manynovel Chapter 27 Solving the case
Chapter 27 Solving the case
In the Flower Capital, on the Flower Street, Heiji is patrolling with three little ninjas.
Heiji didn't know why, but today not only the Uchiha kid, but also the other two kids had become quiet and reserved.
However, Heiji didn't have time to think too much about whether they had a fight...
Several more thefts occurred on Red Street in the morning. They not only targeted wealthy people, but also expanded beyond "hair clipping" to include breaking into hotels.
Heiji was both anxious and angry.
……
Not long after, just as afternoon began...
Two men and one woman, three adults who didn't look like good people and were acting suspiciously, arrived at a pawnshop in the west of the city with mosquito nets hanging outside but no sign.
According to the investigation records that Akaishi had seen in the case files, the yamen (government office) focused its investigation on the pawnshops here.
Moreover, looking at these pawnshops now, although they have mosquito nets with the pawnshop logo, they don't have signs, which does indeed fit the characteristics of a black market.
Those thieves who greatly damaged the image of the Flower Capital may not actually be selling their stolen goods here, but it doesn't matter. Akaishi came here to pretend to be a "naive fool" and lure those people out, not to actually come here to find them.
bang-
Akashi pushed open the door and entered without any ceremony.
The shopkeeper behind the counter glanced at the three of them with drooping eyes, then lazily asked, "Pawn or sell?"
"I'll give you everything without leaving any collateral," the man in his transformed state of Akashi said in a low voice, throwing a large bundle of things onto the counter.
Upon hearing what Akaishi said, the shopkeeper's expression flickered, and he sat up straight, becoming more alert, as he looked through the things Akaishi had thrown on the counter.
"Little fur coat, greasy vintage clothes..." The shopkeeper picked up a fur coat first.
"Pah! Where are your eyes? This is a small fur? It's bright red, clearly a fox fur, top-quality fur! A cloak... there's no cloak this thick, this is fur to block the wind!" Akashi said menacingly.
The shopkeeper wasn't in a hurry, he just smiled and said, "Don't rush, don't rush, we can talk about it in detail. Harmony brings wealth! You may be new to the Flower Capital and not know that foreign goods are being heavily sold off lately, so prices are naturally lower."
"With the market so tight, the price should be raised even more! Don't you understand the principle that the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish? If you're afraid, why are you running a pawn shop here?" Akaishi said disdainfully.
Ranmai and Minato's clones listened silently to Akaishi and the hostage-man's negotiation, which was interspersed with coded language...
This really needs to be done by Akashi.
Because of the nature of the Uchiha clan's work, Akaishi gradually picked up some of their slang.
The shopkeeper and Akaishi haggled over the price, and during this time, Akaishi and his two companions noticed something was amiss. However, instead of being alarmed, they were delighted and pretended not to notice anything. Akaishi continued to leisurely bargain with the shopkeeper until…
boom--
The door to the pawnshop was suddenly pushed open, and a burly, menacing-looking man stepped forward. He glanced at Akashi and his companions, then said to the shopkeeper, "Big business!"
"Well, excuse me, gentlemen, but we have other matters to attend to. Please go somewhere else," the shopkeeper said with a sly smile.
Seeing this, the three men, Akaishi and his companions, were not only not anxious or angry, but immediately came out of the pawnshop...
Upon exiting, they found the streets cleared, and a dozen burly men armed with various weapons stood menacingly blocking the street.
Clearly, driving Akaishi and the other two out was a prelude to taking action!
The pawnshop owner had already quietly notified these people, while he stalled for time.
"So it's you three who've been cutting hair on the red-light district lately? How many heads do you have, with such a blatantly exposed torn rope?" the burly man at the head of the group said coldly.
The broken rope means that they crossed the line and entered their own territory.
Seeing the three men obediently emerge from the pawnshop, everyone assumed they were scared. At that moment, they all let out strange "heh heh" laughs.
"So you're the ones who least want the Konoha ninjas to stay here?" Lanwu asked rhetorically.
"What?" The other party was taken aback upon hearing this.
"So, you should know something about the previous clipping?" Minato said with a smile—except now, his shadow clone had become a thug with a pockmarked face, and his smile was particularly distorted.
"Long spears, crescent shovels, long-handled knives... these weapons don't seem like something a petty thief would use. It seems the Flower Capital's theft gang has a much larger violent group backing them up," Akaishi said, looking at their weapons.
"Who...who are you people?" These people were clearly panicked.
boom--
After a puff of smoke, Minato vanished from the spot.
"Ninja! A ninja!"
"Run!"
"Don't be afraid, there are only two of them, and... they can't be legendary Jonin."
"That's right, let's fight them!"
"Go and inform the eldest brother first..."
……
At the same time, Minato, who was in the red-light district, suddenly changed his expression, clearly having already learned something.
Heiji was still completely unaware when, a moment later, the burly man who had just barged into the hostage room rushed over in a panic and said something to Heiji…
Upon hearing this, Kurokichi first looked at Minato and the other two in surprise.
"What's wrong? Blackie, do you have any leads?" Minato asked with a smile.
"That's right, there was a violent incident in West Street, probably by ninjas from other hidden villages!" Heiji said immediately.
"Ninjas? We need to get there quickly." Minato said calmly, though his words sounded urgent.
"No, that's right, Iron Head... You take the three adults there, I'll go... find someone to help!" Blackie said immediately.
After saying this, Heiji turned to leave, but Minato instantly appeared in front of him: "Heiji, please come with me."
"Minato ninja, what is this...?" Heiji feigned confusion, but he already knew it was a trap. Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly rushed towards Minato and pulled out a short sword from his clothes!
"Get out of my way!" Heiji shouted angrily to bolster his courage.
but……
puff--
Minato nimbly dodged and casually tapped him on the neck, causing Heiji to immediately lose consciousness.
……
West Street.
Akashi and Lanwu have returned to their original forms. After all, fighting in their transformed state is inconvenient. They already maintain their water/earth clones, so maintaining their original transformation state would be too distracting.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Akaishi spat out a huge fireball, burning the thugs until they cried out in pain and rolled on the ground.
These people are not ninjas, but most of them have some chakra. Having chakra does not mean that one is a ninja. After all, the Warring States period has only lasted for more than thirty years. Ninja villages have basically monopolized the inheritance of ninjutsu, but there are countless methods of refining chakra scattered among the people.
However, apart from ninjas, only the samurai of the Land of Iron are worth watching. Other civilians, even if they have some chakra, are just local bullies, bandits, or thugs. Their status and employment costs are even lower than those of wandering ninjas.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Akaishi didn't have much of a psychological barrier even though it was his first time "killing an enemy," and the smell of burning didn't make him feel too uncomfortable.
Lan Wu, however, frowned slightly in surprise and said, "Hmm? Your Fireball Jutsu... seems a bit stronger than before?"