Dream of a Stray Dog (1)

Dream of a Stray Dog (1)

The martial law order was like an invisible net, suddenly tightening around all of Chujie Port.

The clamor of the docks was brutally cut short. Heavy barricades were pushed into the streets, while Tea Mountain Gang lackeys wielding spears and short blades shouted as they drove away the crowds and ordered the shops shut.

Panic spread like ripples from a stone dropped into still water. The crisp clatter of hooves on stone-paved streets, mixed with rough shouts and scattered, stifled sobs, replaced the usual bustle of the marketplace. The air was thick with a suffocating tension, like a storm about to break.

The doors of the Sea Breeze Pavilion inn were tightly shut. Its owner had gone pale, cold sweat beading at his temples. After hurriedly calming the frightened guests and telling them to return to their rooms and lock their doors, he took a deep breath, carefully climbed to the third floor, and knocked on the room with the best view.

"Lord Ninja..." His voice trembled almost imperceptibly. "The city... the city has been placed under martial law. It's chaos outside. They say they're hunting bandits... If you have no urgent reason to go out, please stay inside for now. If you need anything, just tell the inn. We'll do everything we can."

Shuji replied calmly, "Understood. Thank you for the warning. We'll make our own arrangements."

Just moments ago, through the shared senses of his Wood Clone, everything his true body had encountered at sea, along with the sudden upheaval in the city, had been instantly relayed to him. The planned bait tactic had succeeded halfway—one ninja with an eerie secret technique had been captured. But interrogation and torture were not Shuji's strengths, especially when the other man clenched his teeth and refused to say a word.

Far out at sea, Shuji's true body looked at the ninja before him. In the original plan, he had intended to lure out one or two ninja and capture them. After clearing out the Tea Mountain Gang, this mission could have ended depending on the circumstances.

Once he returned, he could hand the Black Erosion Corps intelligence over to Itachi and have him try to extract it with Sharingan genjutsu. If that failed, he could bring the man back to the village and hand him over to the Intelligence Division.

He just had not expected the enemy to be so decisive.

Placing the entire city under martial law and deploying the whole Tea Mountain Gang would indeed intimidate the other forces in the city to the greatest extent. After all, their foundations were within the city, and they had to prioritize their own safety. But such a measure could not be sustained for long, so whoever had made this decision clearly intended to end things quickly.

The Wasabi Family... The manor flashed through Shuji's mind. If they wanted to take that place within the expected time, Tea Mountain Gang lackeys alone would never be enough. They had to rely on ninja power.

On the surface, the Tea Mountain Gang had only one ninja-level combatant: Beast Soldier Guard. But now, counting the corpse before him and the shadow spying outside the Sea Breeze Pavilion, two had already appeared.

In theory, the forces remaining at the Wasabi Family were enough to handle Beast Soldier Guard. But only in theory. Intelligence on the Black Erosion Corps remained shrouded in fog. He had to plan for the worst—he needed to return.

"One last chance," Shuji said, looking at the man on the deck. "Leave me a name?"

First Erosion bared his bloodstained teeth, then tightly shut his eyes. Whether the Konoha ninja intended to kill or threaten him, silence was the final barrier he could hold for his comrades.

Shuji sighed inwardly. He had hoped this final exchange might pry open even the slightest crack, enough at least to confirm whether the man belonged to the Black Erosion Corps.

At this point, leaving behind a living captive with secret techniques and an iron will was no different from burying an unstable bomb in a rapidly changing battlefield.

Then this was where it ended. The burden of intelligence could only be entrusted to the body itself.

Kill him. Let his corpse tell the Intelligence Division what the village wanted to know.

He did not approach. A kunai pierced the man's heart with precision.

After confirming that he had no breath left, Shuji efficiently opened a sealing scroll and stored away the entire body. Last time, he had only kept part of a body because he wanted to preserve the secret of Wood Release. After all, outsiders did not know how he had died. If he brought the whole corpse back, the people in the village would definitely realize something.

As for this one, he had used no techniques in battle that he needed to hide. Bringing the entire body back would also let the village study his techniques.

"Rogue ninja are troublesome too."

After all that planning, the Black Erosion Corps remained a mass of mysteries.

He turned toward the pale-faced messenger, who was nearly limp with fear. The young man clutched the all-important message tube.

"The plan has changed." Shuji's voice was steady. "Turn back immediately and return to the waters near Chujie Port. Do not rush to the capital. Stay at sea, patrol back and forth, and wait for my contact."

The messenger looked up in shock. "My lord? But... the evidence..."

"The evidence is still important." Shuji cut him off, his gaze sharp. "But heading to Daimyo Palace rashly now would be even riskier. Do you understand?" Without him there, whether the Feudal Lord would simply choose to kill the messenger was still uncertain. There was no need to throw away a life.

Looking into Shuji's eyes, the messenger's panicked heart seemed to find an anchor. He nodded forcefully. "Yes, my lord! I understand!"

Shuji said no more. His figure flashed and vanished through the cabin door. The next moment, he stood atop the highest mast at the stern. The sea wind howled, whipping at his clothes.

After glancing in the direction of Chujie Port, Shuji's body suddenly became a blurred afterimage. Treading over the surging waves, he sped toward the port locked down by martial law!

Inside the Sea Breeze Pavilion, faint light filtering through a gap in the curtains illuminated the equally calm face of Wood Clone Shuji. His true body's decision and actions became clear to him in an instant.

It was time to act.

However, that stubborn rogue ninja had made Shuji realize something—capturing someone alive was possible, but prying open their mouth was far too difficult.

Intelligence was still key. At the very least, he needed to confirm the man's identity. Was he a member of the Black Erosion Corps? What was their organizational structure?

He gently pushed open the window. The wooden frame let out a faint creak, nearly inaudible beneath the occasional harsh shouts from the street below. He did not lean out. He merely cast his calm gaze into the depths of the shadow at the street corner below.

"After watching for so long, aren't you tired?"

In the darkness, fluorescent green pupils abruptly contracted. Illusion Erosion had not expected the other party to take the initiative and tear away the thin veil of their standoff. His canine teeth instinctively clenched around the cold copper coin in his mouth, its rough metal edge bringing a stinging trace of clarity.

"Konoha's ninja are indeed sharp." Illusion Erosion's voice rasped like sandpaper, rendered even more muffled by the coin between his teeth. He slowly stepped halfway out of the shadows. The edge of his oilcloth cloak glimmered with a damp, murky sheen in the dim light, while the bell bearing the character "Devour" around his wrist remained utterly still. "But this is no time for idle chatter."

He tilted his head slightly upward. The shadow beneath his hat brim concealed most of his face, revealing only that strange jaw and tightly pressed, bloodless lips. "The cloth merchant you were protecting has already sent his goods out to sea. The mission is complete, isn't it? Why wade into the muddy waters of Chujie Port any further? What benefits did Wasabi Jirocho promise you that made selling your lives for him worthwhile?"

The Wood Clone remained expressionless and unmoved.

"Listen, Konoha ninja." Illusion Erosion lowered his voice, giving it a hoarse, seductive quality. "Over at the Wasabi Family... things are probably very lively right now. Whether that old fossil Jirocho survives the night is still a question. Staying here won't change anything. So why not—" He deliberately paused. The bell at his wrist seemed to tremble ever so slightly. "—leave Chujie Port now. I guarantee that you can walk out safely. Take your mission reward and return to Konoha."

"Oh?"

"It sounds like you know quite clearly what is happening at the Wasabi Family. Then tell me..." A gaze almost tangible locked firmly onto Illusion Erosion in the shadows. "Who do you represent, to guarantee our safety here?"

Inside and outside the window, their gazes collided across the distance. Invisible smoke of war silently spread through the air above the deathly still port shrouded by martial law.

(End of Chapter)