This Is a Secret~

Konoha, the shopping district.

Tokiju was strolling through the streets with Uchiha Hikari, picking up various ingredients they would need that evening.

Although it was New Year's Eve, plenty of vendors still lined the shopping district.

If anything, there were more vendors than usual precisely because it was New Year's Eve. After all, they could make more money that day.

As they walked, Uchiha Hikari would occasionally glance around without thinking.

Then, quite naturally, she took Tokiju's hand and murmured to him, "Those gloomy creeps follow us around every day. It's so annoying."

Tokiju didn't answer. Instead, he squeezed her hand in return and quietly continued walking with her.

Tokiju was actually a head shorter than Uchiha Hikari.

So, walking down the street together, they gave the impression of a younger brother taking his older sister shopping while she gazed at him fondly.

Neither of them cared, though, and they continued strolling as if no one else were around.

When they reached a rather luxurious shop, Tokiju immediately led Uchiha Hikari inside.

It was one of the largest shops in Konoha, stocked with all sorts of goods shipped in from other countries.

Once they were inside, Tokiju casually asked Uchiha Hikari, "A while ago, I asked you to mark those people with Yachihoko. How's that going?"

Uchiha Hikari shrugged helplessly. "It's difficult. They usually move in groups of three. No matter how powerful my genjutsu is, it's hard to mark them without anyone noticing."

Tokiju furrowed his brow and suggested, "If you can't mark several at once, then we'll do them one at a time."

"There's one Anbu and three Root agents following us right now. And since my surveillance priority is higher than yours—"

"After we finish shopping, take everything home by yourself. Then only one Root agent will follow you for sure."

"When that agent is alone, you can make your move. That should be simple enough, right?"

Uchiha Hikari snorted. "Hmph! If you hadn't said not to alert anyone else, I wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths with those gloomy creeps!"

She could just pick a fight with them, beat them up, and mark them while she was at it.

But it wasn't worth it. After several months of keeping her head down, the Hokage's faction had come to trust her more.

At least, that was true in the Fourth Hokage's eyes. The four Anbu who had originally watched her had been reduced to two—proof enough.

As for Root, its six-man surveillance detail remained as relentless as ever.

After all, Shimura Danzō was a paranoid old schemer who trusted no one, and Tokiju had never expected to earn his trust.

In fact, Tokiju was already working on a plan to put Shimura Danzō in an inescapable, fatal situation.

Seeing Uchiha Hikari's disgruntled expression, Tokiju quickly reassured her, "All right, all right. You'll get your chance to take them all down later. For now, please be patient."

"Hmph!" Uchiha Hikari snorted again, then hurried ahead to indulge in some revenge shopping.

Tokiju could only shrug helplessly, but he followed behind her and quietly paid for whatever she bought.

They browsed the shop for a while, choosing fresh specialty ingredients from various countries and a few snacks.

Then Tokiju's eyebrows suddenly lifted. He spotted something in unusually exquisite packaging that looked completely out of place among the other goods.

He picked it up and immediately noticed the strange logo printed on it.

The emblem depicted a Western dragon breathing fire, with a warrior wielding a long sword standing on its back.

Tokiju exclaimed, "Wow, I didn't expect the Chamber of Commerce's goods to make it all the way here!"

Uchiha Hikari looked over curiously. "Isn't that just a sea fish? What's so surprising?"

Tokiju shook his head and glanced at the price list beside it.

It read: "Special catch by the Nibelungen Chamber of Commerce. Rare deep-sea fish. Three available today, first come, first served. 280,000 ryo each."

Looking at the price, Tokiju was stunned. He remembered Sigurd pricing this kind of fish at 50,000 ryo apiece!

Why had the price more than quintupled by the time it reached Konoha? Didn't that make it look as if I'd lost a ton of money?

Though he complained inwardly, Tokiju knew the reason.

The Land of Fire had a coastline, but Konoha was inland, so seafood was hard to come by.

On top of that, most of these fish lived in the deep sea. Even fishermen near the coast rarely saw them, making them all the more rare.

Of course, while ordinary people couldn't catch these fish easily, it was simple for ninjas skilled in Water Release.

Especially since Obito was currently turning Kirigakure into the Bloody Mist Village, many Kirigakure Ninja skilled in Water Release had fled.

With those Hozuki Clan members from Uzushio hiding in the village, Sigurd had little trouble recruiting a few Kirigakure missing-nin.

The Nibelungen Chamber of Commerce had now assembled an excellent deep-sea fishing team.

What's more, Sigurd marketed these goods as luxury products, catering specifically to the wealthy.

After all, the nobility had money to spare. When it came to food, what mattered more to them was the prestige.

In other words, they didn't go for delicious food; they went for extravagant and rare food, because that was what satisfied their vanity.

Tell them something was inexpensive and good value, and they wouldn't give it a second thought.

But tell them it was rare and expensive, and they'd take an interest—and want to spend their money.

Sigurd had made a fortune by capitalizing on the nobles' vanity.

But as the Nibelungen Chamber of Commerce grew, it attracted the covetous attention of many other merchant groups, bringing plenty of trouble to the company's expansion.

Fortunately, Sigurd was strong enough to deter the troublemakers who came looking for a fight.

Hearing Uchiha Hikari's question, Tokiju gently patted the ornate insulated box and asked, "Do you know who owns the Nibelungen Chamber of Commerce?"

Uchiha Hikari scratched her head in confusion, intrigued. "Oh? Who owns it? Do I know them?"

She had lived in Konoha for several months, after all, and had gotten to know some of the prominent people there.

Tokiju's lips curved into a slight smile. He leaned close to her ear and whispered mysteriously, "Sigurd."

Uchiha Hikari gasped. "Wha—mmph!"

At that moment, Tokiju held a finger to her lips and whispered, "Shh. This is a secret~"