Arasaka Rokuro felt like he had stepped into an inescapable mire. How did he get himself caught up in the struggle between the envoy and the deputy envoy? But in a way, it simplified things for him. The pain from Lord Kazuma's kunai against his chest still lingered, a reminder he couldn't shake.

He had no choice but to do as Lord Kazuma commanded.

Otherwise... both he and his family were done for.

As for offending the Hirano family, that was something to worry about later. If he couldn't get through this crisis, what future could there possibly be?

When he arrived at the main entrance of the envoy's residence, Rokuro saw three people standing there. Uchiha Torajiro and Yakushi Kabuto were both dressed in police uniforms, making their roles clear. As for the girl in a light purple casual outfit beside them, she looked like a lower-ranked ninja. From his understanding, the vest uniforms were issued to middle-ranked ninjas.

"Ah! You've finally arrived. I apologize, I've been tied up with work and couldn't get away, so I had to trouble you to come here!" Rokuro quickly put on an exaggerated, enthusiastic smile and, with a quick step, moved forward to greet Uchiha Torajiro, extending his hand to shake.

"Here's the situation: a friend of mine opened a parlor in the new district. Lately, someone's been causing trouble every night. I was going to handle it myself, but it turns out some of the troublemakers seem to be ninjas. I had no choice but to ask you for help. Please, I'll make sure the reward is substantial."

Uchiha Torajiro noticed the note tucked between Rokuro's fingers, raised an eyebrow, and shook his hand, taking the note discreetly. He cleared his throat and said, "We'll investigate. I can't promise anything yet, but we'll do our best."

"I'm very grateful!" Rokuro bowed repeatedly.

"No need; it's our job. Oh, by the way, we met your father on the way here. The old man is worried about you. He said you're the only one left among the six siblings, so don't let him worry too much. Kabuto, Izumi, let's get going."

As they turned to leave, Uchiha Torajiro waved a hand in farewell.

"Already leaving...?" Izumi started, before Kabuto interrupted her with a meaningful look that made her shiver, swallowing her question and mumbling softly, "It's my first time here. I heard the gardens are beautiful!"

The three figures gradually disappeared from view.

Rokuro stood there, staring at their departing backs, emotions swirling within him. They had visited his house first? His father... was really worried?

Not far from the entrance, on an old pine tree behind the white walls of the envoy's residence, Kazuma stood silently on a branch, observing everything.

...

"Alright, let's stop here."

Uchiha Torajiro activated his Sharingan, carefully scanning the surroundings to confirm there were no followers, then called for the others to stop. They halted on a deserted rooftop, a great place for conversation, with an open view in all directions.

"Can we talk now?" Izumi asked impatiently.

"Izumi, patience. I know what you want to ask, and you'll soon understand why we left," Uchiha Torajiro's words made Izumi pout; she wanted to know why they'd left when they were supposed to be investigating Rokuro.

Instead, Rokuro had tricked them into leaving.

"Rokuro slipped this to me during the handshake."

Uchiha Torajiro pulled out the small folded note. It was about two fingers wide and six centimeters long, with hastily scrawled words: Hotai Bathhouse, Ito Meat Shop, 6 a.m. daily delivery of fresh meat for the envoy and Ogawara Head Guard.

"Hotai Bathhouse? Is that the one that worships Hotei Buddha?" Izumi asked. Uchiha Torajiro knew of it, a bathhouse in their jurisdiction near the parlor.

"And the Ito Meat Shop isn't far from Hotai Bathhouse. Could this be...?"

Izumi wasn't clueless, and the note was pretty straightforward.

"If I'm right, it's similar to the parlor – another hunting ground for the envoy," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses. "The bathhouse likely selects victims, then uses secret passages to transfer them to the meat shop, where they are hidden among daily fresh meat deliveries to the envoy's residence. The envoy and Head Guard Ogawara are probably the masterminds behind these disappearances. Same tactics as before!"

"Although, there's one odd thing – Rokuro's attitude. I was worried he might commit suicide or be silenced, cutting off our lead. But he seems to want us to catch them red-handed," Kabuto mused.

"I can't explain that," Uchiha Torajiro said, shaking his head. "Maybe he had a change of heart?"

"Maybe, but that's unlikely. Don't let his humble home fool you; the bonsai in his father's yard alone could fetch seven or eight million outside. They couldn't support such an expensive hobby by honest means."

Kabuto frowned.

Rokuro's cooperation puzzled him. Normally, people like Rokuro who lurk in gray areas would deny everything and only confess when forced. Turning informant rarely ends well; even if they escape punishment temporarily, the retribution they'd face later is daunting – especially without assurances of completely uprooting the ones they betray.

And if, as the note suggested, envoy Hirano Seikei is the mastermind, dismantling the powerful Hirano family is practically impossible. Kabuto's investigation revealed that the Hiranos were a top-tier noble family and major supporters of the Fire Daimyo. Going after Hirano Seikei might be feasible, but uprooting the entire family? A pipe dream. This left Kabuto uneasy about Rokuro's cooperation. A sudden change of heart seemed highly unlikely.

"Alright, Kabuto, don't dwell on it. Why Rokuro's cooperating isn't important; what matters is if the information is true. If it is, we can solve the case. If it's false... we'll deal with him then," Uchiha Torajiro said. He shared Kabuto's doubts but was more concerned with the truth of the intel.

"We'll know tonight if it's true."

Kabuto set aside his suspicions for the moment. They could confront Rokuro later, after closing the case.

"Captain, should we call for backup? If we're planning to catch them in the act... we should consider possible resistance. If there are strong fighters at the envoy's residence, our squad alone might not be enough," Kabuto said quietly.

Uchiha Kojiro glared at him and held his breath. Did this mean he was being looked down upon as a Special Jōnin? Unbelievable... How irritating. But come to think of it, maybe being a Special Jōnin wasn't that impressive after all. The Uchiha clan had always had plenty of Jōnin, and Special Jōnin weren't exactly rare either.

"Captain, um… am I slowing us down?"

Uchiha Izumi, the only Genin in the squad, felt a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. It's not just you; even Kabuto and I are slowing us down a bit," Kojiro replied with a hint of annoyance.

Yakushi Kabuto chuckled quietly without retorting. His combat skills were fine, but for a spy, fighting ability was just a bonus, not a primary factor. Kabuto was confident he could keep up with Captain Uchiha Kojiro for a few exchanges, but he wasn't too sure when it came to the more skilled Jōnin.

"Let's head back and file a report. Maybe we can request some backup to help anchor us."

With that decision, the squad quickly returned to the Police Department and submitted a report of their findings. After some processing, the report ended up on Sōgen's desk. Sōgen, just back from the Hokage's office, was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

His grand plans were in jeopardy!

It was likely that the culprit behind the recent disappearances was none other than the Konoha envoy from the Daimyo's residence. If that was true... then the plan to request funds from the Fire Daimyo would have to be put on hold for now. After all, if they got rid of the Fire Daimyo's envoy today, only to stir up chaos at the Ministry of Finance tomorrow, how could they expect the Daimyo to sleep at ease?

Thinking from the Daimyo's perspective, if Sōgen were the Fire Daimyo, he'd certainly worry that Konoha might be planning to control him, and by extension, the Daimyo's residence and all of the Land of Fire.

"Pingyao Keiki… What could that old guy be after with all this kidnapping? It's not like the Pingyao family is involved in slave trading… it's just causing trouble." Sōgen muttered. The Pingyao family was one of the wealthiest noble families in the Land of Fire, so what was he doing stirring up trouble in Konoha? Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy his status and power on his own lands?

And it wasn't like he was kidnapping young women or anything; it was all sturdy construction workers or other men in physically demanding jobs.

It was utterly baffling.

However—

Baffling as it was, there was still work to be done. Sōgen signed off on the request for backup with a swift stroke of his pen, then handed it to his secretary, Uchiha Soya. "Soya, make a copy of this and deliver it to Uchiha Kojiro's squad. Tell them their requested support will arrive when needed, and they shouldn't worry about safety."

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

Soya responded immediately and dashed off like a shadow.

Not long after Soya left, Uchiha Arashiyama rushed in and asked straight away, "Sōgen, are we sure the culprit behind the disappearances is that envoy?"

"It's not confirmed yet, but if we're not mistaken, there's a high chance it's that old man. Even back when the Fifth Hokage hosted a banquet to welcome him, I sensed something off. His cologne couldn't quite mask the smell of blood. At the time, I thought whatever twisted habits he had were none of my concern. But look at this… it's ended up on my plate anyway."

Uchiha Arashiyama was silent for a couple of seconds before saying, "So we're not moving forward with the funding request after all?"

"...Let's put it on hold. The Hokage's office already agreed to provide some funds, so we should be fine for the first half of the year. But just in case, we should also prepare a plan to hunt down some rogue ninjas."

It wasn't clear exactly how much the Hokage's office would give, so relying solely on that was risky. Better to be prepared with a backup plan.

"You're really good at delegating, Clan Leader. Do you know how hard it is to come up with reasons for those funding applications?"

Arashiyama grumbled but was already considering which of his assistants to assign the task to. Now that the Police Department had expanded, he didn't have to handle everything personally. As the de facto Deputy Director in charge of daily operations, he had six assistants to assign such tasks to.

"I trust you'll handle it well," Sōgen replied with a smile.

Arashiyama took his leave, and Sōgen continued signing the documents that needed his approval, transforming into a relentless signing machine as the minutes ticked by. Outside, the sky gradually darkened.

Nightfall was approaching quickly.