Chương 32: Speculation

After leaving the Wasabi Family, Shuji noticed someone tailing him from the shadows. Unbothered, he simply strolled through the town, stopping in front of a few shops to chat with stall owners about market prices. He then found a roadside teahouse, sat down, and ordered a pot of local coarse tea alongside a few cloyingly sweet rice cakes. The tea was bitter and the rice cakes stuck to his teeth, unremarkable fare, yet the stray remarks dropped during casual banter quietly confirmed that Jirocho's words were true.

The Chashan Gang members who had donned guard uniforms had accumulated so much public resentment over the past fortnight that it was like smoldering charcoal, needing only a single spark to ignite. By the time Shuji returned to Haifeng Pavilion, dusk had fallen. Hiroyama Makoto was pleasantly surprised to see him. After exchanging a few words with the merchant, Shuji went to his room.

"Back so soon, Captain?" The purple-haired kunoichi knocked on the door and stood at the entrance, raising two fingers to lightly tap her temple in a playful salute.

"Was the Wasabi Family's information not interesting enough?" Shuji looked up at Anko. She smirked.

"I actually stumbled upon something..." Shuji smiled faintly.

"Then by all means, Lady Anko, do tell."

"While you were over at the Wasabi Family, a shipment of weapons arrived at the docks. I checked it out, its ninja gear," Anko said.

"Kunai, shuriken, and some armor."

"Do you know where they're being sent?" Shuji asked, his tone turning serious.

"I already had Itachi go look into it." Itachi was young, and without his forehead protector, he wouldn't draw any unwanted attention. Anko, on the other hand, was far too conspicuous, truth be told, she was quite attractive, which made her stand out even more down at the docks. Thus, as soon as she confirmed the cargo consisted of ninja tools, she immediately notified Itachi. Speak of the devil, Itachi returned at that very moment.

"Shuji-senpai, Anko-senpai," Uchiha Itachi greeted them with his usual polite tone.

"I have completed the investigation. The supplies are all bound for Nagi Island. Reportedly, Nagi Island has been covertly purchasing ninja gear throughout the past month." Shuji asked, "Did anything happen to Mr. Hiroyama's cargo?"

"No," Itachi replied.

"I kept an eye on it all afternoon. Although those guards kept sneakily watching us, their attention was focused on our group. They didn't seem interested in the cloth merchant's shipment."

"I see." Shuji then briefed the two on the information gained from his conversation with Wasabi Jirocho, naturally omitting the part about Tsunade and simply stating that Jirocho had happened to hire someone formidable, so safety was not a concern on their end. By the time Shuji finished, all three of them were lost in thought.

"Shuji," Anko frowned slightly, "the Chashan Gang has gone mad with greed, the Heishizhong are acting like ghosts, and Nagi Island is secretly buying up ninja tools... These things feel like scattered beads on the ground. I get the sense they can be strung together, but how?"

"The connection to the Heishizhong should be that man, Jubei," Itachi offered. Just then, Hiroyama Makoto came upstairs to announce that dinner was arranged. Shuji looked up and glanced at Anko.

"Got it, got it!" Anko took the cue instantly. Sighing dramatically, she stood up and patted Itachi on the shoulder.

"Let's go, kid. Let's help that unlucky cloth merchant carry the plates so he doesn't ruin our appetite with that gloomy face." Itachi rose quietly and followed Anko out of the room. The door shut softly behind them, cutting off the noise from outside. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Shuji was left alone in the room. He walked over to the window and pushed open the wooden shutters.

The night breeze brushed against his face, rustling the strands of hair at his forehead. Kunai and shuriken were classified as ninja equipment precisely because ordinary people had no use for them. Even among shinobi, blades were far more direct and lethal in close-quarters combat, as evidenced by the standard-issue gear of the Anbu. Ordinary factions, unless operating under a hidden village system, rarely procured such specialized weaponry on this scale.

Coupled with how the Chashan Gang had unashamedly amassed wealth ever since taking over, it was clear they were desperately short on funds. This financial drain wasn't merely driven by bandit instincts; there was a larger objective behind it. Their heightened scrutiny toward shinobi alone practically confirmed it. The door opened, and an inn attendant entered carrying a tray.

Dinner was typical port fare: a large bowl of thick, milky-white fish stew topped with chopped green scallions, a plate of small sea fish fried golden and crispy, and the inn's specialty fishcake, pearly white, springy, and sprinkled with bits of red chili. Hiroyama Makoto had also generously provided a plate of sliced seasonal fruit for the shinobi.

"Any issues?" Shuji asked casually as he sat down.

"None," Anko replied, deftly setting out the utensils, while Itachi quietly placed the fruit plate in the center. Shuji glanced over the savory dishes on the table.

"Once the mission is wrapped up, we'll find an opportunity to taste the local specialties properly."

"When that time comes, I'm bleeding you dry, Captain," Anko said, her eyes lighting up without a shred of hesitation. The inn's chef was skilled; the fish was fresh and cooked with perfection. By the end of the meal, Shuji found himself fond of Dehashi Port, resolving to stay a few extra days after the mission to enjoy the local scenery. Once dinner finished, the dishes were cleared away.

"Here is my theory," Shuji spoke up, his voice ringing clearly in the quiet room.

"The Heishizhong's ultimate objective is likely to establish a hidden village of their own within the Land of Tea. The Chashan Gang is merely the proxy they raised to back it."

"A hidden village?!" Anko nearly choked on her own spit, her eyes widening.

"With just a handful of rogue ninja? You've got to be kidding!" Even Uchiha Itachi showed a flash of unmistakable surprise across his face.

"It is not without precedent," Shuji said calmly, as though stating an objective fact.

"The Five Great Shinobi Nations are not the only ones with hidden villages. Many small nations maintain their own. As long as core interests aren't violated, the Great Nations have neither the desire nor the manpower to completely wipe out every minor village. After all," He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

"When a Great Shinobi War erupts, the major powers are too overwhelmed to look outward, creating a vacuum of commission availability outside their immediate spheres of influence. Yet the demand from small-nation nobility doesn't simply vanish. In an emergency, without an armed force at their beck and call, security is nonexistent. Establishing a ninja force beholden to or at least rooted in their own land becomes a practical necessity."

"But... but still," Anko found it absurd.

"What about Guardian Shinobi? Can't the Daimyo just recruit powerful ninja as direct bodyguards? Isn't that the same thing?"

"It's fundamentally different," Shuji shook his head.

"Guardian Shinobi are private soldiers tied to individual power, easily dragged into political whirlwinds that end up biting their masters. A hidden village," he emphasized the term, "is an institutional entity with legal standing and financial subsidies to sustain its operations. Its boundaries and rules are defined with relative clarity and consensus right from inception."

"Furthermore, the more I ponder it, this is the only explanation that accounts for why the Land of Tea turns a blind eye to the Chashan Gang's actions in Dehashi Port." Anko opened her mouth as if to refute him, but unable to find a stronger counterargument, she settled for running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"So... Shuji, what do we do next?" She looked at him.

"Do we ship off this poor cloth merchant's goods first and head straight back to the village to report? Let the Old Man and the elders handle the headache?" Rather than answering directly, Shuji pulled out the dark mission scroll personally handed to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the one marked "A-Rank", and set it gently on the table. Under the lamp's glow, the dark casing gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster.

"The village," Shuji tapped his finger against the scroll, meeting the calm eyes of both Anko and Itachi, "has already granted us the authority and indicated its preference." Expel or get rid of the Heishizhong. From the Land of Tea's perspective, founding a local hidden village was naturally a boon. Resources were going to be allocated either way, so funneling them into an insider who prioritized local interests made economic sense. But from the perspective of Konohagakure, it was an entirely different story.

Minor hidden villages formed back when the Five Great Nations were established were either too distant, or Konoha lacked the manpower during its founding years to bother, satisfied with consuming the Land of Fire's bountiful mission quotas and subsidies. Today, however, things were different. The village registered thousands of active shinobi, a number growing steadily even during peacetime.

The Land of Tea was viewed by Konoha as a dependable source of mission revenue; unless physically impossible, they would never hand over their exclusive turf without a fight. The night breeze blew through the open window, carrying the crisp chill of the port and curling the edges of the scroll resting on the table. Under the lantern light, the shadows of the three shinobi stretched silently across the wall.