After the Konoha shinobi returned to the lord's mansion, they saw Tobi directing everyone to stabilize the situation after the lord's unexpected death. He appeared calm, but they could faintly smell blood on him, which Inuzuka Shigeru could confirm.
However, no one expected Tobi to return so quickly. Either he had been here all along, or he possessed some method of rapid movement.
"Where did you go? After we all chased them out, why didn't you follow?" Mizuki strode forward, her expression unfriendly, and questioned Tobi.
"If all of you chased them out, what would happen if the enemy attacked the town?" Tobi calmly replied, "And that's exactly what happened. If I hadn't intervened, the town's losses might have been severe."
"What kind of enemy? How come I didn't sense them?" Asuna asked.
"On the west side of the town, directly opposite your position." Tobi glanced at Asuna, his tone completely calm, showing no emotion despite being injured by the woman in front of him.
Asuna fell silent for a moment. She wasn't a professional sensory ninja; her sensory abilities, both range and keenness, were thanks to Sage Mode. The place Tobi mentioned was beyond her sensory range.
If Tobi was indeed the person who had just attacked her, it meant he had deduced Asuna's sensory range during their previous fight. If that were true, even though he was completely suppressed by her, he certainly possessed a powerful aspect.
Tobi wasn't entirely sure of Asuna's sensory range. He could only vaguely form a concept from her performance in battle and the safety of his environment after retreating from the battlefield, which allowed him to take the risk of saying that.
However, even if Asuna and the others questioned him, Tobi intended to stick to his story. He believed that Konoha Village was not ready for war with the Daimyo's estate and wouldn't make a move here. Judging by Asuna's reaction, his gamble had paid off.
Of course, Tobi wasn't naive enough to think that Asuna and the others had completely abandoned their suspicions. He was a suspect from the start, and there was no way he could gain their approval, only a matter of the degree of suspicion.
Looking at Asuna, Tobi suddenly felt a dull ache in his wounds. Although he had used his special ability to treat them urgently, he had to expend more chakra to arrive here faster than the others, causing his wounds to reopen slightly.
Tobi hid his inner emotions, only saying that he had encountered a formidable opponent there and sustained some injuries. Without waiting for others to ask, he changed the subject: "How did things go on your side? Did you find the enemy?"
"We found them. They were survivors from the Evil God village, probably here to retaliate against us," Hatake Sakumo said. "That's why they targeted the lord."
"Is that all?" Tobi countered, "Isn't it more likely that they killed the lord to silence him?"
"This matter still needs thorough investigation. You can't deny the possibility of a setup," Hatake Sakumo said.
"But the current evidence shows the lord had major suspicions! I have every reason to suspect this. Don't talk about speculation; speculation is meaningless. I could even say that your Konoha Village orchestrated this whole play yourselves, which is also possible, isn't it? But is that really the case?" Tobi scoffed softly.
"No, this matter was certainly not orchestrated by our Konoha Village. I believe it was a deliberate frame-up by the Evil God cultists." Hatake Sakumo stared intently at Tobi, sticking to his statement.
"Alright, then we'll see if the Daimyo will believe it." Tobi didn't continue to argue, but instead intended to send the results of the investigation to the Daimyo.
This was something Hatake Sakumo and the others couldn't refuse. Disagreement between representatives of two sides wasn't a big deal. What was important was that Tobi's side indeed had evidence, while their side lacked clear evidence.
Although the enemy's plan to ambush Asuna failed, they had executed this matter very skillfully. Hatake Sakumo and the others had no favorable evidence to support their opinion.
"This place will temporarily be protected by the Daimyo's army and your Konoha Village's forces. We will now return to the Daimyo's estate to report." After saying this, Tobi turned and left.
The Konoha shinobi couldn't refuse. Mizuki watched Tobi's receding figure and said to the others, "That guy is definitely the one who attacked Asuna. Someone else came to attack? Is it really such a coincidence?"
"He says so, and we have no evidence," Yamanaka Takuma said, shaking his head. "After all, the place he mentioned is beyond our sensory range. He can easily say he was truly fighting someone else, and the people in this territory... sigh, wouldn't have been able to detect it either."
"Asuna, do you feel that guy's chakra is the same as the person who ambushed you?" Hatake Sakumo looked at Asuna. Asuna had not yet exited Sage Mode. If it was Sage Mode, her sensory abilities might be more precise than simple chakra sensing.
Asuna shook her head and said, "If it were the same, I would have confirmed it during the battle. However, his chakra made me a little surprised. For some reason, I have a feeling that I've never seen that guy's true appearance."
"Of course you haven't seen it, he never took off his mask!" Mizuki initially didn't react, but then remembered what Asuna had just said and immediately came to her senses. "Ah, you mean the form his chakra is currently presenting is not his true chakra."
"I just have this feeling. Maybe it's someone else, after all, there are Evil God cultists and that shadowy guy, so it's not certain there aren't other helpers. Of course, if that's the case, Tobi's injury would seem a bit odd—who would have injured him?" Asuna said.
Asuna's guess was correct. The reason Tobi's chakra was like that was due to his special ability, which allowed him to gather a large amount of negative emotions and souls from others. The chakra transformed from these was mixed with a large amount of "impurities." As long as Tobi didn't go all out, his true chakra nature wouldn't be fully revealed. Before that, it would contain elements of other people. To some extent, he could impersonate anyone, and ordinary chakra sensing couldn't identify him.
"We can't do anything to that guy right now. And after his evidence is sent to the Daimyo, no matter what we say, the Daimyo will definitely side with Tobi, which will put our village at a disadvantage," Inuzuka Shigeru said with a solemn expression.
"I think our teachers must have considered this. The order he gave was to try to save the lord's life, perhaps anticipating the possibility of the lord's death. The only thing we can do now is to write a detailed report of this mission for our teachers' reference," Hatake Sakumo said.
Everyone nodded. This seemed to be the only thing they could do; everything else was beyond their control.
Next, after everyone cleaned up the mess in the lord's mansion, the Daimyo's army and the Konoha shinobi forces temporarily took over the territory. The representatives from both sides then traveled together to the capital. It wasn't that Hatake Sakumo and the others wanted to see the Daimyo; they simply didn't feel comfortable leaving Asuna and Mizuki alone with Tobi, fearing he might set another ambush.
After escorting the three to the capital and confirming their entry, Hatake Sakumo and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. If they were in the capital, Tobi shouldn't be able to make any major moves, and the Daimyo wouldn't turn against Konoha Village so quickly.
However, Hatake Sakumo felt they couldn't be careless. He repeatedly urged Asuna and Mizuki to discuss with their other companions in the capital, remain vigilant, and be prepared to face danger and escape the capital. He would suggest to the village to station troops near the capital, and if they needed help, he would rush over immediately.