Chapter 16
However, at this moment, the Nine-Tailed's stance was to judge the difference in quality between Naruto and others.
The Nine-Tailed had to admit that in its 1000 years of life, it had never seen a human with such a terrible personality.
Uzumaki Naruto's profound inner darkness made it feel unusually different from ordinary people.
"…"
Naruto had no intention or thought of speaking regarding the Nine-Tailed's questioning this time.
He just quietly watched as the Police Forcepersonnel gradually extinguished the fire.
"Please leave here immediately…"
As a member of Konoha and a Ninja wielding power, Itachi naturally joined the collaborative work without hesitation.
When he saw that all the other civilians were retreating, but this child remained standing still, staring intently, he couldn't help but speak up to remind him.
"…"
Naruto glanced at Itachi and immediately recognized Itachi's identity by his highly distinctive hairstyle and nasolabial folds.
Sako's older brother…—and one of the culprits who led to the Uchiha Clan's downfall in the original story.
Naruto silently retreated into the crowd.
A moment later, the fire was finally completely extinguished.
Fortunately, the adjacent shops suffered minimal damage; they could be used again after minor repairs to the connecting walls.
However, the Mask Shop's first floor… which was also the main business area of the shop, was completely burned to ashes.
Correspondingly, the second floor also collapsed and was destroyed.
Soon, the Anbu Ninja arrived late.
All members of Anbu Squad Six, led by Kakashi Hatake, were present.
Konoha is one of the most prosperous cities in the Land of Fire, second only to the capital where the Daimyo resides.
At the same time, as an official cooperative enforcement agency of the Land of Fire, it naturally has a sufficiently comprehensive legal system.
Every place has its own rules, and Konoha is no exception.
Killing is not uncommon for Ninja; they walk on the edge of life and death every day.
But killing within Konoha is an entirely different matter.
Especially… when the deceased died on the most bustling Shopping Street, this was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Konoha's higher-ups.
The victim's body was found.
After identity confirmation, it was the Mask Shop Owner.
However, conflicts soon arose between the Uchiha Police Force and the Anbu.
The duties of the Police Force partially overlap with some of the Anbu's responsibilities, which often leads to conflicts between the two sides.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Foxs Attack incident years ago escalated the antagonism between the two sides to a higher level.
Whether it was the rumor that the Uchiha had attracted the Nine-Tailed, or that some Anbupersonnel had lost loved ones due to the Nine-Tailed.
All of this made the Uchiha's situation in Konohaincreasingly delicate.
"The Uchiha, who should be protecting the Village, allowed an arson and murder case to happen… Heh… Are you, who are ineffective, going to hinder us again now?"
Kakashi's subordinates began to speak sarcastically.
This was something that even Kakashi found troublesome.
He could restrain some of his subordinates' actions, but he couldn't reverse public opinion.
Especially… this subordinate named 'Jiang' lost his sister during the Nine-Tailed Demon Foxs Attack. In this situation, other Anbu subordinates also had similar painful experiences, so… "What did you say?!"
The middle-aged, white-haired, veteran UchihaYashiro, whose age and seniority were on par with the Sannin.
He was also Uchiha Fugaku's right-hand man and a representative of the Uchiha Clan's radical faction.
He had squinting eyes and gaunt cheeks.
At this moment, Yashiro angrily stepped forward, about to argue with the young Anbu.
"Oh, oh, it's that squinty-eyed guy, one of the three Uchiha cannon fodder defeated by Itachi in the original story…"
Naruto, also with squinting eyes, shook his head as he watched this conflict unfold.
"Jiang, say less." Kakashi, with his silver spiky hair, immediately spoke to stop his subordinate.
On the Uchiha side.
Uchiha Shisui, who was responsible for being the peacemaker, also came before Uchiha Yashiro to mediate the dispute.
The visible tension between the two groups then began to subside.
Itachi also saw the conflict between his clansmen and the Village.
However, unlike Naruto, who was completely enjoying the show, Itachi felt that the Uchiha Clanmembers should reflect.
The collaborative work quickly began.
With Uchiha Fugaku, the Police Force Captain, and Kakashi Hatake, the Anbu Squad Six Leader, personally taking charge, investigating this case was naturally a small matter.
Uchiha Fugaku: "The head was pierced by a Kunai. In through the forehead, out through the back of the head. A single fatal blow, with immense force…"
Kakashi Hatake: "An ordinary person absolutely cannot achieve this level. No, even most Genin and Chunin cannot inflict this much damage…"
Both the Police Force and the Anbu were professional at handling bodies.
Before long, both of them had stated their conclusions.
Location of incident: Mask Shop.
Deceased: Mask Shop Owner.
Cause of death: Head pierced by a Kunai, accompanied by arson. Therefore, it was determined that the culprit was a Ninja, and their strength was at least Chunin, or even stronger.
Apparently, the culprit did not intend to completely destroy the evidence, but rather brazenly challenged Konoha's enforcement agencies.
The Ninja World War had ended several years ago, and all countries had been recuperating during these years.
Could it be that spies from other countries had infiltrated?
Speculation is speculation; the actual investigation still needed to continue.
Both the Anbu and the Police Force would write reports to the higher-ups, awaiting their reply.
Results would be available in no more than an hour.
Itachi: "Shisui…"
Looking at Shisui, who appeared troubled, the latter just gave a wry smile, as if saying… Itachi, now you understand the conflict between the Uchiha and the Village even better, don't you?
In the crowd nearby.
Naruto turned and left after watching the investigation.
The two groups analyzed for a while, but never suspected him.
There was no way; no one would have thought that a child would do such a thing.
This was a blind spot inherent in their Ninjamindset.
—It was a dimensionality reduction attack he launched on them.
"The initial bloodshed has been completed, and the drill effect is very good…"
Naruto thought to himself.
"Next time, I can face real Ninja!"
…The next morning.
The sun rose as usual.
After a late-night meeting yesterday, Konoha's higher-ups strengthened the Anbu's nighttime activities.
The Uchiha Clan was arranged to start searching for suspicious individuals from daytime.
Undoubtedly, this strict investigation and crackdown would inevitably cause widespread chaos and resentment among the populace.
This would exacerbate the negative impression of Uchiha law enforcement officers in people's minds.
Konoha's higher-ups used others to achieve their goals, inciting the masses against each other. Ultimately, this would only deepen the public's resentment towards the Uchiha Clan, making them even more ostracized.
But for Naruto, Konoha's heightened vigilance and crackdown atmosphere meant that fewer disasters would occur.
To what extent would this affect Hinata's kidnapping incident?
This was also an experiment.
After all, confronting the Ninja leader of the Hidden Cloud Village still carried considerable danger.
Because the Ninja leader of Kumogakure is equivalent to Konoha's Jonin Squad Leader.
Which is the position held by Shikamaru's father, Nara Shikaku.
The difference is… Konoha only has one JoninSquad Leader, while Kumogakure has many Ninjaleaders.
Each of them, if brought out, is at least a Jonin in strength.
If he could use the Village's power to prevent Hinata's kidnapping, Naruto would still be quite pleased.
At the same time, Naruto also knew well that one shouldn't put all eggs in one basket.
Hoping for luck was not advisable.
To prevent accidents, he needed to continue to improve his strength.
The troublesome thing was… after using the Tailed Beast Cloak mode last night, that area was uncomfortably swollen again.
So, who should he trouble next to solve this?
Chapter 14. Yūgao, Who Came Knocking on the Door
Hyuga Clan Residence.
The morning sun shone into the dojo, and Hinataand her father, Hyuga Hiashi, began a new day of morning training.
As the successor of the Main Family, mastery of the Gentle Fist was of paramount importance.
Without corresponding strength, even with the Caged Bird Seal, it would be impossible to restrain the Branch Family members.
Therefore… strictly instructing his eldest daughter was what Hiashi had to do every day.
Slap! Slap!
The generation of azure Chakra vortexes, releasing Chakra from fingertips, palms, and even all acupoints for offense and defense, is one of the mysteries of the Gentle Fist.
"A blind spot!"
Hyuga Hiashi, with an extremely serious expression, besides being unsmiling, also possessed the dignity of a superior.
This made most Hyuga clansmen greatly fear him as their clan head.
Seeing his daughter distracted, Hiashi mercilessly slapped her face with his palm.
Slap!
Accompanied by a clear slapping sound, Hinata, with a pained expression, was directly slapped to the ground.
"You have ten minutes to immediately adjust your emotions!"
Hiashi gazed down at his fallen daughter, his words filled only with sternness, not affection.