Chapter 42: Wanted by the Police Force, Konoha's Greatest Thief

Konoha Commercial Street, 'Tenten-ten' Ninja Tool Shop.

Because more than half of their ninja tool shop had been mysteriously stolen a month ago, resulting in a loss of tools valued at thirty million, Tenten's parents had been dealing with the ninjas of the Konoha Police Force throughout this period.

"These are the current investigation results; this is about as much as we have." Uchiha Yashiro—a man with short brown hair, wearing a Jonin vest and possessing squinted eyes—accompanied by two other Uchiha members, handed the final investigation report to Tenten's parents.

Although the owners of the 'Tenten-ten' Ninja Tool Shop were not ninjas, they had clan backing; their family was famous for their expertise in crafting ninja tools.

The theft of the shop resulted in a loss of thirty million ryo worth of tools, a figure that was by no means small. In wartime, these tools would be enough to sustain the consumption of a small-scale local conflict.

Even for a Konoha Jonin like Asuma, who had served as a guardian of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, his bounty on the black market was only thirty-five million ryo.

Therefore, the theft of the ninja tool shop could be described as the largest theft case since the founding of Konoha. The Konoha Police Force took it particularly seriously, deploying an investigation team led by the Jonin Uchiha Yashiro and composed of several Chunin.

However, after a month of meticulous investigation, they still had not found any clues regarding the thief.

In reality, this investigation report was merely a record of the Police Force's process; it contained no conclusion whatsoever.

Tenten's parents, their eyes red and swollen, stared fixedly at the report Yashiro had handed them: "Is this all?"

If no suspicious persons were found and no criminals were caught, then they would have to bear the losses themselves.

Uchiha Yashiro shook his head with a hint of reluctance. "We will leave it at this for now. If any further clues surface, you can come to the Police Force at any time. We will notify you immediately if we have new results."

After all, losing thirty million ryo worth of ninja tools was an astronomical sum for most ninjas.

Even for Tenten's clan, it was a painful blow.

Aside from their own clan's manufacturing base, this shop in Konoha held their largest reserve. To have thirty million ryo worth of tools stolen in one fell swoop meant it would take the clan a long time to recover.

"Mama..." Four-year-old Tenten, with her hair styled in two little buns, looked at her parents clutching each other and weeping, feeling somewhat lost.

Tenten gripped the hem of her mother's clothes; she didn't yet understand why her parents were trembling over a few pieces of paper.

But the empty tool boxes on the shelves served as a reminder: the spots that should have been filled with kunai and shuriken now held nothing but dust-covered hooks.

Uchiha Yashiro gave a look to the two Uchiha members, and the three of them slowly exited the shop.

"Captain Yashiro," on the street, an Uchiha Chunin questioned him. "Those thieves are truly too cunning. If we close the case in such a hurry, it will be difficult to answer to the Commander-in-Chief."

Yashiro was a squad leader; in the field, they naturally addressed him as Captain, while the "Commander-in-Chief" referred to the head of the Konoha Police Force, Uchiha Fugaku.

"It's not a closed case, it's just..." Uchiha Yashiro felt helpless. There were hardly any traces left at the scene. They had investigated for a month and hadn't even found a handful of suspicious individuals.

Although they had detained several suspects for interrogation, none were the actual criminals, so they had eventually been released.

While the Uchiha were arrogant, and the Police Force—as law enforcers—was often disliked and even targeted by rumors within the village, the Uchiha did not stoop to framing people to take the fall.

"There was one more suspicious person, but..." Yashiro recalled his previous conversation with Commander Fugaku regarding this case.

Commander Fugaku had mentioned that on the day of the incident, a mysterious ninja had attacked the Hyuga clan compound, dumping the corpse of a Cloud Village special envoy there in an attempt to frame the Hyuga. Two Hyuga brothers had been injured, one seriously and one lightly.

Although the Uchiha were marginalized from the upper echelons of Konoha, Fugaku, as the clan head, still had many channels to learn what had happened that night.

Furthermore, it was no secret that the Cloud Village had later been attacked by a mysterious ninja, leading to a ceasefire between the Cloud and Konoha.

"Forget it, I will report to the Commander-in-Chief personally." Yashiro shook his head and, filled with doubts, hurried toward the Konoha Police Force headquarters.

When the surrounding villagers saw members of the Uchiha clan from the Police Force, they often showed expressions of trepidation, especially the merchants.

As the entity maintaining internal security for Konoha, the Uchiha clan had essentially treated the Police Force as their private property, and they were known for being cold and uncompromising when enforcing the law.

Coupled with the rumors spread by that old schemer Danzo, and the Third Hokage's decision to turn a deaf ear, the villagers held significant grievances against the Uchiha of the Police Force.

Maintaining internal order was a thankless task to begin with; no matter what was done, someone would be dissatisfied.

When the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, established the Konoha Police Force and placed it under the responsibility of the Uchiha, there was certainly a reason for his trust in Kagami Uchiha.

But was it not also a deliberate way to keep the Uchiha clan at a distance from the ordinary villagers and the smaller ninja clans?

Upon returning to the Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Yashiro allowed his two subordinates to move freely while he headed to the Commander-in-Chief's office.

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

After the knocking, Fugaku's voice rang out from inside the office.

"Come in."

*Creak—*

"Commander-in-Chief." Uchiha Yashiro entered Fugaku's office and placed an investigation report in front of him.

"The theft at the 'Tenten-ten' Ninja Tool Shop is at a standstill for now. We truly cannot find the culprit, or rather..." The unique markings around Yashiro's eyes tightened slightly as he wore a troubled expression.

"Mhm, good work." Fugaku did not blame Yashiro, merely nodding.

"Since there are no other suspects, list 'Shura' as a person of interest and report it to the Hokage," Fugaku said, his expression darkening as he looked at the report on the desk.

"But, why would a powerhouse of that level steal ninja tools?" Yashiro raised his doubt.

Even though those tools were worth thirty million, a powerhouse of that level would have many other ways to acquire wealth if they desired it. Furthermore, only one shop had been robbed; there were several other ninja tool shops in Konoha that remained untouched.

According to the investigation, the shop had only lost kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and sealing scrolls. The most expensive items were the dozen or so sealing scrolls, valued at nearly ten million.

"Who knows?" Fugaku was also very puzzled.

Just as the two were discussing how to report to the Hokage and issue a wanted notice for the thief, there was another knock at the door.

"Commander-in-Chief!" The Uchiha Chunin who had gone to the 'Tenten-ten' shop with Yashiro earlier pushed the door open.

He brought news that left them stunned: "The owner of the 'Tenten-ten' Ninja Tool Shop has come to report a crime! They found a box in their basement containing thirty million ryo in cash!"

"What!" Fugaku, who had been sitting in his chair, stood up abruptly.

Yashiro's squinted eyes snapped wide open.

A ninja capable of entering and leaving Konoha undetected!

That guy called 'Shura'! Is he back again?!