The next morning, bright and early, Uchiha Tatsumi woke up in his bed.
However, even though he was awake, he continued lounging around on the soft bedding. After spending the last few months living like a caveman, he figured he could afford to laze around one more day.
That said, his laid-back attitude was a huge stimulus for the ever-diligent Minato. As someone who had personally witnessed the Daimyo's residence at four in the morning, Minato couldn't help but feel a pang of shame. Despite waking early every day to train, the gap between him and his friend only seemed to widen.
All he could do was accept that the world of geniuses was simply beyond the reach of ordinary people like himself.
Still, Minato took comfort in one thing—this mission probably wasn't too dangerous. Otherwise, Tatsumi would've been up already, scouting the area.
Despite still lounging in bed, Uchiha Tatsumi couldn't fall back asleep.
Come to think of it, one person was missing from the room.
Click.
"I'm back."
Speak of the devil. Nawaki walked into the room with an excited expression.
"Nawaki, where did you run off to?" Tatsumi lifted his head.
"...I went to investigate intelligence," Nawaki replied sheepishly.
"Oh? Then what's in your pocket?" Tatsumi sat up and shot Minato a glance.
Minato smiled knowingly, stood up, and approached Nawaki.
"...Okay, you're not allowed to tell anyone," Nawaki said, lowering his voice as he pulled a few booklets out of his pocket.
"These are the new works of the most virtuous and artistic Jonin in the Land of Fire—Teacher Kura. They're only sold at the Daimyo's residence," Nawaki said, shaking the books proudly.
"I lined up at four in the morning."
"..."
It seemed Nawaki's dedication was on par with Minato's. After all, he too was now among those who had witnessed the Daimyo's residence at dawn.
Uchiha Tatsumi decided he also needed to boost his literary awareness. He quickly pulled out a book and stuffed it into his scroll.
"By the way, did you find anything special?"
"Special discoveries… Hmm. When I was coming back, I noticed there were a lot more guards on the street than usual," Nawaki replied after thinking for a moment.
"Mmm," Tatsumi nodded.
He was confident that the people he had caught in a genjutsu last night wouldn't remember anything. But waking up on the ground was clue enough for even the dumbest to suspect something went down at their chamber of commerce. Reporting to the authorities was inevitable.
But that didn't matter. The Daimyo's capital was huge. Trying to find the four of them in it would be like trying to locate a needle in a haystack.
"Let's eat first. I'll go call Mikoto," Tatsumi said, washing up before heading out.
A while later, the innkeeper brought up breakfast. Being in the heart of the Land of Fire's capital meant the food's quality and presentation weren't inferior to Konoha's—in fact, it might've been even better.
To the team who'd grown used to the Land of Rain's harsh conditions, this breakfast felt like paradise.
"Let me lay out the current situation."
Uchiha Tatsumi took a sip of porridge and spoke.
"I found the name and address of the chamber of commerce that's been supplying food to the Land of Wind. But since it was late last night, I came back first," he said.
"Our next objective is to go there and confirm whether it's the one we're targeting."
"What if it is?" Minato asked.
"Then we wait. Sunagakure will eventually send someone to collect the supplies. Capture or kill them, and our mission is done," Tatsumi replied calmly.
"But there's one more thing," he added, standing up. "The deal involves the Guardian Ninja Twelve—elite Jonin assigned to protect the Daimyo. We are not their match. So once we deal with the Sand ninjas, we retreat immediately."
"Yes, Captain!"
......
Just as Nawaki had said, the number of guards on the streets had noticeably increased. But their strength was laughable—they didn't even qualify as proper shinobi. Undeterred, Tatsumi and the others headed toward the chamber of commerce.
Last night, Tatsumi hadn't just gotten the name and address of the chamber—he'd also obtained the layout of its interior.
As for how a rival chamber of commerce president had such precise knowledge of the layout? Well, this had gone beyond mere business competition.
This particular chamber had profited immensely by working with the Land of Wind. That kind of profit inevitably attracted jealousy. Even if someone had powerful backers, greed made others reckless. And when there's enough money on the table, not even the Daimyo—or his elite guards—can scare everyone.
These days, even businessmen could be as cunning as shinobi.
Since the chamber had to be open for business, security during the day was light. Tatsumi slipped onto the second floor with ease.
At the very back of the floor was a lavish room. The door wasn't even locked.
Tatsumi motioned for the others to wait outside and strolled in.
Inside, a middle-aged man was seated at a richly adorned desk. He looked up nervously at the intruder.
"This guest… what can I do for you?" the man asked cautiously, eyeing the boy.
Uchiha Tatsumi smiled. "I really do have something to discuss."
He shut the door gently. Just as confusion crept into the man's eyes, a genjutsu fell over him.
"Some time ago, did you sell a large quantity of food to the Land of Wind?"
Under the influence of the genjutsu, the man entered a trance-like state. As long as the memory existed in his brain, Tatsumi could access it. Far more efficient—and far less damaging—than the standard memory-probing techniques used by Konoha's intelligence division.
That technique could scramble a brain beyond recovery. Even a genius could end up a vegetable.
"...Yes."
The man hesitated slightly, but answered.
"Was that your chamber's decision, or were Sand ninjas involved?"
Most chambers in the capital were tied to the Daimyo. Any "independent" decision of that scale had likely received top-level approval. Otherwise, no one would be bold enough to attempt it.
"...Neither. It was Ryūma-sama who initiated it. We originally wanted to consult the Daimyo, but Ryūma-sama said he'd already received his approval."
"Who is Ryūma?"
"One of the Guardian Ninja Twelve. He's the Daimyo's most trusted guard."
So there were deeper layers to this. Tatsumi suspected the Daimyo might not even be aware of the deal.
"When is the next transaction?"
"Three days from now… The Sand ninjas will arrive for a second round of negotiations. The location is..."
Tatsumi nodded. With a snap of his fingers, the man slumped over, asleep at the desk.
When he woke up, he'd just assume he'd dozed off from fatigue. But that didn't matter.
Tatsumi had everything he needed—Ryūma, one of the Guardian Ninja Twelve, and the details of the next meeting with the Sand ninjas.
That was more than enough to proceed.
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