Plan

Beast Soldier Guard had no fixed residence, not in the past, and not now. Even though he was already the town security chief of Chujie Port, he still changed where he stayed every day. Not even his Tea Mountain Gang subordinates could find him before he chose to appear.

"Endure a little longer. Just this final stretch."

Those Konoha ninja would be leaving soon. They had only come for an escort mission.

Even so, he felt somewhat uneasy.

Because members of the Wasabi Clan had approached the Konoha ninja, and that ninja had paid them a return visit. It was not a good sign, but now was not the time to make a move.

Beast Soldier Guard regretted it somewhat. Wasuke Yuma had wanted him to kill Wasabi Jirocho long ago, but Jirocho had been very well-behaved then. Though dissatisfied at heart, he had remained obedient and done nothing.

He could not rashly act against the Konoha ninja.

But he could not simply do nothing, either.

Then...

Beast Soldier Guard made up his mind.

The next day, Shuji got up early and wandered through the city as usual.

Only after the sunlight had driven away the last traces of mist and coated the harbor in a dazzling layer of gold did Shuji return to the inn. Hongshan Cheng had long been waiting anxiously. The moment he saw him, it was as if he had seen his savior, and he urged him repeatedly, "Captain Shuji! Good news! The harbor has relented. My goods can be loaded onto the ship today! I'll have to trouble you all..."

Once he received approval, the cloth merchant immediately arranged for manpower. He desperately wanted to leave Chujie Port as soon as possible.

The docks were as bustling and noisy as ever. Hongshan Cheng's workers carefully carried the tightly covered valuable fabrics out of the warehouse and loaded them onto the cargo ship docked at the berth.

Those rough-looking guards were still merely watching, but the three ninja could tell that they were not watching the expensive goods. They were watching the ninja team.

Shuji walked steadily toward Hongshan Cheng, who was speaking quietly with a harbor official. Anko understood at once and followed half a step behind him as though casually. Their figures blended into the narrow passageways formed by passing dockworkers and stacks of cargo crates. At that instant, several guards watching from afar instinctively focused their attention.

Now!

Itachi, who had been quietly sitting atop a cargo crate, seemingly casually raised his head. The crimson double Tomoe flashed beneath the sunlight and vanished in an instant, like stones cast into a deep pool, stirring silent ripples in the unfocused pupils of several guards.

Just a moment of daze.

When their gazes refocused, Shuji was already standing beside Hongshan Cheng, pointing at the cargo ship and saying something, while Anko stood at his side with her arms folded. The two of them? Where was that kid? One guard instinctively turned his head to search, only to see the black-haired boy wearing a forehead protector still quietly seated where he had been, his calm gaze resting on the busy laborers. The guard relaxed slightly, assuming his eyes had played tricks on him.

Relying on Itachi and Anko's cover, Shuji left behind a clone and swiftly headed for the Wasabi Family while concealing himself. Chujie Port allowing Hongshan Cheng to leave early today showed that those people had become wary. In that case, they had to speed things up.

The Wasabi Family's rear courtyard was as tranquil as ever. Tsunade leaned beneath the eaves, holding a plain white sake cup as she watched the shifting light and shadows in the courtyard, seemingly lost in thought. The crisp fragrance of sake mingled with the morning breeze, carrying a trace of languid decadence.

Wasabi Jirocho sat with her some distance away.

"Jirocho, someone is looking for you," Tsunade reminded him indifferently.

The head of the Wasabi Family was slightly startled, then quickly rose and excused himself. He passed through the winding corridors and indeed found Shuji at the courtyard gate.

Rather than speaking at the entrance of the small courtyard, he led Shuji into the reception room once more.

"I'll be direct, Mr. Wasabi. Have you noticed the significance of the Tea Mountain Gang's continued existence?"

Jirocho did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "My family originally consisted of fishermen and peddlers from Chujie Port. We came together of our own accord to resist the raids of wandering samurai. The Wasabi Family has always only been responsible for matters in Chujie Port. As for anything else... Chujie Port has rarely suffered harm from ninja. That is thanks to Konoha. The current chaos is merely caused by petty men trying to exploit the situation for profit. Chujie Port does not welcome their greed."

The Wasabi Family was the local faction of Chujie Port? If so, then comparatively...

"The Wasuke Clan does not seem to think so," Shuji said.

"Those people from the Wasuke Clan are outsiders. They care only about money." The middle-aged man lowered his eyes. "They were originally relatives of the wife of the Feudal Lord's chief retainer. They are different from us."

"Mr. Wasabi, you should have evidence that the Tea Mountain Gang was never wiped out, correct?"

"Of course!" A sharp light flashed in Jirocho's eyes. "Everything is ready."

Shuji lightly tapped his fingers on the tabletop and slowly said, "Would you be willing to explain this matter to the people of Chujie Port? Is the Wasabi Family willing to report everything that has happened during this time to the Feudal Lord?"

The man could not help frowning. Report it to the Feudal Lord? What purpose would that serve? The Feudal Lord had tacitly approved all of this from the beginning. This ninja before him, though quite mature in his conduct, truly could not understand the overly complex politics between adults...

Shuji smiled. "The Feudal Lord of the Land of Tea never permitted a bandit group to become Chujie Port's guards, nor did he approve a bandit leader becoming the security chief responsible for the town's safety."

"They will not acknowledge this evidence." The family head intended to properly explain the consequences of doing this. "They may even..."

"Yes, they may even rebuke you, say that you are narrow-minded, and take the opportunity to strike at the Wasabi Family." The young jonin's tone was calm. "If Konoha were not involved."

The reception room suddenly fell silent. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting sharply defined patches of light and shadow over Shuji's young face. Meeting Jirocho's uncertain and startled gaze, he spoke each word with utmost clarity:

"You need only state the following in the report submitted to the Feudal Lord: With the assistance of the Konoha ninja team dispatched to carry out an escort mission, the investigation has conclusively established that the Tea Mountain Gang bandits who once occupied Wild Tea Slope were never truly eliminated. The Wasuke Clan may have been eager for credit, or perhaps they were deliberately deceived by the Tea Mountain Gang leader, Beast Soldier Guard, and misjudged the situation. They actually recruited these vicious bandits as guards for Chujie Port, causing the harbor's order to collapse and merchants and travelers to complain bitterly. We respectfully request that the Feudal Lord investigate the matter clearly, set things right, and reassure the people."

The confusion, doubt, and even the faint, concealed disdain on Wasabi Jirocho's face melted away instantly like thin ice dropped into boiling water. In their place came an almost shocking realization! He sharply inhaled and unconsciously straightened in his seat, unable to stop himself from shaking his head. "You... Shuji-kun, you do not seem like a ninja."

He praised him, "To devise such a strategy at your age is truly admirable."

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Tea did not wish to come into direct conflict with Konoha. To a Feudal Lord, establishing a hidden village was essentially something that would be fine if it succeeded, but would not truly matter if it failed.

Shuji's words had pointed this out, and Jirocho understood as well.

Why make such a judgment?

First, the Black Erosion Corps needed the Tea Mountain Gang to gather wealth. With the economic strength of an entire nation, if it truly wished to give its full support, it would not need to use such an undignified method.

Second, the Tea Mountain Gang's legitimization itself was full of "respectability," which also meant that the Land of Tea wished to leave itself room to maneuver.

That was to say, before this matter could truly be accomplished, the Land of Tea could provide limited assistance, but the Black Erosion Corps would ultimately have to handle it themselves. Outwardly, the Land of Tea also needed to appear ignorant of these matters.

With that judgment in mind, the fastest way to gather intelligence on the Black Erosion Corps, which had remained hidden all this time, was to destroy the Tea Mountain Gang, their money-making tool for raising funds, and force the Black Erosion Corps to act.

Could they act directly? They could, but the risk was high. If the Wasabi Family stepped forward, even if the Konoha ninja cooperated with Jirocho's testimony, the Black Erosion Corps would not suddenly become highly alert.

So Shuji asked once again, "Is the Wasabi Family willing to step forward?"

Jirocho's expression turned solemn. "This is the reason my family exists. Just tell me what I need to do."