Kidnappings

Getting to work, team Jiraiya split up, going around the city to collect information on the matter.

On the other hand, Yamanoue went back to the Ryokucha castle, to see how things were over there.

A few hours later, the team met back near the castle. They had all asked countless people but only managed to gather a few things from it.

"You three, report your findings."

"I asked around, and most people just depressedly asked me to leave them alone…"

Nozomi was dejected… Even though she had asked so many people, she got nothing out of it.

"I targeted middle-aged men and women, especially the ones that looked more haggard. One thing they all had in common was that their daughters disappeared overnight…"

Minato was at a loss… Although it was a clue, they had almost nothing to work with, frustrating him.

"As for me, I went around knocking on the doors of family homes… One of them allowed me to enter, and they showed me their daughter's bedroom, with clear signs of a struggle. I got lucky, and found this."

Reaching into his back pocket, Jun took out a small ring. It was made entirely of silver and had the kanji for 'spice' written on it.

"That could be useful... Keep it, for now. We'll show Yamanoue later, hopefully, he'll recognize it."

"What about you, Jiraiya-sensei? Did you find anything?"

Hearing Nozomi's question, Jiraiya smirked.

"Hehe… This city is divided into three main territories. The ones who control them are the Ryokucha, the Wasabi, and the Wagarashi families. Did you notice that, out of the few girls that are left, most are in the Wagarashi's territory?"

"Oh my god!"

Once again, Jiraiya demonstrated his skill as an information gatherer... There was nothing that could escape his sharp eyes.

"That would mean… Wagarashi[1]… Spice… The ring!"

Seeing Minato reach the same conclusion as him, Jiraiya smiled in approval. He'd really chosen the right disciple.

"But wait… It could've been a set-up. Don't you think that it's too convenient for the ring to have the 'spice' character on it?"

With his words, Jun threw a bucket of cold water on Minato's and Jiraiya's heads. He was right...They couldn't be so sure of it yet. Yamanoue had to confirm it first.

And even if he did confirm it, could they even tell if another person had purposefully set them up? The mystery was far from being resolved.

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Reaching the castle gates, they were greeted by the guards.

Seeing them arrive, they bowed and one of them walked over, pointing his hand in the castle's direction.

"Greetings, venerable ninja from the land of fire. Follow me, I shall take you to see the family lord, degozaru."

"Seems like Yamanoue told them about us coming… Saves us the trouble."

Smiling, Jiraiya followed the man deeper into the castle, followed by the three Genin. Once inside, they went through long corridors until they finally reached a grand hall.

At the end of the hall were four seats, with one slightly more elevated. On them sat the elders of the family, along with the lord himself.

Minato looked around and noticed Yamanoue, who was sitting close to one of the elders.

Seeing them enter, that same elder rose from his seat and greeted them with a warm smile. He had a long white beard that reached his feet and looked like he already had half a foot in the grave.

"Welcome to Ryokucha castle..! Little Yama has told us a lot about you, exalted ninja!"

"Jiraiya-dono! You guys…! Did you find anything?"

Yamanoue still had a pale face. Seeing Jiraiya's confident smile at least made him feel a little better.

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[1] After some research, I found out that Wagarashi is some kind of Japanese mustard… I don't know the details, but it made sense at least, with the whole ring thing.

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