My older sister is Kushina

At 2 a.m., Hyuga Hima and Akimichi Fat Thorn, having eaten and drunk their fill, finally left the Midnight Diner.

As Uzumaki Hanamichi watched Hyuga Himaru and the others leave, a slight smile appeared on his lips. From the interaction between Uchiha Shisui, Hyuga Himaru, Akimichi Fat Thorn, and Inuzuka He, it was not difficult to see that the group got along quite well, which reassured him somewhat.

Regarding Uchiha Shisui's decision to voluntarily join the Anbu's First Squad, Uzumaki Hanamichi had some speculations. It was probably the intention of the Uchiha clan's higher-ups, using Uchiha Shisui to keep an eye on the Anbu's actions.

After seeing off Hyuga Hima and Uchiha Shisui, Uzumaki Hanamichi began to pack up.

More than half an hour later, he finally left the late-night diner, closed the door, and headed home.

After a busy day, Whirlpool Flower Path washed up and soon went to rest.

In the following days, Hanamichi Uzumaki was busy secretly investigating the missing persons case during the day and running his late-night diner at night.

Following Uchiha Shisui, the first squad of the Anbu has gained two new members.

The two advance team members were on the candidate list from the Konoha leadership: a Jonin and a Chunin. The Jonin was a woman named Aoki Yukiko, a medical ninja, and the Chunin was named Hasegawa, sixteen years old, and proficient in both wind and fire elemental ninjutsu.

Yukiko Aoki and Hasegawa were commoner ninjas with no special family backgrounds.

Both of them were already preferred candidates by Uzumaki Hanamichi.

With the addition of Yukiko Aoki and Hasegawa, the first squad of the Anbu now has a basic configuration of seventeen people.

With basic personnel configuration completed, Whirlpool Flower Path began to consider class division. According to the team structure, the first team will be divided into four classes, with four people in each class and a class leader.

However, he was not in a hurry to divide the team into classes. Instead, he wanted to continue to observe for a period of time and then make appropriate combinations based on the specific characteristics of each team member.

In addition, two team members are lying in Konoha Hospital.

The investigation into the missing persons cases has been conducted in secret. In addition to the orphanage, he has also investigated other missing persons, but to his dismay, he has not found any breakthrough clues.

After extensive investigation, Whirlpool Flower Path also discovered some clues, such as the fact that the disappearances mostly occurred at night, and were all on the outskirts of the village or in the surrounding villages.

Minato Namikaze privately communicated with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage admitted that Maruboshi Kosuke was the person he secretly arranged to investigate the missing persons case. Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a very important piece of information to the Fourth Hokage: the missing persons case was very likely related to Danzo Shimura's "Root" organization.

It wasn't surprising that Uzumaki Hanamichi learned the information revealed by the Third Hokage from Namikaze Minato; he had suspected Shimura Danzo from the very beginning of the disappearance case.

Minato Namikaze: "The case of the missing person is only suspected to be related to Root. We should not investigate Root without solid evidence. Root has been having a significant influence in the village these days. If it is not handled properly, it could cause turmoil in the village. The Nine-Tails incident is still recent. The most important thing for the village right now is stability."

Uzumaki Hanamichi nodded. He could understand the Fourth Hokage's concerns. Although the Third Shinobi World War ended in Konoha's victory, the destruction of war was two-way. Konoha was already scarred after the Third Shinobi World War, and with the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha was now in a very weak state. If any internal turmoil occurred, it could very likely attract the covetousness of other ninja villages.

Minato Namikaze continued, "However, this disappearance case still needs to be thoroughly investigated. We cannot let things go unchecked just because of the current situation in Konoha. Ado, I will need you to continue the secret investigation. We must give the villagers an explanation."

Whirlpool Flower Path: "Understood!"

Meanwhile, at the orphanage, Uzumaki Hanamichi continued to observe in secret. He arranged for a shadow clone to monitor the area, believing that the orphanage might become a breakthrough point.

During the day, he was busy investigating the secret investigations of the Dark Affairs Department and the missing persons cases. At night, he continued to work on his late-night diner. The small shop was still very popular. During this time, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, even visited the shop, which further increased its popularity.

Whirlpool Flower Path is busy until almost midnight every night before it can finally relax.

The same thing happened tonight; we didn't see off the last guests until after 1 a.m.

"There shouldn't be many customers left at this time!"

After the last customers left, Whirlpool Flower Path tidied up briefly, then stretched and walked to the entrance of the small shop to take a look.

The streets were almost deserted at that moment.

Just as Whirlpool Hanamichi was about to turn back to his shop, his expression suddenly changed. In a dark corner not far from his shop, a small figure was huddled up.

By the dim light, he judged that it must be a young child.

After thinking for a moment, Whirlpool Flower Path walked towards that small figure.

The small figure was huddled in a corner, wearing a thin and tattered robe, her body trembling slightly, as if she were very cold.

Whirlpool Flower Path walked up to the small figure and found that it was an eleven or twelve-year-old girl, who was curled up in a ball with her hands tightly hugging her knees, looking pitiful.

The girl quickly spotted the swirling flower path, and fear appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Whirlpool Flower Path gave the girl a bright, sunny smile: "Hello little girl, I'm not a bad person. Why are you here alone so late?"

The girl bit her lip and didn't say anything.

Whirlpool Flower Descent: "Where is your home?"

The girl looked cautiously at the swirling flower path, still remaining silent.

Then, Hanamichi asked several more questions in a row, trying to be as gentle as possible, but the little girl still did not answer.

"Dumb?"

Whirlpool Flower Path felt somewhat helpless.

Finally, Uzumaki Hanamichi said, "Are you hungry? I have delicious food in my shop!"

The girl licked her lips, swallowed, and then nodded hesitantly.

Whirlpool Flower City gave another warm smile: "Then come with me, I'll make you something delicious."

The little girl hesitated for a moment before getting up.

Whirlpool Hanamichi originally wanted to reach out and take her hand, but when the little girl saw his hand reach out, she instinctively shrank back, seemingly a little scared.

So he withdrew his hand; the little girl was in a defensive state, and physical contact was not advisable.

"Come with me!"

Whirlpool Hanamichi said something to the girl, then gestured for her to follow him.

After walking a few steps along the swirling flower path, the little girl took her first steps and carefully followed.

Soon, she followed Whirlpool Flower Path into the Midnight Diner.

Whirlpool Hanamichi pointed to a table not far away and said gently, "You sit over there for a while, I'll go make something to eat."

The little girl carefully sat down.