Chương 26: Nanshou Station and the Merchant's Doubts

Nanshou Station. Though dawn had barely broken, the town was already busy. Horses neighed, wagons creaked, and guards shouted. The streets were crowded with loaded wagons, merchants, and porters rushing through the noise and dust. Shuji led Itachi and Anko through the bustling crowd. Following the address on the mission scroll, they found their client, the cloth merchant Hiroyama Makoto, in the rear courtyard of an inn hanging an aged sign that read "Matsukaze."

Hiroyama Makoto was a typical middle-aged traveling merchant. He was slightly overweight and wore a deep brown silk robe, a quality fabric now covered in dust, and round-framed glasses sat upon his round face. Behind the lenses, a pair of sharp eyes rapidly scanned the laborers loading cargo. Six workers were carefully loading rolls of vibrant, finely woven fabric onto reinforced carts, their movements revealing immense care for the goods.

Catching sight of Shuji's team approaching, Makoto's eyes swept over Anko in her fresh dark-purple trench coat with an impatient scowl, and Itachi with a ninja tool pouch strapped to his back, his face still holding youthful innocence. Makoto's practiced professional smile froze instantly, a flash of undeniable surprise and suspicion flickering in his eyes. Two adults and a kid? The escorts Konoha sent... that's it? That girl looks hard to deal with, and that boy... is he even ten? My shipment of Southern Weave...

Countless thoughts raced through his sharp mind, and his anxiety over the cargo surged. Yet, instincts honed by years of commerce allowed him to instantly suppress his emotions. Makoto quickly pasted on an exaggeratedly enthusiastic expression and stepped forward, his voice deliberately loud and friendly: "Ah, welcome, welcome! I've been eagerly awaiting you, honorable Konoha ninjas! It must have been a tough journey!" He rubbed his hands together, his gaze flicking across their foreheads before settling on Shuji.

"This distinguished gentleman must be the Captain? May I ask your name?"

"Special Jonin Shuji." Shuji's gaze passed right over him, landing on the six carts loaded with clearly high-value textiles.

"Ah, Captain Shuji! Forgive my lack of manners!" Makoto bowed hastily, his smile remaining warm, though the merchant's shrewdness remained intact. He casually glanced toward Anko and Itachi once more, probing cautiously: "And these two... spirited young ninja, they are...?"

"Anko Mitarashi. Itachi Uchiha." Shuji's response was as sharp and short, no unnecessary commentary. At the name "Uchiha," Makoto's eyes behind his glasses visibly brightened for a moment. His smile grew a fraction more genuine, though his underlying doubt regarding their age and experience did not entirely vanish. He offered warmly, "You must have had a dusty trip, honored ninja. I assume you haven't eaten breakfast yet? There is a ramen stand near the station entrance.

The broth is authentic, and the noodles are perfectly chewy!"

"Sounds good." Shuji nodded. Makoto turned around immediately, raising his voice to shout at his workers: "Hurry up and move those hands! We depart as soon as I return with our honored guests!" Anko curled her lip, dismissive of his performance. Itachi remained standing quietly in place, his calm gaze sweeping over the busy workers and stacked cargo. He spoke softly to Shuji: "Senpai, I will stay behind to watch over the goods." Shuji nodded, leading Anko as they followed Makoto out of the noisy courtyard.

The so-called "authentic broth" ramen shop turned out to be nothing more than a crude roadside stall near the station entry. A few greasy low tables were packed with early-traveling merchants and porters, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of pork bone broth and cheap soy sauce. Makoto ordered three bowls of their signature tonkotsu ramen from the stall keeper. When the bowls were served, the broth appeared murky, topped with a few paper-thin slices of pork chashu and limp bamboo shoots.

Shuji picked up his chopsticks, blew on a cluster of steaming noodles, and began eating. Seeing her captain digging in, Anko picked up her chopsticks as well, though she frowned at the greasy broth before picking at the noodles. Makoto, on the other hand, appeared distracted, idly poking at his bowl without any real interest in eating. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Captain Shuji," Makoto set his chopsticks down and leaned forward slightly, his face adopting that characteristic merchant blend of anxiety and grievance.

"As you can see, what we are escorting is top-level Southern Weave from the Land of Fire. Once shipped overseas, it commands an astronomical price! Truth be told, I, Hiroyama Makoto, have staked my entire life and fortune on this cargo!" He paused, observing Shuji's reaction, before lowering his voice with a calculated display of earnestness: "Because of that, i managed to scrape together 100, 000 Ryo for the mission fee!

Originally, I thought that while the road is long, the route from the Land of Fire to the Land of Tea has always been safe. At most, it should be a C-rank mission, and hiring a few Chunin would be enough. I never expected..." An expression of perfect gratitude covered his face.

"The Hokage is truly compassionate, understanding how difficult things are for small merchants like us, actually raising this commission to B-rank! And even dispatching an impressive Jonin like you to lead the team! This... I truly don't know how to express my gratitude!" Shuji swallowed his bite of noodles, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of broth, his movements smooth and natural. He set the bowl down and turned a calm gaze onto Makoto.

The information embedded within the merchant's words assembled rapidly in his mind like scattered puzzle pieces: A 100, 000 Ryo fee. Staking everything on the cargo. * Original expected mission rank: C-rank. The payment range for C-rank missions was 30, 000 to 100, 000 Ryo, while B-rank ranged from 80, 000 to 200, 000 Ryo. Makoto offering 100, 000 Ryo put him at the maximum threshold for a C-rank, but at the absolute bottom floor for a B-rank.

Emphasizing that he had to "scrape together" the 100, 000 Ryo signaled that this was his absolute limit, implicitly confirming his initial risk assessment of the route: not high enough to justify B-rank level. His gratitude was directed at the village "voluntarily" upgrading the mission rank. What did that imply? Mission ranks were very important. A C-rank mission usually did not involve enemy ninja. It was normally given to a Chunin leading Genin or an experienced Genin team.

A B-rank mission could involve fighting enemy ninja. It usually required an experienced team of Chunin, or even the guidance of a Special Jonin or Jonin. Makoto's words and behavior revealed a crucial contradiction: he himself did not seem particularly concerned about the core threat that prompted the village to raise the mission to B-rank: the Heishizhong rogue ninja group. Or rather, his primary worries were not focused on ninja at all.

If Makoto truly feared the Heishizhong, a group capable of using jutsu, ambushing his caravan, someone who risked his entire fortune on this shipment would never be satisfied with paying only the ceiling price of a C-rank mission. Nor would he express surprise and relief over the village raising the rank for him. He would have squeezed out at least a few thousand more Ryo to ensure the mission sat comfortably within B-rank territory to guarantee superior military force.

That 100, 000 Ryo figure was far more indicative of a maximum-tier C-rank insurance policy paid to cover heavy non-ninja threats. Village intel pointed to the Heishizhong threatening the trade routes, which triggered the mission rank upgrade. Yet Makoto's anticipated threat lay elsewhere. Was he oblivious to the Heishizhong's presence, or...

"Boss Makoto," Shuji's calm voice cut clearly through the surrounding noise.

"What were you originally most worried about? Or rather, what made you feel this shipment was worth spending 100, 000 Ryo to hire Konoha ninja?" Makoto didn't expect Shuji to ask so directly. He froze for a second before letting out a dry smile, his eyes flickering behind his round glasses.

"You have a sharp insight. To be honest, the road to Dehashi Port has always been relatively quiet, with no major bandit operations. But in any large forest, there are bound to be all sorts of birds. There are always petty thieves in groups of twenty or thirty who rely on knowing the local terrain to target isolated small caravans. My cargo this time is simply too valuable, so I feared being targeted by some reckless gang trying to overpower standard bodyguards with sheer numbers."

He paused, hesitating briefly before dropping his voice further: "Furthermore, near the border of Dehashi Port, the route passes through an old forest called Wild Tea Slope. That area hasn't been peaceful over the past few months. A local gang called the Chashan Gang has gathered a crowd of desperate rogues, reportedly numbering two to three hundred men..."

"The Chashan Gang..." Shuji repeated the name quietly. A bandit group of two to three hundred men was indeed a catastrophic threat to an ordinary merchant caravan, enough to drive a merchant to empty his pockets to hire ninja for an escort. This was likely the true "ceiling C-rank" threat in Makoto's eyes. As for the Heishizhong? The name hadn't even crossed his lips. A clear discrepancy existed between village intelligence and the client's perception. This was no coincidence.

Either the village intel was flawed, or the Heishizhong acted with such secrecy that they hadn't caused panic among common merchants yet; or... the Heishizhong's area of activity or actual objective didn't fully align with the route or value of Makoto's cargo, perhaps harboring hidden motives altogether.

"Understood." Shuji didn't press further, merely nodding before picking up his bowl to finish the remaining soup. Setting the bowl down, his gaze swept over Anko, who was nearly finished.

"Let's head back." Anko dropped her chopsticks immediately upon hearing the order. Makoto scrambled to his feet as well, plastering the smile back onto his face: "Yes, yes, right away! With you here, i feel safe!" By the time the three returned to the rear courtyard of the Matsukaze Inn, the six carts were fully loaded, heavy tarpaulins tightly securing the brightly colored fabrics beneath. Itachi stood quietly beside one of the carts. Seeing Shuji return, he gave a slight nod to indicate that all was clear.

"Let's move!" Makoto gave the order.