Other side of the screen.
The steel door opens, and Fugaku steps through it to see Minato, Ibiki, Inoichi, and Anko, as well as a few ANBU, all part of Minato's security detail, one of them the one who opened the steel door, all staring at him in awe and shock, having been paying attention to the conversation taking place on the other side of the glass screen.
Fugaku had gone into the room, sat down, and stared at Mizuki for only a few seconds before standing up and leaving.
Fugaku leans against the wall with his arms crossed as the ANBU shuts the steel door behind him and looks straight at Minato with an undisguised serious expression on his face.
"Let's head back to your office. You're not going to like this," Fugaku said.
Hearing Fugaku makes everyone have a bad premonition that wouldn't leave them and makes them alert for the upcoming days.
Hidden Leaf Strict Correctional Facility (juvenile wing)
Hisateru pulls the grey top of his prison uniform off of his body. He paces around the pitch-black cell, practicing his taijutsu.
'Damn. Before sunrise. So he could show up any minute, or he could show up in hours.
The boy had gone through processing without any issues. He and Kenji had the same height and the same weight. Same build. And so using his transformation jutsu had been made easier by said circumstances.
He launches a fist through the air, and just as he's about to raise a leg for a kick, he hears the sound of a hand slamming against the door of his cell.
Moments later, the door opens. He walks towards the now open door, knowing who awaits.
"Shadow, sir," a male voice said.
"Rat," Hisateru acknowledges with the man's own codename. He holds out his hands, and feels something soft fall into his hands. Garments.
"Something more conspicuous, sir," the voice said.
"Of course," he responds.
"But first allow me to deactivate the chakra suppressor," the voice said. Hisateru hears the sound of hands coming together a few times before a palm touches his bare chest.
"Releases!" the voice said lowly. Hisateru suddenly feels a rush of strength flow through his body.
"Ahhh," he grunts in satisfaction. "That's better," he remarks.
He drops his pants and pulls on the black garments.
The older male steps out into the dimly lit hallway, and so does Hisateru. He looks himself over. Black pants and a long-sleeved black top complete with a hood and mask.
"The cameras have 'malfunctioned,' sir. They'll be back up and running in 45 minutes to an hour. Mizuki's cell is only a minute away from here. You have ample time. I understand you're already familiar with the facilities' layout?" the male, now revealed to be young, likely in his very early twenties, having short brown hair and a blank, emotionless look on his thin face, said.
"Yeah," Hisateru said, turning away.
"Your help is enormously appreciated. I won't forget this," he says, running off down the corridor.
Hokage Mansion: Hokage Office.
Minato sits at his desk with his hand balled into a tight fist in front of his mouth, Fugaku sitting across from him.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. One should never put anything past Orochimaru," Minato whispers, but it still filled the silent room.
"Still surprising is the fact that Mizuki decides to take such action without a doubt with Orochimaru's knowing, which clearly results in Orochimaru's plans being known," Minato added.
"Indeed. If that Chunin didn't become greedy, the village may be unprepared for Orochimaru's plan," Fugaku calmly said.
"Still, we didn't expect that our ranks were already infiltrated by his spies," Fugaku added in a low voice.
A frown appeared on Minato's face. He knew it was impossible to fully guard against Orochimaru's spies since the latter knew how the village worked, as he had a special position as a ninja before his secret was revealed.
"Talking about Orochimaru, I didn't expect for the Daimyo Lord of the Land of Rice to be firmly in his pocket," Fugaku continues.
The Daimyo allowing Orochimaru to set up base in his nation, conducting his operations there, providing him with taxpayer funding, and even letting him perform his disgusting experiments on the citizens of the nation was all proof of the fact.
"Well, either he's sweet-talked and tempted him or he's threatened him. Either one is typical," Minato assesses.
"Or maybe the Daimyo's already dead," the two men say at the same time. They look at each other and shake their heads, chuckling bitterly.
"So, what happens now?" Fyugaku asks, staring out of the window behind Minato.
"You know what he did, Minato. Do we give the Land of Rice a chance to denounce 'The Hidden Sound,' or..." He turned his head and looked directly at Minato's eyes. "Is it war, no questions asked?"
"No," Minato slightly shakes his head.
"We're not going to give Orochimaru any heads-up. I'll have to let the elders know, but this stays between us. Let's let him think he's off the radar for now while we observe and watch everything in the Land of Rice so that when he does stick his head out of whatever hole he's hiding in, he won't be expecting anything," Minato said, staring off deep in thought.
Fugaku stared at Minato for a moment before giving a small nod and standing up. "Excuse me then, old friend. I have to head back home and have dinner with my family."
Before Fugaku could even get close to the door, Minato turned his attention to Fugaku.
"Wait, Fugaku," Minato said, slightly raising his voice, which caused Fugaku to turn his head back.
"Are you sure it was Naruto who stopped Mizuki?" Minato asks.
Fugaku stared at his friend's eyes and said in a calm and unhurried manner, "Yes, it was no doubt Naruto."
"I know your family and Naruto had some issues, and if you or your family are the ones going to face Naruto, it isn't going to end well, so let me take care of it," Fugaku added.
Minato's body trembled slightly. It was clear to him that Fugaku already had his own guess about the reason behind Naruto's abnormal action, especially the fact that he didn't even inform Minato about Mizuki being a subordinate of Orochimaru.
"I will make sure to give you a satisfactory answer after this." Fugaku smiles and leaves the room, leaving Minato staring down at his desk and thinking about his previous action, especially on his family.
Hidden Leaf Strict Correctional Facility
Mizuki stumbles forward into his cell, the guard helping him in with a shove to the back. The slam of the steel door echoes throughout the cell, though to Mizuki it doesn't even register. The young man clutches his head in his hands, grabbing at his hair, his heavy breathing audible throughout the cell.
"I-I-I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything," he whispers to himself repeatedly, beginning to pace back and forth. The sound of screeching bats fills his head. He whips around repeatedly, trying to ensure there aren't any bats near him.
"I didn't say anything," he said again in a louder voice, the sound of screeching bats still plaguing his mind. He claws and grabs at his ears, almost threatening to rip them off, shutting his eyes in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the sound. His eyes shoot open; the haunting image of a silhouette with a glowing pair of red eyes with a tomoe pattern around the pupils appears to him while his eyes are closed.
"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING," he shouts at the top of his lungs. Mizuki once again darts his eyes around the cell for any flying rodents when, for the first time, he makes out a silhouette seated in the corner.
Shadow watches on at this display, shaking his head.
'The T and I department is no joke,' he thought to himself.
"Hey! Who's there?" the white-haired rogue Chunin shouts at him.
"Are you another one of them? Stay back!" He yells.
Shadow sighs. He had planned on lying to Mizuki and telling him he was a fellow subordinate of Orochimaru, sent to rescue him, to fool him into giving up any useful intel, but clearly there was no worthwhile or trustworthy information he was going to get from the rogue Chunin anymore. Not in this state.
Mizuki tries to keep his eyes glued to the silhouette, but they occasionally dart as red pairs of eyes every so often appear in his peripheral vision in the darkness of the cell.
"AAAAAHHHHH," the white-haired male yells, running forward at the silhouette, who calmly jumps to his feet and sidesteps a punch aimed at his face. He grabs the outstretched arm and performs a judo throw on the older male, laying him out on the ground.
The brown-eyed boy grabs his target by the head, lifting it off the ground and wrapping his arm around his neck. Mizuki claws away at the boys' arms in response, desperately trying to free himself. He tightens his grip and twists his former academy teacher's neck. An audible snap rings out, and Mizuki's body goes limp.
Shadow lays him down gently and stands up. He gazes at the silent Mizuki for a few moments before turning and walking towards the steel door, weaving through a set of handsigns.
'Time to go'