Chapter Fifty-Six: The Investigation

Yesterday, Kato Mikaze had just moved into this office. It looked rather tidy, even a little empty—at a glance, there was hardly anything personal in sight. He didn’t intend to follow Tsunade’s example by cluttering the office with too many of his own belongings, either. After all, Tsunade worked at the Konoha Hospital, a place dedicated to healing. A few personal items there made the office feel warmer, more inviting, and let her relax during long hours.

But things were different here. While the internal structure of the Spring Base resembled a hospital, and the staff dressed like doctors, and patients were indeed “treated” here, this was no true hospital. It revealed more of Konoha’s cruel, bloody, and shadowy side than its benevolent one. Placing too many personal items here would only make him feel out of place.

He slipped off his jonin flak jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. The standard Konoha jonin vest offered considerable protection, lined inside with special materials that could resist most blades. Still, wearing it for long periods indoors was uncomfortable, so he always took it off when settling in to work.

To be honest, of the five great nations, Konoha’s jonin vest was, in Kato Mikaze’s opinion, the most tasteful in design. It made one look rather dashing; that was the effect of a uniform—anyone who’d worn one understood. But no matter how attractive a uniform, wear it long enough and boredom would set in, especially when it was tied so closely to work. It was a constant reminder that you were on duty, that you should remain focused and responsible.

He made himself a cup of tea and leafed through the documents he’d left on the desk the previous day. Quietly, he heightened his sensory abilities to their maximum, quickly scanning the office, paying particular attention to the marks he’d left in inconspicuous corners before leaving yesterday.

Nothing seemed amiss. He chuckled inwardly at his own caution, but resolved to maintain his vigilance. After all, the Spring Base was Danzo Shimura’s domain. It was only his first day here, and his very first action had already made a visible impact on the New Spring Project. Who could say Danzo wouldn’t try to keep tabs on him with some surveillance trickery? Not to mention, his old classmate Orochimaru worked nearby.

Kato Mikaze would never assume that his own soul-sensing abilities made him infallible. The shinobi world was vast, teeming with countless jutsu, secret arts, sealing techniques, and bloodline limits—who could say there wasn’t one specifically designed to counter spiritual perception?

After refreshing a few markers, he gathered his chakra, formed the seals, and activated the Spirit Cultivation Technique. A soul avatar separated from his body, floating up and out through his crown.

The soul avatar didn’t speak, just nodded to him. Then, drawing in its spiritual presence, it faded from view.

The soul avatar turned and slipped through the walls, while Kato Mikaze’s physical body continued with his work. The previous afternoon, aside from dutifully reading through those dry and complicated files, he had already probed the base’s defense and detection barriers.

The entire Spring Base was buried deep underground, shielded externally by a detection barrier, with additional barriers embedded in the walls of important internal rooms. Fortunately, these weren’t designed to block spiritual entities, so they barely affected his soul avatar’s movements.

He had no immediate plans for mischief; he simply wanted to thoroughly understand the workings of the Spring Base. His involvement in the New Spring Project was more than just answering Konoha’s call to research the transplantation of the First Hokage’s cells and cultivate new Wood Release shinobi. He had his own motives, not all of them pure.

He would hate to be tripped up by some minor mistake or careless ploy. After moving in yesterday morning, the internal affairs manager had arranged for a staff member to give him a perfunctory tour—just enough to see the basics, but nothing sensitive. It reminded him of a new executive in his previous life, being shown around the company by HR, introduced to people and locations but not to any real secrets.

It wasn’t that his clearance was insufficient, or that the base was hiding things from him—he’d already been included in the project; anything he was supposed to know, he’d learn in due time through official channels. What he wanted to know were the less orthodox details—whether Danzo had set up internal surveillance, for example.

Spies, of course, could only be identified after long-term observation. The soul avatar’s main job was to seek out jutsu, secret techniques, and technological measures. Even if he uncovered them, he had no intention of blowing their cover. Such channels could prove useful in the future.

As the saying goes: forewarned is forearmed, caution is paramount. And if, while being prepared and cautious, one happened to dig a few holes and bury some seeds, who could say what might one day grow from them?

He didn’t know whether others would profit, but Kato Mikaze was certain he wouldn’t lose out.

There isn’t much to say about the soul avatar’s investigation. He took care to avoid Danzo and Orochimaru’s offices entirely, keeping his presence deeply concealed. Still, he did discover some of the things he’d hoped to find.

In certain key rooms and major passageways, hidden away in unobtrusive corners, there were indeed secret surveillance and eavesdropping techniques in place. These were clearly not set up to guard against external threats, but for internal monitoring.

The place where staff had been gossiping earlier fell right within the range of one such surveillance seal. Who knew how often people spoke ill of Danzo behind his back?

There were seven or eight kinds of surveillance jutsu—some of them, like the Aburame clan’s parasitic insects, had taken Kato Mikaze considerable effort to detect. These tiny creatures were perfectly suited for stationary monitoring and eavesdropping.

He also noted several surveillance and eavesdropping techniques in the corridor outside Orochimaru’s office—seemed Danzo didn’t trust Orochimaru completely, either.

As for outside his own office, there was nothing—certainly not because Danzo trusted him already, but more likely because he had only just arrived and they hadn’t yet had time to set anything up.

Additionally, he discovered several secret rooms in the base that seemed to serve as monitoring centers.

Satisfied with the thorough investigation, the soul avatar didn’t linger but returned to the office.

Meanwhile, a staff member arrived to inform him that a meeting would soon begin. This had been arranged yesterday with Orochimaru as part of their work schedule—evidently, Orochimaru had already arrived.

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