Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Is this the smell of blood?

Tsunade, feeling suffocated by the overwhelming aura emanating from the four figures before her, suddenly wrinkled her delicate nose. As a ninja and doctor, she was extremely sensitive to the metallic smell of blood.

And it smelled very fresh blood!

Based on her years of medical experience, Tsunade instantly determined that these guys were injured.
But she was also curious: who exactly was it that could injure these terrifying figures, whose mere presence rendered her unable to muster any will to resist?
Just as Tsunade frowned in thought, the four men in black robes did not interrupt their mission because of her obstruction.

"Kid, hurry home."

In the instant they passed each other, the black-robed man who had been bumped into by Tsunade earlier uttered a soft remark, and the four figures vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
"what?"

After the group left, Tsunade, feeling a sense of relief, belatedly cried out in surprise. She felt she had heard that person's voice somewhere before, as if it were someone who had held her when she was a child.
"no!"

This is a sensitive time, and with such a dangerous figure appearing in Amegakure, she, as a covert spy, must investigate thoroughly.
With this in mind, Tsunade did not revert to her original form, but continued to chase after them in her childlike manner.
After all, children are more likely to make people lower their guard than adults.
Tsunade moved with incredible speed, following the faint scent of blood in the air, and finally caught up with the four black-robed figures moving in perfect unison at the end of the street.
"Huhu. Huh."

After catching her breath, Tsunade slowed down and carefully followed behind the group, thus beginning a tense and exciting tailing operation.

Sensing a small tail suddenly appearing behind them, one of the black-robed figures frowned slightly and said to the leader,

"Number Four, that brat is catching up."

"Number One, ignore her. Finding the master is the top priority."

The black-robed man, referred to as Number Four, glanced out of the corner of his eye at Tsunade, who was hiding behind a stall dozens of meters away, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"Don't cause trouble in human settlements. Number Three's injuries haven't healed yet, and those humans could find us at any time."

When "those humans" were mentioned, the third man in the black robe in the group trembled slightly, and his previously orderly steps suddenly became somewhat disordered.
"Number Two, where is the target's aura located now?"

Number Four's gaze lingered on Number Three for only a second before he turned to ask the other man in black robes.

Upon hearing this, Number Two narrowed its eyes, its dark brown pupils replaced by a pair of vertical cat-like eyes. Its vast sensory range instantly expanded, searching for the pre-recorded aura.

"Are you there?"

He quickly located the target's aura, but in an instant, it vanished without a trace. The sudden change caused his beastly pupils to shrink sharply, and a rare look of astonishment appeared on his usually expressionless face.

"what happened?"

Noticing his teammate's unusual behavior, number four asked coldly,
"The mission objective has vanished."

Number Two, whose pupils had been restored to human size, shook his head.
"do you died?"

"It shouldn't be. During the last search, the target's life force was very strong, so it's impossible for it to have died in such a short time."

Upon hearing this, Team Leader Number Four gradually slowed his pace. Without the precise coordinates of their target, their search would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If they took too long, the humans following them would surely discover their presence.
However, if they fail to complete the mission, the fate facing the four of them will not be much better than encountering those humans.

"Number One, where is the mission objective data you recorded?"

Fortunately, they had other intelligence sources; the detailed information about the mission objectives was kept by Number One.
"Uh, the mission objective's data was destroyed in the last battle."

"despair!"

Upon hearing this, Number Four abruptly stopped, turned around, and stared intently at the somewhat uneasy Number One, his face expressionless.
"It's not my fault, those documents were destroyed by your lava."

Feeling the pressure from Number Four, Number One shook his head and threw the pot back.

"Lava bath or self-destruction, you choose one."

Number Four stared coldly at Number One, and after a moment, slowly spoke in judgment: his team has no need for useless people.
Number Two possesses keen senses, Number Three has powerful defense, and he possesses extraordinary destructive power.

This particular number one is useless in combat and even worse at data storage; it's best to destroy it as soon as possible to avoid hindering them in the future.

"Wait! I've looked through the mission objective's information before."

Faced with the cold gazes of his three teammates, Number One's face had long since lost its previous indifference, and he quickly waved his hand in acknowledgment.
"explain."

“Masahiko Uzumaki, that’s the name of the mission target’s father.”

Under the threat of death, Number One racked his brains and finally recalled a detail from the mission objective data he had glanced at.

"continue."

"Gone."

"I guess I'll just send you to Flower Fruit Mountain for a lava bath."

Why did those guys suddenly stop?

Tsunade, who had been secretly following them, looked at the four people who had formed a circle with a puzzled expression. In order not to alert them, she patiently waited.

"Huh? Internal strife?"

A few minutes later, a disagreement seemed to arise in the conversation between the four people. One of them was surrounded by the other three and forced into a side alley.

Filled with curiosity, Tsunade crept over, pressed herself against the wall at the alley entrance, and pricked up her ears, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation between the people.
"Kid."

However, the next second, her small figure was enveloped by a tall, dark shadow. She looked up at the tall, black-robed man who had silently stood before her.

In that split second, Tsunade, worried about being exposed, displayed the reaction a normal child would have.

"what!"

She plopped down on the ground, her terrified scream causing Number Four to furrow his brow slightly, but also indirectly dispelling his suspicions about Tsunade. His sharp killing intent instantly vanished.
The kid who followed them all the way was indeed just an ordinary human child with a strong sense of curiosity.

"Kid."

"Waaaah, don't eat me! I'll leave right now!"

Noticing the disappearance of wariness in Number Four's eyes, Tsunade relaxed and continued her performance.
"and many more."

"what?"

Tsunade, who thought she had gotten away with her cute acting skills, froze. Had she given herself away somewhere?

Are you a child from here?

"Yes, yes, I grew up in Amegakure."

Upon hearing this question, Tsunade's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. It seemed that not only had she not been exposed, but she could also extract information about these people's purpose in coming to Amegakure.

"Ninja master, if you need a guide, I can help. Hiring me is very cheap!" "Here you go."

Looking at Tsunade, who was enthusiastically promoting herself, he pondered for a few seconds, then took out several gems of different colors from his pocket and tossed them over.

"This is."

Hastily accepting the still-warm gem, a barely perceptible look of horror flashed in Tsunade's eyes.

Although the gems were of various types, having once lived in the mansion of a daimyo in the Land of Fire, she recognized them at a glance as unpolished, raw gems, each one worth enough to buy a building.

"Isn't it enough?"

Seeing Tsunade's stunned expression, Number Four frowned. He had many more of these things on him, things he had casually preserved from the scorching lava.

"Enough! That's enough! Ninja Master, I'm yours now~"

Coming to her senses, Tsunade quickly stuffed the unexpected windfall into her small bag. Her fair face instantly plastered with a fawning smile; it was hard to imagine that a child not even ten years old could display such a servile expression.
"I don't want you, I just want you to help us find someone."

Tsunade's sudden change of expression caught Number Four off guard. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he gently shook his head.
"Also, I am not a ninja."

Not a ninja?
Who believes it?
Upon hearing Number Four deny being a ninja, Tsunade couldn't help but roll her eyes inwardly.

With such a terrifying aura, if you say you're not a ninja, then no one in this world would dare to call themselves a ninja.

"Alright, alright, sir, you're not a ninja, you're the god of ninjas!"

"."

Tsunade pursed her lips and casually offered a compliment, but when Number Four heard the title "God of Shinobi," he suddenly trembled, and the complex emotion in his empty eyes vanished in an instant.
"By the way, sir, who are you looking for? I can't guarantee anything else, but when it comes to finding people, I'm the local human search engine."

Finding nothing amiss with Number Four hiding under the hood, Tsunade patted her unremarkable chest and assured him with absolute certainty.
"I need to find Masahiko Uzumaki."

"what?"

Let's go to two ends of the story.

After parting ways with Tsunade, Gin Uchiha, preoccupied with his own thoughts, didn't linger any longer. He and the two women used the Body Flicker Technique to find Masahiko Uzumaki's shop in just a few minutes.

"This storefront is definitely the right one."

Although the shop's doors were tightly closed, Uchiha Gin immediately recognized the classic red signboard that had been with him for many years. Looking at the three large characters "Pinduoduo" on it, he nodded with certainty.

This catchy name was given to him by Zhou Zuoren when he helped Zhou Zuoren, and it has been used ever since.
"Closed down, did we make a wasted trip?"

Uchiha Hikaru looked up at the notice posted on the door, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
"Not necessarily, ask someone nearby."

After briefly activating his senses to search, Uchiha Gin confirmed that there was indeed no sign of life inside the store. Shaking his head, he deactivated his senses and turned his gaze to the open shop next door.
Gin Uchiha casually bought some local specialties from the Land of Rain at the shop, a kind of dessert similar to a donut. While paying, he asked, seemingly casually...
"Boss, do you know where Zheng Yan, the owner of the shop next door, went?"

"Looking for Boss Masahiko again?"

The shop owner, who was busy doing the accounts, seemed quite used to this kind of question, after all, many of Masahiko Uzumaki's regular customers had come to his shop to ask about it in the past few days.
"Yes, I'm a regular customer of his. I haven't seen him open his shop for a while."

"You've come at a bad time; they just left not long ago."

The shopkeeper, having finished packing the donuts, shook his head, took the money from Uchiha Gin, and said with a regretful expression,

"Oh? Do you know where he went?"

“You’ve come to the right person. I just casually asked him that when he left.”

The shopkeeper, with a smug look on his face, spoke up while giving change.

“Boss Zheng Yan is desperate and will try anything. If any doctor could give him an accurate answer, he wouldn’t be going to have someone exorcise him.”

Exorcism?

Uchiha Gin was taken aback upon hearing this.
Isn't this too unscientific?

Wait a minute, modern ninjas don't seem very scientific either.

"Do you know where he went to exorcise the demon?"

Seeing that the shopkeeper didn't answer, Gin Uchiha, understanding the situation, didn't take the change.
"Hehe~ I like customers like you who know what's good for them, unlike those poor bastards who come to ask questions but don't spend any money."

The shopkeeper smiled and stuffed the change back into the drawer, casually complaining about the three poor ninjas who had come to ask the same question earlier that day.
"Go south, less than ten miles away, there is a shrine, and the head priestess is a shrine maiden from the land of demons."

"Thank you, boss! I wish you great success in your business!"

Uchiha Gin, who picked up the donut, had no objection to the shop owner's greedy behavior and even felt he had made a small profit.

This was a normal intelligence transaction between the two parties; essentially, he paid money to buy information about Masahiko Uzumaki, and received a bag of donuts as a bonus.

"Asked."

Stepping out of the shop, Uchiha Gin waved to the two waiting women and headed towards the shrine the shopkeeper had pointed out.

A few minutes later, as the number of people on both sides of the street dwindled, a slightly dilapidated shrine came into view.
"A shrine in a place like this?"

Uchiha Rinne raised an eyebrow in surprise. In this era where ninjas were prevalent, remnants of the old era, such as Onmyoji and shrine maidens, had long since disappeared.
Except for a few remote areas where this kind of fraudulent profession still exists, they are rarely seen in other places.

"Wow! Wow! Wow!"

Just as Uchiha Gin was feeling sentimental, a loud cry suddenly came from the dilapidated shrine. The voice sounded very young, and Uchiha Gin frowned upon hearing it.
"Come on!"

Inside the shrine,
Unlike its dilapidated exterior, the shrine's courtyard was meticulously cleaned. Passing through the dark red torii gate, one could see a shrine hall adorned with numerous shimenawa (sacred ropes) to ward off misfortune.

Outside the shrine, the Uzumaki couple paced anxiously, their child's cries echoing in their ears. Remembering the shrine maiden's instructions not to disturb them before the ritual, they could only grit their teeth and silently pray for a successful exorcism.
"Honey, maybe we should stop treatment. Nagato is crying so pitifully!"

Concerned for the child's safety, Taeko's eyes were red and brimming with tears.
"Hold on a little longer, this may be our last hope."

Masahiko Uzumaki was also heartbroken, but looking across the entire Amegakure, he couldn't find any other way to heal the child.
Whether it was a reputable attending physician or a legendary female doctor, none of them could cure his son's illness.

Nagato doesn't know if he can hold out until his grandfather finds a reliable expert. Even if he can, what if that expert is unreliable?
A bottomless despair spread through the couple's hearts, as if to drag them into a dark abyss.

Just as they were on the verge of a mental breakdown, three figures landed over the torii gate.

The leader, Uchiha Gin, slightly turned his body, assuming a classic mage stance with his left hand raised in front of him and his right hand extended vertically. A strange confidence lingered on his languid face.
"You just said it was the last hope, right?" (End of Chapter)