Chương 63: The Crowd Searched For Him Thousands Of Times, And Suddenly Looked Back

Chapter 63: The Crowd Searched For Him Thousands Of Times, And Suddenly Looked Back

The next morning, in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was reading a scroll with a smile on his face. Suddenly, flames emerged from his hand, and he burned the scroll to ashes.

"Someone, bring Chiba here," he commanded.

"Yes!" an Anbu member responded and quickly left to find Chiba.

After a while, the Anbu returned.

"Master Hokage, Chiba is missing," the Anbu reported.

"What?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked shocked upon hearing the news.

"Where's Danzo?" he asked.

"Master Danzo is also looking for Chiba," the Anbu replied.

Meanwhile, outside near the garbage dump, Danzo was squatting on the ground, engaged in an unknown activity. Sarutobi Hiruzen approached him.

"Danzo, Chiba is missing?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked angrily, seeing Danzo in a seemingly indifferent state.

Danzo didn't pay him any attention.

"Yesterday, you said that he wouldn't lose a single hair, but now he's completely gone," Sarutobi Hiruzen continued.

"Chiba was attacked last night," Danzo replied, still facing away from Hiruzen.

After speaking, Danzo turned around, holding a kunai in his hand. The kunai was wrapped in shriveled feces, resembling a piece of oligo at first glance.

"He was attacked? Is this a kunai?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, perplexed.

"That's right!" Danzo confirmed, handing the kunai to his subordinate.

"On the roof of Chiba's house, my subordinates found a pair of footprints and vomit," Danzo explained.

"Not only that," he continued, pointing to the ground around them. "Look at this!"

There were numerous deep seam marks on the ground, appearing as if they had been blasted out by high-speed water.

"After I bid farewell to Chiba last night, he went home. But when he arrived here, he was attacked," Danzo elaborated, keeping his gaze fixed on Hiruzen's face, as if observing.

However, he didn't notice anything unusual in Hiruzen's expression.

"Even if he was attacked, what about others?" Hiruzen frowned, looking unfriendly. "Furthermore, didn't you have Root secretly protect him? Why did you let him go home alone?"

"My subordinates were also attacked," Danzo quietly replied, turning his back and walking away. He had no intention of engaging in further conversation with Hiruzen. Finding Chiba was his top priority.

Throughout the morning, Danzo sent his men to search the entire village, but they couldn't find any trace of Chiba. Frustrated with the search, Danzo decided to change his approach from searching to visiting.

Finally, he discovered a clue at the gate of the Hyuga family's residence.

"So, you met Chiba last night and exchanged greetings?" Danzo asked Hyuga Hiashi.

"Yes, Lord Danzo," Hiashi nodded respectfully.

Hiashi confirmed that he had indeed encountered Chiba the previous night and invited him as a guest, but Chiba declined the invitation.

"Did you see which direction he went after leaving?" Danzo inquired.

"He simply walked down the street," Hiashi truthfully replied, pointing towards the street.

Danzo felt a sense of frustration. The street led directly to the village entrance, with over a dozen blocks in between. It was difficult to determine where exactly Chiba had gone for a stroll.

While Danzo continued his search for Chiba, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also on the lookout. He dispatched Anbu members to inquire and gather information.

Finally, they received a lead.

According to the owner of a kebab shop, shortly after Chiba and Danzo parted ways, Chiba returned to the shop and bought some yakiniku (grilled meat). Afterward, he left, but the boss didn't know which direction he went.

In the afternoon, Danzo and Hiruzen met at the Hokage's office to exchange information. Unfortunately, they couldn't deduce Chiba's whereabouts at all.

"He left after being attacked, met Hyuga Hiashi first, then went to a yakiniku restaurant, and disappeared," Danzo summarized the sequence of events.

"Could he have left the village?" Hiruzen pondered.

"Probably not. The guards at the village entrance didn't notice anyone leaving," Danzo replied.

"Then where did he go?" The two leaders exchanged puzzled looks, unable to come up with an answer.

Unbeknownst to them, Chiba had naturally woken up after his sleep. Feeling that it was the safest sleep he had experienced, he got up from the table, stretched, and opened the door.

The door creaked as it opened, and Chiba stepped out, greeting the two men in the office with a cheerful "Good morning!"

Danzo and Hiruzen stared at Chiba outside the door in astonishment, both dumbfounded by the unexpected turn of events.

"You slept in the conference room last night?" Hiruzen asked, seeking clarification.

"Yes," Chiba nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The conference room was located opposite the office, and Chiba believed it to be a secure place to sleep.

Danzo's body trembled, and Hiruzen's expression changed dramatically. They never imagined that after an extensive search throughout the village, Chiba had been sleeping right next door in the conference room the entire time.