Making a Move

Senba and Uchiha Yue walked on the rooftops at night. Uchiha Yue kept glancing at him, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

"Yue, just say what's on your mind. Why are you being shy? This isn't like you."

Senba finally broke the silence, his tone full of teasing.

Senba's words didn't ease Uchiha Yue's worries. Instead, she said with some concern, "Senba, if our guess is wrong this time, then the Konoha ninja attacking the employer will become our fatal chain."

"How about I..." As Uchiha Yue spoke, her eyes turned crimson, and the black tomoe spun rapidly.

"Oh my," Uchiha Yue exclaimed softly, covering her forehead and looking at Senba in confusion, not understanding what he was doing.

Seeing Uchiha Yue's puzzled gaze, Senba had to admit that the Uchiha's understanding of the emotion called "love" for family and close friends was completely beyond ordinary people, even surpassing their own reason.

Looking at the izakaya below, which was closing up, Senba sighed and rubbed Uchiha Yue's forehead. "Yue, you need to know that the moment you used genjutsu on the employer, a seed of suspicion was planted in both of us. Don't underestimate the Shinobi World; this kind of thing can't be hidden. That would be the most fatal thing for us."

"On the contrary, I'm ninety percent sure. Since that's the case, we just need to proceed step by step. Even if my deduction is wrong, there's still room to maneuver."

As he spoke, Senba saw Murakam on the bluestone road below, walking briskly with a bamboo basket on his back, his mood clearly as stable as it was during the day.

At the same time, Iruka's figure appeared on the opposite rooftop and waved at them. Seeing this, Senba knew it was time. He quietly instructed the thoughtful Uchiha Yue before secretly following Murakam, wanting to witness the swordsmanship master of this era.

Meanwhile, in the back of the izakaya, the candlelight cast a faint glow, and occasional coughs broke the silence in the room.

"Kōda, I told you not to be so greedy. Now look, I'm forced to give Konoha a mission. Now that the Konoha ninja have arrived and come straight here, all my preparations are useless. You're too foolish to listen to that old man."

Koino's greasy face had lost its daytime fawning, replaced by a fierce expression as he glared at the constantly coughing Kinta.

Kinta, who seemed on the verge of death, didn't immediately retort to his best friend's accusation. Instead, he took a pill from his bosom and swallowed it. A few minutes later, a hint of color appeared on his sallow face.

"Koino, do you need someone else to tell you about greed? If it weren't for greed, you and I would still be begging on the streets. If it weren't for greed, how could you have acquired those heavily damaged merchant guilds? Do you think the position of guild leader just fell into your lap? It's because your caravan was the safest, and besides, you haven't escaped me..."

"I haven't! In all these years, have you and I ever had any disputes over the seized assets?" Koino stood up angrily, leaning forward. His plump body exuded an oppressive aura in the darkness. "This time, after being forced by the guild members to accept the commission, I made many preparations, but, but..."

Suspected by his best friend, his eyes turned red, as if he wanted to tear him apart.

Seeing this, Kinta on the opposite side placed a piece of cloth on the table, gesturing for him to look.

After Koino opened it and scanned it under the dim candlelight, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Cough, cough," Kinta, who had just stopped coughing, covered his mouth with a handkerchief and bent over, trembling in pain. Koino rushed forward and took the medicine from his arms, but then hesitated when he remembered what was on the cloth. This was medicine, but it was also poison.

As he hesitated, Kinta's emaciated right hand took the pill from him and slowly swallowed it.

"I'm dying. No amount of gold or silver means anything to me now. And the one I worry about most is Ichirō. When I take all the blame, you take Ichirō back to the guild, change his name, and start a new life."

"As for those samurai, they haven't seen you, and they will eventually be buried by the Konoha ninja with me, disappearing without a trace."

Kinta's words plunged the room into silence. Koino's lips trembled as he held his best friend's hand. He had always thought his friend's recent condition was just a relapse of an old illness, but he never expected it to be a moment of life and death separation.

At this moment, the wick of the oil lamp crackled slightly, and a sharp kunai landed on Koino's fatty neck.

"Before you entrust your child, Mr. Koino, shouldn't you give us Konoha an explanation!" Uchiha Yue's cold voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of a sliding door being opened.

At this moment, several people who originally belonged to Koino's guild raised torches, their angry eyes fixed on the two, wishing they could devour them alive.

Behind them, several izakaya employees were tightly bound by Iruka, including Kinta's son.

Seeing this, Kinta could no longer bear the pain in his lungs. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground, dead.

Uchiha Yue showed no pity at the sight. Instead, she worried if Senba would encounter any accidents; that was the real battlefield.

"Ninjutsu, Mind Reflection Technique!"

As Senba's hands formed rapid hand seals, the sleepy samurai opposite him revealed a slight smile before falling unconscious.

The kunai sliced through, blood splattered, and not a sound was made. Senba had already dealt with more than ten people using the same method.

It had to be said that ancient blacksmithing was a苦差事 (difficult task); they were all sleeping soundly.

After dealing with the last one, Senba flashed onto the roof and stood beside Teacher Genma, looking down at the courtyard below, where the real show was.

"Not bad, Senba. You were decisive. I thought you'd hesitate," said Genma Shiranui, a toothpick in his mouth, his tone full of praise. He was clearly very satisfied with his cheap student.

So, Kurōsuke Sarutobi's evaluation of Senba and the other two's report must have been written while drunk.

Unaware that his former Jonin sensei was being criticized by the current one, Senba was enjoying the biting cold wind, which cooled his excited brain.

"Teacher Genma, how is the situation? How strong is the bandit leader?"

Senba looked down. In the courtyard illuminated by torches, an old man in his fifties was sitting under the eaves, watching Murakam wield a katana in front of him.

His eyes sparkled with an intensity unfitting for his age, and a look of pleasure appeared on his face, clearly satisfied with Murakam's potential.

"He's old, so his stamina will be a weakness, but his skillfulness will make it easy for you to be killed up close. So, you'd best maintain your distance and use ninjutsu for a surprise attack."

"Finally, people of this age usually have a trump card. Pay close attention."

Senba nodded as he listened to Teacher Genma's words. However, when he heard that he was to deal with the old samurai below, he couldn't help but be stunned and gave a questioning look.

Genma Shiranui gave his student a confirming look before sitting down indifferently, enjoying the display of techniques below.

He wanted to see how Senba's combat experience was when facing an opponent head-on.