Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"Not bad!"

Uchiha Torajiro smiled and nodded, expressing his approval to Kabuto.

"Wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump? Huh? Is it really that simple?" Uchiha Izumi asked, puzzled.

"Quan, don't think of criminals as being as clever as the criminals in detective stories. Although there are very clever thieves in reality, in my experience, most criminals don't actually have much of a brain. Besides, it won't hurt to give it a try. After all, we don't have any direction for our investigation right now. A clumsy method is always better than no method at all!"

Uchiha Torajiro carefully imparted his experience to his subordinates.

[246. Chapter 245 Waiting for a Rabbit to Run into a Tree Stump]

February nights come early. By the time the second squad of the Sixth Enforcement Brigade reunited, it was already completely dark. Standing on the rooftop, one could see the village center's lights shining like a silver river on earth, while the lights gradually thinned out as they radiated outwards from the center.

The newly built area, located on the outskirts, is mostly dark except for streetlights.

"Looking at it now, this place really is a perfect place to go missing!"

Uchiha Torajiro stood on the rooftop, looking at the sparsely lit newly built district. Most places were pitch black, with streetlights only on the main roads. Once you left the main roads and entered the alleys, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

but,

The dark alley was not entirely deserted.

The sneaky thieves, the vulgar prostitutes, the homeless rummaging through the trash cans, the drunken fat sheep, the hooligans with tattoos... The newly built district at night is a completely different world from the bustling, construction-filled district during the day.

Uchiha Izumi watched all of this with curiosity.

She hadn't worked night shifts much before, and when she did, she was always assigned to brightly lit areas. This was the first time she had ever seen such a dark place, and everything before her was so novel to her. However, the girl felt no fear or discomfort.

As a qualified genin,

Uchiha Izumi had seen blood and killed people with her own hands.

To be precise, nowadays every child of the Uchiha clan, after graduating from the Ninja Academy or completing the clan's training, must be guided by the clan elders to kill a few bandits and thieves to practice their skills, so that these children can adapt to the rules of the ninja world more quickly.

"Kabuto, let's split up. You and Izumi stay here, I'll go keep watch to the west. Contact me by radio if we find anything."

After careful consideration, Uchiha Torajiro issued the order.

Leaving Uchiha Izumi behind to act with Yakushi Kabuto was a gesture of goodwill. Don't underestimate Uchiha Izumi just because she's still a genin. There's a huge difference between genin who have awakened their Sharingan and those who haven't. Although Uchiha Izumi only has a single tomoe Sharingan, to be honest, she could easily take on an ordinary chunin one-on-one.

It's just that it's peacetime now, unlike wartime when it's easy to make meritorious contributions. He lacks sufficient qualifications and hasn't been promoted to Chunin yet.

In Uchiha Torajiro's eyes, Kabuto Yakushi was just a 'Chunin'. He didn't know that Kabuto was a rising star in the spy world. He only knew that Kabuto had worked in the Anbu. Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, the Anbu was full of super powerful masters.

But in fact, even within the Anbu, the core strength still lies with the Chunin.

Therefore,

Uchiha Torajiro had two subordinates accompany him, while he, as a special Jonin, traveled alone. Although this newly built area was not yet fully completed, the existing portion already covered a large area.

"clear."

Kabuto reached out and pressed the wireless headset on his head to confirm that the communication was working properly, then nodded to the captain.

They obtained these items from the equipment department. Because of the special mission, they applied for a lot of good stuff from the equipment department. Explosive tags are not allowed to be used recklessly in the village, but flashbangs and smoke grenades are not subject to many restrictions. Shuriken, kunai, katana... all of these can be applied for without having to spend money to buy them.

This is also one of the reasons why the police department is currently facing financial difficulties, especially since the department has expanded to nearly a thousand people, and the consumption of equipment and supplies is quite staggering!

"Be very careful, don't act impulsively, and contact me immediately if you discover anything."

After giving repeated instructions,

Uchiha Torajiro leaped into the air and sped off westward.

Once Uchiha Torajiro's figure was out of sight, Uchiha Izumi turned to look at Yakushi Kabuto, who was deep in thought beside her. "Kabuto-kun, what should we do next?" After spending the last few days with him, she had realized that although Yakushi Kabuto was a newcomer, he was indeed a skilled veteran who had retired from the Anbu. In many ways, she, as his "senior," actually had to learn from him.

“We don’t need to move. This position is perfect. From here, we can monitor most of the surrounding area. Izumi, you keep an eye on… those four groups of thugs gathered over there.”

Kabuto Yakushi originally intended for Izumi Uchiha to keep an eye on the brothel, but after glancing at the little girl's innocent appearance, he changed his mind. Although the gang was divided into several groups, making it difficult to keep an eye on them, the scenery around the brothel was really not suitable for a girl under twelve years old to see.

"Is it enough to just keep an eye on those thugs?"

"Okay, you keep an eye on those thugs, and I'll keep an eye on the brothels over here."

"Then... we don't need to worry about the other places?" Uchiha Izumi asked doubtfully, as there were quite a few rats roaming in the dark alleys.

"So far, all the missing persons are young and strong construction workers. Thieves, homeless people, and drunks generally cannot easily take down a construction worker who does physical labor every day. Of course, we are not completely ruling out these possibilities, but the problem now is that there are only two of us. We cannot cover all areas. We can only try to keep an eye on the most likely possibilities."

That is, a gang of thugs, and that rather secluded, seemingly very simple brothel.

The former, with its superior numbers, had little difficulty dealing with lone construction workers, while the latter, needless to say, was a place specifically for dealing with men driven by lust.

"oh oh!"

Whether she truly understood or simply agreed readily, Uchiha Izumi followed the advice and carefully concealed herself behind a pile of building materials, monitoring the thugs gathered in different locations without revealing herself.

Kabuto Yakushi also focused his attention on the brothel hidden in a dark alley, with only a small pink lantern hanging in front of the door. Compared to the luxurious red-light district in the center of the village, this small brothel was so unremarkable, and the brothel girls standing at the door could not compare to the beauties of the red-light district at all.

However, snakes have their paths, and rats have theirs.

The red-light district has its own clientele, and these small brothels also have their own business targets. For example, construction workers who are unmarried and receive daily wages are the most common customers. Kabuto Yakushi's not-so-short spy career taught him a lot, especially about these low-class professions, which are among the spies' favorite territories.

When Kabuto Yakushi was on a mission in the Land of Wind, he once infiltrated the brothel of Sunagakure for a period of time.

Time passed by,

The wireless earpiece remained stable. Uchiha Torajiro's side found nothing, and the thugs that Uchiha Izumi was keeping an eye on were all busy with their own affairs. Two groups seemed to be trading some contraband, one group was stealing building materials from the construction site, and the other group was busy posting small advertisements on walls and utility poles... If it weren't for the fear of alerting the thugs, Uchiha Izumi would have rushed out to deal with these lawless bastards.

Customers came and went at the prostitutes' house, but they didn't find anything.

Until dawn,

A ray of morning sun shone on the earth.

A weary voice came through the radio headset from Uchiha Torajiro, "I've found nothing here. Kabuto, Izumi, what's the situation on your end?" As he asked this, Uchiha Torajiro yawned. In reality, he didn't have much hope; if he had made any discoveries, he would have notified them already.

"I haven't found anything here either."

Uchiha Izumi said in the communication channel that this answer was not surprising at all. However, Uchiha Torajiro waited for a few seconds but did not hear Yakushi Kabuto's voice. A subtle change occurred in his heart. Just as he was about to ask, Yakushi Kabuto's voice rang out.

"I've discovered a problem on my end."

"Holy crap! Really?"

Uchiha Torajiro was shocked.

Is this kid really that lucky?

"I'm not entirely sure if there's a connection, but... Captain, I think it's worth investigating. This matter is a bit complicated, so it would be clearer if we discussed it in person."

"I'm coming right now."

Uchiha Torajiro hurriedly replied.

The man squatting on the roof ridge pinched his thigh hard. The intense pain instantly dispelled the drowsiness in his mind. He returned to his subordinates as quickly as he had come from, and the first thing he asked was, "What exactly happened?"

"The number of people entering and leaving that brothel last night is incorrect."

The pharmacist didn't beat around the bush.

Pointing to the brothel hidden in the alley, he stated his discovery concisely.

"Huh? This is it?"

Uchiha Torajiro paused for a moment, glanced at Uchiha Izumi who was standing beside him with wide eyes, thought for a while, and then said in a low voice, "It's not strange for someone to stay overnight in a place like this, is it?"

"Captain, you probably haven't been to a place like this before, so you don't understand. These brothels usually don't have guests staying overnight. They're just trying to make a quick buck. And to be honest, the guests who come here don't have the extra money to spend the night. If they did, they wouldn't come to a place like this!"

“A total of seventeen people entered that brothel last night, but only fifteen have left so far. And judging from their clothing, appearance and behavior, these seventeen people should all be construction workers from the neighborhood.”

Kabuto's explanation was so professional that it left one speechless, even if one wanted to refute it.

Uchiha Torajiro was silent for two seconds, then stammered, "Won't there be exceptions?"

"Of course there may be exceptions, which is why I said it's worth investigating."

"I am Kabuto," Yakushi replied frankly.

Uchiha Torajiro was speechless this time.

Beside her, Uchiha Izumi remained silent, but the pink tinge on her earlobe betrayed the girl's turbulent emotions. She clearly understood what Uchiha Torajiro and Yakushi Kabuto were saying. Children in the ninja world are always so precocious. Whether boys or girls, they inevitably encounter relevant situations while carrying out various missions.

Konoha's bookstores openly sell magazines and photo books for ages 18+. In the original story, Naruto often sneaked into the bookstore to observe and learn, and based on the 'knowledge' he learned, he developed a ninjutsu that shocked even the special Jonin and the Sannin.

"Then let's investigate!"

It took Uchiha Torajiro two seconds to compose himself. "Izumi, you stay here and keep an eye on things. Kabuto and I will go investigate."

"Okay, Captain."

Uchiha Izumi nodded obediently.

She had a vague understanding of the things between men and women, but she still felt that there was no need to delve into them so early. She should wait until she was a little older before talking about it!

Uchiha Torajiro and Yakushi Kabuto acted swiftly, running across the rooftop and arriving at the entrance of the brothel in less than ten seconds. An elderly man was closing the door. Hearing the approaching footsteps, he said without looking up, "We're closing now. Come back tonight."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kojiro's eyes lit up.

This patient waiting patiently actually caught a rabbit.

"Are we closing now? There are still guests staying overnight," Kabuto Yakushi said, quite unwillingly.

"What nonsense are you talking about? All the guests have left, okay? Stop lingering here. Everyone needs to rest during the day! If you want to relax, wait until tonight..." The old man stopped mid-sentence as he saw Uchiha Torajiro's crimson eyes.

"Tell me honestly, seventeen people came last night, why did only fifteen leave? Where did the remaining two go?"

"I do not know."

The old man's eyes were vacant. "I'm just a handyman. I don't know where the customers have gone, but ever since Lord Arasaka came a week ago, customers have been disappearing from the shop every day."

Kabuto Yakushi watched as the old man spilled out the information they wanted, and he felt quite envious. As expected of the Sharingan, this ability... was truly enviable. If he had such abilities, spy work would be much easier!

"Arasaka?"

Uchiha Kojiro raised an eyebrow.

"Is that Rokuro Arasaka?"

“That’s right, it was the Arasaka family who coerced us into helping them capture people.” The woman’s voice came from inside the door, and an old woman holding a pipe came out. “Two ninja lords, if you have any questions, please ask me directly. There’s no need to make things difficult for this old man.”

"Are you the owner of this brothel?"

Uchiha Torajiro blinked and released his control over the old man.

Since a higher-ranking figure has taken the initiative to show up, there is no need to control this insignificant person to ask questions.