Two days later.
" Hiruzen! Something terrible has happened!"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly ended his Telescope Technique, closed the crystal ball, and looked at Danzo had rushed into the office in a panic.
"What terrible thing has happened? Who has declared war on Konoha again?"
"What declaration of war? How could that be?"
"Then why are you so flustered? You're not young anymore, be more composed."
" Hiruzen, something terrible has happened! This is awful!"*2
Then, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also rushed in.
"What's wrong with you two again? You're both so old, can't you be a little more mature? You're the Hokage's assistants, what kind of behavior is this?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at them and said.
"Are you still sitting here? Do you even know how many people from the village have disappeared!"
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment, then turned to look at Danzo.
Seeing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also looked at him.
Danzo, stared at by the three, stiffened, his old face darkening with anger. "What are you doing? What do you think I am, the only thing you know how to do?"
"Ahem, Sarutobi, this matter probably, possibly, perhaps, really has little to do with Danzo."
Mitokado Homura also coughed lightly, feeling embarrassed.
"It has nothing to do with him? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi decisively shook his head, then turned to look at Danzo:
" Danzo, things have come to this point, so there's no need for you to hide anymore. Just hand them over. I know your Root needs manpower, but you can tell me the specifics. There's no need to do this."
Upon hearing this, Danzo's already gloomy face darkened even further.
" Sarutobi, I think you're getting senile. Would I do such a thing? Don't try to pin this on me!"
"Ahem, um, Hiruzen, listen to me first. This time it's really different. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio have all disappeared overnight. Not only those in the village, but also the territories they were responsible for outside the village are all deserted. Even the deer are much fewer."
Mitokado Homura explained the situation.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe trembled, his face filled with disbelief.
"What did you say? The three great families of Ino-Shika-Cho have all disappeared!"
"That's right. This morning, someone noticed that there was absolutely no sound from the Ino-Shika-Cho clan's stronghold. This is the second day now, and all the Ino-Shika-Cho clan ninjas have disappeared."
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi immediately stood up and headed towards the encampments of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Mitokado Homura and the others followed behind.
When the group arrived at the Nara Clan, they looked around carefully and found that almost everything they could take had been taken; it was practically empty.
They then checked the Yamanaka Clan and Akimichi Clan, and found the same thing.
Upon seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression instantly turned serious.
"Didn't you find anything unusual in the Anbu or at the Root?"
"Indeed, no. Everything was normal two days ago. The people from the three major families were all doing their jobs as usual. But starting yesterday, they all disappeared."
Looking at the empty encampment, Sarutobi frowned.
"He couldn't have been murdered, could he?"
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Hiruzen Sarutobi it in the bud.
No one could come to Konoha, kill people, and leave so easily, let alone kill all of the Ino-Shika-Cho in one night; that's simply unrealistic.
"There was no smell of blood, no signs of a fight, and most importantly, the village's protective barrier wasn't triggered."
Danzo looked around and said.
"That's strange. How could so many people disappear overnight?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply.
These are three clans, and the three most unique clans in Konoha:
The Nara Clan, known for their exceptional intelligence, are responsible for devising strategies.
The Yamanaka Clan, who possess the Mind Body Switch Technique, use this as their primary method of interrogation.
And the Akimichi Clan, who possess a significant physical advantage on the battlefield.
The simultaneous disappearance of these three families—that they were all killed overnight—is absolutely impossible.
Even if someone did do that, Shikaku would definitely find a way to get the message out; with his intelligence, that wouldn't be difficult for him at all.
Most importantly, this place has clearly been emptied out.
What is there about the Ino-Shika-Cho clan that would make others care? They're not the Uchiha Clan or Senju Clan.
One eye can be preserved for future use, while the other contains various forbidden Ninjutsu techniques collected and created by the Second Hokage.
Of course, there's also a copy of those forbidden techniques in the Hokage Building.
Therefore, Sarutobi really couldn't understand why it was so clean, so eerily clean.
It couldn't have been the Ino-Shika-Cho family who left on their own, could it?
No, no, no, that's even more impossible.
If they leave Konoha, they have nowhere to go. Moreover, many of their businesses are in Konoha. They've been Konoha for decades, and with so many family businesses, how could they just give them up?
Konoha has been very kind to the Ino-Shika-Cho family.
Who knows this news?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was feeling incredibly troubled.
"Besides the Anbu who came to investigate, it's just us."
Mitokado Homura said.
"Increase manpower and thoroughly investigate the situation of the Ino-Shika-Cho family during this period. This matter is full of strange occurrences."
"The question now is, where exactly are the Ino-Shika-Cho?"
Danzo watched this scene and said...
"People can't just disappear into thin air. Even if they suffer some kind of accident, they will always leave traces. The Nara Clan aren't fools."
"So many people, they can't just disappear like a fart, can they?"
" Sarutobi, I suggest that Root participate in the investigation and apprehend and interrogate all suspicious individuals."
Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Upon hearing his words, Hiruzen neither readily agreed nor refused.
He knew exactly what his old friend was up to, but the current situation was truly incomprehensible. What on earth could have happened to cause these three powerful families to disappear at the same time? They were perfectly fine just two days ago.
"Dad, how have you been in Sea Capital these past few days?"
Shikamaru took a pot of tea, poured a cup for Shikaku, and poured one for him as well.
Shikaku put down the book in his hand and swirled the tea:
"I can only say that I was short-sighted. Minazuki Yuzuru is someone who has never appeared in the Shinobi World before. All his thoughts and actions are far ahead of this era."
"Oh right, that's what everyone in the family says?"
They really enjoy their life now.
"Since you like it, then all of you should go to school. It's time to let the world know about the Nara Clan."
Shikaku looked out the window.
"In the age of ninjas, bloodlines mattered. Even with our high intelligence, we couldn't fight off those powerful ninjas. If we didn't survive, we had nothing. But this era is different."
"I agree with something Yuzuru said: human evolution and the progress of civilization always begin with the brain."