Chương 354: CH_9.39 (354)

Three men sat in Barbary's office at the Ironwood Protection Company, reading Ratel's report after spending five days at Maizuru Quarters chasing his trash mail case.

"This is... unexpected," Barbary said as he held the page, which looked like a note, in his massive hand.

"Is this accurate? The staff didn't make a mistake in decoding?"

"He's asking for immediate support, so it doesn't seem he's lying," said Dhole as he read his copy. His usual indifferent gaze held a shimmer of curiosity.

"This is big. Not only is there an assassination squad taking unauthorised contracts, but there's an entire illegal mission market. Ratel must have had extraordinary luck to stumble into that from a trash mail."

"What do you think?" Barbary asked Campbell. Ratel's claims were substantial. He also insisted that he had discovered ample proof to initiate investigation and interrogation for his initial objective, which was to confirm the authenticity of an illegal assassination squad.

"There's nothing to think about," Campbell replied to his boss, setting down his copy of the report.

"He has requested support, so we give it to him. Arresting the entire squad will be difficult because of his lonesomeness, especially if he doesn't get any help from Maizuru. Dhole and I will go assist him." Caracara and Kestrel were unavailable because they were on their case. The final member, Krait, who had been on a lengthy mission and was due to return very soon, was also unavailable.

"Right. I will go with you. Dhole will remain here to hold down the fort," said Barbary, merrily, as though he had just decided to go on an impromptu, spontaneous trip.

"You're coming?" asked Campbell, surprised. Barbary was an ANBU Lieutenant in charge of the entire unit. Contrary to how it seemed, he was busy managing three squads and a couple of important cases of his own. He didn't involve himself in his subordinates' cases, satisfied with delegating responsibility and trusting them to handle it themselves.

"I need to come. There's a jōnin involved, a commander at that; he won't listen to a lick of what's said unless it comes from someone in my position. And hopefully, my presence will stop him from doing anything stupid that he might have on his mind," Barbary replied before asking Dhole if any hot spring towns were on their way because he wanted to enjoy a soak.

"Understood. I will make the preparations." Campbell was interested in seeing Ratel's work and how he handled himself in the field. ———. Following his orders, Chochiro blended in the shadows as he surveyed his target. He sat in the natural camouflage of a tree's canopy and observed Hoshino Araki through the window of the building in front of him. The commander was right in his suspicion. What kind of inspector stayed cooped up in a room instead of going around the place and talking to people to make observations?

He didn't deny there wasn't information to be gained from records, but there had to be a balance. The inspector seemed to have an agenda he was looking for in the records. He had men in the building and others on standby to track the clones, but they seemed to stay put. Commander's adjutant, Shen, had even checked the archives after hours to find what the inspector was looking for—but there was too much stuff to go through, and the inspector never left behind any notes.

Chochiro had even infiltrated Araki's assigned quarters, but they were clean, along with his luggage. Not a thing was out of place that would cast suspicion. He was dealing with someone very careful who knew how to cover his tracks.

"What is he looking for?" he muttered to himself.

"Why don't you just ask?" A voice whispered from behind him, sending shivers down his spine.

"I just might answer if you ask nicely." He didn't sense them until he heard the voice and turned around with a kunai in his hand to strike, but his arm was caught in an iron grip that he couldn't budge. He jolted when he saw the young inspector's tired, cold eyes staring into his soul. Chochiro tried to jump away but found that his body was paralysed, refusing to follow his command. He suddenly felt more helpless than he had ever been on any mission; his heart crashed against his chest.

Maizuru was his home, but it very suddenly didn't feel safe anymore.

"Come, let's go have a chat with your master," said Araki as he put a heavy hand on his shoulder, which forcefully whisked him away at a speed hard for him to follow with his eyes—but he knew where they were going, and it filled him with dread. ———. Takuma was irritated. He was tired because he hadn't been sleeping well; he thought it was the bed which didn't make sense because he had used a spent mattress for over a month when he was living out of an abandoned factory in Yu.

His irritation only grew when he discovered that someone was tailing him. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. He knew someone was keeping an eye on him from the day he started his investigation, but it was easy to give them the slip; someone new was on him—someone very good—and he was having a hard time moving around freely. He thought about ignoring them and not making ripples until his time arrived, but he still had some minor stuff to take care of.

So he decided to capture the offender and bring him to the one who probably put him behind it.

"This concerns me greatly, Jōnin Kumagoro. Why would anyone think to have me surveilled?" Takuma asked, putting on an unsettled expression as he sat in the jōnin commander's office. He observed Kumagoro, who was acting like he was listening attentively with a serious expression, as though he wasn't the one behind it.

"You did well capturing him, Chunin Araki. Rest assured, I'll look into this matter and find out why that genin was observing you."

"Thank you, but I must admit it is somewhat fortunate. I would like to know why he was tailing me; is there something he doesn't want me to know in my capacity as the inspector? I believe it would be good for us both to know what he is hiding so we can fix it. I request that you ensure he fesses up some answers." Takuma was curious about what "secret" Kumagoro would sacrifice. How small or big it would be and how he would justify it as being enough reason to have an inspector followed.

"Of course, please don't worry. I'll put my very best to task on the matter," said Kumagoro, his expression betraying no sense that he was bothered by this situation. He looked like a consummate professional.

"This is serious enough that I will assign you guards during your stay here, inspector."

"... There's no need for that," said Takuma, not expecting this course of action.

"I insist. Even if you feel uncomfortable, as long as you're at Maizuru, your safety is my responsibility. I didn't think you would need guards, but obviously, this situation proved me wrong. You will have a two-man, round-the-clock guard detail from now on," said Kumagoro as he stared into his eyes. There was no change in his demeanour, but he was daring Takuma to refuse. Motherfucker, Takuma thought inwardly while he smiled gratefully on the outside.

He was facing a jōnin commander who far outstripped him in authority. And even though he wasn't answerable to Kumagoro, there were many things the latter could do to make his time in Maizuru difficult. He had no choice but to thank the jōnin. He was expecting his support to arrive tomorrow, but he needed to remain in Maizuru just in case something happened that risked the smooth progression of the case, like preventing the erasure of evidence.

With guards breathing down his neck, it was difficult now, so he didn't want to make it worse. ———.

"We are only a call away. Don't hesitate to call us," said one of the guards assigned to Takuma as he reached his quarters.

"Yes, thank you," he said before heading inside and engaging the door latch for some privacy. The confrontation with Kamugoro hadn't gone as he had expected. He was trying to get rid of a nuisance and get some dirt while he was doing it but succeeded in dumping an ever greater nuisance in his own lap instead. It wasn't that bad because his squad would be here soon, but it would've been terrible if it had happened earlier.

Two guards reporting every single one of his movements back to Kumagoro would've been disastrous.

"I need to be more careful about this stuff," he sighed. He sat on his bed and was wondering if he should skip the shower and go straight to sleep when he noticed a slip of paper near his bed. He walked up to the door to pick it up and read the simple yet deeply impactful words— [Kanaoka jobs have been suspended] He didn't need to wonder about the sender. He knew it could only be Oritada, the deputy at the military police station. What had prompted this to happen?

Was it because of what had happened today with Kumagoro? Takuma dismissed the idea just as quickly because the information reached him too fast. He estimated that this had to have been declared yesterday or the day before to reach him through Oritada. Had he been too questionable for Kumagoro to shut down anything and everything that might get into trouble?

"Hmm, things might turn hairy when they get back here." He also contemplated if Kumagoro knew about the Third Squad. If he did, was he also trying to help them—or at least dispose of them so they wouldn't create trouble for him? He couldn't be sure. Making a move also didn't seem like a wise idea. If Kumagoro wasn't involved, making a move would alert the jōnin, who was already extremely sensitive about him, which might result in him doing something that might jeopardise the case.

Maizuru was Kumagoro's territory—he could make something or someone go missing forever if he wanted to. So Takuma, who was already exposed, had to stay still and hoped his teammates would arrive soon before it was too late. ———. The next morning, Kumagoro was going through his morning training session when he heard hurried footsteps that he recognised as Shen's.

"Sir—""I told you not to disturb me in the morning until I'm ready," Kumagoro cut him off as he hovered his hand over a large, dense boulder that had been transferred into the backyard of his house for training. A perfect square, etched with seam-like cracks appeared on the rock's surface, and a cube slid out of the boulder and floated into Kumagoro's upside-down palm. It further split into four smaller cubes before shuffling until it merged into a bigger cube that then turned into a stocky cylinder.

The boulder rumbled, and its rock material shifted until the hole left by the cube turned into a cylinder-shaped slot perfect for the cylinder in his palm. The cylinder then descended into the slot before the seams disappeared and the material re-merged into the boulder mass. That was done without a single hand seal and was part of Kumagoro's training for advanced chakra manipulation.

"This better be important, Shen. What is it?" he asked.

"S-Sir, two ANBU-nin have shown up at the eastern gates!" A cube halfway rising to his palm fell to the ground as the force pulling it up vanished. A hundred thoughts passed through his mind until one memory took centre stage. He recalled how Chochiro had reported that he had intercepted a telegraph message sent out by the inspector, which was coded in a cypher he couldn't recognise. Kumogoro's open palm clenched into a fist that shattered the boulder into a dozen pieces.

Crevices and cracks appeared in the ground in the backyard as a micro-earthquake struck the building, induced by the sheer force of a jonin's chakra stimulated by rage.

"That FUCKING inspector!"