THREE MONTHS LATER

"It sure is hot today," an average man said.

"I'll say," another man responded.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat inside?"

"I am. Some water would be nice, though." The waiter bowed slightly and ran to fetch the customer's drink. Taking a quick sip, the customer said, under his breath, "Looks like it's time."

"Pardon, I didn't hear."

"It's nothing. Thank you."

"No problem, sir. Please let me know when you're ready to order."

When the waiter left, the customer rose from his seat and departed the restaurant. A small tip was left on the table. That customer was none other than Jonathan disguised as the young version of Ōnoki, also known as the third leader of the Village Hidden in the Stones. No one in this country knew what he looked like as a young man. How could they?

Any time Jonathan used the transformation technique, he'd always make sure to play the right role. Leaving something like a tip was exactly that.

Jonathan rushed to Root's hideout. When he arrived, he hid himself atop a pillar and waited.

Three months had passed since Jonathan acquired secret techniques from both the Akimichi clan and the Yamanaka clan. Throughout those three months, he had been practicing those techniques. Because of its complications, it took Jonathan one whole month to learn how to sense others' chakra signatures. It wasn't the best form of sensing, but it was enough for him to perform two things. The first was diminishing his chakra signature so that others couldn't sense him; and the second was expanding his chakra in order to sense others. There was a drawback to the latter.

If someone was a sensor or had a kekkei genkai like the byakugan, they could tell if Jonathan was using his sensing ability to track them. It was like a double-edged sword. If Jonathan wanted to sense people around his area, his own location would be given if that person's own senses were high enough.

Apart from that, Jonathan used his time wisely. He gained several of the Akimchi clan's food pills from four more of their clan members. These food pills could help someone force the calorie conversion to chakra. To efficiently utilize his technique, Jonathan had gained a healthy amount of weight. Most of which was trained into muscle. Jonathan experimented with this weekly until he managed to gain full control without the need for the pills. There were times when his body had gotten so skinny that one could literally see his bones under his skin. Without Teuchi's help, he would have likely died from malnutrition.

Due to Jonathan needing to heal and focus on his personal growth, he wasn't able to enter the Leaf's academy. The only people that were of great importance to him during this were Ayame and Teuchi. They were still under his influence. So long as they weren't revealed, Jonathan felt a lot safer residing in the Leaf. Those at the academy would likely still be undergoing their daily learning activities. At least that's what Jonathan believed. He would have no other choice but to put people like Izumi Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha on hold until he himself grew.

It took Jonathan a few weeks to regain his body composition after that. But the gains were worth it. He learned several of the Akimichi techniques, such as partial expansion jutsu and even their notorious butterfly mode.

Jonathan hadn't cared to learn the mind transfer technique from the Yamanaka clan. Despite how useful it may have been. Like the jutsu implied, it required a target with a mind in order for it to work effectively. Jonathan wasn't willing to take the risk of practicing that jutsu out in the open. Rather than waste his efforts, he focused on the thing he desired most: sensing.

Choosing not to learn the mind transfer technique wasn't a total loss for him. Because Jonathan understood its components, he could counter it if someone targeted him with it. More so, the mind transfer technique was more geared towards spiritual energy. In order to help Jonathan increase his chakra reserves, he used the fundamentals of the mind transfer technique to help him meditate. As strange as it was to train one's spiritual energy, Jonathan understood that it required a lot of patience. Trying to increase one's chakra pool couldn't be done overnight by ethical means. It took Jonathan more than two months to raise it even by a fraction.

At Root's hideout, he closed his eyes and suppressed his own chakra. This was the only time Jonathan felt safe entering Root. It's guaranteed there was at least one shinobi that could sense the other's chakra signatures. By learning to counter other sensors, Jonathan was confident of his infiltration. After several hours, Jonathan's patience was rewarded. He saw the two people who would confirm his deduction made earlier at the restaurant.

"Orochimaru's been discovered. Go to this location and await for Orochimaru to be of aid as he attempts to flee the country." The man speaking to the Root member on his knee, was Danzō Shimura. While the Root member himself was none other than Yamato.

Yamato agreed to the mission before departing. Immediately, Jonathan left the area undetected.