Naruto: Saving the Uchiha

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"What do you mean?" Kazuki sat up straight, frowning.

'Could it be my imagination?' With the Shimura clan in trouble, Kazuki had significant doubts, and Fugaku felt like Kazuki might be stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

But he had no evidence. His small tests revealed nothing either.

'I must be overthinking it' Although Kazuki's abilities were decent, pulling off something as complex as secretly infiltrating the Shimura clan's territory and making the clan leader and two elders mysteriously disappear wouldn't be easy.

Even Fugaku himself wouldn't dare claim he could do it flawlessly.

After all, the other side was quite strong too.

Fugaku dismissed the suspicion in his heart.

"Never mind, you should head back. Take care of the tasks on hand, so we can later go to the prison and keep an eye on Danzo."

"Oh, and if you find a suitable candidate, it wouldn't hurt to decide early."

"..."

'Do you think I'm like you?'

If Fugaku weren't the clan leader, Kazuki would've flipped him off.

"Brat!!" Though Kazuki didn't raise his middle finger, his eyes expressed his thoughts clearly. Fugaku was annoyed to the point of cursing.

If Kazuki could run around with Uchiha Izumi all day, why couldn't he follow his wife?

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was carefully searching for any useful information or clues at the Shimura clan grounds.

He combed through every nook and cranny, both inside and outside the Shimura clan's territory, but in the end, he found very few leads, and even less valuable intel. There were almost no signs of a struggle. Three people—three senior jōnin from prominent ninja families—vanished without a trace.

The strangest part was that no one from the Shimura clan noticed any commotion.

If that were the end of it, fine. But Jiraiya couldn't even figure out how the enemy infiltrated the Shimura clan's grounds.

It was as if they had appeared out of thin air.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone, nor hear any strange noises?"

After repeatedly confirming this with the Shimura clan members, Jiraiya was exasperated. How could he investigate with no clues?

He couldn't just conjure the enemy out of nowhere!

If there had been signs of a struggle or bloodstains, he could follow those, but unfortunately, there was nothing. No matter who was sent, they'd just be staring into space.

Left with no other option, Jiraiya had to ask for help from the Inuzuka clan.

Maybe their summoning beasts could find some useful clues.

Upon receiving the order, the Inuzuka clan took the investigation seriously and immediately dispatched their clan prodigy, Inuzuka Tsume.

"Lord Jiraiya."

Inuzuka Tsume arrived at the Shimura clan grounds with her partner, Kuromaru, a large ninja dog.

"Don't be so formal. I'll be counting on you for help—there's very little useful information on site."

If possible, Jiraiya didn't want to ask others for help, but with no clues, he had no choice.

"Understood."

Tsume, a stern female ninja, immediately got to work alongside her partner.

"Kuromaru, try to find any unfamiliar scents, as well as the scent of those three individuals."

Tsume focused her chakra into her nose, searching alongside Kuromaru for any lingering traces of scent in the air.

Jiraiya and the Shimura clan members could only wait in silence.

After a thorough search, Kuromaru seemed confused, and even Tsume began scratching her head.

Though that gesture seemed a bit unladylike, at the moment, she just wanted to scratch her head.

"Nothing?"

Seeing her anxious expression, Jiraiya knew this wouldn't be easy.

"Lord Jiraiya."

Tsume furrowed her brow deeply and began analyzing the situation:

"Kuromaru and I picked up an unfamiliar scent. This scent doesn't belong to the Shimura clan leader or the two elders, but unfortunately, it's faint and seems to have appeared... hmm."

"Out of nowhere?"

Jiraiya filled in the blank.

Tsume blinked and said, "Yes, it's as if it appeared out of nowhere. I suspect the enemy used some form of space-time ninjutsu to enter the Shimura clan's grounds. But there are no signs of a struggle nearby. I'm puzzled as to how they managed to abduct three highly skilled jōnin."

Even a rabbit fights back when cornered, let alone three veteran jōnin.

Even if the enemy used space-time ninjutsu to infiltrate the Shimura grounds, they should've left some traces when abducting three people.

Leaving nothing behind was too eerie...

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya was as troubled as Tsume and started analyzing:

"Is it possible the enemy not only specializes in space-time ninjutsu but also in battlefield genjutsu?"

Appearing suddenly, controlling the targets with genjutsu, and then taking them away—this would make sense.

But whose genjutsu was powerful enough to easily control jōnin? It should be noted that jōnin aren't just common soldiers—there aren't many even among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Every jōnin earned their rank through countless battles.

How many ninja in the world are strong in genjutsu?

Jiraiya began mentally sorting through potential suspects. After going through the list several times, he found that the most suspicious individuals were Konoha ninjas themselves.

A certain figure appeared in his mind, and Jiraiya silently slapped his forehead.

He must be losing it—now everyone seemed like a suspect.

"Go to the police force and notify Uchiha Kazuki. Tell him I'm asking for his help in investigating this case."

Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to pull in someone skilled in genjutsu for assistance.

"Huh?"

The Shimura clan members were shocked that Jiraiya would invite Kazuki to help, and their faces turned grim, as if they had lost their parents.

Relations between the Shimura and Uchiha clans were already at an all-time low, and now they had to ask the Uchiha for help investigating their own clan's crisis?

If word got out, the Shimura clan would be laughed at.

Seeing their flushed faces and hesitation, Jiraiya became annoyed.

"If you think your feud with the Uchiha is more important than your clan leader and elders, then forget I said anything."

'At this point, why worry about petty issues? Solving the case was the top priority. If they didn't catch the culprit, no one in Konoha would be able to sleep soundly. If they dared to attack the Shimura clan, they could target anyone or any other clan next.'

Frustrated, the Shimura clan members reluctantly agreed to request help.

Fugaku's subtle probe didn't concern Kazuki—without evidence, no one could accuse him.

Kazuki sat in his office, leisurely eating breakfast while reviewing files.

Having collected some "interest" and dealt with a few bothersome individuals, he was in a good mood.

Soon, he would visit Konoha Prison and meet with Danzo, treating him with the utmost courtesy.

Kazuki couldn't wait for time to pass more quickly. He was looking forward to his interactions with Danzo.

"Captain, someone from the Shimura clan is here. They said Lord Jiraiya requested your help to investigate something." Izumi rushed into the office, her big eyes sparkling with excitement.