Judging from the familiar tone of the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, Sasuke must be a regular customer here.
"Are you here with Naruto so early today? That's two tonkotsu ramen, one with barbecued pork and one with kombu shreds..."
"Nah……"
Zuosuke waved his hand shyly, "I didn't come with that guy this time."
After the words fell, an adult followed and opened the door curtain.
The person who came was none other than Uchiha Mikoto. She smiled gently at the hand-beating boss.
"Excuse me, who is this..."
"My mother."
"No wonder Zuosuke is so handsome at a young age. It turns out he inherited his beauty from you."
The hand-beating uncle chuckled and entered the back hall with a stack of bowls in his arms. "You two, please sit down. I'll be back soon."
As soon as he disappeared, Uchiha Mikoto looked at Zuosuke's face and started to smile.
"The shop owner is so familiar with Zuosuke, you must come here to eat here often, right?"
She leaned down slightly and said, "During your summer vacation, after training every day, you should have eaten here before going home, so you wouldn't have to eat dinner cooked by Itachi, right?"
"..." Zuosuke looked around nervously, and after making sure there was no brother around, he complained in a low voice: "Mom, didn't you tell Yiyong that you can just know some things yourself, there is no need to say it?"
"A righteous man is a righteous man, you are you. Speaking of which, you should be more honest."
Uchiha Mikoto straightened the thorns on Zuosuke's head, and said with emotion: "When I saw that you were hiding secrets from me at a young age, I thought of that child Itachi, who wouldn't know how to run away after leaving a note.
I can’t tell you where I went, it’s totally unreasonable... However, although Itachi’s cooking skills are not as good as Giyuu’s, I think the taste is quite good, are you too picky?”
"Isn't there that saying? 'After seeing the big icebergs in the Land of Snow, it feels like all other mountains are just small mounds'."
Sasuke recalled the lines in the movie, scratching his neck like a food critic: "Compared to Giyu, Naruto's cooking is just barely good; this shop has been making ramen for decades, and the taste is also good.
It’s above the passing line. As for other people’s... let’s not talk about it, they’re not at the same level at all.”
"You're so picky and you want to become a ninja?"
Uchiha Mikoto grabbed his little face: "I really want to see what you will do when you have to eat compressed biscuits in the wilderness during missions in the future."
"Let go, let go."
Zuosuke noticed that a guest dressed as a foreigner at the next table was staring at him jokingly, his whole face turned red, "There are others watching."
"As expected," Uchiha Mikoto sighed and let go, "Sasuke has reached the age where he dislikes his mother."
"I'm not a child anymore!"
Zuosuke rubbed his cheek angrily, and then asked with some confusion: "However, it is the school's arrangement for us to meet the delegation. Mom, why do you want to go with me?"
"I'm not 'following you'. You are going because it is rare for children born after the war to see foreign ninjas. This is a good opportunity..."
Uchiha Mikoto gave the answer: "I went because as the patriarch's wife of a major ninja clan in Konoha, it is necessary to attend diplomatic occasions with your father. This is a necessary etiquette between ninja villages."
"What? Are you and dad going to greet them too? These Kumo ninjas and Iwa ninjas are so big..."
"This etiquette is not to welcome them."
Uchiha Mikoto corrected: "It's to welcome peace. This is why I didn't wear a ninja vest, because the clothes themselves have the meaning of resistance and confrontation."
Today, Uchiha Mikoto was not dressed as usual when leading a team, but she did not do anything specially to welcome the delegation. She just changed into a set of quite casual shirts and trousers, and combed a side ponytail that hung down simply and casually.
Before the clavicle.
"Hmm... I don't know why, but this hairstyle looks weird."
Zuosuke scratched his chin with his knuckles, his eyes lingering on the knot at the end of his mother's hair, "She looks a bit too much like a housewife."
"Hey, isn't it good to be a housewife?"
Uchiha Mikoto was a little surprised.
"Yeah. It's not like my mother's style at all. This hairstyle... makes people feel a little too weak in terms of temperament. It's a bit similar to Hinata."
"Okay, since Zuosuke said so..."
Uchiha Mikoto untied the knot with a gentle flick of her hand, and returned to her usual straight hair, "What do you think now?"
"Much better!" Zuosuke said approvingly.
"By the way, the Hinata you're talking about..."
Uchiha Mikoto paused, a little concerned about Zuosuke's interpersonal relationships at school.
"Is she the little girl from the Hinata family? It sounds like you don't like her very much?"
"That's not the case, it's just that Naruto who insists on dragging her with us."
Zuosuke held his chin speechlessly, "After school yesterday, we took her to the place where Anjurou lives for training. But when it came to the actual battle, the guy's fist hit me and it was soft, without any force at all.
The need to dodge...is this the so-called soft fist? It's really boring."
Uchiha Mikoto was a little surprised, "Is it so exaggerated? Could it be that the child's physical fitness is very poor?"
"It's impossible. Before Giyuu left, he was Hinata and Naruto's roommate. He said it himself..."
Sasuke's face became stern, and his tone became more mellow, "'Among the students in the same grade, the ones with the best physical training, besides you and Naruto, are Hinata Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka.'
"
"It's quite similar." Uchiha Mikoto commented on Sasuke's imitation.
Especially the way of using words to call all his peers "children" is the characteristic of Yiyong.
"That's not the point!" Zuosuke said a little bit.
"The point is, Yiyong's observation cannot be wrong! In other words, that guy obviously has strength, but he is so timid during training that he can't use it. Isn't this a waste of my precious time?
"In the end, Naruto still made excuses for her, saying that Hinata Hinata didn't have enough to eat so she had no strength..."
Zuosuke changed his voice and tapped his fingers twice on the long table, "But after thinking about it carefully, it is not impossible, so I agreed to keep her for a while to see her."
"No way, she is the daughter of the Hyuga clan leader, will she still be denied food?"
"Eating and being full are completely different things. There has been such a thing before..."
Zuosuke suddenly lowered his voice, "On the second day of the summer vacation, Naruto invited me and some of his familiar classmates to his home for dinner, and Hinata Hinata also went..."
"Hmm, what next?"
Seeing Zuosuke gossiping, Uchiha Mikoto felt a little happy and asked Zuosuke to continue talking.
"Although she doesn't talk much and has no sense of presence, because Yiyong said she was very strong, I observed her for a while and found that she had been secretly serving herself rice while others were chatting that day."
Zuosuke stretched out his fingers and gestured, "Choji Akimichi ate a total of six bowls of rice, but Hinata Hinata ate ten bowls! Ten bowls!"
"Later, when I was helping Naruto wash the dishes, I discovered that he had two rice cookers at home, and the one Giyuu gave him more than three years ago was just for Hinata Hinata. In other words, she has one.
The appetite for one person is larger than the rest of us combined, and it takes a whole pot of steaming to get enough..."
Uchiha Mikoto fell into silence, recalling the shy girl next to Hinata Hiashi, she always felt a little weird.
"What's your expression? Don't you believe me?"
Zuosuke was a little angry. When he saw Handi come out of the back hall, he immediately asked for confirmation: "Uncle, do you still remember the white-eyed girl who often comes with Naruto?"
"Oh, you mean Hinata, she is a very polite child."
Shou Da squinted his eyes and praised, "Despite her small stature, she can still eat two big bowls of noodles every time! Just watching her eat gives me a sense of accomplishment! I really hope there will be more customers like this."
."
"Look!" Zuosuke stared at his mother with bright eyes, "I'm not talking nonsense, am I?"
"It seems that Hinata Hizu knows nothing about this matter."
Thinking of the Hyuga clan leader's character and Hinata's behavior in Zuosuke's words, Uchiha Mikoto could already imagine that the child's life at home must not be easy.
[Should Fugaku remind him indirectly, at least let the child have enough to eat...]
After the mother and son ordered their meals, two bowls of fragrant tonkotsu ramen were served quickly. The taste was surprisingly good to Mikoto's expectation.
She was about to share her feelings with Zuosuke, but when she turned her head, she saw two foreigners next to her, looking at her and Zuosuke in surprise.
It's not the abrupt and offensive feeling of a drunkard seeing a beautiful woman outside the bathing place, but the surprise of "I didn't expect to meet an acquaintance here".
Seeing her questioning look, the two people immediately turned their heads back, but whispered to each other.
Uchiha Mikoto frowned and immediately concentrated chakra on her ears.
For a moment, all the sounds in the ramen shop - the sound of the kitchen knife chopping vegetables, the sound of the soup rolling in the pot, and even the sound of Sasuke's breathing poured into her mind like a torrent, extremely chaotic. But as time went by
After Uchiha Mikoto focused her attention on a specific area, she finally heard the conversation between the two suspicious people.
"It's very similar..."
"Except for the hairstyle, the faces are exactly the same, aren't they..."
"But you also heard the name. This child is called Zuosuke..."
Uchiha Mikoto's brain suddenly became hot.
Being sensitive as a mother, she immediately realized who these two foreigners were talking about, and she could no longer eat the ramen that was so delicious just now.
"You two!" Uchiha Mikoto appeared directly behind them, "Have you ever seen someone who looks very similar to this child?"
The two foreigners had different reactions.
"Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?" one of them asked angrily.
The other one quickly bumped his companion with his elbow and looked at Uchiha Mikoto nervously, "Are you a ninja?"
Zuosuke, who heard the noise, also stopped Taiko and looked at this scene with some confusion: "What happened?"
"I am the jounin of this village. My behavior just now was a bit abrupt, so please don't mind me."
Uchiha Mikoto apologized, "Looking at the way you two are dressed, you should be businessmen who come to Konoha from abroad to hire ninjas. If you two can answer my question, I can introduce you to a few reliable candidates...
…”
As soon as they heard her say this, the two of them immediately looked much better.
"Okay, okay, feel free to ask. As long as we know, we will tell you everything we know."
You can imagine how important a reliable ninja is when you go out. Since this woman claims to be a jounin, the ninja she knows is definitely not an ordinary person.
"You two just said that you know someone who looks very similar to this child?"
Uchiha Mikoto pulled Sasuke in front of her and pushed the latter's hair away from his temples and forehead so that the two of them could see his complete face.
"Yes." One of the two nodded, "We are the leaders of the same chamber of commerce. I met a young man in Tang Nin Village not long ago. Except for his hair style and eyes, the young man's facial features are almost the same as this child's.
They are exactly the same, but they are obviously not the same person. You can tell at a glance."
"Wait a minute." Zuosuke's eyes suddenly flashed with fire: "Tang Ninja Village? Have you seen Giyu?"
"Giyu..." The other person pondered for a while, then slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, "Yes! Yes, yes, someone said that the boy called himself Tomioka Giyu, and that's right."
The mother and son looked at each other, and they could see the excitement in each other's eyes.
If the name, appearance, and position all match, then he is definitely a volunteer.
In addition to Anjuro's message of "Giyu and I are together", they finally got Giyu's whereabouts from others, and they couldn't help but feel excited.
"May I ask what your relationship is with him..."
Another businessman asked speculatively.
"The boy you are talking about should be my youngest son Yiyong. He and Zuosuke are twin brothers, that's why they look so similar."
The two people suddenly realized, and all their doubts were explained.
"Excuse me, you two, how long ago did you see that child?"
Although they had not seen each other for more than ten days, Uchiha Mikoto already had tears in her eyes, "Is he okay?"
"It's hard to say this...after all, it's been more than a week."
The two people exchanged glances and said: "When we met him, he went around killing the evil cultists who were causing trouble. He told us to hide, and we have never seen him again..."
"Wait a moment."
Zuosuke was a little confused, and he picked out a few words that didn't sound good, "Killing everywhere?"
After saying this, he felt the force of his mother's fingers on his shoulders suddenly became stronger. Apparently, the latter felt the same as him.
"Don't you know yet? Oh~ yes, we are the first caravan to set off from Tang Ninja Village, so the news has not spread yet..."
The businessman looked like he was surviving a disaster, "Don't you know that on the night we met Mr. Ling, Tang Ninja Village was attacked by Kirigakure ninjas..."
"What?" Zuosuke's voice became hoarse and he subconsciously covered his mouth.
"According to the Yunin Village itself, it was the Kirigakure Village who colluded with the evil god worshipers in the Yunin Village to instigate a rebellion. Although we didn't see many Kirito Ninjas, those evil god believers who were talking about gods and grinning were...
But they are everywhere. They kill everyone they see. After killing everyone, they chant a spell, squeeze out the blood from the deceased's internal organs, and pour it on their heads and faces..."
The businessman spoke so vividly that he completely failed to notice that Zuosuke's face was getting paler.
Although he was targeting ninjas, the bloodiest scene he had ever seen was just a fish being disemboweled by a righteous hero.
"Our caravan was at the Yu-nin's unloading area and was the first to be attacked. Since none of us were ninjas, we could only hide around when the attack happened, but those lunatics always found a way to find our companions, and then they started to attack us randomly.
The scene of dismembering the bodies was extremely cruel... Soon, most of the people in the caravan were dead, and only a few of us were left. At that time, we all thought that we were going to die, and we were planning to pick up the goods and fight to the death with those madmen, but Master Ling suddenly
Appeared!"
At this point, the businessman who told the story danced and gestured excitedly, "We didn't even see anyone. We only saw the flashes of blue sword light, and all the heads of those madmen flew out. But the most terrifying thing is that they
His body moved in place for about half a minute before he collapsed completely, but the boy showed no sign of being afraid..."
[The heads of these people were all chopped off.]
【Being... being a volunteer? 】
When Zuosuke thought about that scene, he suddenly felt that his lower limbs were cold, and there seemed to be small insects crawling back and forth in his knees.
"Did you make a mistake?"
Uchiha Mikoto looked serious.
That kid would feel guilty even if he won a fight with his peers. How could he go outside the village and chop off other people's heads?
The contrast is too great.
"How could it be wrong? We can't forget the face of our savior even if we want to!"
The businessman seemed to be used to the young ninja, "He is so capable at such a young age. He is worthy of being a ninja of Konoha."
Uchiha Mikoto still wanted to struggle, so she asked with a tight face: "In addition to looking like this child, does the boy who saved you have any other characteristics?"
[Maybe it’s a transformation technique? Someone turned into a righteous hero? 】
"Yes. That young man's eyes are like those of a dead person..."
Before the businessman could finish his words, he was hit hard on the elbow by his companion, and then he realized that he was using unlucky words to describe his child.
So he immediately changed his mind: "My eyes are not very energetic, and my whole person is cold. It's scary to suddenly appear at night with a bloody knife on my body."
"Also," another person added: "After he found us, he told us to continue hiding and not to get in the way. He also said that if we were afraid, he could knock us all out."
Zuosuke gave up the struggle, raised his head and glanced at his mother with a somewhat horrified look.
[That’s what a volunteer would say. He is indeed right.]
[He said he was going on a trip, but ended up cutting off other people’s heads...]
"You chopped off the heads of more than a dozen people in an instant. Mr. Ling is really an outstanding ninja."
When Zuosuke heard this, his rich imagination stimulated his throat, forcing him to stagger to the bathroom while holding on to the table.
Uchiha Mikoto's expression wasn't much better, but rather than what her youngest son had done, what she wanted to know more was how he was doing now.
"What happened after that? What happened after that?"
"By the time we came out, it was already the next morning, and we were not sure what happened next. But I heard from a relative of mine who worked as a cook for the leader of Yunin Village that many people had seen the young man. He called himself Tomioka Giyu.
, overnight, hundreds of evil cultists were witnessed dead in his hands, and most of the ninjas invaded by Kirigakure fell into his hands before they had time to act."
The businessman looked admiring, "And the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who destroyed half the village with lightning and what's called Black..."
"Black Hoe Thunder Fang?" Uchiha Mikoto said a name in an unconfident tone.
"Yes, that's the person."
The businessman nodded solemnly, "It is said that he was a very powerful ninja, and he also died under the sword of Mr. Ling. But for some reason, the leader of Tang Ninja gave an order not to publicize this matter to the outside world. I also have a special relationship.
Only then did I know this.”
Uchiha Mikoto was in a daze, holding on to the edge of the table with her right hand.
Although this businessman talks about bravery, it is as easy as talking about fish swimming in water, but even if she replaces herself and meets one of the long-famous Seven Ninja Swordsmen, she is not guaranteed to win.
grasp.
After all, she has been adding special effects to movies for so many years and has not really fought in a long time.
[What on earth is this kid doing outside...and why is he involved in these things?]
Uchiha Mikoto couldn't figure it out at all.
"I complained about you eavesdropping before, but now it seems that it was us who were rude. After all, our remaining companions, as well as hundreds of people in Tang Ninja Village, are all alive because of Master Ling's rescue.
"
After the two people finished telling Giyuu's story, they suddenly bowed deeply to Uchiha Mikoto.
"Since we can't thank him personally, we have no choice but to thank you. As a thank you, from now on all the escort commissions of the thirty-four teams of our Chamber of Commerce will be handed over to Konoha. When the Hokage of your village comes back, we will
When logging in to the task, the reason for doing so will also be explained..."
It was the first time for Uchiha Mikoto to be thanked like this. For a moment, she couldn't express how she felt. However, Giyuu's unreasonable behavior before was explained.
[Could it be said that Yiyong didn't participate in the fighting between the villages, but took action because he couldn't bear to see those people being killed? 】
This is in line with the child's gentle and kind character.
[But even so, it must be very painful to be stained with blood at such a young age, Yiyong...]
Uchiha Mikoto had never missed her child as much as she did at this moment.
"I appreciate your gratitude. I am also very happy that you are willing to entrust the task to Konoha."
Uchiha Mikoto changed her tone, "But please be sure not to tell the Hokage-sama anything about Giyuu. Otherwise..."
She told a little lie, "Yiyong may be punished for his careless actions."
"Oh~"
The two of them didn't know much about the internal affairs of ninjas, so they thought it was related to the ninja commandments. They immediately nodded like chickens pecking at rice: "Understood! Understood! We will keep it a secret."
"Well..." Uchiha Mikoto was silent for two or three seconds and took a deep breath: "Finally, let me ask again, have you ever heard of whether Giyuu was injured or..."
"I know this. My relative made it very clear. Young Master Ling fought fiercely all night but was unscathed. This is what surprised Tang Ren the most."
The businessman finally gave Miqin good news, but he immediately changed his mind, "When we heard about this the next day, we wanted to come and thank him, but Master Ling seemed to have left by boat."
"Take a boat?" Mikoto, who had just calmed down, became nervous again and asked questions like a barrage of questions: "What boat? Whose boat? Where is the boat going?"
"This..." the two businessmen shook their heads regretfully, "that's not something we can know clearly. I'm afraid that's all we know about your son."
"thank you all."
After Uchiha Mikoto simply expressed her gratitude, the two left (paying the mother and son's lunch fee by the way).
She sat back on the stool upset, her brain trying hard to think about what Giyong had said before leaving, and then she remembered that Giyong had never said that he was traveling to Yunin Village.
When Fugaku asked where he was going, Giyuu's original words were "Northeast of Konoha, let's take a walk."
At that time, both Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto subconsciously thought that Tohoku referred to Yunin, after all, it was a tourist attraction.
But if you continue to extend along the northeast direction, or even break through the coastline...
Isn't the true destination of the righteous hero——
A chaotic water kingdom.
"That child..."
Uchiha Mikoto clenched her fists, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, "You won't really go to the Kingdom of Water, will you?"
【Possible. Very possible.】
Itachi was attacked by Orochimaru at that place.
Two days before Yiyong left, when the family was talking about the Kingdom of Water at the dinner table, his expression was a little uncertain.
Next, Fugaku tested the fire escape of the two twin brothers and came to the conclusion that Giyuu was at the "jounin level". This was the direct reason why he was allowed to go out alone.
Suddenly, everything connected.
Uchiha Mikoto can now be said to be convinced——
Giyuu probably gained confidence in his own strength from Fugaku after hearing about Itachi's attack, so he might have gone to the Land of Water to seek revenge from Orochimaru!
But, where is the Kingdom of Water, and what kind of person is Orochimaru?
No matter how strong your physical skills are, no matter how close your fire style is to a jounin, facing the Mist ninja who is proficient in water style and the all-powerful Orochimaru, not to mention causing any waves, even saving your life is a problem!
"Sasuke!"
Uchiha Mikoto couldn't sit still anymore, so she walked directly to the men's bathroom door in the back and knocked on the door.
"Mom has something important to talk to your father about, so she's leaving first. You come to me directly after attending the welcome ceremony, remember? Don't run around."
"knew……"
Zuosuke's feeble voice came from the bathroom.
At this moment, he was holding the washstand, looking at himself in shock in the mirror with his face covered with cold water. He subconsciously touched his neck, but he was struggling in his heart - how should he face Yiyong when he comes back.
Just when the mother and son were out, two uninvited guests came to Uchiha Fugaku's home.
"Is this the Uchiha clan leader's home?"
Bai Jue looked at the ordinary Japanese-style room and complained: "Compared to this place, Hinata Hizu's home is just like the imperial palace. What he, the patriarch, does seems to be meaningless..."
"The head of the Hyuga clan is still the head of the family. He has absolute authority, and wealth will naturally gather in the clan."
Black Zetsu explained: "In comparison, the Uchiha clan leader is more like an opinion leader representing the clan. The two are naturally not the same..."
"So what are we here for?" Bai Jue said speechlessly: "I'm still very sad because a member of my kind just died, but there doesn't seem to be anything I can steal here to cheer me up, right?"
"After all, Uchiha Fugaku's lineage has produced three generations of patriarchs."
Uchiha Obito, standing in the center of the Japanese room, said: "After Madara left Konoha, some clan members may have created some new illusions and ninjutsu. If so, he must have records here. Some things can be given to Danzo. , but some things are better taken away in advance..."
"Hey, this is the note you asked me to imitate yesterday."
Zetsu walked to the corridor and found a note "I won't be back tonight" left by "Itachi Uchiha" on the shoe cabinet in the entrance. "It seems they have never doubted the authenticity of this thing."
"The danger has been away from them for too long."
Uchiha Obito said: "So much so that the blade has already come to them, and these people don't know anything about it. Except for Danzo's gang of losers who made me spend some effort yesterday when they captured Uchiha Itachi, the rest of them are not worth it at all. Mention it."
"Using the Heart Turning Technique, that is, using Ninjutsu developed based on Yin Eun to deal with an Uchiha. How could they come up with it?"
Black Zetsu laughed coldly and went to the storage room to rummage for a while, "However, the Ninja Formation that Senju Tobirama developed to deal with Uchiha is indeed very useful. If they had asked Itachi Uchiha to use Fire Release yesterday, he would have died. But there are more than two people..."
"Speaking of that Ninja Formation..."
Uchiha Obito's voice came from the kitchen, "Has everything been decorated at the shrine? The Sharingan's observation ability is very strong, so these people won't be able to see any clues by then, right?"
"No problem. Those important ninja tools are buried five meters deep underground. The Sharingan is not a Byakugan, so of course you can't see anything."
Black Zetsu said very confidently: "Before it is activated, the Ninja Formation will only slightly weaken the power of Fire Release and has almost no effect on the Sharingan; but once the Ninja Formation is activated by the root ninja, the power of Fire Release will be immediately reduced to ten percent. First, the child power of the Sharingan cannot continue to grow. In other words, even if those Uchiha watched their clansmen fall one by one around them, the child power cannot evolve even a little bit..."
He had finished speaking, but there was no reply from Obito Uchiha.
"Did you find something?" Bai Juedi muttered, passing through the wall of the storage room and coming to the side of Uchiha Obito in the kitchen.
The latter held a stack of "books" made of cards in his hand, with dog-like handwriting written on them, making it very difficult for Bai Jue to read.
(Ps: What Giyuu gave to Naruto was a handwritten copy. Because it was someone else’s relic, it was inconvenient to transfer it directly to others.)
"What's this about... the collapse of a neutron star... the infinite attraction... egg tarts."
Bai Zeze struggled to read the title of the page that Uchiha Obito opened, "So, is this a recipe? It's really difficult for the person who reads it. The person who writes it must have some hand-eye coordination. Such a person
It must be very difficult to live in the Uchiha clan..."
When it said the last two sentences, Uchiha Obito just turned the recipe to the last page, revealing the signature "Uchiha Obito".
"..."
Black Zetsu didn't let White Zetsu continue, "It's something from your childhood. I remember that Kakashi sorted out your grandma's belongings. It's so heartless to give such important things to just anyone."
…”
"It doesn't matter. It's just like the bowl I used. It has no special meaning."
Uchiha Obito threw the recipe on the ground casually, and when he turned around, as if to prove his words, he stepped on the cover as he passed by: "Let's go and take a look at the second floor."
Bai Jue looked at the footprints on the menu and asked, "Hey, don't you need to clean it up and put it back in its place?"
"no need."
Uchiha Obito turned back expressionlessly and declared with great certainty, word for word: "Because no one who knows where it was originally placed will come back."
