The days of being a puppeteer in Konoha

Chapter 211 Hideki's Choice
Not long after, at the entrance of the orphanage.

Hideki, who was studying the sealing technique, heard that there were guests visiting, so he went downstairs to check.

The visitor turned out to be Fugaku, and he brought a cart full of things, saying they were New Year gifts for the children in the orphanage.

It seems that the reports in Konoha News these days have made him very satisfied.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be many families that could get the head of the Uchiha clan to come and personally present gifts.

Hideki chuckled in his heart, and seeing that the car was filled with clothes and stationery, he did not refuse and expressed his gratitude to Fugaku.

After the greetings, Fugaku looked around and said:

"There seem to be a few children in the orphanage today."

Hideki shrugged and smiled:

“Because everyone is either watching Tom and Jerry in the screening room or going shopping in the village.”

"I see."

Fugaku nodded, thought about it and reminded:
"It's better to be careful during this period and try to keep the children out of the orphanage as little as possible."

"Oh?"

Hideki asked curiously,

"Didn't your police department solve the human trafficking organization?"

"Is there any fish that slipped through the net?"

"If only it were that simple..."

Fugaku sighed and said,
"From the clues of their fighting style and their hideouts, it can be seen that there is definitely a bigger force hidden behind them."

"But they all seem to communicate through a single line, and even the leaders of high status don't know the full picture of their own organization."

"As for trying to figure out who their leader is who rarely shows up, that's even more troublesome."

"Now I just hope they learn their lesson this time and don't commit crimes in and around Konoha Village again. I won't bother to care about them anymore."

Hideki sighed inwardly upon hearing this.

To be honest, Fugaku has been quite responsible to the extent he has done this.

After all, the Police Department is only responsible for the public security of Konoha. If the other party commits a crime somewhere else, it is no longer their problem.

But Hideki always felt a little uncomfortable letting this kind of guy get away with it.

But don’t talk about the second brother, eldest brother.

Half a year has passed, and the Third World War is getting closer and closer. He actually doesn't have the time in the Kingdom of Thunder to play the game of the Messenger of Justice.

Being able to protect this corner of the orphanage is already his current limit.

So Hideki didn't think much about it and was ready to put this matter behind him.

But at this moment, a blond boy hurriedly ran in from the gate of the orphanage wall, and when he saw Hideki, he shouted anxiously:
"Xiu...Xiu Shu brother, something terrible has happened!"

"Atra and the others were kidnapped!"

Hideki, who was originally a little moved by himself, suddenly had a cold look on his face...

……

Without waiting for the blond boy to explain the situation, Hideki and Fugaku looked at each other, then carried him out of the orphanage and rushed towards Konoha.

Along the way, the two of them got the information that the child named Takaki knew in bits and pieces from his mouth.

It turned out that he was not a child visiting Konoha, but an employee working in a toy store.

Because the toy store's business was particularly good today and the inventory was insufficient, he needed to go back to the orphanage to get some goods to replenish it.

By chance, he saw Atla and his friends from afar on the road, who were returning to the orphanage and had just crossed a bridge, and wanted to go up and say hello.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a group of bad guys suddenly jumped out from the boat on the river, and then somehow, many children suddenly fainted on the ground.

Only Nono picked up the two children and rushed into the forest, being chased by several bad guys.

The other children were soon thrown into the boat, which then quickly drifted downstream and disappeared from sight.

After explaining what he had seen, Takaki lowered his head and said in frustration:

"I'm sorry, Brother Xiushu, I can only watch from the sidelines and can't do anything."

Hideki patted his shoulder and comforted him:
"No, you've done great."

"To rush forward regardless of the consequences is recklessness, not courage."

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten the news so quickly."

Fugaku, who was squatting on the ground to detect various traces, stood up and said in a deep voice:

"The course of events should be consistent with what the child said."

"The opponent probably used a large-scale illusion. This illusion has little effect on ninjas, but it has a very significant effect on civilians."

"But a genjutsu like this won't be too easy to learn. There are at least Chuunin-level enemies among them."

"Hideki, I'm so sorry. It seems that this time our police department has caused trouble for you..."

"The people who kidnapped the children should be the human traffickers."

Hideki shook his head and said:

"Your police department is responsible for maintaining law and order, and our Konoha News only reports the facts without exaggerating."

"If I want to blame anyone, I will only blame those scumbags. They even spared the children in the orphanage." "So now let's not dwell on this matter. Let's think about how to get the children back as soon as possible."

Fugaku nodded in agreement, and then analyzed:

“The biggest problem is their ships.”

"As long as they disembark halfway and clear up any traces, we won't be able to track down their departure route at all."

"If they are really experienced, they will definitely choose this method."

Hideki felt the same way, so he looked at the footprints extending into the forest and said:
"Then let the shadow clone take charge of the search along the river bank."

"Let's go check if Nono has managed to escape first."

Fugaku had no objection and formed two shadow clones with hand seals.

One ran downstream with Hideki's shadow clone, while the other left in the direction of the village, probably to find reinforcements.

Then the three of them followed the messy footprints into the forest.

There were spots of blood between the footprints along the way, which made everyone feel uneasy and they subconsciously quickened their pace.

Soon they came to a secret cave deep in the forest.

After making sure there was no trap, the three walked in and saw Nono and the two girls lying on the ground.

Hideki hurried forward to take a look.

Fortunately, the two girls were just under the spell and fell asleep, but Nono was injured in several places and was bleeding.

The wounds were all on the back, probably caused when he was escaping with the two children.

After the illusion was lifted, both girls woke up quickly.

As soon as they saw Hideki and Nono lying on the ground, they couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Don't worry, Nono is not in danger of death. I have already stopped her bleeding."

After Hideki tried to calm them down, he was able to get some information from them as they sobbed, but he didn't gain much.

Because they were hypnotized by the illusion like everyone else, the only thing they remembered was Nono picked them up and ran into the forest.

As for how they came here and how Nono was injured, they knew nothing about it.

At this moment, Fugaku was suddenly stunned, then shook his head and said:
"Just as I thought, the boat stopped downstream, but there was no trace of them nearby."

"It's not easy to find them now."

Hideki, who also obtained the memories of the shadow clone, nodded solemnly.

Takaki on the side said anxiously:

"Then what should we do now?"

"Uncle, aren't you a big shot in the police department? Can't you think of a solution?"

Fugaku sighed and said:
"Both publicly and privately, our police department will do its utmost to bring the children back."

"But the other party is clearly well prepared this time. If they really want to hide, it won't be easy to find them."

"This may be a bit cruel, but you'd better be prepared for the possibility that you won't be able to find your children again..."

"Hideki, especially you, if you lose your cool over this, everyone will know that these kids are your weak spot."

"Then things like this may continue to happen..."

"You're talking nonsense! Brother Hideki will never give up on us!"

Takaki glared at Fugaku and said,
"If the one who was abducted was a ninja child, would you still say such a thing?"

Fugaku remained silent.

Indeed, if a ninja child was abducted, then the other party was undoubtedly challenging the dignity of the number one ninja village in the ninja world.

Even if Konoha has to dig deep into the ground, it will find the child and grind the other party to ashes.

But this time, those who were kidnapped were just a group of orphans.

For Hideki's sake, the ninjas would at most send some people to assist in the search, or inquire about the information through their own intelligence channels.

But it is naturally impossible to ask them to mobilize all of them for this New Year's Day.

Hideki, who has been in the ninja world for many years and has experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature, of course understands this truth very well.

He couldn't help but glance at Nono who was still lying on the ground, wishing that she had also been abducted by the enemy.

Because with her current popularity, she can mobilize at least half of Konoha to help with the search.

Unlike now, he can only work overtime by himself.

To be honest, although Hideki looked calm on the surface, he was furious inside.

He, Hideki Kimura, just wants to live a peaceful life, why can't he do that?
Seeing that the usually smart Takaki had lowered his head with red eyes, Hideki touched his head and said:
"Fugaku, it is exactly as you said."

"If I act too eager now, this kind of thing may happen again and again in the future..."

"But on the other hand, if everyone can realize how heavy a price they will pay if they dare to harm children in orphanages."

"Then they will probably think twice before they come up with any evil ideas in the future..."

Then Hideki smiled and looked at Fugaku and said,
"Fugaku, the video of you destroying the human traffickers' den was really not very good."

"I wonder if you are interested in taking on the challenge again?"

(End of this chapter)