Haseo approached a spot along the riverside and crouched down. He extended his right hand, gently pushing aside a small pile of sand and dirt, then pulled up an old, decaying necklace.
The red string that once held it around someone's neck had long since rotted away, disintegrating at the slightest touch. The metal pendant beneath was just as aged, blackened completely by time and exposure.
This pendant seemed to carry an auspicious meaning, possibly representing blessings or good fortune, with its minimalist depiction of an abstract animal shape. As for exactly which animal it depicted—it could have been a pig, or maybe a tiger—but that wasn't important.
Haseo lightly rubbed the object between his fingers, scraping off the oxidized layer in just a few strokes, revealing the item's original appearance. When compared to the photograph in his other hand, it became clear—the image preserved on the photo matched exactly with the real-life pendant now in Haseo's possession.
"So yeah, don't wear necklaces without reason. That kind of behavior is incredibly dangerous in this world..."
As he wiped the dirt from his fingertips, Haseo couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
"Lord Haseo, did you say something?"
"Nothing," Haseo shook his head and stood up. "Was this discovered just today?"
"Yes, Lord Haseo. Furthermore, judging from the surrounding marks, this necklace must've been left here recently. It doesn't look like it was discarded three or four years ago and then dredged up from the river bottom. It's very likely that the child was moved recently, leaving behind this clue."
Then again, she must still be somewhere in the village.
Said the Uzumaki shinobi.
Haseo nodded slightly. Judging from the level of damage on this "relic," such a conclusion wasn't difficult to reach. However, the question remained—who would let something like this resurface only now, after so many years?
Could someone really have made such a fatal mistake? The possibility seemed too low.
At this point, things were already fairly clear. What Haseo and the Uzumaki ninja were discussing was the case of a missing Uzumaki child from the night when the Uzumaki District was attacked by Kumo ninja.
This mysterious disappearance had never truly stopped being investigated by Kagenami, although until now they'd found absolutely nothing, leading many internally to abandon hope—such was the nature of most disappearances. If no trail appeared immediately at the time, later developments usually meant losing all hope forever.
Thus, even among the Uzumaki clan—who had originally cared more about the incident than even Haseo himself—they had now reduced the search for the missing child to merely a routine task.
And yet, now a new lead had appeared—one surprisingly clear and direct.
"If I remember correctly, the child's mother passed away not too long ago, right?"
"Yes, she died six months ago… and she was still young, far from what should've been the end of her life. However, a life without support is always fragile. If you've lost all hope and can't see a future, that kind of ending isn't hard to understand."
Now you're getting all emotional? Haseo quickly interrupted his overly sentimental subordinate. "Any other findings besides the pendant?"
"There's still a faint chakra signature lingering around here. But... it requires careful identification. This is beyond our capabilities. We need assistance from the Organization."
"I understand. Notify Sannai and assign her to handle this matter. Try to finally clarify this issue that's dragged on for so long... this time we need either a live person or a corpse."
Sannai was one of Shiangli's chakra-sensing ninja, currently the strongest sensor in both Kagenami and Uzumaki clan — practically the strongest chakra-sensing ninja in Konoha.
What had been a "routine mission" suddenly became significantly important.
Then Haseo noticed Kushina getting visibly excited at the side, so he immediately issued an additional order, "Remove Kushina from this mission. Chunins should obediently stick to weeding gardens and catching cats."
"Lord Haseo..." Kushina's disappointment showed clearly on her face.
"This is an order. You're not yet ready to be involved in this kind of mission." Possibly realizing his tone had been too harsh, Haseo slightly explained, "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow it leaves behind."
However, such an obscure hint was naturally beyond Kushina's comprehension.
As things stand today, if Haseo still believed the blame for the Uzumaki disappearance incident should fall on Kumo, then he would have serious brain development issues.
One person muddied the waters, while another tried to fish in the dark.
Who would end up taking the blame for Konoha's mess? This time, it no longer felt like a joke.
...
Leaving traces when they shouldn't have, even leaving behind a chain of clues after those traces — in any case, this kind of unreasonable "accident" vaguely appeared somewhat intentional. Yet who was trying to cause trouble would remain a mystery until results emerged.
To unveil this mystery, someone would always actively act... even though she shouldn't be the one doing it.
For instance, Kushina Uzumaki.
A few days later.
"We've pretty much narrowed it down to this area. Now it's time for a close sweep. If we're lucky, we might actually pull this off!" On Hokage Cliffs, Kushina pointed at a certain area of Konoha.
She'd been told not to act — but still couldn't help but get involved. At this moment, something about Kushina seemed reminiscent of her son... No, rather, her son had perfectly inherited Kushina's DNA.
"But Kushina, you haven't told me exactly what this mission is."
Yet Kushina had even found the most reliable partner — a certain blond boy.
"Didn't I say we're looking for someone? The rest is top secret. Don't you have any sense of security protocol?"
Kushina hadn't clarified anything at all, but Minato Namikaze still approached to help.
"Is this a mission from your organization? I think you must be acting on your own initiative."
"Minato Namikaze easily reached this correct conclusion, otherwise Kushina wouldn't have come to him for help," he said. "Kushina, if Lord Haseo found out about your actions... and further still, if you got yourself into danger, do you think that lord would forgive you so easily?"
Needless to say, Minato had a knack for hitting the nail on the head.
These words made Kushina shiver involuntarily, unwanted memories surging up — memories she would've lobotomized herself just to erase… Memories of a swaying flagpole, tiny feet swinging back and forth, and people laughing in eerie, devilish glee.
"We're only here looking for clues. I swear, the moment we find anything, we're out. No way am I getting into trouble," Kushina defended herself.
"... Hmm." Minato wasn't quite sure whether he should pretend to believe her or not.
"Are you coming or not? We're leaving."
Without waiting for Minato's reply, Kushina immediately dashed toward that neighborhood.
What else could Minato Namikaze do?
He had already sensed there was something off about this mission. And 'off' usually meant danger. If that was really the case, then there was no way he could let Kushina charge in alone like this.
Minato followed quietly behind her, resignation written all over his face.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>