Dosu's Great Escape

Chapter Twelve: False Friends

It was a meeting between the Hokage and several of his primary advisors. Sarutobi looked across the table at one of his subordinates. He was a silver-haired man whose face and left eye was hidden behind a black mask. He was lean and had a contemplative look to him.

"What news, Kakashi?" asked Hiruzen.

"I've completed my examination of Mizuki's office," said Kakashi. "There are residual chakra particles within consistent with those used by a henge. It is possible that whoever Hinata saw was actually only pretending to be Kabuto as a cover.

"He may even have been picked at random."

"You sound uncertain," noted Sarutobi, though a normal man wouldn't have picked up on it.

"He's a low genin who has yet to pass the Chunin Exams despite years of trying. Kabuto seems the ideal choice for a plant," said Kakashi. "His position would make it possible for him to keep in contact with Mizuki."

"He may have used a henge to become himself so that he'd leave a trail behind." Paranoid, but that was part of the ninja game.

"We'll leave such speculations for after we've heard the other reports," said Sarutobi. "Iruka, what was your conclusion from the interviews."

Iruka put down some paper and shoved it across the table. "I have accounts that Kabuto was working on injured students during lunch break. The people with him had known him for years, and none of them noticed anything different.

"Likewise, his healing abilities were consistent with what they know of him."

"Healing jutsu is a complex and difficult technique," said Sarutobi. "I find it doubtful that a clone could have performed up to Kabuto's normal standards."

"With respect, Hokage, shadow clones are capable of using jutsu." said Kakashi.

"Perhaps." conceded Sarutobi. "But to my knowledge, Kabuto has no such abilities. He has never been granted authorization to the scroll. In fact, he has never applied for the privilege.

The simplest solution is usually the most likely."

"But Hokage, Mizuki genuinely believes that he was working for Kabuto the entire time," said Iruka. "Mizuki is reckless, but he's not stupid. There are signs that someone is under a henge that can be picked up on with proper attention.

"If he'd been meeting with this person for years on end he would have figured out it wasn't the real Kabuto."

"You have a great deal of faith in Mizuki's abilities, Iruka," noted Kakashi.

"We were on the same squad for years," said Iruka. "He would have noticed."

Sarutobi looked to the third member of the council. "...Ibiki, what are your results?"

The man glowered at Iruka as he set down a sheet. "We have finished our examination of Hinata Hyuga. She was under a low-level genjutsu. It was almost entirely dissipated by the time we found it, so no details on what it was supposed to do. However, this puts into question everything she claims she saw.

"She has become an unreliable witness."

"Has she?" asked Kakashi. "This is all very convenient. Kabuto left the hospital on a walk after finishing his last patient. Given that he'd finished a rather gruesome operation it was attributed to stress.

"He was later found feeding ducks by the ANBU. There was a thirty-minute window that is unaccounted for."

"That is enough time to do something," said Iruka.