Sorry for the late update, guys and girls. The last two weeks were very exhausting due to the final exams, among other things, which the university requires and are still ongoing. Wish me luck.
Here you go, a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
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About two days later, near Yugakure;
Hidden in the forest away from any road or anyone who might spot it, there was a wooden house standing covered in brush and vegetation.
Inside the house, a small candle flame was surrounded by five masked individuals, who were finishing their rations while their masks were pushed slightly to the side, revealing only their mouths.
"This mission is to gather information on the Rouge shinobi named Hidan or anything that leads to him or his abilities. And depending on what we find, Hokage-sama permitted us to proceed to do as we see fit." Inu said as he returned his mask to its usual position.
"How do we proceed?" Tenzo asked
"Proceed with caution and remain hidden. We need to be as discreet as possible and avoid being spotted." Inu said
"We need to be in the vicinity of each other so that if you find anything, then you can quickly tell the others. Anything revolving around Hidan will most likely be dangerous for any of us to face alone." Ryuu said, to which the others nodded.
Two weeks later;
After two weeks of nonstop searching, they found no concrete evidence or leads. The two Anbu teams went to great lengths to gather information but came up empty-handed. They impersonated tourists, spied on the dissolved Shinobi ranks of Yugakure, and broke into their records and storage locations. They even traveled to villages near Yugakure, but still came up with nothing.
But they came out with nothing, other than Hidan's shinobi records; they couldn't find anything that connected him with how he came to acquire his abilities.
Now back at the wooden house, the two teams sat in silence around the candle flame, contemplating what to do.
"Any ideas on where to go from now?" Inu asked
"I can't think of any. We came out dry from every route we took." Ryuu replied with some frustration seeping into his voice, making Inu let out a sigh.
"Seems like this mission is a failure. We don't need to stay here any longer, as we haven't acquired any useful information. No need to waste more time here." Inu said with a blank tone to which the others nodded slowly.
As the two teams prepared to leave. Ryuu glanced at Neko as he felt something irregular with her emotions. While she felt bitter and frustrated about the failed mission, Ryuu could also feel that she was conflicted and hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but felt as if it wasn't worth it.
"What is it, Neko?" Ryuu asked, slightly startling Neko, who looked at him.
"Huh?" Neko looked at Naruto, confused.
"You seem to want to say something," Ryuu said, making the other stop what they were doing and look at Neko.
"It is nothing, just a thought," Neko replied.
"Is it related to the mission?" Ryuu asked
"That is the point I am thinking about. I don't know if it's useful or a waste of time." Neko replied
"Just share it. You have nothing to lose. If it's really nothing, then we are already leaving." Ryuu replied. Making Neko go quiet for a moment.
"I heard some of the remaining Yugakure shinobi talking about kidnappings that were happening in Yugakure and the nearby villages in the land of hot springs," Neko said
"So? Kidnapping isn't uncommon. And why are you thinking about that? It has nothing to do with our mission." Tenzo said with sight confusion in his voice.
"I know that. I was about to let it go, but I heard something that kept replaying in my mind. They said that kidnappers didn't ask for ransom. Also, when the shinobi monitored the roads, they didn't find any signs of the kidnappers or of the kidnapped people being transferred anywhere, which was weird to them. They also said this had been happening for a while now, with no leads to anything about these kidnappings." Neko said, making the others look at each other in silence.
"This has nothing to do with our mission. The kidnappers most likely have a secret route to smuggle the kidnappees. Yugakure shinobi should deal with it themselves." Inu replied blankly after a couple of moments of silence, which made Neko ever so slightly dejected, but nodded, nonetheless.
As the others turned back to continue preparing to leave, Ryuu just stood there, deep in thought.
"She might be on to something," Ryuu said in a low voice that was heard by the others, making them turn to look at him.
"Buntaicho?" Phoenix asked, wanting to hear Ryuu out, making him look at her and the others.
"Hearing what Neko said has made me remember something that Hidan said," Ryuu started
"Hidan has been vocal about me being a perfect sacrifice that he couldn't deliver to his Lord 'Jashin.' It might be a long shot, but what if there is a cult of people similar to Hidan out there? The kidnappees might not have been found because they were used as sacrifices to gain similar powers to Hidan. No one would be that fanatical about sacrifices if they didn't or haven't got anything out of them." Ryuu said in a blank tone, making the others look at each other in tense silence as they processed what had been said.
"Quiet the dark thought there, Buntaicho?" Phoenix said, breaking the silence, to which Ryuu shrugged
"After my encounter with thought two, any thought has merit," Ryuu replied, before looking at Inu, who was deep in thought.
"What do you think?" Ryuu asked Inu, who was deep in thought.
"While it seemed far-fetched, since the thought came from you, it might hold some truth. Hokage-sama didn't give us a time limit on the duration of the mission, so we can investigate these kidnappings and see if it leads us to anything relevant to our mission. If it leads to nothing, then we return home." Inu said, to which Ryuu nodded in agreement.
To be continued.
Guys and gals, show me those powerstones.
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