Chapter 41: Deduction

Minato did feel a little guilty about kicking out Obito, but there were some matters his young students shouldn't be made privy to just yet: the village was a constant in their life, trustworthy and dependable. They shouldn't need to face the messy gray area that is reality until they get a bit older.

Though he suspected that Kakashi, at least, had some ideas as to the true complications with this case.

Picking up another of his knives and gently running the small whetstone along its edge, Fugaku asked again, "So, why come to me directly?"

"A few reasons," he replied. Plenty that he really hadn't wanted to consider, given what it would say about his village.

Reaching into a pouch on his vest, Minato pulled out an area-of-effect privacy seal. He set it on the tatami mat between them, and the ink lit up with chakra as it activated.

At the sight, Fugaku stilled.

"Primarily… Well." Minato sighed, setting aside his discomfort and laying out the facts. "He was taken from the middle of the village—a largely abandoned district, but the point stands. I haven't seen any reports of suspicious activity from the border wall, and sneaking out with an unconscious civilian would be difficult. And given the vase…" He cut off, shaking his head.

Fugaku paused, considering, and then pointedly set aside his sharpening tools: no doubt he could already see where this was ultimately headed. His already stern expression was dark at the prospect.

"As such," Minato added, "I suspect—" and hope, really, "—that he's still somewhere within village bounds."

"There has not been a ransom note." It was a plain statement, though Fugaku did send him a glance as he said it—checking for confirmation.

Minato just nodded.

The lack of any demands or anything else to that effect was actually the most worrisome part of the whole situation. Or one of them, at least: up there with the fact that whoever kidnapped him actually went through the trouble of covering up after themselves.

"Which means it's likely the kidnapping wasn't motivated by money," Fugaku continued, "nor was it an attempt to gain leverage against the village."

The possibility that his friend had been taken to be used as some kind of bargaining chip against him, to compromise him in some way, was uncomfortable to consider. It would mean that this was all his fault, and that, simply by associating with him, Minato had put Axel in danger.

Just the thought made his stomach churn.

Still, the fact was that there hadn't been a ransom note. Unfortunately that has it's own host of distressing implications, since it cuts away most of the 'mundane' reasons to kidnap somebody.

Because if Axel hadn't been taken for money or coercion, then—

"Information," Fugaku said, almost as if he were finishing Minato's unspoken thought. "But what could a civilian blacksmith know that would be worth all this trouble?"

A lot of things, as it turns out—most of which Minato had only learned about a few days ago.

Given the circumstances, however, he seriously doubted that anyone else could have figured out the crazy truth without hearing it directly from the man himself. And even then, they probably wouldn't believe it; after all, when it comes to explanations, 'I am actually from an alternate universe' sounds pretty farfetched.

That being said, Minato had considered the possibility that their conversation had been overheard by somebody—not counting his keen-eared student, of course. But he was certain nobody else had been near the house at the time, and Kushina had set up the privacy seal before any of the convincing details came to light.

Because, again, nobody would believe a crazy claim like that at face value.

Honestly, if he hadn't known the man so well—and even then, if he hadn't just felt that odd emptiness where chakra should have flowed… well, Minato would have been sorely tempted to schedule his friend an appointment with the hospital mental ward.

But of course, the potential of alternate universe information isn't what Fugaku would be considering. His concerns are, understandably, a bit closer to home.

"If you're worried that he might have known information sensitive to the village," Minato offered, with a shrug and a slightly strained grin, "do give me some credit. I rarely spoke about my missions with him, and never in any specific terms."

"But you did discuss techniques with him, did you not?"

That threw Minato for a loop, his expression dipping into a frown. "I do… How did you know that?"

"I heard it from my wife, actually." His expression softened, ever so slightly, then took on a somewhat wry slant. He mused, "Though I imagine she was told by Uzumaki-san."

That 'Uzumaki-san' being Kushina, naturally. There was no doubt in his mind that Kushina would be quite pissed to hear that her best friend gossips about her with the man she basically has a personal vendetta against.

Minato resolved, firmly, to never tell her.

"So," he refocused, "you think he could have been taken… for information on my jutsu or seals."

That specific angle wasn't one he had considered before, and was nearly as disconcerting as the ransom-for-leverage option: once more possibly laying blame at his feet.

"It is a possibility."

"Though not a likely one," Minato countered, "given hardly anyone knows that in the first place."

Fugaku nodded, conceding the point. "If not that, then… I have read reports that his chakra is peculiar." He raised a brow, silently asking for further information.

Well, Minato could help with that readily enough, seeing as he's perfectly capable of being simultaneously honest and entirely disingenuous.

"To be specific, sensors cannot detect his chakra," he said, conveniently stepping around the fact that his friend simply didn't—doesn't—have any chakra to detect in the first place. "I'm sure you can see how that could be advantageous."

With a nod, Fugaku grimly noted, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time a unique kekkei genkai inspired a rival village to… take action."

All of these were possibilities he had considered, and, frankly, they were all incredibly disheartening; every option seemed worse than the last.

That said, at least the chance that he had been taken for his supposed kekkei genkai was a slim possibility at best: Axel wasn't exactly the most visible individual. After all, another village couldn't try to kidnap him if they didn't even know he was there at all—let alone knowing that he may actually be worth taking in the first place.

Of course, those last two points don't hold for Konoha itself.

Minato wanted to just set that foreboding thought aside. Axel's shop did get regular shinobi customers, sure, but most probably assumed the blacksmith's curious inconspicuousness was just a typical low-chakra civilian presence. Plus, any chakra-sense techniques precise enough to notice otherwise would likely be the sort that needs to be activated. There's not that many sensors in the village, and even less that would have reason to use the skill while simply shopping around.

(It felt like he was just making excuses.)

"That could be," Minato allowed. He took a deep breath, bracing himself. "But honestly, if Axel was taken for his kekkei genkai, I have a terrible suspicion that it wasn't some other village."

Fugaku leaned forward, eyes deadly serious. "Are you suggesting…?"

"I'm getting there," he cut in, quickly. Folding his hands together in his lap, Minato took a moment to gather his thoughts. "To start, there are two basic scenarios: either he was kidnapped at random, which we've already gone over, or he was taken on purpose."

"A purpose we do not know for certain."

"True, but that's beside the point." Minato's gaze dropped to the privacy seal between them, and his thoughts turned to the reason why it was needed. "I'm getting there."

"Then please, do get to it."

A different shinobi may have taken insult at that, but Minato recognized the snark for what it was: impatience, and the desire to act. Fugaku had always had such a brusque personality.

"If it was random chance, there's not much we can do that's not already being done," he continued, much as that fact grated. "In the other case, however, regardless of the actual reason, we have two additional possibilities to consider. Either Axel was taken by another village… or by somebody in Konoha."

There it was, finally spoken aloud. The weight of the claim settled over the two of them, troubling in all it implied, and the steady glow of the seal between them served as a silent reminder.

"Let's consider the less treasonous options first, if you may," the chief of police drily remarked.

A pause, and then Minato heaved a sigh. "Before I get too far into this, and I hate to say it, but… we do have records of disappearances that go back months, for both stray animals and street children." He shrugged. "Given some of the similarities, they could be related."

Acknowledging the bleak point with a shallow nod, Fugaku gestured for him to continue. The sharpening tools set out in front of him hadn't been touched in minutes, and likely wouldn't see more work for a while yet.

If Axel had been taken by outsiders, there were a few main pieces to investigate: how they would have gotten in, how they would have gotten out, and, perhaps most importantly, what they were in the village for in the first place. The odds that anyone outside Konoha knew about the fairly low profile civilian smith's… peculiarities, well, it's so slim it might as well be zero.

Even so, the option that Axel had been taken by another village had some merit. That is, until yesterday, when one new question left a dark mark on its chances.

Why bother with the vase?

For any outside group, leaving behind the illusion would serve little to no purpose. On the contrary, it would be a potential loose end that could unravel an entire operation. A long-term undercover mission wouldn't risk that for anything less than village-critical information, and a quick in-and-out infiltration wouldn't care to make the effort.

As he set out the details of the so-called 'less treasonous option'—barring any mention of alternate worlds, of course—Minato desperately hoped that Fugaku would spot something he missed, something that made it a greater possibility.

Unfortunately, given the man's stormy scowl, it was likely he had come to the same conclusion.

Fingers steepled under his chin, having listened without interruption, Fugaku judged, "Possible, then, but not likely." He sighed. "It never seems to be the easy option."

Minato smiled a little, completely in agreement. The expression didn't come close to reaching his eyes, though, and then it dropped entirely.

"As for the hard option, I just have to wonder: why now? Surveillance ended months ago." Minato gestured vaguely toward the center of the village, at a loss. "If they found something—" they couldn't, though if they checked far enough back, the lack of any history to find was no doubt suspicious, "—then of course Hokage-sama would need to take action. But… he hasn't told us anything. Not even an order to stand down."

That fact left a bitter taste in the back of his throat. Konoha was home, and the thought that it might turn against his friend and not even offer him so much as an explanation… it was galling.

"Sorry, it's just—" He cut himself off, bringing his hand to rest against his forehead. "I'm not saying this right."

Fugaku was silent for a long moment, but, even despite the poor explanation, he looked like he understood the feeling.

"And that's not even the worst of it." After a pause, Minato corrected, "Well, both are terrible options. I can't decide if it would be better or worse for the Sandaime to be… implicit."

Grimacing, Fugaku traced a finger along the edge of his low worktable: it was as close to a discomfited fidget as he'd ever seen from the man. "It's either that," he said, "or somebody in the village is undermining the Hokage's authority. I can see what you mean." With a sigh, Fugaku slowly shook his head. "You haven't told anybody else this."

It was more of a statement than a question. "Given the concerns, I asked Kushina to report to the Hokage," he replied. "And, well, I came here."

"Of course." Fugaku didn't quite smile, but his eyes had that knowing glint: he was well aware of what the fiery red-head thought of him.

"I had to report that I tampered with the vase, of course—" A sudden twitch in his charka had Minato tensing, half to his feet before he even recognized the sensation for what it meant.

Fugaku stood as well, readying himself, dark eyes edged in red. He deftly pocketed the odd kunai he'd left beside his whetstone. "It's been tripped?"

One sharp nod in reply.

Minato wanted to have already left, time was slipping past, but he made himself wait that bare second longer. He held out a hand, but left the offer unspoken: he didn't need to say anything.

Fugaku took his hand.

And, in between instants, they were both gone.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Inside my head for the past month or so: [distant muffled yelling and pervasive white noise]

Holy crap, this section of the story is fighting me every step of the way. As seems to be a theme with this arc, I was originally going to continue this chapter on into the… well, you'll see what happens next time. But, given how long it's been since my last update and how neatly it closes off there, I decided a cut-off would be for the best.

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