My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 515: Chapter 176: Rescuing Sazanoko! (Part 2)

Although Aoto and Chiba Sonako are not particularly close, and he hasn’t spoken with her much, she is, after all, the sister of Chiba Shigetarou and the cousin of Chiba Eijiro.

Chiba Shigetarou is a good friend of Aoto, and Chiba Eijiro recently gave him some selfless guidance in Martial Arts... Just for these reasons alone, Aoto is determined to go all out in search of the missing Chiba Sonako.

Aoto has a rough plan on how to investigate Nakamura Chouhachirou.

He highly suspects that Nakamura Tsuki and Chiba Sonako were kidnapped by someone for certain reasons.

The kidnappers demanded that Nakamura Chouhachirou must conceal the fact of Nakamura Tsuki’s abduction, or else they would kill, which is why Nakamura Chouhachirou spouted nonsense about ”Nakamura Tsuki going to Osaka to see her grandmother.”

Aoto privately approached Nakamura Chouhachirou, subtly hinting to him in vague terms: If Miss Nakamura Tsuki was indeed kidnapped, please provide me with some information, and I will definitely find your daughter and Miss Sonako.

However, Nakamura Chouhachirou remained unmoved... continually insisting that ”Nakamura Tsuki is fine, she just went to Osaka to visit her grandmother.”

Since Nakamura Chouhachirou refused to disclose any useful information, no matter what... Aoto had no choice but to explore alternative methods of investigation.

Aoto discovered three places, including the Nakamura family, that Nakamura Chouhachirou frequented, and prepared to lead Saito and others in disguise to stake out these three locations where Nakamura Chouhachirou often appeared, to see if there were any suspicious people around him.

In this era where investigative methods are extremely limited; with clues being extremely scarce, this was the final and most useful means Aoto could think of.

The surveillance of Nakamura Chouhachirou naturally had to be around the clock.

However, this posed a new serious issue: Aoto’s manpower was insufficient.

Including Aoto himself... Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, and Fujimura—Aoto’s small team only consisted of five people in total.

To avoid situations like ”mental fatigue” or ”having to go to the toilet,” at least two people are needed to stake out one person at one location.

There were a total of three places where Nakamura Chouhachirou often appeared. This meant that with only five people in the ”Aoto Squad,” they were short of one person if they wanted to cover all three locations...

Fortunately, Aoto soon found someone willing to help.

And that person happened to be very skilled at reconnaissance and disguising themselves...

...

...

”Is that the Nakamura family...” Mukiwa murmured, gazing at the luxurious mansion not far ahead.

”Yes.” Aoto nodded slightly to Mukiwa standing beside him, ”Sorry, Miss Kinoshita, for troubling you to assist me with the investigation.”

Aoto and Mukiwa were now lurking in a dim alley from where the full view of the Nakamura family entrance could be observed.

”Mr. Tachibana, there’s no need to be so polite with me.” Mukiwa smiled shyly, ”You’re making me feel a bit embarrassed.”

Aoto’s chosen helper was indeed Mukiwa.

Who could be more suited for the ”surveillance” task than the renowned Cat Monk, who excels in stealth, disguising, and reconnaissance?

Mukiwa, who has been active until now with the hidden identity of ”Thief Cat Monk” with the goal of ”helping the weak as much as possible,” truly deserved this title of justice-driven young girl.

When Aoto approached her, asking for her aid to find the missing Chiba Sonako, she immediately and enthusiastically exclaimed, ”Please let me help!”

When agreeing to Aoto’s request, Mukiwa showed a furious expression... Aoto later inquired why she displayed such an emotion, and Mukiwa responded:

”What I detest most are kidnappers! Many originally happy families were destroyed just because of these scumbags!”

Aoto completely understood Mukiwa’s disdain for traffickers—he himself greatly despises those who cause countless families to fall apart.

It was well within Aoto’s expectations that Mukiwa agreed to his request so readily.

He predicted that the justice-driven Mukiwa would never turn a blind eye to something as serious as ”someone being kidnapped.”

Faced with a matter involving human lives, Mukiwa considered finding the kidnapped, missing person far more important than her work at Thousand Affairs House.

Thus, upon agreeing to Aoto’s request, she asked Boss Kiryu for an undetermined long leave.

Mukiwa had been worried that Boss Kiryu might refuse her leave... But unexpectedly, Boss Kiryu approved it without question, without asking why she suddenly needed a long leave, just nodding in agreement.

With Mukiwa’s assistance, Aoto immediately adjusted his resources:

He and Mukiwa stationed themselves at the Nakamura family.

Saito, Nagakura, and the others split into two pairs to cover the other two places Nakamura Chouhachirou frequented.

Mukiwa wasn’t very familiar with Saito and the others. If she were to partner with them... because she becomes outgoing and bold only when wearing a mask, while typically shy, she might struggle to communicate with them properly.

Thus, Aoto was the only one who could partner with Mukiwa.