Chương 35: Three Routes

The ocean wind, heavy with the reek of salt, howled into the cabin. The wooden hull groaned beneath the surging waves. With every roll of the ship, more color drained from the messenger's face as he huddled beside Shuji. Normally a capable young man, he now clutched the hem of his clothes, his eyes darting anxiously toward the churning, ink-blue water beyond the porthole.

"So... someone's chasing us! Quick!"

"Grab your weapons! Ready the harpoons!" On deck, the sailors' rough shouts mingled with the sharp clatter of metal. Tension filled the air, and the once-steady voyage descended into chaos. Shuji sat cross-legged on the slightly damp cabin floor, his eyes closed. His body rose and fell gently with the tossing ship, yet he remained calm. The messenger's panic did not disturb him in the slightest.

"They're here..." Shuji slowly opened his eyes, his gaze deep and calm as an abyss. He rose in one fluid motion, effortlessly compensating for the ship's sway.

"Stay here," he ordered, stopping the messenger as he struggled to his feet. Shuji pushed open the creaking cabin door and stepped onto the deck. Several sailors stood on high alert, harpoons in hand, staring out across the sea. A tall, lean figure was racing over the waves, running across the water at incredible speed. The intruder wore a dark chest plate over a tight, sleeveless black suit. A mask concealed his face, leaving only his sharp, hawk-like eyes exposed. Shuji narrowed his eyes slightly.

A Heishizhong member? Or one of their subordinates? To run across the water and pursue a sailing ship across the open ocean for so long required formidable chakra control and reserves. Even in Konoha, this person's abilities would rank among the elite chunin. If he was a core Heishizhong member, that was within expectations. But if he was merely a subordinate, then the assessment of the organization's strength would have to be raised by a tier....

While Shuji faced the enemy at sea, Genshoku slipped into the noisy first-floor lobby of Haifeng Pavilion, like a ghost blending into the shadows. His attire and appearance should have made him the most eye-catching person in the room. Yet the innkeeper, the passing waiters, and even the few guests acted as if he were invisible. They bustled about, their hollow eyes passing right over him.

"All three... are in the upstairs rooms." Genshoku did not climb the stairs. From the three rooms above, he could clearly sense the refined, lively chakra signatures of shinobi. Uncertainty stirred in the monk-like shinobi's mind. Wasabi Jirocho's announcement was essentially an open strategy: gather the local faction leaders, present the evidence, publicly reveal that a messenger had been sent to the Daimyo, and use Konoha's reputation to apply pressure.

It was an unmistakable attempt to force the enemy to choose between waiting for the Daimyo's judgment and striking immediately to eliminate the threat. If they expected the enemy to react fiercely, why was the Konoha team still here in full force? Was the messenger who had just left merely a decoy? Had the real messenger, carrying the key evidence, already set out in secret? If so, why had there been no word from the Daimyo's estate? The three chakra signatures he sensed were real and distinct...

Could Konoha have secretly sent reinforcements? Genshoku's thoughts raced as a strange unease quietly surfaced. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. He turned sharply and slipped out of the inn, moving swiftly and silently. Out on the street, he glanced up warily. His green pupils immediately fixed on a half-open window on the top floor. Behind it, a pair of eyes looked down at him, cold and indifferent. A chill ran through Genshoku.

He pushed off and retreated several paces, raising his wrist slightly. The bell engraved with the character for "Eat" gave a low, urgent hum, sending invisible waves across his surroundings. Only after confirming that he had not fallen into a genjutsu or a barrier trap did he look up again. This time, three pairs of eyes appeared behind the window: Shuji, Anko, and Itachi. All three watched him calmly, their expressions equally cold and indifferent.

"Clone Jutsu!" Genshoku realized. Irritation at having been fooled mingled with heightened vigilance. No wonder the chakra signatures felt like three distinct people, while their scents were all the same!

"Tricky bastard!" Genshoku cursed under his breath. The copper coin between his canine teeth scraped faintly. To divide his chakra into three portions while keeping each clone so powerful... The one who had stayed behind was probably the captain. That meant the ones who had left were the boy and the kunoichi. With Shoshoku's strength, dealing with those two should be more than enough.

So his task was to pin down the captain right here: keep him tied to Haifeng Pavilion until Shoshoku succeeded, or force him to lose patience, strike first, and expose a weakness. Genshoku stopped trying to peer inside the inn and withdrew into the street's shadows. The bell on his wrist chimed softly and continuously, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue before a hunt. An invisible field quietly spread around Haifeng Pavilion....

In a third-floor room at Haifeng Pavilion, Shuji stood by the window, watching Genshoku disappear completely into the shadows of the street. Through the unique sensory link between Wood Clones, he instantly received updates: his main body had encountered an interceptor at sea, while Genshoku had appeared at Haifeng Pavilion.

"The target took the bait. Beginning the delay," thought the Wood Clone Shuji had left at the inn. With a slight shift of intent, the two Wood Clones behind him, disguised as Anko and Itachi; silently retreated into the room's blind spots. They reverted to wood and crumpled to the floor. Their chakra was not wasted; like rivers flowing into the sea, it quickly returned to the Wood Clone by the window.

Although Shuji had not yet succeeded in his Senjutsu training, his daily practice and experimentation had greatly improved his fine control over chakra, especially his mastery of Wood Clones. Dividing, reclaiming, and re-condensing chakra with precision had become second nature to him.... Rewind to shortly after Hiroyama Makoto's cargo ship left port.

"The plan is split into three routes," Shuji said in the inn room, speaking calmly and clearly to Anko and Itachi.

"I'll take the messenger route myself. After Wasabi Jirocho's move to report to the Daimyo, the enemy will almost certainly act. This route is the most likely to bring us up against core Heishizhong members or other elites, so we need someone steady to handle them and gather crucial intelligence." Anko crossed her arms, her brows twitching slightly.

"And what about here? And old man Wasabi's place?"

"Haifeng Pavilion needs to maintain the illusion that we're all still here, to mislead any ordinary observers. At the same time, it will serve as bait for any enemy ninja who come to investigate, giving us a chance to gather firsthand intelligence." Shuji's gaze swept over the two of them.

"I'll leave clones behind to impersonate the three of us."

"If you're gathering intelligence, are you using Shadow Clones? Wouldn't that take too much chakra, Shuji?" Anko asked. Shadow Clones divided chakra equally among the original and the clones. With three clones, Shuji would have to split his chakra four ways... and still be ready for combat...

"It'll be more than enough." He was leaving Wood Clones behind, but Shuji had no intention of revealing his Wood Release just yet. Since their captain sounded so confident, Anko did not press the issue. She simply asked, "So Itachi and I take the third route? To the Wasabi Family?"

"Yes. The enemy might attack the Wasabi Family. The people there can handle an assassination attempt, but they wouldn't stand against an attack." At the very least, the enemy had no Jonin; otherwise, they could not have failed to kill Jirocho, who was under Jonin protection. By logical deduction, however, the enemy ought to have a Jonin. If they abandoned assassination in favor of a direct attack on the Wasabi estate, Shizune alone, whose specialty was medical ninjutsu; would not be enough.

As for Tsunade, a direct group battle would inevitably lead to bloodshed, making her presence a liability rather than an asset. That was why Itachi and Anko needed to go to the Wasabi Family, just in case. However, there was something they needed to clarify first. Shuji looked from one to the other.

"The person at the Wasabi Family is an outstanding medical ninja, and she can be trusted. You don't need to pry into her background... Consider that a personal request from me." Anko scratched her cheek.

"Oh, the captain's asking? In that case, I won't see a thing. But... if it involves, you know, as long as you're aware of it, Shuji." Shuji acknowledged her meaning. After going through the ordeal of her master, Orochimaru, defecting from the village, Anko would still feel obligated to report anything that genuinely threatened Konoha's security. As for Itachi, the Uchiha simply nodded in quiet agreement.

Knowing Shuji's concealed identity, Itachi understood better than anyone that Shuji was the person least likely to harm Konoha. Keeping a few secrets was no issue.