The Plan

At four in the afternoon, Minato, Ranwu... and the now unusually quiet Akaseki met up with the catcher, Heiji, and patrolled Flower Street.

But it went without saying that with a uniformed catcher carrying a jitte at his waist walking around, they were even less likely to find any thieves.

"Too bad. We really didn't find much," Heiji said helplessly after leading the three young ninja around Flower Street.

"Mr. Heiji, it looks like the thief is too scared to act... At this rate, we'll never complete our mission, will we?" Ranwu said, sounding dissatisfied.

"Well... perhaps we can discuss it with the magistrate later?" Heiji suggested hesitantly.

"Mr. Heiji, why did Magistrate Naiku think to make theft into a ninja mission?" Minato asked.

"Sorry. The truth is, I should be responsible for security on Flower Street, but I've never been able to do much about them..." Heiji scratched his head. "When the magistrate went to the capital last month, he posted the mission in Konoha while he was there. I was surprised when I found out."

Ranwu's gaze sharpened at that, but before Heiji could notice...

"Ah! A thief!"

A cry suddenly rang out. A woman dressed like a well-to-do older lady came running over, swaying her stout hips as she addressed Heiji. "You're the catcher, right? Just now... someone stole my purse!"

"What? Who was it?" Heiji asked at once.

Minato and Ranwu immediately leaped onto a nearby rooftop. Akaseki followed a moment later.

"It was just a little while ago... I still had it twenty minutes ago! Someone just stole it... They must have taken the opportunity to molest me, too!" The older lady began flirting with the muscular Heiji.

Heiji couldn't handle it. He backed away repeatedly as he said, "I understand, I understand... I'll make a report for you!"

Akaseki and the others immediately searched the area, but found nothing. They then took Heiji with them to visit the places the woman had passed before reporting the theft.

They couldn't exactly say they'd found nothing. They'd just had three more people report thefts!

"It's already this late... The thief's probably finished for the day. Let's continue tomorrow," Minato said to Heiji when it had grown dark and Flower Street was nearly deserted.

"Yes..." Heiji replied helplessly.

"Don't be disappointed, Mr. Heiji. This is a good thing! The key to catching a thief is having one show up so we can catch him. Now that the culprit's started stealing again, we can finally do our part!" Ranwu said cheerfully.

"You have a point... Heh heh. I'll leave it to you, then," Heiji said with a strained laugh.

"That's right. We Konoha Ninja will see this mission through to the end. You can count on us," Minato added.

After watching Heiji leave, Minato waited a little longer before "Akaseki" vanished with a "poof."

Minato seemed to relax at the same time...

"Just like you, to keep a Shadow Clone going for over four hours, while it was using the Transformation Technique the whole time," Ranwu said admiringly, looking at Minato.

That was right. The reason Akaseki had been so quiet was that he was a fake!

Minato had been using a clone to play Akaseki the entire time. And to avoid having an ordinary clone dispelled and giving itself away by lacking a physical body, he'd used a Shadow Clone—a tangible clone from Konoha's style, developed by the Second Hokage.

At the same time, Akaseki appeared on the branches of a nearby tree, positioned just right to face the moonlight. He said calmly, "Seems to be going smoothly. With all this happening, the mastermind ought to be getting nervous, right? Are you sure it's Heiji?"

"Why are you posing up there? Get down here and talk!" Ranwu said irritably.

Akaseki: ...

Akaseki jumped down, tossing several purses up and down in his hand. "I had no trouble at all. Six people, and none of them noticed how their purses disappeared!"

That was Minato's plan. Since they already suspected an "inside man" was tipping someone off, they might as well do the opposite and keep pretending to be thieves.

They figured the "inside man" or the "mastermind" wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.

After all, he'd immediately stopped his activities when he learned that the magistrate had posted a mission in Konoha. He was clearly very wary of Konoha Ninja and wouldn't want other thieves causing trouble now and making the Konoha Ninja stay in the Flower Capital.

That would draw him out...

Of course, they already had a prime suspect: Heiji, who was responsible for security on Flower Street.

Earlier, he'd referred to the thieves as "them," and when he heard there was a thief, his first reaction had been to ask, "Who was it?"

That wasn't how you referred to someone whose identity was unknown!

"Make sure you keep track of whose purses you stole. You'll have to return them later," Ranwu reminded him.

"Like you have to tell me..." Akaseki rolled his eyes at her.

The three returned to the inn. As soon as they entered, they saw Jiraiya in the lobby, enjoying some wine and grilled fish along with a few other small dishes.

"Hey, brats! How's the mission going?" Jiraiya called, beckoning to them as they came in.

The three of them could only look at him helplessly.

"Probably another day or two..." Akaseki answered honestly.

"Two days is fine, but if it takes three, you'll go over budget," Jiraiya reminded him. Planning a mission budget was also an essential skill for ninja.

Once or twice was fine. They could ask the village to adjust the bounty distribution as appropriate, with the village taking a smaller share. That was what they called "reimbursement."

But if you lost money on every mission, the village couldn't afford to send you on them!

In theory, reimbursement for a mission commissioned by an outsider could never exceed the mission's total bounty.

"Don't worry, Teacher Jiraiya. We've already got a plan!" Akaseki said confidently.

Just then, footsteps and voices came from outside the inn...

"Let's stay at this inn. The price is pretty reasonable."

"Yeah. We're finally almost back in Konoha..."

Jiraiya and Akaseki both turned toward the entrance as soon as they heard the voices.

A moment later, a young ninja with a long, pale face and white hair walked in, wearing a Chunin flak jacket. Two "young ninja" a little older than Akaseki and the others followed behind him.

Akaseki didn't recognize the Chunin leading them. There were too many Chunin in the village, and only a few were famous.

"Hiruko! So it really is you." Jiraiya seemed to know him well and greeted him warmly. "What a coincidence! Come have a drink..."

"Lord Jiraiya, it's been a long time," Hiruko said, bowing to him.

Jiraiya faltered at the sight of him, feeling as though a thick wall had grown between them.

Akaseki didn't worry about how his teacher felt. Instead, he looked at the Genin behind Hiruko, whose clothes bore the Fan Clan crest, and said excitedly, "Yashiro, you're here too..."