Muta: "Although it's unlikely, if they deliberately erased their scent and then quietly left, it could also result in what we're seeing now."
Meko: "After completing the mission, they didn't return to the village for such a long time. No matter the reason, that's basically no different from defecting. The problem is, two of them have family in Konoha—there's no reason for them to defect."
Tokuma: "Looks like we'll have to question the owner here and the staff who served them at the time."
"No need. I've already asked."
Tokuma was surprised. "Huh? Makoto, why are you here?"
Makoto was wearing a mask, but he hadn't changed his voice. As their friend, the three of them recognized him almost immediately.
"I've been following you the whole time."
Rocky: "Impossible. Why didn't I notice?"
Makoto: "You think your nose is unbeatable or something? Didn't you also fail to track where the missing people went?"
Rocky: "…"
Why was it that this guy's words always cut so deep?
Muta: "You've been protecting us from the shadows, haven't you? Looks like the higher-ups were worried we might disappear too."
That was a standard arrangement. Tokuma didn't find it strange and asked, "Makoto, what did you find out from the bathhouse?"
"According to the attendant who served that bath at the time, the three missing people were so exhausted that they fell asleep halfway through their soak. When the staff came back later to check, they were already gone. Since they had paid in advance, the bathhouse didn't look into it further."
Aside from Rocky, the others in Tokuma's team weren't idiots. They quickly picked up on the inconsistency.
Tokuma: "It was just a normal escort mission, and the opponents were ordinary bandits. How could they be that exhausted?"
Muta: "As ninjas, their vigilance shouldn't be that low. Even near Konoha, there's no way all three would fall asleep at the same time."
Meko: "So that means someone made a move on them in secret, took them elsewhere, and killed them."
Tokuma: "So around Konoha, there might be elite enemy ninjas lying in wait, secretly hunting Konoha shinobi?"
Makoto: "Are you three seriously acting out a deduction drama in front of me?"
Tokuma: "Makoto, you think our reasoning is wrong?"
"Not entirely. Like Muta said, a ninja's vigilance isn't that poor. And the war has already ended—sending elite enemy ninjas here to hunt ordinary Konoha chūnin would be extremely risky and completely meaningless."
"So the one who acted might not be an enemy ninja, but someone from within Konoha. Only a familiar companion could make them lower their guard."
Tokuma: "Your analysis… makes surprising sense. So now we just need to investigate which Konoha ninjas were in this town at the time. But that's too much work—it's not our task. We just need to submit our tracking results and deductions."
Makoto: "I asked the bathhouse staff—at the time, the only Konoha ninjas here were the three from the missing team."
"So either a Konoha companion they met in town followed them and made a move… or there was a traitor among the three, who secretly dealt with their own teammates. That kind is the hardest to guard against."
"Remember to include that possibility in your report. I won't write a separate one."
Tokuma: "Thanks, Makoto. With that, things feel a lot clearer. We'll head back first. After all, you're in ANBU now—it's not convenient for you to return openly with us."
"Alright, you go ahead."
After Tokuma's team left, Makoto also departed from the town.
He was quite confident in his deduction—because he was working backward from the result.
He had already reviewed the missing team's information. Two of the three members had family in Konoha; the remaining one was an orphan.
More importantly, that person had served on the western front during the early stages of the Third Great Ninja War, and later transferred to the eastern front. Coincidentally, the commander of both fronts had been Orochimaru.
This person was very likely a die-hard follower of that snake—and even after Orochimaru was sidelined by the Third Hokage, he had continued serving him in secret.
It had to be understood that Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato shared one thing in common: both were representatives of civilian-born geniuses. Among civilian ninjas, there were plenty who admired them.
But after Minato became Hokage, many centrists naturally shifted to support him. Those who still served Orochimaru now undoubtedly possessed extremely high loyalty.
To put it in modern terms, Minato's rise to power had unintentionally "refined" Orochimaru's fanbase.
And now, it seemed Orochimaru had finally turned his claws toward Konoha's own.
Some things didn't require him to act personally. After all, die-hard fans weren't exactly known for their brains—if their master told them to do something, they would do it.
...
A month passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was a new year again.
During this time, no new disappearance cases occurred.
The two previous incidents had become cold cases. Even if ANBU had suspicions, without evidence, they didn't dare act.
After all, the suspect was a war hero—the Third Hokage's most beloved disciple. No one wanted to bear the consequences of falsely accusing a hero.
They simply submitted their investigation reports to the Hokage's office and left the rest for the old man to worry about.
Orochimaru's laboratories within Konoha were all officially registered. As for the illegal ones outside the village, perhaps because someone had discovered them on the eastern front before, they were now built extremely far away and well hidden.
Most importantly, Orochimaru never targeted ninjas with complicated backgrounds. He was a smart man—he wouldn't court death. So none of the Konoha ninjas Higashino Makoto knew had come to harm.
As for that, Makoto couldn't be bothered to interfere.
Let things stir. The dirtier the waters of Konoha became, the harder it would be for Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen to clean them.
Konoha Year 53.
In times of peace, Makoto would have just finished his sixth year at the Academy this year, graduating in late March and beginning his glorious life as a genin.
Unfortunately, his generation were all "premature births" of war. At a young age, they graduated early, adapted to missions briefly, and were sent straight to the battlefield.
By now, they were already seasoned ninjas with three years of experience and baptism by war. Many had died on the battlefield or during missions.
This was something the younger generation born in peacetime could never imagine.
This year, Makoto was thirteen by nominal age—after his birthday, he would be twelve in full years. But due to the rich nourishment of white natural energy, he looked no different from a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old teenager, living daily under the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of Hayate and Yamato.
As for Yūgao, she didn't feel jealousy as a girl—but she had started worrying that Makoto was growing too fast and might get seduced too early by those curvy older women.
Her own body had begun developing as well, but for now she was still just a "flat little bud." The poor girl was so troubled she nearly worried her beautiful purple hair into turning white like some kind of white-haired witch.
Just like his previous life, the ninja world also had both nominal age and actual age.
Before celebrating his own twelfth birthday, Makoto first attended another birthday—that of a little one born in March as well, turning three years old.
This wasn't the Infinite Tsukuyomi world, so Tenten was a rich little girl.
Her father, Tetsuen, was a well-known ninja tool craftsman in Konoha, and her mother ran a large ninja tool shop. As for the profits of the arms trade… well, everyone understood. Their family had always been wealthy.
Tenten's home was quite spacious, though not many people were invited. The Tetsuen family had only invited a limited number of close relatives and friends.
This was Makoto's first time attending Tenten's birthday. He had missed the previous two due to other matters.
"Hello, Makoto-niisan."
Seeing him arrive, little Tenten greeted him politely.
Suzune corrected her again, "You should call him 'sensei.'"
Tenten was obedient and immediately changed her words: "Hello, Sensei."
Her voice was crisp, her appearance adorable—especially now that, like her mother, she had tied her hair into two buns. She was already beginning to resemble the Tenten from Makoto's memory.
"Tenten, be good. Happy birthday. This is your present." After handing over the gift, Makoto said to her mother, "Suzune, there's no need to call me 'sensei' so early."
"Huh? No need? I was planning to have her formally take you as her sensei today."
"Let's wait until her fourth birthday next year for the formal apprenticeship. I'll start teaching her then. After all, I also began training at four. Starting too early isn't good for the body."
"Alright, I'll listen to you. You're so capable—what you say must make sense."
Makoto was telling the truth. He had started training so early back then because he hadn't yet discovered his cheat, and he knew war was coming.
If he didn't train early and make himself stronger, how would he survive the war?
But now things were different. The ninja world was mostly at peace. Let these younger kids enjoy a happier childhood instead.
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