Inside the city lord's mansion, City Lord Kurokawa Yasumasa received the two men quite courteously, expressed his gratitude, and informed them that the city guards had successfully apprehended the human trafficking group responsible for the crime before their arrival. He guaranteed that the mission would still be counted as completed, and the subsequent reward would be paid to Konoha as usual.
When Maruboshi Kosuke inquired about the whereabouts of the kidnapped children, the city lord looked regretful, explaining that the group was a criminal syndicate operating across multiple countries and the children had been resold overseas. However, he promised to do his best to track them down and retrieve them.
After hearing this explanation, Maruboshi Kosuke said no more. He stood up to take his leave: "Thank you for the hospitality, Lord City Lord. Since that is the case, we will depart now."
The two declined the city lord's further attempts to detain them and walked toward the mansion exit.
As they reached the entrance, Shinichi's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. He didn't look back, but he could clearly feel the gaze of the middle-aged man dressed as a butler, who had been standing beside the city lord, fall upon his back again.
Ever since Shinichi entered the hall, this person's eyes had frequently landed on him. It wasn't a casual appraisal, but an extremely focused, even subtly urgent observation.
Shinichi had once looked back as if sensing something, and although the other party immediately restrained himself and casually shifted his gaze, the eyes would subsequently sneak back from the shadows or the corner of his eye, time and again, as if repeatedly confirming something.
---
"Shinichi, what do you think?" Maruboshi Kosuke asked after they had walked some distance away from the city lord's mansion.
"Abnormal," Shinichi replied concisely, his gaze sweeping over the imposing mansion behind them.
"Mhm." Maruboshi Kosuke nodded slightly, lowering his voice: "Let's talk once we're farther away."
---
Inside the city lord's mansion, the heavy wooden doors had just closed, sealing off the outside light and sound, and the mask of butler-like deference on Elder Takahashi's face instantly shattered.
He abruptly turned toward Kurokawa Yasumasa, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement, his voice extremely low but unable to conceal the surging fanaticism within:
"Did you see him?! That boy... that Konoha Genin named Higashino Shinichi!"
Kurokawa Yasumasa's heart skipped a beat, and his face darkened: "What are you planning now? I warned you not to act rashly!"
"No! You don't understand!" Elder Takahashi interrupted him urgently, his eyes flickering with a strange light: "That was a resonance! It was the most direct revelation from Lord Holy God! The moment he stepped into the hall, the power of divine grace deep within my bloodline began to stir and call out! This is no accident! His body... his very existence, is likely a perfect vessel born to bear the power of the holy son! He is a natural holy son candidate!"
He leaned closer, his voice hoarse and seductive: "Kurokawa Yasumasa, tell me, you too have bathed in the grace of the holy god. When you saw him, did your heart not stir? If we just capture him and complete the final ritual... the great endeavor of the holy god's advent will be realized through us!"
Kurokawa Yasumasa's eyes flickered with complexity, and he said with difficulty: "But he is a Konoha ninja!"
"Just a Genin!"
Elder Takahashi scoffed dismissively: "Look at his companion, he's decades old and still a Genin. Teaming up with him itself proves that this boy is completely disregarded in Konoha, insignificant! Characters like this were simply expendable in previous wars. This world has never been peaceful; a Genin dying is completely normal."
He continued coldly: "We can make it look clean. Stage an accident, frame it on wandering rogue ninja or ronin. An unremarkable old Genin dies, and a young Genin with no background disappears... similar things happen every day in these border regions. Would Konoha really make a big fuss and conduct a deep investigation for two insignificant, low-ranking ninja? As long as we are clean and leave no evidence, the matter will naturally fade away over time."
Kurokawa Yasumasa remained silent, unconsciously rubbing his cuff, the light of weighing pros and cons fiercely clashing in his eyes.
Seeing his continued indecision, Elder Takahashi's eyes flashed dangerously, and he sternly said: "Don't forget your illness, Kurokawa Yasumasa! Only with the advent of the holy son can your illness be completely cured."
He was already prepared to kill Kurokawa Yasumasa and proceed with the cultists himself if the city lord disagreed.
Thinking of his illness and looking at the increasingly dangerous gaze of the man before him, Kurokawa Yasumasa gritted his teeth and said, "...Fine! Then... let's do it!"
Elder Takahashi nodded in satisfaction and was about to give instructions when a cultist rushed in and reported softly, "My lords, those two Konoha ninja... have already left the city."
"That fast?" Kurokawa Yasumasa was stunned.
Elder Takahashi's pupils suddenly contracted, and an ominous premonition seized his heart: "This is bad! They must have realized something! Chase them! They absolutely cannot be allowed to leave!"
---
Not long after leaving the city lord's mansion, the two quickly slipped into a quiet, deserted narrow alley.
Maruboshi Kosuke stopped, turned to look at Shinichi, his gaze calm, and whispered, "We can talk now. What did you find?"
Shinichi analyzed in a steady tone: "Senior, the city lord's mansion is not only aware of this child disappearance case, but is likely deeply involved. More precisely, City Lord Kurokawa Yasumasa himself is either their protector or collaborator."
Maruboshi Kosuke frowned deeply: "Your basis?"
"First, the unreasonable attitude." Shinichi analyzed with clear logic: "The city lord was overly enthusiastic and thorough with us, as if he was eager to shove a complete answer set at us. Apprehending the culprits just before we arrived, the children being sold overseas... all the explanations fit perfectly, which makes them seem too flawless, like a carefully rehearsed statement. As the city lord, with numerous duties, it is inherently abnormal for him to personally provide such a quick and detailed account for a standard C-rank request."
"Combined with the fact that local security forces found nothing regarding the child disappearance case, such a clean operation is only possible with intentional cover-up from the highest official level."
"Second, the butler." Shinichi paused, recalling the gaze that seemed to be repeatedly confirming something: "He paid unusual attention to me from the moment I entered. It wasn't curiosity; it was more like... assessing a certain characteristic. When I looked back, although he immediately concealed it, he continued to observe secretly afterward. This is definitely not the behavior of an ordinary butler. His interest in me as a person seemed far greater than his attention to my identity as a Konoha ninja."
"Senpai, besides my identity as a Konoha ninja, what else about me would warrant such intense attention?"
Maruboshi Kosuke's eyes shifted slightly, and he uttered two words: "A child."
"Yes, a child." Shinichi nodded, following this line of reasoning: "Therefore, the truth behind the child disappearance cases in this region recently is likely that some force is secretly and continuously kidnapping children, trying to screen for those who meet their specific requirements or characteristics. And this force is working closely with the city lord's mansion, perhaps with the city lord himself being a member or the leader."