Murder in the Dark

After dinner, Yemo was about to go back to rest when he was stopped by Minato and the other two and taken to the courtyard outside the house. The three of them stared at Yemo's car as if they were about to have a three-way interrogation.

Before the three could speak, Yemo had already raised his hands in surrender, saying, "Don't look at me like that. Don't you just want to know what my family is talking about?"

Yemo knew without even thinking what the three of them wanted to ask; he knew what else they could ask besides this matter.

Minato said, "Although it's inappropriate for outsiders like us to inquire about the internal affairs of your Uzumaki Clan, our current mission is to investigate the ins and outs of the Uzumaki Clan's recent annihilation. This matter may very well intersect with our mission, so we feel it's necessary to find out more."

Kosuke continued, "Of course, we're not forcing you. The choice is yours; it's up to you whether you tell us or not."

Yemo did not answer immediately, but instead rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought about whether or not he should tell Minato and the others. Seeing that Yemo was thinking, Minato did not continue to speak, but waited quietly for Yemo's decision.

With a soft click, Yemo lowered his hand and said, "This matter is somewhat shameful to talk about, but it's not something that can't be discussed. Within the Uzumaki Clan Uzumaki Clan, every member participates in a ceremony every month."

"A ceremony?" Minato was extremely suspicious. How did the conversation turn to ceremonies again?

After a pause, Yemo continued, "During this ceremony, we will perform a sacrifice to the ancestors of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Sacrificing to ancestors is not a shameful thing. Every family will worship their ancestors at a specific time. It's just that the time between sacrifices in your family is a bit short," Kosuke, looking at Yemo with curiosity.

There was nothing strange about the ancestral worship itself, but the timing was odd. Offering sacrifices to ancestors once a month was a rhythm he had never heard of any other family doing.

"Sigh..." Yemo sighed softly and explained, "The ritual is just the surface; the real purpose is actually sacrifice."

"Sacrifice!"

Minato and the other two were immediately shocked, Kakashi even cried out in surprise.

Sacrifice, as the name suggests, is the act of offering sacrifices to deities or ancestors in order to appease them. There are many types of sacrifices, and the sacrifices themselves vary. Some are ordinary livestock, while others are cruel sacrifices of life. For example, some villages living along rivers will throw women into the river during the annual floods as sacrifices to the river god, asking for his forgiveness.

Judging from Yemo's expression, what he was talking about was definitely not the ordinary kind of sacrifice, but rather the latter. Thinking of this, the expressions of the Minato changed.

The practice of human sacrifice is a cruel thing to anyone, at any time, and especially now it is even more intolerable.

Kakashi said, "Using living people as sacrifices, Yemo, your Uzumaki Clan actually uses such a cruel method of sacrifice. No wonder your clansmen are leaving the village."

Upon hearing this, Yemo rolled his eyes and shouted, "What are you thinking? Who said we should use living people as sacrifices? I'm talking about blood sacrifices. Every month, the pure-blooded members of the Uzumaki Clan need to be sacrificed with blood."

"Blood sacrifice?!"

Kakashi felt extremely embarrassed, coughed a few times, and subconsciously touched his nose to cover up his awkwardness.

Suddenly, he said, "Even if it's a blood sacrifice, it's still a cruel method of ritual. Most importantly, your Uzumaki Clan performs sacrifices every month. With such frequent sacrifices, your Uzumaki Clan must have some purpose, right?"

"I don't know about that. I'm just an ordinary Uzumaki Clan. The four elders are the ones who truly manage things within the Uzumaki Clan," Yemo shrugged and said casually.

If there were no ulterior motive, Yemo would never have believed that not only was blood sacrifice used, but the sacrifices were also performed so frequently, with only a month's interval between them. There must be some secret hidden in that, but this secret is probably only known to the four elders.

Looking up at the night sky, Minato noticed the moon had already climbed to its zenith. He said, "Alright, it's getting late. Everyone should go to sleep. We need to get up early tomorrow morning to head to Uzushiogakure."

The four said goodnight to each other and went back to their rooms. Since the number of rooms in Kana's house was limited, Yemo and Kakashi shared a room. After returning to his room, Kakashi didn't say a word, went straight to bed, and fell asleep soon after.

Yemo lay in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time. His conversation with Kana's mother earlier that day brought back memories of things he had tried to forget.

He thought that after leaving Uzushiogakure, he would never have the chance to come into contact with the Uzumaki Clan again. Who knew that he would be back again? Although Yemo had thought of this before he decided to come, he still had mixed feelings when the time came. As he thought about it, Yemo gradually fell asleep.

The earth was quiet in the darkness of night. The bright moon in the sky disappeared into the dark clouds. Gusts of wind swept across the land, rustling the leaves of countless trees.

On this dark and windy night, something was slowly unfolding. Suddenly, several uninvited guests dressed in black night clothes and wearing animal masks appeared outside the small house hidden in a remote place.

Under the cover of darkness, the men in black nimbly crossed the courtyard, then carefully pried open the doors and windows to enter the house. They did so without making a sound, their movements were highly skilled, clearly indicating professional training.

Two of them entered the room, while the other two waited outside. The two who entered the house were clearly very familiar with the place; they didn't touch anything or search for anything, but went straight upstairs to the room where Karen and his mother slept.

The two men in black moved very quietly. They carefully stopped in front of the room door. One of them took out a wire, inserted it into the keyhole, and after a few twists, the lock clicked open.

One man in black cautiously pushed open the door, while another man in black peeked out first, carefully observing the room to make sure the person sleeping on the bed was still awake before slowly entering.

Two men in black walked to either side of the bed. They saw Kana and her mother, whose breasts were swollen and uneven, covered by a blanket. They looked at each other, nodded slightly, and then simultaneously took out a thin silver needle and began to prick Kana and her mother in their sleep.

Just as the silver needles were about to pierce their bodies, the blankets on the bed were suddenly lifted with lightning speed. The two men in black were stunned. Before they could react to what was happening, the thick blankets had already covered them.

If the two men in black still didn't realize they'd been discovered at this point, they'd be truly foolish. They quickly threw off the blankets covering them; since hiding wasn't working, they had to resort to open tactics.

But the moment the two men in black pulled back the blanket, before they could even react, a fist rapidly enlarged in their eyes.

With a loud thud, a powerful fist slammed into their faces. Before they could react, the two men in black were sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall. The force of the impact even cracked the wall.