Hanzo was waiting outside of Kasuga's Lab and requested permission to train with him. He was cautiously accepted and placed into the "advanced class" while Daidoji Emi was appointed to oversee the novices working at the flower shop.
Mirumoto Tetsuzae's digging through records at the gates paid off. He was able to find someone who matched Eyebrows' appearance leaving through the Gate of Increasing Fortune several weeks ago, approximately the same time that Eyebrows went missing. His name was recorded as the suspiciously generic "Taro". His travel pass did not state a destination and was valid for anywhere within the Scorpion provinces under the authority of Yogo Osako. When speaking to Osako later about the matter, she denied ever having signed such a pass and did not have any record of it in her own files.
The magistrates went into the depth of the North Rim looking to make a dent in the Blue Flame trade. It didn't take long to find a sake house where they were indeed offered the drug, along with a number of other vices. At first the dealer thought he was merely being shaken down, but when it was clear that the bust was for real, he was taken into custody along with one of the prostitutes that was actually holding his stash. During interrogation he gave up that his supplier was a man with a long, drooping mustache that he would meet at the Juniper Teahouse every few days.
Heading to the teahouse in the morning, the magistrates found that there were still a few people lingering or passed out from the previous evening along with several members of the Moment's Edge Firemen hanging around. The second floor was locked but the attic was a filthy opium den.
After finding that the local Thunder Guard regarded a bust of the teahouse as laughable, the magistrates arranged a meeting with Shosuro Jocho directly. He agreed to provide a troop of men, refusing any compensation in return and offering it as a favor. When the men arrived later that evening they were a squad of clearly incompetent and unqualified misfits dredged up from among the various precincts of the city.
Taking their troops along with them, the magistrates headed first to the Crab Caves in the hopes of recruiting allies among the Fire Eaters. As word spread during their march north through the Fisherman Quarter this quickly became an unruly mob of firemen eager to take the fight to their long-standing rivals.
Entering the teahouse, the magistrates found that the entire place had been shut down for the evening with all of the tables neatly moved to the edges of the room except for one occupied by a young man and woman. The man looked like a typically rough fireman thug notable for his missing nose. The woman, meanwhile, was bright and cheerful, calling the man "Hana-kun". They attempted to engage the magistrates in a discussion, inquiring into what would be necessary to resolve any possible dispute between them. Inspecting the building there was no obvious contraband found on the premises. The door on the second floor was left unlocked and open, revealing a series of private apartments that were clearly lived-in. When the magistrates made it clear that they were not going to be bought off and were arresting the pair, they offered no resistance and went quietly, seeming to view the matter as little more than a tedious formality.
After leaving the magistrates turned the building over to the Fire Eaters, who were all too eager to tear and burn the entire three storey building to the ground.
Early the next morning a messenger from Shosuro Hyobu arrived, summoning the magistrates to a meeting with the governor.