Izumi finally ran to Uchiha Chisen. The girl was so out of breath her small face was slightly flushed. She bent over, gasping for air, but still quickly handed over the documents with both hands.
"Se... Senior, this is the list of all missing persons in Konoha Village over the past five years. None of the people on the list have been found yet. There are a total of one hundred and seventy-six missing persons."
When she spoke this number, Izumi herself was a little astonished.
And this was only the officially recorded missing persons.
There were definitely some who weren't recorded, especially some missing ninja who might have carried many secrets themselves.
People who carried secrets naturally wouldn't end up on Konoha's missing persons list.
Uchiha Chisen didn't take the list of missing persons because, at that moment, another voice approached from a distance: "Lord Chisen, I've found new bones, meow! And this time, I've found quite a lot!"
Kijiro rushed over with his cat children and grandchildren.
Many of the Ninja Cats were carrying various bone fragments.
"They were all found in the sewers, meow!" Kijiro leaped lightly, skillfully jumping onto Izumi's head, and said, "I'm just not sure if they're from the same person."
One by one, the Ninja Cats placed the bones they were carrying down.
Uchiha Chisen crouched down and picked up one of the bone fragments.
"Newcomer, temporarily exclude the male missing persons."
He said.
Izumi was startled. "Senior, do you already know the gender of the person who was killed?"
Uchiha Chisen stood up and said, "This is the inferior pubic ramus of the human body. Men generally have a narrow V-shape with an angle less than 90°, while women have a wider U-shape or wide V-shape with an angle greater than 90°."
He pointed to another bone fragment on the ground. "This is the supraorbital ridge of the human body. Men have a thick, prominent brow ridge with clear signs of posterior inclination; women's are relatively flatter, with a vertical or slightly inclined forehead."
Izumi listened, dumbfounded.
How many victim bodies had Senior Chisen handled to acquire the skill of discerning a body's gender at a glance just by looking at its bones?
Suddenly.
Izumi keenly noticed Senior Chisen frown.
It seemed he had made a new discovery.
She watched as he bent down, picked up two bones with teeth embedded in them, examined them for a long time, and then said, "Newcomer, the age range is locked between five and thirty years old. Pay attention to the photos on the list and pick out the missing women who look like they have slightly protruding teeth."
Izumi quickly replied, "Yes! Senior!"
As she hurriedly flipped through the files, she dared to ask curiously, "Senior, why is the age..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, Senior Chisen saw through her thoughts with a single glance and preemptively said in a detached tone, "Because there are two different skeletons. Oh, and pay attention to the surnames of the missing persons. I suspect the two skeletons are mother and daughter."
"Judging by the cross-sections where the two skeletons were cut, the culprit likely used the same tool to dismember them. It's highly probable that the crimes were committed by the same person, and perhaps they were killed on the same day."
"Judging by the size of the bone fragments, their bodies were dismembered into over a hundred pieces after they were killed. It's fortunate we were able to find some of them."
Izumi's hand almost trembled.
Two... two bodies?
Mother... and daughter?
"One large and one small. The older victim should be between twenty and thirty years old, and the younger victim should be between five and eight years old," Uchiha Chisen said calmly.
Izumi, feeling a chill run down her spine, frantically flipped through the files in her hands.
Based on the filtering information provided by Senior Chisen, Izumi quickly found two missing persons with the same surname.
"Senior! I found them!"
She tried her best to calm down and quickly said, "Yamada Ryoko, twenty-seven years old, disappeared four years ago. Her husband died early, and she had one daughter; Yamada Nobumi, four years old, disappeared four years ago. Her father died early, and her mother is Yamada Ryoko."
Uchiha Chisen said, "What do you think we should do next?"
Izumi was taken aback, not expecting Senior to throw the question back at her.
Right!
Perhaps this was a test of her abilities by Senior!
Izumi immediately replied, "Find their former residences, investigate their relationships with their neighbors and relatives, and also investigate their financial situation before they died. Furthermore, focus on investigating who inherited the Yamada family's assets after their deaths."
This was part of the Konoha Military Police Force's internship manual on how to solve cases.
Izumi had remembered quite a bit of this basic theoretical knowledge.
"Let's go," Uchiha Chisen said to Izumi first, then to Kijiro, "Take the skeletons back to the Military Police Force."
"Yes! Senior Chisen!"
"Yes! Lord Chisen!"
...
"Hey, Yamada, tomorrow is the funeral for Lord Hokage's eldest son. Why are you spacing out like that?! Lord Hokage instructed us to ensure the funeral is conducted beautifully and grandly, so that these deceased can peacefully journey to the Pure Land."
"If you're not in good condition, take a leave of absence immediately. Otherwise, if you make any mistakes tomorrow and cause an accident during the funeral, how could we ordinary civilians possibly bear the wrath of Lord Hokage? Our funeral home's reputation would also be ruined!"
The man referred to as "Yamada" shivered violently.
He shook his head, forcing a strained smile. "Maybe I just didn't sleep well last night. I'm fine."
Actually, even he didn't know why he felt so restless.
Could it be...
No...
Impossible.
"I handled it cleanly..." Yamada muttered to himself, a voice only he could hear. "And so many years have passed, how could it possibly be discovered?"
...
"Hokage-sama, Shinosuke's funeral is tomorrow. As Konoha's Hokage, you really should try to pull yourself together."
A female Anbu ninja, wearing a mask, spoke softly behind Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a deep sigh.
He turned around and looked at the female Anbu in front of him, his expression complex. "You're just as pained as I am, aren't you? After all... you were married to Shinosuke for many years, and your relationship was very good..."
"Hokage-sama, I don't think dwelling on pain is useful. What has happened cannot be changed. All I can do is ensure Shinosuke can depart for the afterlife peacefully, take good care of Konohamaru in the future, and remember this hatred. That's all."
Sarutobi Hiruzen detected a slight hoarseness in her voice.
Perhaps this daughter-in-law, who had just lost her husband, had already cried countless times.
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent for a while before saying, "Fuyuko, I know you hate Uchiha Chisen, but..."
"I know."
Sarutobi Fuyuko said, "Hokage-sama, I will consider the village's overall situation and won't let hatred cloud my judgment. Hokage-sama, I'd like to request half a day off to go back and spend some time with Konohamaru."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
"Go ahead."
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