The report had been submitted for two days without any response. Kabuto Yakushi suspected that due to the involvement of the Daimyo's special envoy, the matter had been dropped. After years of serving as a spy, he'd seen more in his short life than many do in a lifetime.

If the issue were to be left unresolved, he wouldn't be surprised, nor disappointed.

He would likely just curb his unnecessary curiosity, go to work and leave on time, do his job well, and eventually move on to a different role when he got tired of it.

"Minister said to keep investigating," Uchiha Torajiro said, rubbing his hands together as if ready for action. His sharp gaze fell on his two subordinates. "Kabuto, Izumi, you have half an hour to prepare. After that, we're heading to investigate the Arasaka family."

During the two-day wait, Uchiha Torajiro wasn't just sitting idly. Although directly investigating the Arasaka family—who had close ties with the envoy—wasn't feasible, he continued to monitor the new district and the courtesan house. It seemed that their intelligence regarding movements at the courtesan house had reached the Arasaka family, as no one else had been abducted from there.

Yet, under his watchful eye, people had still gone missing over the past two days.

Clearly, the Arasaka family had more than one way to capture people.

Although they hadn't caught anyone in the act, Uchiha Torajiro wasn't too concerned. As long as they protected the witnesses at the courtesan house, they had reason enough to investigate the Arasaka family. The biggest issue wasn't those details. Frankly, Torajiro shared the same belief as Kabuto: that things often couldn't be handled strictly by the book.

Fortunately, the young clan leader did not disappoint.

The case would continue to be investigated, rather than being handed off to an obscure team, concluded with some absurd decision, and then shelved.

"Yes, Captain!" the energetic young girl enthusiastically replied.

She didn't have Kabuto's complicated past or thoughts. She never imagined the case might be dropped, and instead eagerly awaited the next step. Two days later, her wish had been granted.

Kabuto, however, was not as excited as Izumi. Adjusting his glasses, he said, "Captain, in my experience, continuing this investigation might lead us to the big figures at the envoy's office. Are you okay with that?"

He wasn't afraid of trouble for himself, but he had to consider his adoptive mother and the orphanage. Trouble doesn't always follow rules, and it often spreads indiscriminately.

During his time as a spy, he'd witnessed the harsh realities of the lower classes struggling to survive, as well as the extravagant decadence of nobles. To amuse themselves, nobles wouldn't hesitate to commit the most heinous acts.

Honestly, from the beginning, he never believed the abducted people would be rescued alive.

"Kabuto, I understand your concern, but rest assured! The Deputy Minister himself told us to investigate boldly. As long as we follow the rules, the Police Department won't allow anyone to trouble us or our families. Whoever dares to extend their claws will have to be ready to lose both their hands and their heads," Uchiha Torajiro said, patting Kabuto's shoulder.

The smile on his face masked the killing intent beneath.

Perhaps the recent efforts by the Uchiha clan to improve their reputation in the village had led some to believe their blades had dulled. But if anyone dared to step forward, they would quickly find out whether the Uchiha blades had rusted.

The half-hour preparation time was more than enough. After replenishing the supplies they had used from the equipment department, they filled the various storage compartments in their ninja pouches and pockets.

Once everything was in order, the three-person team set out, heading straight for the Arasaka family's territory.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the Police Department building, three figures stood.

"Deputy Minister Arashiyama, do we really need to follow them? They're just operating within the village. What danger could there possibly be?" Kaguya Kimimaro asked, voicing his doubts.

"Haha! It's better to be prepared," Uchiha Arashiyama replied with a laugh.

"There are two skilled individuals at the envoy's office," Uchiha Itachi, who had been silently observing the three-person team below, spoke up. "Both are exceptional among Jonin. If Captain Torajiro's team encounters either one, they'll be in trouble."

"They're that strong?" Kimimaro asked, puzzled.

"They're quite good! The Land of Fire is vast, and there are plenty of experts outside of Konoha," Arashiyama said with a smile.

This was the truth. When Konoha was founded, many ninja clans had joined, but many others had refused, opting to maintain their independence. Additionally, there were organizations with religious ties, such as the Fire Temple. The Daimyo's office had also been collecting various ninja techniques to train their own loyal ninja.

Half of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, led by Sora, came from the Daimyo's own ninja organization—the Oniwaban.

This organization was almost unknown, as the brilliance of Konoha often overshadowed it. Even when the Twelve Guardian Ninja became famous due to certain events, few knew that half of them came from the Oniwaban.

Even Konoha had little information about how many skilled fighters the Daimyo had gathered.

"We can't be sure whether the case Captain Torajiro is investigating will involve important figures from the envoy's office, but we can't take chances. We should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. You two follow Torajiro's team. If their lives are in danger, intervene. If not, just make sure they complete the investigation safely," Arashiyama reiterated their mission.

"Leave it to us!" Uchiha Itachi nodded.

With that, Itachi and Kimimaro leapt off the rooftop. Captain Torajiro's team wasn't far ahead. If they delayed further, they wouldn't lose track of them, but if something happened to Torajiro's team, it wouldn't look good.

---

It was still broad daylight, but Kazuma sat in his room, meditating to calm his anxious mind. As a ninja from the Oniwaban, his training was eclectic. He had learned meditation from the Fire Temple, studied sealing techniques from Konoha, but his specialty was Earth Release, passed down from a now-extinct ninja clan.

At this moment, he was using the meditation techniques from the Fire Temple to soothe his inner turmoil.

As for the reason behind his agitation… it was simple. Ever since arriving in Konoha as the Deputy Envoy from the Daimyo's office, everything he'd seen and heard in the village had made him feel uneasy. It was as if everyone in Konoha, whether ninja or civilian, had forgotten that the true ruler of the Land of Fire was the Daimyo.

The presence of the Daimyo had been reduced to the extreme, becoming a vague, elusive concept. The people here had no interest in the Daimyo; all they cared about was the Hokage. Children idolized the Hokage, and adults firmly believed the Hokage would bring them victory and peace.

In short, every bit of this land irritated Hema to no end.

He was a staunch supporter of the Fire Daimyo. To him, the Hokage was unnecessary, and even the self-contained military structure of Konoha should be dismantled. The actual power over the shinobi should be in the hands of the Fire Daimyo.

Moreover, he had witnessed Seikyo Kiyoshi, the head envoy, committing disgusting, inhumane acts in private. If these were accidentally exposed, it would certainly harm the Daimyo's reputation. Yet, Hema was only the deputy envoy, and Seikyo Kiyoshi, the head envoy, was beyond his control. He could only watch helplessly as the old man continued to act recklessly.

But if things went on like this, Konoha would find out sooner or later.

This internal conflict troubled Hema deeply, and even meditation couldn't completely suppress the distracting thoughts swirling in his mind.

Just then—

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

The sound of knocking broke the silence.

Hema's brow furrowed instantly as his meditation was interrupted, and he couldn't help but shout in irritation, "Who is it? Didn't I say not to disturb me?"

However—

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Hema. I came uninvited, I hope you can forgive me."

The door remained tightly closed, but an uninvited guest, wearing an orange swirl mask and dressed in a black cloak, appeared like a ghost, passing through the door without disturbing it, as if it didn't exist at all. The eerie sight sent chills down Hema's spine.

After all, Hema was a distinguished Jonin, yet he had no idea how this intruder passed through the door. Was this genjutsu? Or a space-time jutsu? Perhaps an unknown forbidden technique?

Regardless of the answer, none of these possibilities were good.

Instinctively, Hema broke his meditation posture and adopted a defensive stance, quietly trying to adjust his chakra flow. However, the scene before him remained unchanged, suggesting it might not be genjutsu. But he couldn't be sure, as the man in the mask had a single exposed eye—a red Sharingan.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not your enemy, and you're not under a genjutsu."

Obito Uchiha stood at the door, not taking a single step forward. The Sharingan's insight wasn't as strong as the Byakugan's, but it was still enough to see Hema's sudden chakra disturbance.

"Sharingan? You're from the Uchiha clan?"

"I do bear the Uchiha name, but the current Uchiha clan and I are no longer aligned. My identity as a Konoha ninja is also a thing of the past. I'm not here to chat with you as a Konoha shinobi or a member of the Uchiha clan. My current identity can be summed up best as Konoha's enemy."

Konoha's enemy? Hearing this, Hema frowned even more.

"Why are you telling me this? I'm not interested. If you're not here to cause trouble, leave now. Otherwise... I won't be so polite." Hema was no rookie. Trust, such a precious thing, was something he couldn't even give to his teammates 100%, let alone a suspicious stranger.

He wasn't about to befriend someone just because they expressed some hostility toward Konoha.

Quite the opposite—

He was already wondering whether he had accidentally revealed his dislike for Konoha somewhere, and if this was some kind of bait. His rising vigilance made him unwilling to even know the man's name.

"Your caution is strong…"

Obito scratched his head. It seemed clear he wouldn't easily build rapport. Nagato, the gullible one, was indeed a rare breed in the shinobi world. Still, Obito hadn't expected to resolve things in one go. He had time. "I understand that my words don't carry much weight right now, but I believe we'll work together eventually."

"Oh, and as a meeting gift, I'll give you some free information: Seikyo Kiyoshi and his bodyguard, Ogawa Yemon, are under investigation by Konoha's police force. It won't be long before they're discovered."

With that, Obito turned and left, disappearing through the door just as mysteriously as he'd come.

Hema walked over to examine the door. There were no signs of damage. He opened it and scanned the courtyard but found nothing unusual. Everything was as it had always been. If the memory of the encounter wasn't so clear in his mind, he might have questioned whether he had been caught in some elaborate genjutsu.

"Uchiha? Who could he be?"

Hema stood at the doorway, lost in thought.

But soon, he shook his head and pushed the mystery of the masked man aside. Instead, he began to worry about another issue—the message the man had left behind. Was the Konoha police force really investigating that old man and that madman Ogawa? If the information was false, then all would be well. But if it were true, he couldn't help but be concerned. The things Seikyo and Ogawa had done could not see the light of day. If exposed, the Daimyo's reputation would be ruined!

"No, I need to think of a solution!"