Golden Deer Town!
It was famous for producing Gold Deer.
These golden deer were prized not only for their delicious meat; their blood was also good for the body. This specialty alone had made the local lords and nobles unimaginably wealthy.
However, it was the nobles who lived well. Ordinary people still suffered terribly and could barely afford enough to eat.
The nobles also taxed passing merchant caravans.
It all depended on their mood!
They could charge as much as they wanted.
In such circumstances, it was no wonder commerce had failed to develop in the Shinobi World. Every caravan able to travel freely had powerful backing.
Without it, these inhuman nobles would have devoured them, skin and bones.
Creak, creak!
The caravan stopped in front of a brightly lit inn in town.
Yes, brightly lit.
Konoha had electricity, but that didn't mean everywhere else did.
The Shinobi World was a place where the advanced and the backward coexisted.
In places like the Five Great Shinobi Villages and Tanzaku Town, they had everything from electric lights to induction cookers.
But in other places, people still lived in a primitive age.
The technology was utterly inconsistent. If you asked whether they had something... well, sometimes they did.
But it was easy to understand why, if you looked at things from the nobles' perspective.
To the nobles, commoners were like weeds: cut them down today, and they'd grow back tomorrow. There was naturally no need to treat them well. Better to keep them in a primitive environment where they had to struggle just to survive their entire lives. That way, they wouldn't get too many ideas.
What a revelation!
Things that seemed utterly contradictory to transmigrators were perfectly normal from the Shinobi World's perspective.
As the caravan began checking into the inn, White Dove quietly led Tekka, Inabi, and Izumi to the very center of town, where a towering castle stood.
As for Kakashi?
One Mangekyo illusion had knocked him out, making him forget the four of them. He went with the two Uchiha squads into the inn to protect the caravan.
One of the goals of this trip was to "open up" the trade route.
One obstacle was the nobles of Golden Deer Town. Not only did they charge exorbitant taxes, but, at the instigation of other chambers of commerce, they also sent their troops to pose as bandits and raid the One Heart Chamber of Commerce's caravans.
Did they really think White Dove couldn't figure that out?
Before, he hadn't been able to leave the village. Now that he was out, how could he not give them a little "fist-shaking shock"?
One of the biggest differences between White Dove and the Shinobi World's natives was their outlook on life.
For example, sending children of just a few years old to battle and have them kill people was a horror story to him. In the Shinobi World, it was perfectly normal.
At the same time, everyone in the Shinobi World, ordinary people and shinobi alike, felt a complicated mix of "fear and yearning" toward the nobles.
Take the Shinobi World Wars. They nearly destroyed the entire world, yet no one thought to target the nobles. To White Dove, that was simply brainless.
When it came to resources and money, the nobles controlled nearly ninety percent of the Shinobi World.
The remaining ten percent was split between shinobi and ordinary people.
Yes, White Dove hadn't pulled that figure out of thin air. It came from his own research. So, since he needed money, he had come to "borrow" from the noble who ruled Golden Deer Town.
Of course, the biggest reason was that the man had brought it on himself. He'd actually taken money from another chamber of commerce to make trouble for the One Heart Chamber of Commerce's caravan.
You reap what you sow!
That was why White Dove had chosen this route to "farm gold."
He'd been spending a lot lately. Not only had he burned through his savings, he'd also dipped into his clan members' relocation funds. Naturally, he had to find a way to make up the shortfall.
He had no intention of keeping any of his clan members' money for himself.
After all, who could get by on that little? As long as you had strength, there were countless ways to make money.
And here he was, farming gold.
Outside the castle, the sound of singing and dancing drifted faintly through the air.
"Izumi... Sirius, how many sealing scrolls did I ask you to bring?"
White Dove glanced at the figure beside him, who wore a mask and a cloak patterned with stars.
Since he couldn't use his own identity to rob the nobles, the "Night" organization had come into being.
The organization would handle dirty work that the clan shouldn't be seen doing.
Its members used "stars" as codenames.
Of course, this wasn't copying the Akatsuki. In the words of his past life, it was just "paying homage."
Izumi was trustworthy in both ability and standing, so there was no harm in letting her know. It was also a way of "grooming" her.
"I brought them all!"
Izumi... no, Sirius pulled several scrolls from beneath the cloak.
They were all sealing scrolls.
They were expensive, couldn't hold much, and were consumables. Thinking you could use them as a warehouse to transport goods was wishful thinking.
They were only good for temporary use.
"Good. Give the scrolls to Venus (Tekka) and Saturn (Inabi). Take the Gold Ban and Gold Deer materials first, then the money. Stick to the plan and move fast!"
White Dove gave his instructions.
Robbing the nobles was too serious a matter to leave any clues behind, so he had to be careful.
After dividing up the sealing scrolls, White Dove led the way over the wall and charged toward the brightly lit castle, which stood in stark contrast to the dark parts of town.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Tekka, Inabi, and Izumi followed.
The guards stationed atop the outer wall didn't notice them at all.
With a shinobi's infiltration skills, slipping into the castle was easy.
The moment they entered, a sweet fragrance wafted into their noses.
Ordinary people in the Shinobi World might suffer terribly, but the nobles lived lives of extravagant luxury, with every sort of indulgence imaginable.
Even this incense cost tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of ryo for a single night—enough to pay a shinobi squad handsomely for completing a mission.
And all of it was just to set the mood for one of the nobles' banquets.
So, were you jealous or not?
White Dove was so jealous his eyes had gone red. He sped into the hall.
Meanwhile, Tekka, Inabi, and Izumi headed for the treasury and storeroom as planned.
"Who goes there?!"
As soon as he entered the hall, a sharp shout rang out, followed by several Kunai flying toward him.
Shinobi!
More precisely, "rogue shinobi."
In other words, shinobi who hadn't been trained by the "one country, one village" system.
As for their strength... there were plenty of cases where a Genin from a major village could beat one of these people's Jonin.
Still, White Dove felt that these few shinobi, who wore no Forehead Protectors, were stronger than he'd expected.
Judging from how they threw their Kunai and their speed, they were about Chunin level.
Thud, thud!
He dodged the Kunai, which sank deep into the wooden pillar behind him.
"I didn't expect there'd be a few more annoying bugs!"
White Dove stood in the middle of the hall and casually swept his gaze around. His voice came through the mask, altered and slow.
"Lord Yano, retreat at once! The Kazama Clan will hold them off for you!"
A gray-haired middle-aged shinobi held an enormous Shuriken. Without turning his head, he warned the noble seated at the head of the table behind him. The man wore fine clothes and had so much white powder on his face that he looked like a pale corpse.
The pressure!
Overwhelming pressure bore down on the Kazama Clan patriarch, bringing beads of sweat to his forehead.
"Damn it! I paid your clan a fortune to protect me! If I'm in danger, your whole clan will be wiped out! I order you to kill this intruder!"
The noble, Yano Sumio, didn't heed the warning and leave. Instead, he shrilled a threat at the Kazama Clan shinobi.
If anyone wanted to know what it meant to bring trouble upon oneself, this noble was a perfect example.
The shinobi could have dealt with him easily, yet none of them were angry. Instead, they lowered their heads in shame, as if they were embarrassed for failing to protect him.
I often feel out of place among you because my worldview isn't twisted enough!
White Dove sighed inwardly at the sight.
The shinobi had supernatural powers, yet they were like pets "tamed" by the nobles. It was truly an eye-opener.
No wonder no one dared to attack the nobles during the Shinobi World Wars.
Still, the man had run into him.
"You filthy intruder! You'll pay for disturbing Lord Yano!"
One of the Kazama shinobi guarding the rear rushed past his clan head and charged at White Dove.
Well, that was how a normal battle went. Testing the opponent with ninjutsu or genjutsu was entirely the style of the major villages; these rogue shinobi didn't know how to do that.
White Dove paid little attention to the Kazama shinobi charging at him.
Even without the Mangekyo, he was close to Kage Level. The other man's speed was nothing special to him. He even had time to study his surroundings.
Whoosh!
His right hand burst into flames. He casually flung them toward several guards who were sneaking toward the exit.
Samurai were a core part of the nobles' power. Their fighting ability was impressive among ordinary people.
The Land of Iron, for example, was a country of samurai, and many of them could fight on par with Jonin.
These men, of course, weren't that strong.
Roar!
The raging flames engulfed them.
"Ah!"
"Help!"
Amid the screams, White Dove shifted slightly, dodging the charging Kazama shinobi's attack by a hair's breadth.
They passed each other.
Splat!
Blood spurted from the man's throat.
Just moments earlier, White Dove had cut his throat with a Kunai.
He wasn't going to waste time on him.
"Jiro!"
The Kazama patriarch roared and hurled the enormous, wheel-sized Shuriken in his hand. Then, shrouded in mist, he vanished from where he stood.
Clearly, the battle was about to decide who lived and who died.
Before you continue