Inside the Barbecue First Shop, the ravenous Yi Xiang and his companions decided to recover their strength and discuss their next move after meeting the high monk Muso.
"Your chicken wings. Enjoy."
The bald, middle-aged shopkeeper brought a plate of chicken wings, grilled golden brown and crisp, to their table.
Naruto sniffed lightly, savoring the lingering aroma of meat and seasonings. He immediately took a bite and said,
"Inspector Muso seems like a pretty good guy."
"Of course. Lord Muso was the one who personally promoted me to page," Chishima agreed.
"Heh, you can't judge people by the act they put on. From what I've seen of Muso, he could be involved in plenty of shady dealings behind the scenes. I also sensed ninjas at his residence."
If Chishima hadn't seemed like a decent person with a good temperament, Yi Xiang usually wouldn't have bothered warning him. He would simply have investigated, found the evidence, and killed the culprit on the spot.
"Lord Muso isn't nearly as bad as you make him sound. Even if there are ninjas there, he probably hired them because of the Cursed Samurai. Besides, he was the one who ordered me to seek out you Konoha ninjas to investigate the Cursed Samurai."
With Muso's reputation at stake, Chishima immediately launched into a detailed explanation, trying to convince Yi Xiang and the two others besides Naruto.
A cold smile touched Yi Xiang's lips as he replied evenly,
"I don't like going around in circles. Just wait and see. If we fail to uncover anything and Muso ends up benefiting the most, he'll inevitably reveal his hand to us.
"And when that happens, his death will be close at hand."
After some further discussion, Yi Xiang agreed with Neji's suggestion to first meet Sagi, the current Daimyo