Naruto: Nara's skill set is incredibly sneaky.

Chapter 173 Investigation in progress

"Okay, I'll take it, but you have to give me some clues. The ninja world is so big, even if I'm amazing, I can't possibly search every single place for you, can I?"

Onoki had already made preparations.

He took a scroll from the drawer and pushed it in front of Lu Shi. "This contains all the relevant information about Lao Zi from when he went out to when he went missing. If you need anything, you can ask Huang Tu. He will help you."

Lu Shi picked up the scroll and nodded. "Okay, let's find a quiet place to take a look first."

"Um.

""

Onoki gave Hirotsuchi a wink, and Hirotsuchi led the deer to a quiet resting room.

Unroll the roll.

The contents were enormous, but Lu Shi wasn't in a hurry.

If he just went missing, then we definitely need to hurry. Old Purple has been missing for over a month now, so there's no point in rushing him. We should take a closer look at the information provided by Iwagakure; maybe we can find something there.

Lu Shi spent the entire afternoon in the lounge, finally getting through all the information about Lao Zi.

His eyes hurt from looking at it.

"Looking at it this way, my eyesight will deteriorate sooner or later, so I should take it easy."

Lu Shi had just lain down to rest for a while when Huang Tu came in with food. "Lu Shi-kun, I brought you food."

"Thank you so much!" Shikatoki jumped off the chair with a leap. "I didn't expect the food in Iwagakure to be so luxurious."

"Hehe, you're a guest, so Father specially had this prepared."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shi immediately began to devour his food.

Huang Tu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Lu Shijun, have you discovered anything?"

"Are you very worried about Lao Zi?"

"Yes, Old Purple takes good care of me. This argument was also for the sake of Iwagakure. It's just that my father is a bit stubborn." Huang Tu's tone revealed worry and incomprehension.

Lu Shi suddenly became curious.

"Could you elaborate on what the argument was about? I didn't see it mentioned in the intelligence report."

"this----"

Huang Tu hesitated, unsure whether he could speak about this matter.

"This information might be crucial. You can ask Onoki to see if he'll let you tell it. If it's really not allowed, it's fine if you don't tell him."

Shika's words made Huang Tu grit his teeth. "I said, you also know that Lao Zi is the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails."

"It's no secret," Lu Shi shrugged. "So?"

"The situation of Jinchuriki in Iwagakure is not particularly bad, but it is not particularly good either, and their fathers don't really want to take care of them."

The way the loess was described was already quite subtle.

Lu Shi probably understood by now.

With so many Jinchūriki, perhaps only the Hidden Cloud Village has a decent number of them.

Iwagakure, on the other hand, adopts a rather indifferent and controlling attitude towards Jinchūriki.

Lao Zi wanted to fight for his rights.

Ohnoki, on the other hand, believed that things had always been the same and there was nothing to change.

To put it bluntly, Onoki simply believes he is not wrong.

He felt he had been good enough to the Jinchūriki, without imposing too many restrictions or pressures, simply keeping them in line with their own ways.

Old Zi, however, believed that the village did not treat him as a human being, but rather as a tool of war.

To put it bluntly, it's a lack of love.

"Is that so?"

Lu Shi stroked his chin. "According to your intelligence, ever since Lao Zi went out, he's been like an ascetic, spending every day either cultivating or on his way to cultivate, until he went missing in the Land of Earth a little over a month ago."

"Onoki has already sent people to search that area. I estimate your search was so thorough it was practically digging three feet into the ground, but you still haven't found it. So let's try a different approach. What if Old Purple did it on purpose?"

Lu Shi's words startled Huang Tu, who was then filled with confusion. "But why? Father didn't restrict his freedom, did he?"

"Who knows?"

Lu Shi put down his bowl and chopsticks after finishing eating. "Alright, now that I have an idea, I'd better get started."

"It's getting late, how about we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Need not."

Shika stretched and left Iwagakure.

Huang Tu didn't stop him and left with the bowls and chopsticks.

Shikatoki was fast on his feet, and he was already inside the Land of Earth, not far from where Rōshi had disappeared.

The environment here is relatively remote, but it is not deserted. There is a small village not far away, and according to intelligence, Lao Zi usually replenishes his supplies here.

Lu Shi walked into the small village.

It was already late at night, and most people had already gone home, except for one small shop that was still open.

Lu Shi walked in.

The drowsy shop assistant inside quickly perked up, "What would you like to order, sir?"

Lu Shi pulled out Lao Zi's portrait. "Beautiful lady, do you know this person?"

The shop assistant was a little embarrassed to be called "beautiful lady" by the handsome man, but she was secretly thrilled. Her eyes turned to the portrait, "I remember this uncle very well. He comes to our store to shop every two weeks, and he always buys a lot of things. He is one of our big customers."

"Half a month?" Lu Shi's eyes flickered slightly. "When was the last time he came?"

The shop assistant sounded a bit dejected as she spoke, "I don't know if that uncle has left. He hasn't come in for over a month. It's such a pity. Big customers like that don't last long."

Lu Shi nodded, confirming the information. "Do you know where he went? I'm his friend, I need to talk to him about something."

The shop assistant shook his head. "How would I know? But you can ask the village chief. I saw this uncle chatting happily with the village chief when I was getting stock last time."

"Village chief?" Lu Shi smiled, took out 10,000 taels and placed it on the table. "Then could you please be my guide tomorrow morning? I don't know where the village chief's house is."

The shop assistant immediately nodded, "Don't worry, leave it to me!"

After saying that, he put the ten thousand taels into his pocket.

See you tomorrow!

After agreeing on the plan, Lu Shi stood in the center of the village, and natural energy covered the entire village.

Apart from the small shop, everything was quiet, and there was no trace of Lao Zi's presence. "Interesting! Sometimes being too clean is a flaw!"

Lu Shi summoned the Nine Lamas.

"Hey Lu Shi, what do you want from me so late at night?"

"Help me sense if there's any Four-Tails' aura."

Although Kurama was somewhat confused, he still investigated carefully. "What kind of four-tailed monster is this? I've checked the area within a ten-kilometer radius, and there's not a trace of Sun Wukong's aura. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Maybe."

The next morning.

Lu Shi arrived at the small shop, and the shop assistant led Lu Shi to the village chief's house.

Lu knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a voice asked from inside. The wooden door opened, revealing an old man with a cane standing in the doorway. "And you are?"

"Hello, village chief. Let me introduce myself. My name is Nara Shikatoki. I'm here to ask you about someone." Shikatoki said, handing over the gifts he had bought.

The village chief didn't take it, but he still stepped aside, "Come in."

The two entered the house and sat down.

Lu Shi didn't beat around the bush. He took out the portrait directly and asked bluntly, "I heard that the village chief and Lao Zi are very familiar with each other. I need to see Lao Zi about something, but he has suddenly disappeared. I wonder if the village chief knows where he went?"

The village chief's eyes flickered for a moment, then he looked at the portrait carefully. "I can't say I'm familiar with him. He just hangs around the village, so I can only say I know him."

Lu Shi has a keen sense of perception. Although the village chief concealed it well, Lu Shi still noticed it, but Lu Shi did not expose him.

"Village chief, I really have an urgent matter to attend to. Don't you know?" Lu Shi stared intently at the village chief.

For some reason, the village chief's eyes were filled with a sense of oppression, but the village chief still said firmly, "Sir ninja, I really don't know, and you're not the first person to ask me. If I had known, I would have said so already."

The village chief is right.

Iwagakure also investigated the village where Roshi lived, and the final conclusion was that they were unrelated.

Lu Shi didn't insist, but simply stood up with a smile. "In that case, I won't bother you any longer. I'll be in the vicinity for the time being. If the village chief remembers any useful information, please let me know."

Seeing that the deer was about to leave, the village chief breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up, and said with a smile, "Of course, of course, if I knew, I would tell you everything I know."

We left the village chief's house.

Nine-Lama leaned closer and said, "This old man is lying."

"I know."

"You know that, why aren't you taking action? I suggest you just interrogate them directly!"

3

Lu Shi rubbed Nine-Lama's fox head and said, "Don't be so violent. Besides, does this old man look like he's afraid of dying?"

'