Who's read Naruto Gaiden? The first chapter was really interesting for me, though I know some people were disappointed.

Anyway, I really hope Sakura is Sarada's real mom, not Karin! Sasusaku for life!

"I see," Chief Officer Tsunade said, glancing up from her files. She folded her hands and studied her two youngest officers seriously. "So, you think you may have picked up on an old lead, Haruno?"

"Yes my Lady!" Sakura replied. "I'm requesting that we have an investigation team do a more thorough search of the warehouse. Naruto and I would like to look into the old owner ourselves."

Tsunade nodded. "You have my approval. I'll send out our best group."

Naruto's face broke out into a grin. "Thank you, my Lady!"

Tsunade waved him off. "Yes, yes, Uzumaki, get going now."

Naruto and Sakura walked out of the office. Sakura was smiling slightly. "I hope we hit the jackpot with this one."

"Same," Naruto agreed. "When do you want to start looking for the manager?"

"Actually," Sakura replied, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "I already started. I researched the old shoe warehouse and found that the owner was a man called Daiki Akiyama. He should be turning 67 this year."

"That's great!" Naruto grinned. "Have you found his address?"

"Apparently, he moved in with his daughter last year." Sakura said. She pulled out a slip of paper. "I wrote the address down here."

Ten minutes later, the pair was driving off in a police cruiser, on their way to pay Hara Akiyama a visit.

Sakura and Naruto stopped at a small home in a quaint neighborhood. It was a traditional Japanese house, with neat trimmed trees planted in raked gravel.

The pinkette stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, a muffled voice sounded from inside. "Who is it?"

"Konoha police force," Sakura answered in a official tone.

Seconds later, the door squeaked open and a middle aged woman peeked out. She was wearing a plain black dress with a yellow apron over it. A white kerchief held her hair back from her face. "Is there any trouble, officer?"

Sakura held up her ID. Naruto did the same. "Nothing in particular ma'am. You are Hara Akiyama?"

"Yes," the woman answered warily.

"We were just wondering if your father, Daiki Akiyama, was home." Naruto informed her.

"He is," Hara answered. "He hasn't done anything, has he?"

"No," Sakura smiled kindly, hoping to put the woman at ease. "We'd just like to ask him a few questions regarding an incident he may have bore witness to."

Hara looked relieved. "Well, come on in then. He's in the back."

The woman led them through the quaint house, arriving at the back door. "He's out on the porch right now. Is it alright if I stay?"

"That won't be a problem, miss." Naruto replied.

Sliding open the screen door, the three stepped outside. An older man sat with his back to them, staring out at the koi pond in the yard. "Hara, is that you?"

"There are some officers here to speak with you, Papa." Hara answered. "From Konoha Police Force."

Sakura and Naruto stepped into his view and bowed respectfully. Daiki was an older man with wrinkles lining his cheeks and forehead. Thin wire glasses covered his dark brown eyes, and the small amount of white hair he had left was combed neatly over the back of his head.

"Good afternoon, Akiyama-san. We're Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno from Konoha Police Force, and we'd like to ask you about a case you may have knowledge on." Naruto said.

Daiki studied them for a moment. "Hara, bring our guests some tea. Why don't you two sit?"

The pair sat on two opposite chairs while Hara hurried back into the house.

"Now what could I possibly know that could help you two out?"

"Akiyama-san, you were the previous owner of a shoe warehouse, correct?" Sakura asked.

Daiki nodded. "That's right. I set up shop in the underground city, since that was the only available space to me at the time. It was a dumb move. I should have known better, considering the level of crime down there."

Naruto nodded. "And the reason you left was because of the murder that took place four years ago?"

Daiki looked uncomfortable. "Yes. I don't particularly like discussing it. But once that happened, I figured it was time for me to pack up my bags and get out of there."

"I see. Then we won't push you for details. But we've come to understand that you had surveillance cameras set up there after recovering one of them from the warehouse."

The elder man nodded. "I did. Once I left though, I never bothered to retrieve them."

"But you had tapes?" Sakura prompted.

"Yes," Daiki answered immediately. "The whole thing was recorded."

Sakura noticed Naruto tense up in excitement. "Where are they? Are they still in your possession?"

Sakura held her breath, waiting for the man's reply.

Slowly, the old man shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't. After watching them, I left them. I didn't want to keep something like that."

"Ah..." Naruto's face fell in resignation. "I see."

"What did you do with them?" Sakura asked desperately, grasping at straws. She wasn't ready to let this opportunity go just yet.

Daiki frowned. "It's been a while...but I believe that I stored them in a cabinet. It's actually quite difficult to see, unless you knew where to look. But unless someone took them, they might still be there."

Naruto's face lit up again. "Would you be able to revisit the warehouse and show us?"

Daiki cringed. "I swore I would never go back to that desolate place."

"Please sir, you'd make our job a lot easier," Sakura told him. "And you'd also be helping the family of the woman who was murdered that night."

Daiki sighed, rubbing his head. "I...suppose I can do that."

Sakura smiled, and was about to say more when Naruto cut in. "I still have one more question for you, Akiyama-san. Why didn't you turn in those tapes to the police when you watched them?"

The elderly man looked uncomfortable. "I didn't want to get mixed up in all that. Plus, I was scared. I didn't want to stay in the underground even a day more."

Naruto frowned. "That wasn't a very wise decision. We could have solved this case already if we'd had those tapes."

Daiki hung his head. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry."

Sakura sighed. "Naruto does raise a good point. We might need to question you a bit more at the station."

Daiki waved his hand. "That's fine. I can assure you I'm telling the truth though."

Sakura and Naruto stood. "Then, we'll send a cruiser to pick you up at 10:00 A.M. tomorrow morning. Alright?"

"Yes," Daiki replied. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

At that moment, Hara entered carrying the tea. "Oh-are you leaving?"

Sakura nodded. "We are, I apologize for bothering you. I wish we had time to stay after you went through the trouble of making tea, but we have to get back to work."

Hara paused. "Was anything the matter?"

"No," Sakura answered. "We just need your father's help in locating some missing objects he may know the whereabouts of."

"Ah, I see." Hara answered, though she shot her father a glance that told her she would be questioning her father later. "Take care, then."

Sakura and Naruto thanked them once more before stepping back outside and heading to the cruiser.

"Tomorrow's gonna be a long way off, you know?" Naruto said to Sakura as they drove off.

Sakura smiled at Naruto's hopeful expression. "Yup. This might be it."

***********************************

It had been two days since they had located Orochimaru's hideout, and the trio approached it again now.

Orochimaru was away at the office, and according to Kei, there had been no human activity around the targeted building.

Of course, Sasuke thought to himself, they were taking Kei's word for it, so they'd better be extra careful.

They'd checked for cameras earlier, but had seen none, so Sasuke openly approached the locked door. The lock was thick and strong, and obviously wouldn't be easily broken.

"We shouldn't break it," Kaidi said, voicing his thoughts. "It's best not to let him know we've been here."

"Then step aside!" Kei announced, holding a small case over his head. "The master locksmith has arrived!"

Kaidi frowned. "You're not the only one who can pick a lock, Kei."

"But I'm the fastest," Kei grinned. "I set the record."

"How do you know?" Kaidi shot back. "It's not like anyone ever recorded it!"

"I just know," Kei answered, ignoring her. "I'm the bestest."

"That's not a word," Sasuke informed him.

"It is in my vocabulary," Kei muttered, his eyes trained on the lock as he fiddled with his tools. "So leave me alone."

Sasuke and Kaidi rolled their eyes and sat back to watch Kei work. A couple minutes later, he stood up triumphantly, clutching the lock in his hand. "I did it! That was pretty fast, wasn't it? Told ya I was the bestest!"

Kaidi shrugged, doing her best to look unimpressed. "Huh. Not bad."

Kei glared at her. "Oh, that's all you gotta say? After I just proved you wrong? Well, I'd like to see you pull it off next time, little miss perfect-"

Sasuke sighed, dragging the bickering pair behind him into the building.

Kei's and Kaidi's argument quickly came to a halt as they held their breath in anticipation of what they would see. It was...

Perfectly normal.

No retina scanners, no fancy locks, just a plain room with some dusty chairs and a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Sasuke flicked on the switch.

"Wow," Kaidi remarked sarcastically. "Dramatic entrance."

Sasuke shook his head. "There's some kind of hidden passage. Start looking."