I hadn’t been to the town even once but I had a rough layout of it from looking over it a few times from above at the mountain. I had also heard about some details about the town from Hakai so I was confident in going in and coming out quick enough without catching any attention. All I had do to was get some information about the leaf village and a way to travel there as quick as possible in case if I had to run away from Hakai.
Honestly the only reason I hadn’t already done so already was because I wasn’t strong enough without Hakai. I didn’t have the know how to actually get back to Konoha if I wanted to. Although Hakai’s temperament was shit he was an excellent teacher making me progress extremely fast in controlling my horns and in Kenjutsu and Taijutsu. Without him I wouldn’t have even been close. Not only that but he also had scrolls given to him by Hiraku about mastering the Ketsuryugan and another mystery scroll that was supposed to be helpful to me.
Of course, there were downsides like absolutely no good food to eat and everyday being too routine and boring. Not to mention how hard he was training me. My body was exhausted and sore every day of the week.
I clicked my tongue when I thought about it. If Mariko-sensei wasn’t in danger I would just spend my time here until I completed my training and run away. Unfortunately, despite the benefits time was running out and I had to find a way to leave in case Hakai wouldn’t take me with him or won’t let me leave.
I had found a carriage going into the town and attached myself down below. I patiently waited until it got into the town and in an empty area that I could safely get off.
…
…
“That brat…” Hakai noticed Kenji’s presence had vanish from the mountain. He had gone against his orders and left. That boy was too impatient. Still nowhere close to where he wanted him to be. For some reason he always wanted to know about Konoha and his Mariko-sensei. He had only spent the first few years of his back at that village. It had been a few years now but still he kept insisting to go back there.
Still, he had to acknowledge the boy’s tenacity. Maybe it was that uncharacteristic maturity of his or the Ketsuryugan but he was doing a lot better at controlling his temper than he had done back when he was a kid. Of course, Hakai would never admit that. As soon as he did that it would go straight to the brat’s head making him conceited.
Hakai had purposely let him roam around freely a year ago. He was strong enough to protect himself and this desolate mountain didn’t have any visitors. He knew Kenji would soon commit a mistake like this. He wanted to teach him a lesson through this and let him reflect on it.
…
…
Kenji slid of the carriage and rolled into one of the narrower streets. He got up dusting himself off and walked for a while until he entered a main street. It was bustling with life and energy. People were going about their day while stores continuously tried to attract more customers. You could see people bartering over some fish further in the distance. Quite a rare commodity in this frozen weather as it was hard to catch them.
Although Kenji would like to say otherwise, he had missed this. He had missed being around others. He walked through the street until he eventually reached a bookstore. There were newspapers lined all over. He took a few off the rack and looked through. Nothing… there was nothing about Konoha. He felt relief and unsettled at the same time. It was good but this wasn’t enough he needed to know a bit more, gather some more proof.
He walked away quickly before the book owner would notice him. He continued onwards into the ninja association in the town. Right now, he had transformed into an adult so there wouldn’t be any issues.
This ninja association was present in all major parts in the land of snow to allow them to take missions from everywhere. They really didn’t want people from their land to hire ninjas from elsewhere so they were really careful about their business. In recent years their neighbours in the land of Rice had changed their name to Land of sound and had formed a very strong ninja village out of nowhere and were eating away at missions in their own land.
Kenji walked to the woman at the reception. “I want information on the general situation of Konohagakure in the recent months.”
The receptionist frowned a bit at his unusual request. “Yes sir, please wait a moment.” She still remained professional and walked back to her manager’s office.
When the manager heard the peculiar request, he only smiled at the receptionist. “It’s certainly not a mission of the usual kind we receive but it’s not too unusual to find oddballs like these. He is probably a shinobi from Konoha, away from home on a mission and wants to know about his hometown or from another village who seeks to know more about Konoha. A spy who would want to know about our intelligence on their village wouldn’t be this direct.” He patiently explained.
“Come, I will deal with it.”
He went back together with the receptionist to meet with their customer.
“Welcome customer. Thank you for your request. We want you to know we can certainly help you with it but your request is too expansive. Could you elaborate about what you need to know about Konohagakure?”
Kenji thought for a bit before answering. “The Uchiha clan.”
“Hmmm..” The manager contemplated for a bit. “Your request is quite difficult. To know about the Uchiha clan’s information would cost quite a lot.” He was clearly baiting Kenji to raise the price.
“How much” Kenji asked.
“It will at least cost 100 000 ryo. Of course, it would cost even higher if you want it more detailed.” He rubbed his hands together sensing that he could make a bit more profit here for little risk. A mission like this would only require him to search around the intelligence unit of the village and other information channels. Although the Uchiha didn’t like information about their affairs leaking out it couldn’t be helped at times. A clan of their size and stature can’t keep a lid on everything.
Kenji grit his teeth and took out a piece of jewelry on him. It was ring adorned by some semi valuable stones. It was one of the only belongings of his unknown late mother of his that he had carried around. He had wanted to sell it multiple times so he could buy some delicious food but afraid that it would get stolen or he would get ripped off, he had kept it around for now.
“It is worth at least 60 000 ryo.” He handed over the ring. “I’ll pay the rest when you complete the report. Make it as detailed as possible. I will pay for it.” Of course, they didn’t know that Kenji had absolutely no other means to pay them. He just planned to steal it in the future and run away. What was this little place going to do? Catch him? He was too powerful for them.
“Thank you, customer. Please return in a week or two to collect the report.” The manager waved Kenji off with a huge grin, greatly pleased with the exchange.
As soon as Kenji left however his expression dropped. “Otsu, follow him around a bit and find out who he is and what is his business.” The customer had worn a hood to cover themselves and although the manager wasn’t usually interested in the identity of his clients, he wanted to check this person out because of his curiosity and his strange request. He was also a little wary of him for some reason. The possibility of him being a spy could also not be ruled out completely.
The receptionist nodded at the manager and walked out of the establishment.
Iamnotabot· Feb 18, 2023
