Chương 184: One Man’s Headache, Another Man’s Delight

Aburame Muta adjusted his glasses.

"Unlikely as it sounds, if they deliberately erased their own scent and slipped away afterward, the result would look exactly like this." Inuzuka Meiko frowned.

"Even if they had a reason to leave temporarily, failing to return to the village for this long is practically the same as defecting. The problem is that two of them have family in Konoha. There's no motive for defection." Hyuga Tokuma nodded.

"Looks like we'll have to question the owner of this place and whoever served them that day."

"No need. I already did." Tokuma blinked in surprise.

"Huh? Zhen? Why are you here?" Though Dongye zhen wore a mask, he hadn't altered his voice. As close friends, the three recognized him almost immediately.

"I've been following you the whole time." The husky nearly jumped.

"Impossible! Why didn't I notice?" Dongye zhen glanced at him.

"You think your nose is unbeatable? You haven't figured out where the missing squad went either." The husky fell silent. Why did this guy always know exactly where to stab? Aburame Muta spoke up.

"You're here to protect us from the shadows, aren't you? Seems the higher-ups are worried we might disappear too." A reasonable precaution. Tokuma wasn't bothered by it.

"Zhen, what did you learn from the bathhouse staff?"

"According to the attendant assigned to this room, the missing trio were so exhausted they fell asleep halfway through their soak. When the staff returned later to check on them, they were already gone. Since they'd paid in advance, the bathhouse didn't think much of it." Except for Rocky the husky, nobody on Tokuma's team was stupid. The flaw in that story became apparent almost immediately. Tokuma frowned.

"It was just a routine escort mission. They only dealt with ordinary bandits. How could they be exhausted?" Muta nodded.

"More importantly, ninja don't lower their guard that easily. Even near Konoha, there's no way all three would fall asleep simultaneously." Meiko crossed her arms.

"So someone acted against them in secret, moved them elsewhere, and killed them." Tokuma's expression darkened.

"Meaning an enemy expert from another village could be lurking around Konoha, hunting our ninja one by one?" Dongye zhen sighed.

"The three of you are really treating this like a detective drama, huh?" Tokuma tilted his head.

"You think our conclusion is wrong?"

"Not entirely. But like Muta said, ninja aren't that careless. And the war is already over. Sending elite enemy operatives to hunt ordinary Konoha chunin would be incredibly risky and accomplish almost nothing." His eyes narrowed.

"So the culprit probably isn't from another village at all."

"Then who?"

"Someone from inside Konoha." The room fell silent.

"Only a familiar face could make them lower their guard completely." Tokuma considered it for a moment.

"That... actually makes a lot of sense." He nodded slowly.

"In that case, all we need to do is determine which Konoha ninja were present in town at the time."

"Though that investigation would be enormous. Not our responsibility." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"We just submit our findings and hypotheses." Dongye zhen shook his head.

"I already asked around. The only Konoha ninja known to have visited this establishment that day were the three missing members themselves." The implication hit immediately.

"So either another Konoha ninja they encountered in town followed them here and acted afterward..." His gaze sharpened.

"Or one of the three was the traitor and eliminated the other two."

"And honestly, that's the hardest possibility to defend against." Tokuma grimaced.

"Right. We'll include that theory in the report." Dongye zhen waved a hand.

"No need for me to write a separate one." Tokuma smiled.

"Thanks, Zhen. That clears things up a lot." He gestured toward the exit.

"We'll head back first. Since you're ANBU now, it wouldn't exactly be appropriate for you to stroll back into Konoha with us in broad daylight."

"Fine. You go ahead." After Tokuma's team departed, Dongye zhen left the town as well. He had considerable confidence in his deduction. Because unlike everyone else, he already knew the likely outcome and was merely reconstructing the path that led there. He had reviewed the missing squad's records. Two members had families in Konoha. The third was an orphan. More importantly, that orphan had served on the western front during the early stages of the Third Shinobi War before later transferring to the eastern front.

Unfortunately—or perhaps not so unfortunately—the commander of both fronts had been the same person. Orochimaru. The man was highly likely to be one of Orochimaru's most devoted followers. Even after the Third Hokage had sidelined the Sannin, he had probably continued serving him in secret. People often forgot that Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato shared something in common. Both were legendary civilian-born prodigies. Neither came from prestigious bloodlines.

Among Konoha's civilian ninja, both had enjoyed tremendous support. After Minato became Hokage, many fence-sitters naturally shifted their allegiance to him. Which meant the people still working for Orochimaru now were the truly fanatical loyalists. To put it in terms from his previous life— Minato's rise to power had accidentally purified Orochimaru's fanbase. What remained were only the die-hard believers. And now, it seemed Orochimaru had finally turned his claws toward Konoha itself.

The snake didn't need to dirty his own hands. Fanatics rarely possessed functioning brains. When their master issued an order, they obeyed. No questions asked. A month passed in the blink of an eye. Another new year arrived. During that time, no further disappearances occurred. The original two cases eventually became cold cases. Even if ANBU harbored suspicions, suspicion alone wasn't enough. Without evidence, nobody dared act.

After all, the suspected figure was a war hero and the beloved disciple of the Third Hokage. Few people were eager to shoulder the consequences of accusing someone like that. The investigators simply submitted their reports to the Hokage's office and washed their hands of the matter. The rest could become the Third Hokage's headache. Orochimaru's registered laboratories within Konoha were entirely legitimate. As for his illegal facilities scattered beyond the village...

Perhaps because someone had uncovered one on the eastern front years ago, he had become far more cautious. The new ones were distant, hidden, and nearly impossible to locate. More importantly, Orochimaru was intelligent. He never targeted ninja with complicated backgrounds or powerful connections. He wasn't interested in courting death. As a result, none of the Konoha ninja Dongye zhen knew personally had come to harm. And honestly? He couldn't be bothered interfering. Stir the waters.

The murkier Konoha became, the harder it would be for Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen to wash their hands clean. Year 53 of Konoha. Had this been peacetime, Dongye zhen would have been finishing his final semester at the Ninja Academy, graduating in late March and embarking on the glorious journey of a fresh genin. Unfortunately, his generation had been war-born seedlings. They graduated early, adapted to missions at lightning speed, and were shoved straight onto the battlefield.

Now, they possessed three years of experience and had survived real war. Veteran ninja in everything but age. Many of their peers had already died in combat or on missions. The younger generation raised during peace could scarcely imagine such a life. This year, Dongye zhen was technically thirteen by East Asian reckoning and would turn twelve officially after his birthday. Thanks to the absurd nourishment provided by white natural energy, however, he looked more like a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old teenager.

As a result, he spent most of his days enduring the envy-filled stares of Hayate and Yamato. Yugao, being a girl, wasn't jealous. Instead, she had developed a completely different concern. Dongye zhen was growing up too fast. What if some curvaceous older woman seduced him and stole him away? Her own body had finally begun developing as well. Unfortunately, she remained firmly in the "just-budding" stage. The anxiety nearly had the poor girl worrying her beautiful purple hair into premature white.

Just like his previous world, the ninja world recognized both nominal age and actual age. Before celebrating his twelfth birthday, Dongye zhen first attended another birthday party. One belonging to a certain little girl born in March as well. Three-year-old Tenten. This wasn't the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream world. Tenten was a rich kid. Her father, Tieyan, was one of Konoha's most renowned weapon craftsmen. Her mother ran a large ninja tools store. And well...

Everyone understood the profit margins of the arms business. The family had never lacked money. The Tenten household was spacious, though attendance remained limited. Tieyan and his wife had only invited close relatives and friends. This was actually the first of Tenten's birthdays Dongye zhen had attended. He'd missed the previous two due to various obligations.

"Big Brother Zhen!" Little Tenten greeted him politely the moment she spotted him. Lingyin immediately corrected her.

"You should call him Teacher." Tenten was an obedient child.

"Hello, Teacher." Her voice was crisp and sweet. Her appearance was equally adorable. Most notably, she already wore her hair in twin buns like her mother, beginning to resemble the Tenten preserved in Dongye zhen's memories.

"Tenten, good girl. Happy birthday." Dongye zhen handed over her present before turning toward her mother.

"Big Sis Lingyin, there's no need to start calling me her teacher so early."

"Huh? Really?" Lingyin looked surprised.

"I was planning to have her formally become your disciple today."

"Let's wait until her fourth birthday next year." Dongye zhen smiled.

"That's when I'll start teaching her properly."

"I began training at four as well."

"Starting too early isn't good for a child's body."

"Alright." Lingyin nodded without argument.

"You're the expert. If someone as powerful as you says so, there must be a reason." And for once, Dongye zhen was telling the complete truth. He had begun training so early because, back then, he hadn't yet discovered his cheat ability. More importantly, he knew war was coming. If he didn't become stronger as quickly as possible, how was he supposed to survive? Things were different now. The ninja world was largely at peace. So let these younger kids enjoy their childhoods a little longer.