Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      Moku woke up in the morning, but not too early. It was about eight in the morning when Uncle Yumi opened his eyes, getting out of bed. He made a quick snack, preparing a few sandwiches, and then went to the residence, in the archives of which he planned to find the ANBU who were collecting lists of the village's administrative staff. Fifteen minutes later Yuki was there. Even as he approached the residence, the experienced ninja felt a close gaze on himself. The man turned towards the irritant. On the other side, a man was moving slowly through the village, surrounded by a small army of ninjas. He was a young guy with a thin build, which was emphasized by his long vertical striped robe, a black turtleneck with a high belt and black pants that he was wearing. He had long blond hair combed back, a perfectly thin black mustache and a small pointed beard. There were no eyebrows above the young man's eyes       - Who else are you? Why are you looking at me like that? – the guy barked displeasedly, coming closer. Moku grimaced at the tone. They haven't talked to him like that for a long time. The man was unpleasant, but he ignored it.       - How do you think I should look at you? – Yuki noted coldly, who even wondered how developed this kid’s opinion of himself was.       - It is advisable that you do not look at me at all. It will be better this way. Look at the ground and think about your low deeds, not forgetting to give way to me. – Not sensing any trick in the question, the fair-haired one said.       - Mm. – the detective drawled, looking at the unknown man with an unreadable gaze. - Of course, I knew that Byakuren had a son, however, that he was so arrogant... This seems to be not surprising, because this guy has everything... talent, money, girls, but he lacks spanking from his father, who there is clearly not enough time for this. After all, he is the head of an entire ninja village. – Moku thought, but out loud he said something completely different. - Okay, I have no time for childish children now. – Uncle Yumiko waved, turning towards the residence and about to return to pressing problems.       - What do you think about yourself?! – the mizukage’s son cried, pulling out several kunai from his pouch with a deft movement and sending them towards his impudent interlocutor. Moku was not at a loss. Easily intercepting each projectile in flight, he dodged with a deft movement, dodging a direct attack from the fist of Byakuren's son, after which, with one precise and lightning-fast blow, he sent his opponent into a short flight. A gambling enthusiast has never tolerated insults in his direction, especially if these humiliating words flow from the lips of a boy who has not seen the world.       - Yes, I’ll arrange this for you now! – the young guy screamed, exploding from the ground. It was clear that this was not so easy for him. He had already begun to make the seals when someone's voice stopped him.       - Enough. – the mizukage, who appeared in the courtyard of the residence, said in a menacing and commanding voice. -Gengetsu, what have you done here? – asked the head of the Mist in a stern tone, addressing his son. He only glanced briefly at the calm Moka, who pretended that the whole situation did not concern him at all.       - Father, I... - the younger Hozuki tried to justify himself, but the older one interrupted him.       - You disgrace me, Gengetsu. I asked you to take a walk around the village for just half an hour, and you’ve already found yourself some great adventures. – the mizukage said with a disappointed tone, looking at his son with a condescending look and shaking his head at the same time.       - Moku, start your work. Your subordinates spent the night in the archives today. I will deal with my son myself. – Byakuren said more politely, addressing Yuki, who was standing nearby. Uncle Yumiko just bowed, without saying anything, and then went to the archives.       - Raccoon! – the detective said quite loudly, entering the archive. Two seconds later, a man with a raccoon mask on his face appeared in front of him. - Report. – Yuki said demandingly when he saw his subordinate.       - About a hundred people work at the residence. Here's the list. It is difficult to single out anyone suspicious among them. – the ANBU noted, handing over a piece of paper with names.       - I know, but this will make it easier to find the killer. – I explained the reason for collecting this document. - Dog, Owl! – Moku said quite loudly, already turning to his other two subordinates.       - We are here. – two personalities who appeared in a whirlwind of shunshin in the room said in unison.       - I'm listening to you. – in the same uncompromising tone, Moku demanded a countdown from the ANBU.       - I took three people from the registry. They all behaved normally, doing their jobs. – the anushnik in a dog mask calmly said.       - I followed the archive workers. I didn't notice any special features. – added the second anushnik, wearing an owl mask.       - What do you mean when you say that they behaved normally? Were you just doing work? They never left during work. For example, for lunch, to have a snack or to go to the toilet when needed. – I asked Moku a few clarifying questions.       Of course, it is difficult to judge the cause of death from the behavior of six people, but theoretically it was possible. Somewhere inside, Yuki even felt that he was on the right path.       - Ummm... - the anushnik drawled in confusion. Usually such total surveillance was not required of them, so now the owl and the dog were trying to remember everything that their surveillance victims had done. - Well, two employees went to the toilet once each. The third one went three times. Everyone took a break for lunch. Two took food from home. She was cooked. And the third one was leaving the residence for a diner, and was almost late. - said the anushnik in an owl mask, who was the first to remember all the details of his mission.       - Dog? – Uncle Yumiko arched an eyebrow questioningly, expecting answers from his subordinate.       - Well, one didn’t go to the toilet at all. The other two were absent once each. What about lunch? One of the observed people did not eat at all, completely immersed in work. He completely forgot about the break. The other two went to the dining room, which is located on the next street. – the anushnik in a dog mask said thoughtfully and not completely confident in his words.       - Hmm, I see. There are two options. We need to check both. In the first case, all the dead ate in one place, where they were poisoned. Second, someone poisoned everyone through a public place. – Moku began to think, rubbing his chin.       - Owl and dog, go to the eateries. Your task is to find a list of all new employees. For me, newcomers are those who have worked in this path for less than a year. All clear? – Yuki commanded, already roughly understanding what the fulfillment of his worst fears might entail.       - How far should we go? – the owl clarified, realizing that there would be a lot of work.       - Just the center to begin with. Then we'll see. Report suspicious persons to me personally. – I answered the question asked, clarifying a few details.       - Eat. – two ANBU said, disappearing into the shunshin.       - What do you want me to do? – an unexpectedly female voice said behind the detective’s back. Turning around, Moku saw an Anbush woman in a cat mask, who, bowing her head and kneeling on one knee, was waiting for an order.       - You and the Raccoon will insure me. We'll go explore the sewers. – Yuki clarified the situation in a calm tone.       - Sewer? But why? – the Raccoon said with incomprehension.       - They can poison through water. If this is true, then we are all in danger. – Moku answered, jumping up, while throwing a gloomy look at his subordinate.       Approaching the nearest hatch, Moku quickly removed the heavy lid from it, and then went down. The unpleasant smell of excrement hit my nose. It was also very dark in the narrow corridors of the sewer, making it very uncomfortable to move through it. Every now and then it was possible to slip and fall into the slush, which announced its presence to the three ninjas every time they took a step. Yuki didn't even think about what was under his feet now. He didn't care about himself. Now it's important to find the killer. For about half an hour, the ninja walked in silence through the back streets. The Anbu were already starting to worry. Their condition was not the best. The cat has already defecated several times. This smell... the smell of real shit did not allow her to think soberly, occupying the entire range of her emotions. Everything was better for the Raccoon, but he also felt uncomfortable being in the sewer. The shinobi's heightened sense of smell was now playing against him.       - Stop. – Moku said quietly, raising his hand. His subordinates stopped abruptly, beginning to listen to their surroundings. Strange voices were heard in the distance. It was difficult to understand what they were saying. Guided by the sounds, the squad moved in the direction of the voices. After a few minutes they were already close enough to distinguish them, but, as it turned out, these were not voices at all, but some strange, otherworldly mooing. Strange noises were coming from a nearby doorway, so the detective gave the go-ahead to the ANBU to get them ready to fight. With a slow and silent movement, Moku approached the bend, after which he carefully looked behind it, trying to see at least some signs in the pitch darkness. To Yuki's surprise, at the end of the corridor he saw light from a lamp, illuminating some hall ahead. It was from there that the strange mooing came. After giving the command with a few gestures to his subordinates, Moku went to the hall ahead. The ANBU were moving behind him. Their task was, if necessary, to cover the detective with the help of techniques. The atmosphere was heating up. Quietly, Yuki reached the hall, starting to examine the people in it. But are they people? Strange white humanoid creatures stood in the center of the hall, swaying from side to side. It was as if they were under hypnosis or some strange technique. Their number exceeded a hundred. They all moved to the beat, which greatly frightened the detective. Now he was not at all confident that they could cope with so many opponents without knowing their true strength. Something inside the detective screamed at him that he needed to run, and to hell, but Yuki had a duty to his country... a ninja duty... only this made him now quickly think about what to do...