Kosuke Maruboshi listened in silence, slowly exhaling a breath. "Your deduction... is highly probable. If the City Lord is truly involved, this is no longer a simple criminal case. It implicates local officials of the Land of Fire, completely exceeding our jurisdiction and authority as shinobi."
"According to the treaties between Konoha and the Land of Fire, as well as village regulations, we must immediately suspend our investigation. We have to report this back to the village and let Lord Hokage decide. It will require negotiations with the capital and formal authorization from the Daimyo. Acting on our own will spark a massive political disaster."
"Senior, so we just head straight back to the village?" Shinichi asked.
Kosuke pondered for a moment. "I had originally planned to visit the clients in the nearby villages, even if the mission is officially considered complete on paper. But..."
He shifted the conversation, looking directly at Shinichi. "What do you think, Shinichi?"
"Leave the city immediately," Shinichi replied without a second of hesitation. "And we need to make it look rushed and urgent, as if we've discovered some massive, sudden shift in the situation. Once we're out of the city gates, we make a beeline straight for Konoha."
"Oh?" Kosuke didn't interrupt, simply gesturing for him to continue.
"At first, they probably just wanted to feed us that fabricated story to stabilize the situation and send us on our way. But based on the butler's covert, repeated scrutiny the moment I stepped into the manor, I likely possess some specific 'trait' that they consider incredibly important. His repeated confirmations suggest they've altered their original plan—from seeing us out, to keeping us here permanently."
Shinichi's analysis was cold and crystalline. "Right now, it's highly likely they are mobilizing their forces and setting a trap. Our move is to completely disrupt their rhythm. We proactively break out of the encirclement they are currently weaving. If we look suspicious and leave in an obvious rush, it will force their hand, making them strike prematurely and intercept us outside the city."
"Luring the snake out of its hole?" Kosuke immediately grasped his intention.
"Exactly," Shinichi nodded. "As long as they strike first, regardless of who they are, morality and the law will be firmly on our side. Konoha shinobi attacking local officials without cause is a severe felony. Conversely, local officials or their affiliated forces launching an unprovoked attack on active-duty Konoha shinobi is an equally unforgivable capital offense."
Although the Daimyo was nominally the supreme ruler of the Land of Fire, Konoha Hidden Village held a highly transcendent status, wielding absolute, practical military power.
Throughout the history of the Great Ninja Wars, every single conflict had been initiated and spearheaded directly by the hidden villages. During wartime, the local officials and administrative systems of the various nations were largely reduced to passive compliance. Their duties were mostly relegated to post-war governance and managing newly acquired territories.
For instance, in the impending Third Great Ninja War, the Hidden Sand Village would directly declare war on Konoha using the disappearance of the Kazekage as a pretext—without ever officially notifying the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.
This blatant disregard had deeply enraged that Daimyo, yet after the war, he could only use the excuse of "poor military performance by the Sand" to cut their funding as a symbolic punishment.
Even further back, during the very first Five Kage Summit, the founding Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had openly and brazenly discussed the division of national territories and the distribution of global interests. Their sheer authority and independence were glaringly obvious.
Shinichi further clarified the core mechanics. "Konoha shinobi are officially commissioned military personnel recognized by the state. Even if we are suspected of a crime, local administrative officials have no authority to privately detain or punish us. They must negotiate with Konoha through official channels."
"Only when an individual is formally declared a missing-nin by Konoha can local officials assist in their capture, and only after receiving explicit authorization. If they proactively attack us, they are personally handing us the legal justification to strike back and investigate this to the very end."
The state and the ninja village had long existed in a delicate, incredibly complex state of symbiosis. Their jurisdictions often overlapped, and their ideologies frequently clashed. Yet, founded on the practical, mutually beneficial premise of "I provide you with funding and administrative convenience; you provide me with military force and security guarantees," they had forged a bizarre equilibrium.
This birthed an unspoken, yet mutually acknowledged set of rules: You have no right to arbitrarily punish the shinobi under my command, and I will not directly interfere with the political affairs within your jurisdiction... These unwritten laws formed the unique "One Nation, One Village" system of the shinobi world.
And if you overstep your bounds without cause, then morality and the law stand with me.
Kosuke looked at the junior standing before him—a boy with a terrifyingly meticulous mind who was exceptionally adept at exploiting the rules. A flash of profound approval crossed his eyes.
In the current, highly complex situation, this was indeed a brilliant strategy to bypass procedural risks while aggressively turning the tables.
However, Kosuke didn't agree immediately. He voiced his concerns with a thoughtful hum. "The plan is solid, but there are a few issues. First, according to village protocol, this matter has clearly exceeded the scope of our assigned mission. Second, the risks are entirely unknown. We have no idea how many people the enemy has, nor their strength."
"Even if we ultimately hold the moral and legal high ground, the village might not appreciate us creating unnecessary complications. They might view it as meddling and recklessly instigating conflict. Furthermore, even if the Daimyo doesn't pursue the matter openly, he will inevitably be displeased by Konoha shinobi triggering an incident within his territory."
Shinichi's expression remained perfectly unchanged, his reply calm. "Senior, regarding the danger... I accepted that reality the moment I decided to become a shinobi. I admit, I have a bit of selfish motivation here as well. I simply refuse to let my very first mission end in such a vague, anti-climactic manner."
"And then there are those children..."
He fell silent for a moment. "Their families are still waiting for them to come home. As long as there is even a sliver of hope, we shouldn't give up."
Truly worthy of being Lord Third's handpicked inheritor of the Will of Fire!
Kosuke sighed internally in admiration.
Shinichi continued his analysis, his logic immaculate. "Furthermore, Senior, this isn't meddling. As Konoha shinobi, it is our inherent duty to maintain border stability and prevent infiltration by unknown factions. An unidentified organization has slipped into the Land of Fire's borders and potentially compromised a City Lord. This falls exactly within our responsibilities."
"Finally, the Daimyo might not care about the disappearance of a few commoner children, but he will absolutely never tolerate the officials under his command slipping his leash and secretly engaging in plots he knows nothing about."
"Alright!" Kosuke made his decision on the spot. "We'll do it your way. We are leaving the city right now."
That night, beside a river bordering the dense forest. Thick clouds masked the moonlight, leaving only the gurgling sound of the flowing water.
Shinichi and Kosuke, who had been traveling in a deliberate rush, abruptly stopped. In the shadows of the trees ahead, over a dozen figures draped in black cloaks silently emerged, fanning out in a semi-circle to block their path.
"Konoha shinobi, why the sudden rush to leave? It makes it look as though I, the City Lord, was a poor host." The leader pulled back his hood, revealing the face of Yasumasa Kurokawa.
Shinichi didn't reply. His eyes swept over the uniform insignia branded on the black cloaks: an outer circle enclosing a triangle, drawn with coarse, jagged lines in a dark, coagulated blood-red.
This symbol? The Way of Jashin?
"Your Highness, the Holy Son... we meet again." Elder Takahashi slowly stepped forward from the side. The gaze beneath his hood locked onto Shinichi, boiling with raw, undisguised fanaticism and hunger, as if he were staring at a priceless artifact.
"Please, do not resist. If you are willing to submit, I can promise... to leave your companion's corpse intact."
His tone was flat, yet it dripped with absolute, condescending certainty.
Makes sense. After all, they were just two Genin.
However, the very instant his words fell...
Shinichi's hand, hanging casually by his side, twitched almost imperceptibly, forming a minimalist, single-handed seal.
The next second—BOOM!!!
The previously calm river violently roared to life! Endless torrents of water surged out, exploding into the sky to form a massive, sky-blotting tidal wave. Carrying a deafening roar and absolutely unstoppable kinetic force, it crashed mercilessly down upon the group of cloaked figures on the riverbank!
Elder Takahashi's pupils contracted violently.
This is a Konoha...
Genin?!