usually created an extremely clean cut.
But considering the corpse had subsequently been burned, the distorted wound made perfect sense.
Unfortunately…
Koji’s conclusion was terrible news for ANBU.
If this body didn’t belong to the Kumogakure infiltrator— then the real spy was still at large.
Perhaps even hiding somewhere inside Konoha.
Of course, there was another possibility.
The infiltrator might have taken advantage of the chaos surrounding Danzo’s attack and quietly escaped the village.
By now, he could already be heading back toward Kumogakure.
And if that was true…
he would be returning with an extraordinary record.
He had infiltrated Konoha.
Assassinated an ANBU operative.
Broken into the Sealing Corps.
Attacked one of Konoha’s highest-ranking officials.
Destroyed Danzo’s right eye.
Severed his right arm.
And then escaped from Konoha’s encirclement.
If that story spread throughout the shinobi world— this previously unknown infiltrator would immediately become famous.
Not because anyone knew who he was.
But because everyone would talk about the village he had humiliated.
And about Danzo Shimura— the Konoha elder who had become part of his legend.