After that, Shinju asked the young man a few more questions. The young man answered honestly, but he didn't actually know much…
"You used to be a ninja, huh… By the way, do you still remember what that person looked like?" Shinju asked.
"He never showed his face from start to finish. I only remember that he was wearing a mask, and the style of the mask looked kind of like an owl…" the young man replied shamefully.
Shinju nodded and waved his hand.
"Alright, I understand your situation now."
"Considering this incident didn't cause any serious consequences, go report yourself to the Konoha detention facility. You'll be locked up for one week."
With the Hokage having spoken, the young man didn't dare disobey. He drooped his head and left.
Just as he was about to walk out the door, Shinju curiously asked another question,
"Oh right. You work at a tech company, and you've stirred up something like this. What are your plans for the future?"
The young man shook his head, forcing a smile.
"No idea. Maybe I'll go out for a bit, travel around, clear my head."
Although he said he was going out to have fun, Shinju could tell that the young man was completely shrouded in gloom. After he got out, he'd probably still try to kill himself.
Thinking that saving a life was worth more than building a seven-tier pagoda, Shinju took the initiative and said,
"I run a company of my own. If you don't mind, come work under me."
The young man was instantly overwhelmed with excitement.
"Really? Sixth-sama, is that really okay? Someone like me can work for you?! (´◊ω◊｀)"
Shinju nodded. "Of course. Our company welcomes anyone with ability."
"Oh right, I still don't know your name."
The young man spoke up. "Sixth-sama, just call me Raimon."
After saying that, Raimon left. Shinju, meanwhile, continued to think about the series of events that had just occurred.
Why would the Masked Man order Raimon to tie explosive tags to himself and cause a disturbance?
What was his goal? Was it just pure malice?
Wait!
Was it possible that the man deliberately had Raimon cause a commotion at the bank entrance to draw everyone's attention, while he took the opportunity to do something else?!
For example… stealing the money in the vault?!
...
Once that thought clicked into place, Shinju immediately used Flying Thunder God to teleport to the bank entrance. He went straight to the bank manager and explained his purpose.
After hearing Shinju's question, the manager smiled.
"Sixth-sama, you're worrying too much. Our bank vault uses the most advanced security technology. Not only is it incredibly sturdy, it also has temperature sensors. The moment it detects a living being entering, it triggers an alarm immediately. Not even a fly could get in… (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"
Even though the manager explained it like that, Shinju still didn't feel at ease.
In the end, after repeated requests from Shinju, the manager—though clearly unwilling—still had people accompany him to open the vault.
When he saw the vault filled to the brim with stacks of bills, all perfectly intact, Shinju finally let out a sigh of relief.
The manager flashed a confident smile.
"Well, Sixth-sama? You should have faith in our bank's security system."
Shinju nodded. "Looks like I was overthinking it. Go ahead and close the vault."
Just before the staff closed the vault door, Shinju noticed an open drawer in one corner of the vault. He asked curiously,
"Was that drawer already open? Your bank staff are being way too careless, aren't they? (꒪⌓꒪)"
After Shinju asked, there was no response for a long moment. When he turned his head, he saw that the bank manager was already drenched in cold sweat! (≖╻≖;)
His voice trembling, the manager barked orders at the nearby staff.
"Someone get over there and check it right now! How could something like this happen?! Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
In the end, after a round of investigation by the staff, it was confirmed that the bank had suffered a loss. What was missing was a gemstone deposited at the bank by a ninja from Iwagakure of the Land of Earth.
Upon hearing this news, the manager panicked.
"Why didn't the vault alarm go off when the gemstone was stolen?"
"Could it be that there's an inside traitor in the bank? ∑(✘Д✘๑)"
"I've heard that this gemstone from Iwagakure is worth a fortune—just one piece is worth several hundred million. The bank might be ruined paying compensation. What are we supposed to do… Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Shinju added fuel to the fire from the side.
"It might even cause a serious diplomatic incident. All of this would be due to your bank's poor supervision. You, as the manager, might even end up in prison. (◔◡◔)"
Hearing that, the manager immediately grabbed onto Shinju's leg.
"Sixth-sama, you absolutely have to help us with this!"
Shinju put on an air of authority. What he had just said was precisely to make the manager cooperate obediently with his investigation.
"Call the Konoha Police Force over to take a look," Shinju said.
...
A few minutes later, the Konoha Police Force found a note at the scene. Written on it were the words: "Byakuya Gang."
Shinju said, "This group sounds kind of familiar."
The police captain replied, "They're a group of righteous thieves that only started appearing recently."
Shinju asked with interest, "Righteous thieves?"
"They rob the rich to help the poor, the kind who think they're doing good deeds," Shikamaru explained with a curl of his lip. He couldn't help adding a jab,
"People who love causing trouble for others. ¯\(ツ)/¯"
Shinju looked at the police captain and continued, "Can you find their whereabouts?"
The captain shook his head.
"This righteous thieves' group operates all over the world. After hitting one place, they move on to the next. Their movements are unpredictable—it's hard to track them down."
Shinju nodded. "Alright."
Then Shinju turned to the technical staff of the police force.
"Have you figured out why the temperature alarm failed?"
The technician put down the tools in his hands and said hesitantly,
"The equipment is intact. There are no signs of damage at all… It's possible that when the thief entered, their body temperature stayed within a range that the temperature sensor couldn't detect…"
The manager froze. "How is that possible? Human body temperature is fixed at a bit over thirty-six degrees. Even with fluctuations, it can't stray far from that range. And the alarm's detection range is much wider than that. ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞"
Hearing this, the technician hesitated again.
Shinju noticed his hesitation and said frankly, "If you have something to say, just say it."
The technician replied, "There's a type of bloodline limit that can manipulate temperature, allowing someone to evade temperature sensor surveillance…"
Shinju's expression subtly changed.
There was no need for the technician to finish. Shinju had already guessed the rest.
Ice Release. This bloodline limit could control extremely low temperatures…
And as far as anyone knew, the only person in Konoha who possessed Ice Release was him.
Shinju: --003d͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)
This is bad! He'd become a criminal suspect!! (°Д°≡°Д°)
And after hearing the technician's words, everyone present turned their gaze toward Shinju…
The Sixth Hokage of Konoha, Shinju—the hero who ended the Fourth Great Ninja War and saved the ninja world, the undisputed strongest in the current era!
Moreover, this Sixth Hokage's obsession with money was also something everyone knew…
Shinju said, "Why are you all looking at me like that? (°ー°〃)"
After he spoke, the police captain fell into thought.
"It doesn't make sense…"
"With Sixth-sama's status and power, how could he possibly be short on this little bit of money?"
The others all nodded in agreement with the captain's view.