Chapter 89-Findings

Fujioka stood before the three bodies with a grim look on his face. 

'The situation has changed. This is no longer a kidnapping incident that I thought, it is potentially a murder case.'

Fujioka spoke, "This changes everything. What we're dealing with now is not about finding the missing civilians, but it's murder. If these three were killed, then the others are in danger if not already dead."

He paused to let his squad members understand the situation before continuing, "The next thing we should do is try to identify these three from the list we had so that we could inform their families."

The squad got into action, with some identifying the bodies while others continued inspecting the shack in case there were any clues the murders might have left.

After careful examination, the man appeared to be in his late thirties, with weathered features and calloused hands which was a stark contrast to the innocence of the two children who lay beside him. The children, a boy and a girl looked to be no older than ten years old, their faces frozen in expressions of terror and pain.

"This is strange," Tobe said.

"What's wrong?" Fugaku asked.

"The man killed isn't among the fifteen reported missing civilians," Tobe remarked.

"And the two other bodies?" 

"They are among the missing children."

'That is indeed strange. Did they already get someone before they were reported missing?' Renjiro thought.

"They most likely already killed the man before his family reported him missing," Kagami said. Echoeing Renjiro's thoughts.

"Yes, considering that the man is the only one with wounds around his neck, they probably stabbed him," Fujioka agreed.

"And the two children seemed to have died before the man considering how their bodies have decomposed more than the man's," Toda added.

'It seems he is competent when he is serious. Every time I have interacted with he's been so carefree.' Renjiro thought surprised by Toda's addition.

"Guys,"

As the squad was deep in speculation about the gruesome scene they had just discovered came to be, Hae's call broke through their conversation.

With a sense of urgency, they hurried over to where Hae stood, waiting for them with a grave expression on her face.

"What did you find, Hae?" Fujioka asked

Hae gestured towards one of the walls, where there were several seals etched into it in dark red. 

"I found these seals inside the shack," she explained.

"Yes, before you ask, that is blood they used. Probably belonging to the man who was killed," Hae said.

The seals themselves were unlike any Renjiro had seen before, their designs foreign and mysterious. Some resembled traditional Uzumaki symbols, while others seemed to be more abstract in nature, with their meanings unknown.

Fujioka turned to Kagami, "Kagami, can you decode these seals? We need to know what they're for."

This was the first time Renjiro realized that Kagami was also a fuinjutsu expert. They had only trained together as a team for a week, but the training was more focused on the strategic and physical aspects of the squad.

Kagami approached the seals and began to study them intently. With a practised eye, he traced the intricate patterns with his fingers, his mind working quickly to decipher their meaning.

"These seals are unlike anything I've seen before," Kagami remarked, "They're different from the ones normally used in Konoha. Whoever created them must have had a deep understanding of fuinjutsu than the normal one."

Fujioka's brow furrowed with concern as he considered Kagami's words. If these seals were indeed of a foreign origin, it could mean that their adversary was more skilled and dangerous than they had initially thought. Fortunately for him, one of his squad members decided to shed more light on the seals.

"Although the language used is foreign, some symbols used are familiar," Renjiro said as everyone's attention shifted to him.

"Do you know about Uzumaki Fuinjutsu?" Kagami asked in surprise. He had come across some of their materials, but they were too complex for him to understand.

"Yes, I have learnt it, well some of it," Renjiro responded.

"Why did you not say that you knew Fuinjutsu at all?" Kagami asked.

Renjiro gave him a plain look and replied, "You just never asked."

Sensing the mood changing, Fujioka tried to shift the focus back to the matter at hand, "You said that there are some symbols that you recognize, can you tell us what they mean?"

"Well, first of all, Advanced Uzumaki Fuinjutsu techniques are mostly used by the user's blood, so most probably the blood might not belong to the dead man," Renjiro began,

"Secondly, in this matrix, there are a few symbols that I recognize from Uzumaki Fuinjutsu. They are these three," Renjiro said pointing to the three symbols that were vertices of the matrix formula.

"Translated, they mean Lord, Time and born. Although with the current situation, the last one might be reborn." Renjiro stated.

"So most likely, this was a ritual?" Fujioka asked visibly furious at the thought of it.

"Yes, and the time symbol might have been used to speed up the decomposition of the bodies."

"Sigh!"

"Alright, we should probably store the bodies before we send them into the intelligence corps. There might be a chance that their memories can be read," Fujioka instructed.

The squad followed the directive and Kagami brought out seals to store the three bodies. They also excavated the wall with the seals and stored it.

They would need other fuinjutsu experts in the villages to try and decode the seals. 

After finishing up, they set up a barrier around the shack since they might need to revisit the scene for further investigations.

Once the squad reached the base, all of them apart from Kagami were released as Fujioka and the former had to pass the bodies and seals to their superiors so that they could shed more light on the investigation.

'This whole thing has been weird. Was the cult that committed the murders the one belonging to Jashin? Hidan is the only one from the original plot that I remember being involved with a cult.'

'If it is them, then is someone trying to gain the same Immortality that Hidan had? Thank god, I already know of a way to counter them if they do succeed.'

'Still trying, and succeeding, in this shows that the cult or whichever organization it is that they are really bold. And dangerous. They did this in one of the major shinobi villages.'

As Renjiro went on to focus on his Ninjutsu, elsewhere in the village, a meeting was been held in the Hokage's office.

Once Fujioka notified his superior about the results of his squad's investigation. The report quickly ascended the ranks and was eventually brought to Uchiha Daichi's attention.

He then notified the Hokage who called for Danzo, Koharu and Homura. Besides being the Konoha Council, the three also acted in the capacity of the Third Hokage's advisors.

Daichi stood in the office waiting for the arrival of the three with his demeanor composed, but his eyes betraying a hint of unease. As the leader of the village's law enforcement, Daichi braced himself for what he knew would be a grilling from the three council members.

Once the three council members arrived and were brought up to speed, Danzo wasted no time in addressing Daichi. 

"Daichi, it is clear that your police force has failed in its duty to protect the people of Konoha. These recent incidents just show your incompetence."

Daichi's jaw tightened, but he kept his composure as he responded. "My officers are doing everything in their power to investigate these crimes. We are facing a highly skilled and elusive opponent, but we are making progress."

Koharu's voice dripped with disdain as she spoke, "Progress? If that's what you call it, then it's not nearly enough. Innocent lives are at stake, and your failures are putting the entire village in danger."

Homura nodded in agreement, his expression grave. "We cannot afford to have a police force that is incapable of handling such threats."

Daichi refused to back down. "I assure you, we are doing everything we can to find the culprits."

Hiruzen interjected with a measured tone. "Let us not forget that our priority should be to work together to solve this crisis, rather than pointing fingers and assigning blame. Daichi, I trust that you didn't just come here to report this problem, but you also came here with a solution."

Daichi nodded, "Yes, I do have a solution. I only came here to ask for an approval."

"On what exactly?" Koharu asked.

"I wanted to send the squad in charge of this to find the culprits," Daichi remarked.

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