After thinking it over, Hankuang nodded.
Seeing that the kid agreed, Kenjiro was overjoyed. Then he pointed at the inn across the street.
"You only need to kill the owner of the inn across the street, and I'll definitely give you information worth your while."
What was this supposed to be?
Taking out the competition?
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Mission Complete! Hankuang's Brains and Brawn!
When Team 9 woke up on the floor, they were surprised to discover that Hankuang was gone.
"Where's Hankuang?"
"He didn't run off again like he did during our last mission, did he?" Obito boldly guessed.
"How could he? He probably went to buy breakfast." Rin didn't think Hankuang was that kind of person.
The three of them left the room and came to the front desk.
Kakashi had originally intended to ask the owner about it, but before he could say anything—
BOOM!!!
A violent crash came from the inn across the street, accompanied by a powerful tremor.
Then—
RUMBLE!
The inn collapsed with a thunderous roar, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.
A figure came coughing out of the dust. Who else could it be but Hankuang?
Seeing this, all of Team 9 was dumbfounded.
"He tore down someone's inn?"
What had Hankuang done?
Kenjiro was equally stunned, his heart aching terribly.
He had told the kid to kill the owner of the inn across the street, not destroy the entire inn too, for crying out loud!
Now that the inn had collapsed, how was he supposed to take it over?
"I got careless!" Hankuang spat a mouthful of dirt and felt a little regretful.
He had never expected that one punch would actually bring down the inn's load-bearing wall.
Still, he had killed the owner as well, so he had technically fulfilled Kenjiro's request.
At the front desk, Hankuang picked up the towel on the counter and wiped his face before looking at Kenjiro.
"I've fulfilled your request."
Kenjiro felt a little uneasy and hurriedly nodded.
So what if the inn had collapsed? The competitor was dead, and that was what mattered.
From now on, he would have a monopoly on this street.
"What information do you want?" Kenjiro asked cautiously.
"The movements of the Stone Ninja border forces!" Hankuang said bluntly.
"That..."
Kenjiro breathed a sigh of relief and bent down, reaching beneath the counter.
Soon, he took out a scroll.
"This is information from yesterday afternoon," he reminded him.
"Yesterday afternoon?"
Hankuang picked up the scroll, opened it, and scanned its contents.
Kakashi and the other two also leaned over to look.
The information was simple: yesterday afternoon, the Stone Ninja's No. 4 border outpost had added ten combat squads.
After reading it, Hankuang pondered for a while.
On the surface, this information wasn't worth much, because a combat squad consisted of only three ninjas. Ten squads meant just thirty ninjas.
But the problem was that this was only Outpost No. 4.
What about the other outposts?
If every outpost had added ten combat squads, the total would be considerable.
"Is this the only piece of information?" Hankuang asked again.
"If you're asking about movements along the border, then yes, this is the only one," Kenjiro answered honestly.
"Oh? You mean you have other information about the Stone Ninja?"
Hankuang's eyes lit up.
Kenjiro, however, was depressed.
All his intelligence was worth a great deal of money, yet he was practically giving it away to this kid.
But the situation was beyond his control.
He rummaged beneath the counter again, pulled out another scroll, and placed it on the counter somewhat reluctantly.
[The Stone Ninja jōnin Kuroishi is searching for the Box of Paradise in the Land of Grass!]
That short line was the entire content of the intelligence.
Hankuang paid no attention to it, since it had nothing to do with the mission.
In theory, Team 9 had already completed its mission. However, Hankuang still made an agreement with Kenjiro.
"How about this? If you get any new information about the Stone Ninja's movements along the border, you can pass it on to me."
"What will I get in return?" Kenjiro stared at Hankuang, ready to negotiate a price.
"For each piece of information, I'll help you deal with one person." Hankuang made his guarantee.
"Deal!" Kenjiro's eyes lit up.
Being able to hire this kid with his monstrously powerful taijutsu using nothing but information about the Stone Ninja's border movements was a bargain.
After all, his business covered a wide range of areas.
Next, Kenjiro took out a sheet of paper and indicated that Hankuang should write down his name and address.
"You have to write your real name and address. Otherwise, my informants won't be able to send the information to you."
"No problem." Hankuang readily agreed.
Then he wrote down Teacher Minato's name and address.
"Are you trying to fool me?" Kenjiro's face turned green.
He knew the name Minato Namikaze. Was this kid supposed to be Minato Namikaze?
What kind of joke was this?
"Uh, I wrote it wrong." After being exposed, Hankuang didn't blush in the slightest. He simply wrote down Kakashi's name and address instead.
"Kid! Kakashi Hatake has silver hair. I might believe you if you claimed that the kid behind you was me, but you definitely aren't him." Kenjiro pulled a stern face, thinking the kid was far too cunning.
He kept writing other people's names and addresses over and over again.
In the end, Hankuang could only write down his own name and address.
The moment they left the inn, Obito could no longer hold it in and burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
"Hankuang, you're seriously too despicable! Hahaha..."
"Despicable? Obito, I advise you to think carefully before you speak." Hankuang raised his fist, his tone peaceful.
"Wait! Not despicable—smart! You're smart!" Obito hurriedly raised his hands.
The power of Hankuang's fist had already been proven several times. It was simply not something a human could withstand.
If that punch came down, he would definitely be dead.
"Hankuang, aren't you worried that after working with Kenjiro, he'll turn around and sell your information to the Stone Ninja?" Kakashi asked with some concern.
Hankuang had displayed extremely powerful taijutsu, and Kenjiro knew that as well.
If this information reached another ninja village, they could identify Hankuang's weakness.
Did taijutsu ninjas have weaknesses?
Plenty!
Before you continue