Koizumi Town

Koizumi Town

The Land of Rivers was, by Shuji's analogy from his previous life, something like a demilitarized zone in the Shinobi World.

It had an authoritative Feudal Lord, functioning bureaucrats, and even maintained a group of sword-bearing samurai. But it had no shinobi village.

In a world where chakra power dictated the balance of power, this was no different from walking naked among wolves.

Whenever trouble exceeded what samurai swords could handle, they could only submit commissions to Konoha, Sunagakure, or even Amegakure, exchanging money for the military force of foreign lands.

This peculiar political ecosystem had given rise to malformed yet vibrant border towns like Koizumi Town.

The town had no towering walls or heavily guarded checkpoints, only a dirt road winding through it.

Spices from the Land of Wind and mountain delicacies from the Land of Fire gathered here, leaving the air forever permeated with the distinctive mingled scent of foreign goods.

Uchiha Itachi was currently sitting upright in an unremarkable restaurant. Before him sat a steaming bowl of fragrant beef stew, yet his eyes held a trace of barely perceptible confusion.

The journey had proceeded as expected: they had arrived safely at the border, completed the handover with local officials, obtained a briefing on the bandits, and then paid the customary visit to the local merchant association.

"They're merely a band of insignificant petty thieves," said the association's head, a well-groomed, pleasantly smiling, prosperous-looking middle-aged man, idly stroking his neatly trimmed beard.

"Though they have plundered a few merchant caravans and caused a little inconvenience to trade." What followed was a lengthy exchange of pleasantries and hollow well-wishes. Their essential request was simply that the Konoha shinobi resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Faced with such a perfunctory attitude, Senior Shuji's expression did not ripple in the slightest.

He dutifully recorded the information they provided—information identical to what had been written on the Mission Scroll—then smoothly shifted the topic. "Koizumi Town gathers goods from three countries. I assume you can find just about anything here?"

"Of course, of course!" The man beamed.

"I heard the Land of Rivers has beef with a distinctive flavor?" Shuji's tone was as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

The man's eyes lit up, and he enthusiastically recommended, "Excellent taste, sir! If you wish to sample authentic local flavor, Zaemon's beef stew is this town's signature dish. You must try it!"

At that point, Senior Shuji seemed to instantly lose interest in continuing the conversation and politely took his leave. Now, they were sitting in the small restaurant called "Zaemon."

Itachi's gaze fell upon the ceramic bowl before him. The amber broth gently rippled, with large chunks of perfectly stewed beef appearing and disappearing beneath its surface. The meat was tender, its fibers separating clearly at the slightest touch of his chopsticks.

The reddish-brown chunks of meat soaked in thick sauce, their surfaces gleaming enticingly with oil and scattered with bright green scallions. Rising steam carried the rich fragrance of spices such as star anise and cinnamon, interweaving with the beef's deep natural aroma. The scent alone was enough to awaken one's appetite.

"Senior," Itachi finally could not help asking, his voice lowered to almost a whisper, "shouldn't we be completing the mission?"

"We'll do the mission, naturally." Shuji responded absentmindedly as he steadily picked up a trembling piece of beef and placed it in his mouth.

As the incomparably soft, rich meat melted across his tongue, its intense savory flavor, tinged with a subtle spiciness, instantly filled his mouth. He could not help narrowing his eyes in satisfaction.

All the tension he had accumulated since coming to this world seemed to be quietly soothed by this bite of pure deliciousness.

He savored it carefully, catching that faint lingering sweetness hidden deep within the juices—the soulful mark bestowed upon the beef by the Land of Rivers' unique pasture grass.

With a helpless sigh, Itachi picked up his chopsticks and murmured, "Thank you for the meal."

Seeing this, Shuji's lips curved slightly. He raised a hand toward the busy figure behind the counter. "Boss, another serving, please."

His gaze settled on the lean shopkeeper carefully wiping ceramic jars, and genuine admiration showed in his eyes. "Your control of the heat is superb. The sauce is neither too heavy nor too light; it never overwhelms the dish, yet brings out the beef's natural flavor to perfection."

Upon hearing this, the bronze-skinned Zaemon's face immediately lit up.

He wiped his hands on his faded apron, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relaxing. "You truly know your food, sir! The beef we use is top-quality, delivered fresh from the ranch every morning. It must be slow-cooked for hours to achieve this flavor. Mastering the right balance takes no less effort than studying an exquisite ninjutsu." Catching sight of the Konoha symbol on the boy's forehead protector, he deliberately used a comparison a shinobi would understand.

"Would you like to try our grilled beef? We still have two portions of excellent cuts left today," Zaemon offered warmly.

"Then we'll leave it to you." Shuji readily agreed.

A small charcoal brazier was quickly brought to their table. The owner served them personally, laying slices of meat across the grill. "This is beef short rib, rich in fat; this is oyster blade, tender in texture. Would you like me to grill them for you?"

"Thank you for the trouble." Shuji nodded with a smile. Watching the sizzling slices of meat as fat dripped from them, he casually asked, "I heard things have been unsettled near Koizumi Town lately, with bandits appearing often. Has your beef supply been running smoothly?"

"Bandits..." Zaemon skillfully turned the meat on the grill. Fat dripped onto the charcoal, crackling cheerfully and sending up smoke scented with charred meat. "That does seem to be the case. But I heard the ones suffering are mostly newly arrived merchant caravans from elsewhere that don't know the roads. The ranches supplying my shop have been around for decades; they know the routes and have plenty of connections, so they haven't been affected much. Rest assured,"

"Besides, merchant caravans are very cautious now. Most wait until they have enough people before setting out, and they make fewer stops along the way."

Itachi's hand holding his chopsticks paused almost imperceptibly—the merchant association's head had never mentioned the crucial detail that the bandits were "selectively" targeting their victims.

"Please enjoy." Zaemon divided the perfectly grilled beef onto their plates.

By the time Shuji had leisurely finished the lavish meal, the setting sun had already coated Koizumi Town's rooftops in a warm orange-red as the two walked out of the restaurant. The crowds on the streets had gradually thinned, and faint calls from merchant caravans unloading their goods into warehouses drifted over from afar. A breeze passed by, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees from the forest's edge, mingled with the reassuring aroma of food lingering in the market. Shuji took a deep breath of the scent unique to this border town.

The food had indeed been delicious, though the cost had certainly not been cheap. The bill of 750 ryo weighed heavily—by the monetary standards he remembered, it was roughly what an ordinary person earned after several days of hard labor. Still, considering the mission reward was 30,000 ryo, this indulgence remained acceptable.

"Senior, should we investigate the attacked merchant caravans next?" Itachi quickened his pace to keep up with Shuji as he headed out of town.

"No need." Shuji did not slow down, his gaze directed toward Shirakawa Village, where lights were gradually coming on in the distant dusk. "After today's trip, I discovered two things."

"First, the bandits deliberately avoided merchant caravans with deep ties to the locals. That is why the people of the local merchant association only cooperated on the surface; they did not truly care about this matter, so their intelligence was naturally perfunctory."

"Second, the bandits had successfully fled to the Land of Rain, yet they risked returning to the Land of Rivers' border, where they were being hunted, to commit more crimes. Such abnormal behavior points to only two possibilities—"

Shuji looked beyond the town, where the scattered lights of distant villages resembled fallen stars amid the deepening night.

"Either they fled too hastily at the time and left behind something extremely important that they had no choice but to retrieve." His sharp gaze pierced the twilight and settled upon the familiar outline of that village. "Or the answer is simpler—they were originally from here. It wasn't that they didn't know the danger, but that... their home was here."