Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 298 Morality and Human Feelings

"The main hub of the human trafficking operation has been basically identified, but to completely eradicate it... would be tantamount to reshuffling the entire current bureaucratic system. Are you really prepared for that?"

"No matter the difficulties, I will do my best!"

“Some things can’t be accomplished by ‘going all out.’ With such a large disparity between the enemy and ourselves, it would be difficult for the three of us to bridge the gap, not to mention that the victims and the enemy are mixed together, making it very complicated to deal with.”

“Those who are trafficked certainly don’t have good sanitary conditions. Even if they are rescued, medical examinations are essential, and these factors must also be taken into account.”

"Why don't we take out their leader first? As long as you can fake it as an accident, it won't arouse their suspicion. Then His Majesty can find a way to place his own people in these important positions..."

"That's too naive! Even if you kill those people, it's more likely that their people will take over."

"...There's no need to make it an accident."

Naruto's words immediately attracted everyone's attention. The king was indeed a king; he immediately thought of the same thing as Naruto.

"A deliberate assassination to incite infighting? Would that really work?"

"...What wouldn't people who band together for huge profits do? Don't think they're a united front. As soon as the division of profits changes, they'll definitely start fighting." Naruto, despite proposing a new solution, still looked worried. "What I'm more worried about is whether you'll get caught in the crossfire when they fight. You must have made a deal with some of them to become the ruler of the country."

Ye Ming had never heard of these things before. A few days ago, he would have immediately refuted them, but now his first reaction was to stare intently at the most perfect king in his mind.

The king's expression seemed fine, but his body was stiff. He remained silent for longer than ever before, and finally nodded in agreement.

“I have three brothers. We had a good relationship when we were young, but as we grew up, they were all influenced by their respective maternal clans and eventually drifted apart. I made many concessions to get this position... Only by gaining power can I have the leverage to fight against them.”

Although Naruto didn't approve, it was because the other person's thinking was limited by what they had been exposed to since childhood, preventing them from being more advanced. Most people can't step out of their comfort zone to try new paths unless they've experienced the most devastating failures.

Those who dare to try are brave people, and no matter what they become later, their courage deserves to be rewarded.

"You probably haven't been involved in this industry before, have you?"

"I am very sure of that."

Where is your brother?

"...Probably not."

"What about their maternal clans?"

"..." The king was sweating profusely from the questioning again. He gritted his teeth and finally lost his temper, saying, "Why don't you just tell me what you want to do?"

"It's not about what I want to do, but what you're going to do." Naruto pressed on relentlessly, showing no mercy. "If your brothers begged you to spare the sinners who are connected to them by blood, what would you do?"

In the utter silence, the king slowly said, "Sinners should receive their due punishment."

Ye Ming breathed a slight sigh of relief, a proud smile spreading across his face. He hadn't misjudged the king; he was someone worthy of his lifelong loyalty. So he stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "We're still discussing the part about apprehending the criminals. Without catching them, there's no point in thinking about anything else. Why don't we move on to something more practical?"

"How to deal with criminals is, of course, a practical issue. These people have committed numerous crimes; killing them would be insufficient to appease public anger. But doesn't the law of the Land of Frost state that 'nobles cannot be executed for crimes'?" Naruto's questions were always so direct, so incisive, leaving no room for evasion. He was essentially asking if the king would execute the ringleaders directly. These people were unlikely to appear in a direct confrontation; the only possibility was retribution later.

As soon as Naruto began speaking, Jiraiya tugged at the brat's sleeve under the table, but to no avail; the offensive question still came out. He even started wondering if his genjutsu could erase memories... Right, he almost forgot about Sasuke. With genjutsu aided by the Sharingan, erasing memories should be a piece of cake, right? Sakura, meanwhile, was diligently taking notes. She genuinely felt that every word Naruto said made sense, and those sentences she didn't quite understand would surely coalesce into an incredible thought within her.

“That was a law implemented by the royal family, and it would be extremely difficult to abolish it. Blood ties are something that are hard to sever.” The king showed a helpless expression. “However, this does not mean that they can escape the law. I will certainly give them the fairest judgment.”

"Then I can only wish you good luck."

The Frost Kingdom has a unique, crisscrossing root system beneath its soil; avoiding it is no easy feat.

What would happen if we encountered that?

[Its chakra will be absorbed!]

"...I have a strange feeling of familiarity about this. Was it like this when your chakra was in someone else's body back then? Is this also a characteristic of Wood Release?"

Never mind that, let's get down to business. I've discovered something even worse.

〖Um?〗

Do you know where those...who were labeled "defective products" end up? And with such a large...organization that processed human organs...why wasn't a mass grave left behind?

〖...are those root systems...〗

Yes. I risked using a section of my root system to tear open the cocoon-like structure underground, and in the instant I was absorbed, I saw clearly that lying inside... was a person.

〖......〗

"Naruto, this is probably beyond our imagination. If Akatsuki has been doing this for decades, we'll probably have to adjust our later plans."

Where is Afei? Has he left any trace in your surveillance footage?

He is currently in Amegakure. The intelligence department is tracking the movements of all Akatsuki members in real time, and so far there is no indication that any team has headed to the Land of Frost.

Have you ever encountered White Zetsu or Black Zetsu underground?

It seems they've all been withdrawn, absolutely nothing. This is all thanks to you, isn't it?

"That's not important. Uncle Hashirama, notify the main person in charge of tracking the human trafficking case to prepare for a meeting. The topic today is how to sever all the chains leading to the Land of Frost in one fell swoop."