"Here."
As expected, Shiyu noticed that Jiamu was clutching a key in his hand, clearly intended to open the special entrance beneath the cave.
Shiyu took out the key and inserted it into the slot. It was the perfect size. Then Shiyu turned the key, and immediately a "click" sound was heard, as if some mechanism had been activated.
The hidden entrance was instantly opened.
"It seems we've found the right path, but I wonder if we'll find those missing people," Ming replied.
"Let's go in and take a look." Shiyu then entered the hidden entrance with Ming.
Although it was quite dark around, the lights automatically turned on after entering, so even inside the cave, one could still see clearly.
Shiyu quickly discovered that there were also three corpses in this hidden place. These three corpses were blocking the front of a stone tablet, as if they were protecting something.
"Ah! There are corpses in here too." Ming also saw the corpses.
"Judging from their attire, they are actually Konoha Ninja."
"Judging from the stiffness of their corpses this time, it seems those people outside died later, trapped here, unable to get out, so they didn't send any messages?"
"What is this?" Shiyu examined the corpses, he discovered that the left chests of the three Konoha Ninja were covered in a bloody mess.
No heart?
"Someone dug out their hearts."
"But what is it that they want to protect?" Shiyu couldn't help but ask.
Ming also thought to himself, "Perhaps that stone tablet is also a mechanism? It might open some kind of secret chamber or something?"
"Hmm, that's possible. Let's see if they succeeded in protecting them; maybe they're protecting the kidnapped person we're looking for." Shiyu once again used her sensory and observational abilities, attempting to find the mechanism to open the secret chamber in the dimly lit cave.
"The inscription on the stone tablet is slightly lighter in one place. So that's the switch?" Shiyu then had Ming press it down.
The "click" sound came again.
"It seems that someone in this missing-nin group is very familiar with this kind of mechanical art."
Shiyu sighed, and soon the mechanism stopped working. The stone tablet disappeared, turning into a black hole.
"It seems the stone tablet itself is the entrance to the next level. Do you want to come?" Shiyu asked.
"Yes, of course." Ming nodded.
Before they could even go inside, they discovered that the stone tablet had turned into a hole, and a person crawled out.
"Enemies? No."
"He's a child."
"Are we safe now?" the child asked. "Brother Jiamu said that once someone opens this door, we won't be discovered by bad guys."
"You..." Ming exclaimed in surprise, and then a large group of children emerged from the stone tablet.
"What kind of person is this Jiamu brother you're talking about?" Shiyu asked directly.
Then the children told them all how wonderful Jiamu was.
"I see. This missing-nin, Jiamu, is actually supporting children? It seems he's not a bad person after all. Among these children, there appear to be sons of villagers from the Sanjie Village?"
"It seems Jiamu knew about the villagers' horrific practices, which is why she kidnapped these children and brought them here. It seems she doesn't want these children to become like that."
"Brother, you haven't told us yet, where is Brother Jiamu?" the children asked innocently.
"Well... Brother Jiamu has gone on a trip to a very far place. Please wait here for a moment, someone will come to pick you up soon." Shiyu contacted Konoha, as it seemed that only Konoha's orphanage would be willing to accept these children.
"So, is Jiamu a good person or a bad person?" Ming shook his head, and the matter became even more confusing.
"It seems that no one can be judged by simple good or bad. Humans are complex creatures. A seemingly simple and honest villager may very well be a cannibalistic executioner, and a seemingly fierce and evil missing-nin may be raising children and orphans." Shiyu said after a moment of contemplation.
The two did not find any clues about Amamiya Suisen in the stone tablet cave. However, Shiyu discovered some bounty information and mission details for an underground gold exchange in the cave.
This suggests that Jiamu and his group may have accepted a mission before kidnapping Suisen, while the three Konoha Ninja were there to protect the children and had nothing to do with Suisen.
"It seems that's probably the case." Shiyu then tried to make a deduction as well.
"This group of missing-nin raised children and took on bounties and missions at the gold exchange to make a living. One day, they suddenly received a job to kidnap Amamiya Suisen Amamiya Ye, a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire. They successfully kidnapped Suisen."
"There shouldn't have been any further battles with the three Konoha ninjas. Konoha must have infiltrated to the next level. However, a battle suddenly broke out outside, and someone killed all the missing-nin, including Jiamu. Then, they deciphered the secret and entered the next level."
"The three Konoha ninjas were killed instantly, their hearts ripped out without any resistance. No wonder the message couldn't be sent out in time; they were wiped out by the enemy. However, they seem to have protected the children. But the trail to Suisen has gone cold once again."
Shiyu shook his head and thought, "Since they've already completed the mission, they should have gone to turn it in, but now they've been wiped out in their own cave. Is it possible that the person who issued the mission wanted to hide their identity, so they double-crossed them and killed them? That way, the clues would be cut off and no one would suspect them?"
The Shiyu thought about it, the more she felt it should be done this way.
"Ming, do you know about underground gold exchange shops?" Shiyu asked.
"I know the name 'underground gold exchange,' but I'm afraid I know just as little about it as you do," Ming shook his head. "It seems only missing-nin would know where that place is."
"missing-nin?" Shiyu murmured in a low voice.
Just then, Shiyu suddenly felt as if something outside was reflecting itself in a mirror.
"Someone's there!" Shiyu immediately Body Flicker Technique away, and a figure Teleportation suit.
"The speed is incredible!" Shiyu was taken aback and immediately chased after the figure.
"Catch!" The figure seemed to throw a Kunai at him. Shiyu immediately noticed something on the Kunai and grabbed it.
There is a big word "aki" written on the white note, and a line of small words written on the back.
"The location of the underground gold exchange," Shiyu read aloud, but when she looked up, the white figure had already vanished.