The Undesired Second Chance

Chapter 42: Caught Off Guard

Minato had an anchor inside the shop—he'd set one under the front desk when they first investigated the vase—but that's not the seal he latched onto at that moment. Even if he didn't have Fugaku with him, it'd be best to scope out the situation before jumping straight in.

So instead he took them both to an empty house across the street, into a room their small investigation had claimed and set up as a lookout. It was actually right next door to the building where, just a few months ago, the ANBU surveillance team had been based.

Technically he wasn't supposed to know that. Realistically, however, given how much time he'd spent in the area—of course he noticed.

They reappeared in an empty room on the second floor.

Minato quickly sidled up to the window but didn't look out, instead focusing on his chakra sense to picture the scene across the street. There were three people near the front of the room—two whose energies felt like annoyed reprimand, and one other practically vibrating with guilty, apologetic nerves.

Fugaku needed longer to orient himself after landing, but not by much. After a moment, he joined Minato by the windowsill.

And frowned.

"Unprofessional," the police chief murmured, a critical eye watching what little could be seen of the commotion in the store.

Minato moved to look through the window himself, after recognizing from tell-tale red that Fugaku had a genjutsu set up to keep anyone from spotting them through the glass. He could only see part of the shop from this angle, of course, but it lined up with what he'd sensed.

"I'll need to speak with them," Fugaku remarked, scowling.

"Hold that thought for a sec..."

A small and familiar chakra signature rounded the side of the smithy, stomping—in as much as a dachshund can stomp—up to the front window. Dach stood on his hind legs for an unsteady moment, trying to peer inside, before having to give up and drop back to four paws. He huffed what was no doubt a very disgruntled woof.

Keeping his chakra sense wide open, Minato watched the dachshund walk down the street, turn, go out of sight... and then double back toward them in a much stealthier manner.

"Incoming," Minato murmured with a small smile.

Dach was muttering to himself quietly as he made his way up the stairs. The door at the back of the room had been left ajar for just this reason, conveniently allowing the short dog to nose his way inside.

"I can't believe they kicked me out," he grumbled with snarly undertones, "seeing as I live there. What'd they think I was gonna do, pee on the evidence?"

"What happened?"

Dach came up to the window beside them: too short to easily see over the sill, but his ears were pulled forward and focused. "I was guarding Axel's room, you know, when I heard the commotion downstairs. Didn't see it personally, though of course I went to check it out." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Apparently an officer knocked the vase over. The guy was apologizing by the time I came down... and I think he was being genuine."

Which was a definite possibility, given the prior use of genjutsu to manipulate bystanders: setting up just enough of an illusion to cause one of the officers to stumble into the desk wouldn't have been too hard.

Minato nodded, and from the corner of his vision he could see Fugaku scowl at the shop across the street.

"Akaiko is checking over the area," the dachshund provided, preempting his next question. He briefly dipped his nose to the floor for a confirmation sniff. "Headed out as soon as it happened, as far as I can smell."