Chương 346: CH_9.31 (346)

"I'll be honest, ANBU-nin. I'm not sure if I can allow you to see one of our workers without knowing what you want from him." Takuma sat before the Daimyo's emissary for Chibumi Mines by the name of Dogai Harazo. The man was from a supposedly prestigious clan with an active presence in the Fire Daimyo's court. According to Shimura Bunradao, the Dogai clan was given the duty of managing the Chibumi Mines, and Harazo had gained the position as its overseer through his clan.

As Bunradao said, the man immediately started probing for the reason for his visit without any delay.

"Even if he's a prisoner, I'm responsible for the well-being of my workers. ANBU's reputation precedes you, and I'm afraid it's not very pleasant, especially where prisoners are concerned. You must understand my plight. I want my workers to be able to do their job, and I'm unsure if that would be possible if you get your hands on him."

ANBU was Leaf's premier security agency, and that came with a dark reputation of torture, assassinations, and sabotage, among other unsavoury activities common in secret agency circles. Shinobi criminals and prisoners had it worse as there were limited laws protecting them, especially from ANBU, who operated with a high level of freedom under the law.

They could arrest shinobi without a warrant, the only exception being the Leaf Military Police Force officers, a stipulation the Uchiha clan managed to strong-arm into legislation during the early days when ANBU was only a fledgling department unable to defend itself against the village's bigger powers—like the clans.

"Those workers are Leaf's prisoners; I have full authority to question them. Please don't misunderstand; this here is a courtesy, not a meeting to ask for your permission," said Takuma. Bunradao had told him that if he showed weakness, Harazo would try to take advantage, so he abandoned most of his tact and put up a firm front.

"That doesn't change the fact that, according to the joint agreement between the Ember Imperial City and the Hidden Leaf, it is well within my authority to request an official missive from your side if you wish to interrogate one of my workers," Harazo replied with a carefree smile despite Takuma's words. Even though the Fire samurai and Leaf shinobi were on the same side, they were political rivals who vied for power over the nation beneath a facade of smiles and camaraderie.

They couldn't duke it out through combat, so they fought through laws, decrees, and general political influence. The samurai before him inclined his head.

"I do not wish to go there, so let's be civil. How about we start by removing your mask; quite frankly, it's rather rude for you to not even use your real voice during a conversation," Harazo smiled, confidently leaning back into his high-back leather chair. Offices at mines, docks, farms, and other on-site locations were practical in nature because there was seldom any need to entertain others, and people who visited such places were familiar with the environment.

But Harazo's office was decorated as though he worked at a bank and regularly entertained affluent folk to court their wealth. In comparison, Bunradao's office barely had any personal effects and seemed like a place meant only to sit down and do work in. Takuma guessed that before Harazo was assigned to the mines, he was involved in political wrangling in the capital city. He was not intimate with the mining industry and had experienced subordinates to handle that side of his job for him.

Seeing an ANBU-nin brought those tendencies back, and so he was going for negotiation to extract some kind of benefit—perhaps just for the sake of it. He started slowly as he worked through a response.

"... If you want an official missive, I will return with one—""Now, now, I'm not trying to hinder you from doing your job here," Harazo interrupted with a bright smile and raised palms, "so I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Don't you think so, Chunin Bunradao?" Bunradao, sitting beside Takuma, could only smile politely, and seemed unwilling to touch the mess with the end of a long bo-staff. He was stuck between his boss and an ANBU-nin, both of whom could make his life difficult.

Choosing either side could be disastrous if the other side took offence.

"—but it won't be for just one prisoner. I will come with missives for half of the labour camp and trap them in interrogations until I'm satisfied," said Takuma. The prison labour camp was a big part of Chibumi Copper Mine's production as they possessed strength and endurance far surpassing even the most physically fit civilian miners in their prime.

Not only did they produce work equivalent to multiple men, but they also cost less than nothing, as the mine only had to arrange room and board as part of their sentences. For an overseer like Harazo, meeting production targets was paramount because as long as he maintained high, consistent output, he was the King of Chibumi Mines, free to do anything he desired. Taking out his high-performing shinobi miners from work meant threatening the source of his power.

Takuma had once tried to exploit two ANBU operatives by holding information hostage. Now, he possessed the authority and power of an ANBU-nin; he wasn't scared of a samurai far from the Ember Imperial City. Harazo lost his smile and openly frowned at Takuma with a flash of displeasure and anger in his eyes before he wrangled hold of his expression and put on a trained, sickeningly sweet smile before expressing his disappointment in a more appropriate manner.

"Such a pity, and here I thought we could put our differences apart to cooperate in easing the needless competition between samurai and shinobi." Harazo sighed, masterfully putting an act.

"Very well, you may have your wish. Bunradao, see that our friend here has everything he needs." Stolen novel; please report.

"Yes, of course," Bunradao nodded as though he was a simple subordinate doing his job.

"Now, if you will excuse me. I have some work to do," Harazo said while he rose. Takuma thanked the man. He was about to leave the office when he felt a tremor below his feet. He looked outside to see the window rattle as a large dust cloud race sky high before the sound of the explosion reached their ears a long moment later.

"What was that?" Harazo looked at him, evidently amused at his reaction.

"It's blasting: a controlled explosion to access deeper areas and clean rock. It's a regular thing here, nothing to be worried about," Harazo explained.

"No, I wasn't made aware of a blasting today," said Bunradao, looking over his to his superior with a light frown on his face.

"This wasn't scheduled." He pulled out a thick handheld radio from his waistband and tried to connect to the other side. There was no response for half a minute before one of Bunradao's subordinates connected in.

"Sir, there's an explosion in Sector 7! I... I-I suspect a cave-in!" There was a pause before the subordinate spoke again with even more urgency.

"I see prisoners running! There's a prison break! I repeat, the prisoners are escaping!" ———. A group of prisoners gathered in a dimly lit corner of a copper mine, hidden from the guards by a maze of tunnels. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and metal. Flickering torchlights cast long shadows on the rough stone walls. The sound of distant pickaxes and muffled echoes whispered through the tunnels. Kaito, a sharp-eyed giant, stood with his back to the walls.

He scanned the faces of his fellow prisoners, who all had chakra-suppressing seals etched into their skin—simple tags weren't quite enough for long-term prisoners.

"Listen carefully. This is our only chance. If we don't move now, we'll die in this pit—spending our good years here as Shimura and Dogai squeeze everything we have out of us. But if we work together, we can break free," he said in a low but commanding voice. Goro, his equally massive frame hunched in the cramped space, cracked his knuckles and smirked.

"You don't mind if I crush some skulls on our way out of here, do you? The guards have been so good to me that I want to return the favour."

"Don't get cocky or stupid, Goro. This isn't just revenge. One wrong move, and we're all dead. Follow the fucking plan, and you can kill anyone you want once you're out of here," Kaito said, his eyes narrowing before suddenly looking to the opposite end of the tunnel as he heard a sound. The group hushed and immediately broke up, going to their separate corners and picking up their tools. They pretended for half a minute, and when no guard appeared, they huddled back together.

"And why should we follow you, Kaito?" asked Ayame, the only woman in the group, with her arms crossed, showing open distrust and suspicion.

"You're springing this on us at the last second here. Why should I trust you and not believe you're going to screw us to escape on your own?" Kaito grew closer to her, casting a dark shadow over her much smaller frame.

"Because I'm giving you a chance of survival. Do you want to waste away here? They've taken everything from us—our freedom, our dignity, our lives. The Hidden Leaf doesn't care about us, but that doesn't mean other hidden villages don't. We can go to the Land of Storms. I hear there's a great demand for shinobi there; play your cards right, and you might even become a Hidden Rain shinobi." A dry laugh echoed in the claustrophobic emptiness. Everyone looked at the wiry man leaning against a support beam.

His viper-like features were marred with scars that made him look hideous when combined with the black fūinjutsu seals.

"Of course, the great Kaito needs us now," Rinji scoffed.

"What happened to 'I work alone'? Or did the guards finally knock some sense into you?"

"Save the jokes for later, Rinji. If you'd rather stay here and rot, be my guest. But if you want a shot at freedom, you'll do as I say." Rinji cut a smile across his face, tight, sharp, and derisive.

"Fine. But if this goes south, I'm not sticking around to save your skin." Everyone would abandon ship if things went south, because the chance to save themselves remained. But cooperation meant a higher likelihood of escaping; beyond that, they held no allegiance to each other.

"Here's how it's going to work. Goro, you'll trigger the collapse in Sector 7. That'll create the distraction we need," Kaito started revealing his plan.

"Ayame, you'll handle the guards near the east tunnel. Rinji, you're with me; we'll secure the armoury. Once that's done, we'll meet near the water deposit, divide the weapons, and get the fuck out of here." Goro grinned in excitement.

"Finally, something fun! Those walls won't know what hit 'em.".

"It's risky, but I'll make it work. Just don't expect me to clean up any other messes," Ayame sighed.

"An armory, huh?" Rinji smirked.

"Guess I'll finally get my hands on something sharper than a pickaxe. But all of this is useless because we won't get anywhere with these things still on us," he pointed at the chakra-suppression seals on his face.

"I selected you three because your seal reapplication date is tomorrow," Kaito whispered. The chakra suppression seals weren't permanent and grew weaker with time and thus had to be re-applied regularly by the fūin-nin in Bunradao's crew.

"Right now, those seals are the weakest. They're vulnerable, and we're going to take advantage of that with these." He fished a jute bundle from his underwear and opened it to reveal the contents.

"Soldier pills?!" Ayame gasped, instantly recognising the brown balls. Kaito nodded.

"If we take these, we can overpower the seals. They won't break, but you'll have enough to fight the seals and exert 80-90% of your normal level. That... might be enough to run away in all the chaos."

"How did you get these?" asked Goro.

"Let's just say that shinobi tend to look down at what civilians are capable of," said Kaito. He looked at them and asked, "Are all of you in?" They all held some level of scepticism until he took out the soldier pills. That one small but crucial resource suddenly made the shaky plan achievable. It was a risky plan because once the soldier pill ran its course, they would be weaker than they were now. But if they got their chakra back, they would be capable of much more—all of them were trained in shinobi arts.

"... What about the samurai guard?" asked Rinji. Shimura Bunradao and his crew were only in charge of the prison camp. Dogai Harazo and his group of samurai were responsible for the mines' overall security. Even if they managed to give the shinobi a slip, they still had to contend with the samurai.

"Kiui will handle it. I told him to gather some people and rush to the civilian housing. The samurai will go after them, fearing that they'll take the civilian workers hostage," Kaito answered.

"Kiui? That guy's an idiot. Didn't you have anyone better—" Rinji abruptly stopped as a realisation dawned on him.

"He's a sacrificial bait. He isn't supposed to escape, is he? You're truly heartless, Kaito. I like it; I'm in!"

"Me too!" Goro replied, the most excited of the bunch. Ayame gazed at the soldier pills for a moment before nodding.

"We move at the next shift change. Stick to the plan, and we'll be free by dawn. But if anyone screws up... we're all dead," Kaito warned.