Chapter – 34: The Nazo are dead?

"Nishihara Isuzu!"

"Yes, Isuzu-san might be retired for quite some time now, but she will not sit idly by when her own nephew is kidnapped and she is one of the best trackers I know," says Shikaku, "Who knows she might have even found them by now!"

"Ha ha ha!" Hiruzen laughs out loud for the first time since all this started, "We will do it your way for now Shikaku, and wait for news from Isuzu!"

** Hayato Yasuo's place **

The couple, Hayato Masashi and Nishihara Iori were sitting in silence as if they were waiting for someone. They have been restless ever since their only child was kidnapped. The restlessness only grew after they came to know of what happened to Tokubetsu Jonin Yaguchi Reizo and his son.

Initially, they didn't want to disturb Nishihara Iori's elder sister who has already retired and take care of it on their own. But this kind of matter cannot be hidden for long. So instead of her finding out by some other means which could cause misunderstandings between the sisters, they themselves decided to call Nishihara Isuzu for help. The bad news was, Isuzu was away for some business and came back only some time ago.

A few minutes later, the door opens squeakily and a lady who appeared to be in her forties and was surprisingly similar to Nishihara Iori enters the house. She must have looked exactly like her sister a few years ago!

"Big sis!" Iori rushes and hugs her elder sister and starts to cry her heart out on her shoulders.

"There there, it's ok. I am here, nothing will happen to little Yasuo!" says Isuzu while patting her little sister's head. They didn't have the fortune of being with their parents when young, so Isuzu raised her sister as if her own daughter.

Hayato Masashi was just standing at the corner awkwardly watching the sisters' melodrama. After emptying her tears, Iori calms down and they all sit down and start to get into what matters the most now.

"Why didn't you guys call me immediately? Do you think I am too old and cannot do anything? Or have I become someone less important to you?" asks Isuzu.

The couple looks awkwardly towards each other before Masashi says with his head lowered, "Isuzu-san, that's not the case at all. We thought we could handle it. But it seems we underestimated the enemies or perhaps overestimated ourselves!"

"Ok ok you guys messed up, don't drag little Yasuo down because of your useless pride!" says Isuzu with a bit of discontent before continuing, "Bring me something that little Yasuo uses regularly, it will be better if he held it right before he was taken away. They should be keeping them somewhere nearby, I will try to track him!"

"Here, I already prepared it for you," says Iori and hands out a pair of training kunais that Yasuo uses daily for practice.

"Excellent, wait for good news then!"

"Big sis, be careful! The kidnappers might be pretty strong, they killed a Tokubetsu Jonin like he was nothing at all!" warns Iori with a hint of worry.

"Don't worry! don't you know how strong I am?" Isuzu flashes a smile at her sister and leaves.

** Hokage office **

"Hokage-sama, someone is requesting to meet you," says Hiruzen's secretary.

"Who is it?"

"It's me!" comes a calm female voice from outside the room.

"Oh, Isuzu, come in it's been a long time since I saw you," says Hiruzen with a smile. Seeing Isuzu enter the office, Hiruzen's secretary bows to both of them and leaves.

"Hokage-sama, nice to see you young and healthy," bows Isuzu.

"You can stop, I am not young at all," smiles Hiruzen shaking his head, "I assume you didn't come here just to greet me?"

"Correct," Isuzu also becomes serious, "I found the Nazo hideout!"

"WHAT!" to say Hiruzen is shocked is an understatement. One must know, he had his anbu try out everything but couldn't find them. And what did it take her, an afternoon?

'I guess she isn't one of the best trackers for nothing,' laments Hiruzen.

"Yes, I found them," confirms Isuzu again, "There are twenty-one of them there, and do you know what the best part is? I saw both Hayato Yasuo and Hayashi Chojiro alive!"

"Are you sure? and what about Yaguchi Koto?" Hiruzen says getting happier by the second. He couldn't have asked for a better piece of news.

"A hundred percent and no, I only saw two children. But there is something that's odd, all twenty-one of the Nazo seemed weak. Too weak to kill even a Tokubetsu Jonin. I could have taken them out myself, but I didn't want to put the kids in danger!"

"The main members of the Nazo should have left these minions to keep watch on the children, they might have a way to know and return as soon as you attacked, you did right to not attack them directly Isuzu-san," says Shikaku as he enters the office and bows to Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama!"

"Shikaku, ask Fugaku and the police force to surround the place and catch anyone who tries to run. Have an anbu squad get the children out. Tell them no mistakes allowed, I want both kids before me without so much as a scratch by midnight!"

"Hai Hokage-sama," says Shikaku and leaves to get things done.

"Isuzu, you really do have one of the best tracking skills," says Hiruzen.

"Hokage-sama, I know what you want from me but my tracking skills cannot be taught to outsiders, but you don't have to worry it will not be lost, I plan to teach it to little Yasuo when he grows up," says Isuzu.

"Have it your way then," says Hiruzen while shaking his head.

** Midnight Origin space **

[Rei POV]

I was about to complete the last stroke of an explosion seal when I suddenly receive some urgent information from my clones that I have stationed near the places of the remaining kidnapped kids.

Both simultaneously sent the same info, 'The kid is back!'

"How? Something major must have happened!" I think, "Was Hiruzen successful in tracking them down? The Nazo people seemed so strong, are they really dead?"

"Something is wrong…"

------------------------

Any guesses what's wrong?

I will be away tomorrow and will not be able to release the chapter. To make up for it, I am going to release one more chapter in a couple of hours. Cheers!

- Silver