Chapter 102: The "righteous thieves" white bird
To be rigorous—mostly to kill time and avoid being dragged into work too early—Haruko visited two more wealthy merchants who were said to have been visited by white bird.
As expected, what these two families lost were solid gold and silver trinkets, which were easy to liquidate and circulate.
Moreover, the scene was clean and neat; the windows had been pried open with clever force, leaving no trace of damage.
"Tsk, low-level play."
Haruko walked out of the alley, stretched, and glanced at the mayor's mansion in the distance as if watching a clumsy monkey show.
An insider stole that cabbage, forged the scene, and conveniently shifted the blame to the recently famous "white bird," who was a perfect scapegoat.
As for the possibility of the mayor directing and acting it out himself? There is one, but it's very low. Unless that cabbage didn't belong to the mayor, there'd be no need for such an unnecessary move, especially hiring Ninjas to find it.
" Kakashi probably saw through it too. He's likely squatting in a corner reading "icha icha paradise" while watching the show."
Since the leader wasn't in a hurry, why should he be?
Haruko yawned, found a sunny rooftop, lay down, and adjusted himself into a comfortable position.
'Let Izumi and Hana do more legwork and use their brains. They're young; it's good for them to get more exercise."
...
Haruko wandered around until dusk before returning to the inn.
Uchiha Izumi and Inuzuka Hana were frowning at a map covered in circles and crosses.
The Ninja tool pouches on them hadn't been removed yet, and their headbands were stained with dust. Clearly, they had just returned from running their legs off outside.
"Yo, been out?"
"Haruko!"
Uchiha Izumi finally couldn't take it anymore. She slammed her pencil on the table: "We've been running all afternoon and visited almost all the victimized wealthy merchants in town! Where were you?"
"Just took a stroll around town," Haruko replied dismissively. "So? Rising stars of the Security Squad, did you uncover any shocking cases?"
"Hmph."
Izumi snorted coldly. Although she didn't want to deal with this slacker, she opened her notebook for the sake of the mission: "According to the investigation, there were no signs of forced entry in any of the stolen homes. The opponent is an expert, proficient in lockpicking, and..."
"And every time they only steal cash, gold, and silver, ignoring jewelry, and leave a little white bird card when they're done, right?"
Izumi was stunned: "How did you know?"
"Did you really think I was just window shopping all afternoon?"
Haruko rolled his eyes, his gaze as if looking at two stubborn blocks of wood.
"You went to ask those lords who lost money and got the result of heavy losses. But did you go and ask the old men and women on the street?"
The two girls looked at each other; clearly, neither had.
'As expected of clan children..."
Haruko shook his head inwardly.
"That white bird, the townspeople call them 'Chivalrous Thieves'."
"Chivalrous Thieves?" Izumi's voice suddenly rose. "Theft is a crime! Where do 'Chivalrous Thieves' come from?"
"I heard this white bird specifically steals from black-hearted merchants and corrupt officials, and also helps the poor. Last month, a family couldn't afford food, and the next day, a bag of rice appeared on their table with the white bird mark on it."
Haruko tapped the table.
"Even the owner of this inn—last month his mother was sick and had no money for treatment. A few days later, a silver ingot appeared in the shop, also engraved with the white bird."
"Then... they don't seem like bad people?" Hana seemed a bit hesitant.
Izumi's brow was still tightly furrowed: "Regardless of the purpose, breaking the law is a crime. Since we are Ninjas, we must carry out the mission and capture them."
Haruko looked at Izumi's righteous little face and chuckled inwardly.
'What a naive child."
This girl was likely influenced by her time with the Uchiha Security Squad.
But it was normal—the Uchiha Clan had just reconciled with the Village and were desperate to prove their "loyalty." As a top student in the clan, Izumi naturally had the word "rules" etched into her forehead.
Haruko didn't plan to say more—one can't be taught by words alone; they must be taught by experience.
He had already experienced how stubborn and arrogant the Uchiha were.
Once they found those chivalrous thieves and confronted them, no matter how stupid they were, they should realize that this wasn't the same case at all.
"Fine, fine, you're right." Haruko waved his hand, too lazy to argue. "So what about tomorrow? Keep investigating?"
Hana patted the Ninja Hound beside her: "Today I smelled similar scents at several crime scenes. We should be able to track down their hiding place."
"Then it's settled." Izumi stood up and looked at Haruko. "Tomorrow, you..."
"I'll follow you guys." Haruko yawned. "Don't worry, I won't hold you back."
Izumi stared at him for a few seconds, said nothing in the end, and turned back to her room.
Hana leaned in and whispered, "Haruko, have you already guessed something?"
"Hmm?"
"That expression of yours..." Hana scratched her head. "It's the 'I know everything but I'm not saying' kind of expression."
"Sort of. I haven't gotten the decisive evidence yet, but I've guessed most of it." Haruko shrugged. "If Izumi used Sharingan genjutsu to directly interrogate a few suspects, the case would be over immediately."
"Uh... even so, that's a bit too..." Hana silently took a step back.
"Just kidding, of course we can't do that. Wouldn't that be using genjutsu to force a confession? I'm no master detective."
Haruko waved his hand and stood up to return to his room. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy."
...
Early the next morning.
"Keep up!"
Three Ninja Hounds kept their noses to the ground, sniffing the scent all the way out of town.
Hana and Izumi followed closely behind, faces full of excitement.
The slacker duo trailed behind, lacking interest.
'This guy really knows how to slack off..."
Haruko glanced at Kakashi beside him, feeling a bit of admiration.
In terms of slacking off, he might still have to learn a few tricks from this senior.
The group left the town and walked about five kilometers north along the mountain road.
"Woof!"
The leading Gaimaru suddenly stopped and barked softly toward a forest ahead.
"It's just ahead!" Hana lowered her voice.
Izumi immediately made a hand signal, gesturing for everyone to slow down.
Passing through layers of trees, the group approached an abandoned wooden house.
They had expected a fierce battle, or at least a guard.
Instead—
"Why should we give this box of money to those poor devils down the mountain? The brothers earned that with their lives!"
"Shut up! These are white bird's rules! Ill-gotten gains must be taken with honor and distributed with moderation!"
"To hell with the rules! I'm sick of eating coarse food and vegetables while acting like a saint! Big brother, let's keep half of this money. That's not too much, right?"
Intense arguing came from the drafty wooden house.
'Ho, there's drama to watch. But why am I not surprised at all..."
When "chivalry" meets "profit," not everyone can stick to their original intentions.
He turned to look at his two teammates.
Hana looked bewildered, clearly not expecting the internal affairs of the so-called "Chivalrous Thieves" to be such a mess.
"Hmph, a thief is a thief." Izumi clenched her fists, clearly ready to arrest these people on the spot.
"Don't be in a hurry." Haruko held Izumi down. "I reckon we won't even need to move; they're about to start fighting among themselves. Let's wait and see."
Before he could finish his sentence—
Bang!
A muffled thud came from inside the wooden house.
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