Investigate

Prompted by the system, Nawaki finally began to take "conviction" seriously—a manga element he had mocked and teased in his past life. Of course, he would not change his personality to become some hot-blooded protagonist because of it. As the system noted, he had merely been caught up in the moment, influenced by the worldview of his previous life. If he were truly expected to live as selflessly and grandly as a protagonist, he certainly couldn't do it. He was, at his core, a selfish person; he had to ensure his own happiness first, and only when he had the spare capacity would he "selflessly" help others. However, if he encountered someone with true conviction in the future, he would no longer be careless; he would treat them with the utmost seriousness to avoid capsizing in the gutter.

Just like now, although Nawaki felt great sympathy for the plight of the people in the cells, he would not change his plans or put himself in danger on a whim. One had to remember that this clone of his was worth two million Wish Power points. He did indeed want to fulfill his Original Vow of a "Clear Mind," but that did not mean he had to sacrifice himself. If he had such high "enlightenment," the reward he received wouldn't have been a mere one hundred thousand Wish Power points.

Having figured this out, Nawaki continued his reconnaissance mission. After mapping out the layout of the mountain stronghold, he still needed to ascertain the specific strength of the enemy. Were there any ninja? How many? What was their combat capability? These were all vital pieces of intelligence that had to be clarified before the battle began.

He quickly locked onto his target and moved silently toward a luxurious courtyard in the center of the stronghold.

This courtyard was not only lavishly decorated but also heavily guarded on all sides, making it one of the most secure buildings in the stronghold. If not for the Mayfly Technique, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to infiltrate it without making a sound, so Nawaki surmised that the owner of this courtyard must hold an extraordinary position within the stronghold.

The owner of this courtyard seemed to have a penchant for landscaping; the yard was filled with flowers, trees, and shrubs. Using these plants as cover, Nawaki exposed his upper body from the ground, just like White Zetsu, to observe the situation.

His clone had limited chakra and could not maintain a sensory secret technique for long. This method of using his five senses to gather intelligence was the most efficient. The other important buildings he had scouted earlier were barren and lacked plant cover, forcing him to use sensory techniques from underground without daring to surface. Now that he had finally encountered a green environment, he naturally chose this more economical approach.

Nawaki wandered through the bushes while recovering his chakra. Because this was a real clone, he could extract chakra from the cells within his body, unlike other clones that would dissipate due to injury or chakra exhaustion.

As he moved through the grass, Nawaki had the illusion that he was playing a game. If he combined this with Shunpo and Finger Pistol, could he make a guest appearance as "Zhao Xin"? It was a pity his other two bros weren't here!

Nawaki let his mind wander while scouting the courtyard. Perhaps it was because the owner was confident in the outer defenses, or perhaps he simply didn't want to be disturbed, but there were no guards inside the courtyard at all—it was truly a case of being tight on the outside and loose on the inside.

He quickly moved toward the main hall of the courtyard, and sure enough, once he got close, he heard voices.

"Lord Zhixin, I don't know what the higher-ups in Konoha are thinking! They've actually started forming conglomerates to compete with merchants for business! Didn't you say that high-and-mighty ninja lords like yourself wouldn't engage in commerce or production?"

Another cold, sinister voice replied, "Hmph! How would I know what those Konoha ninja are going crazy about? The ninja of every major village prioritize improving their strength and completing missions! Only that group of Konoha ninja likes to learn these common tricks—first opening a ninja academy, and now establishing conglomerates to do business! I think Konoha will eventually be destroyed by other villages because of their corruption!"

Hearing this "Lord Zhixin" curse, Nawaki curled his lip in disdain. Such a rogue ninja truly lacked vision. Not all rogue ninja were like Orochimaru or Zabuza, who defected due to failed political struggles; most were deserters who chose to flee after failing a mission for fear of punishment.

"The grand affairs of ninja lords are not for a common bandit leader like me to worry about. I am concerned about the future of our stronghold. Our life used to be very easy; we only needed to rob small merchant caravans passing by. Now, every so often, we have to go down the mountain to plunder those civilians. Although there are no casualties, it is time-consuming and exhausting, especially those brat slaves—they are weak and won't stop crying, and they end up dying if you aren't careful. Plus, I'm afraid that in a while, we'll have killed all the civilians in the vicinity."

"Then follow orders and don't massacre villages or steal all their supplies! Leave them a path to survival; in a few years, they will naturally give birth to more children, and you can capture them again, just like a farmer raising chickens for eggs! That should last for a while! Otherwise, go to more distant towns! There are civilians everywhere! It's impossible for them all to die out!"

In truth, the slave trade was a "new market" that major conglomerates had recently opened to make up for their losses. Because nobles were currently lacking servants, they were in urgent need of large quantities of "goods." After a while, the gap would naturally shrink, and once the slave market was saturated, the demand would not be so high. Thus, this bandit leader was worrying over nothing.

"Yes! Lord Shimura is brilliant! As expected of a ninja lord!"

"These slave-catching matters are trivial, and I am at ease leaving them to you. What I am most worried about now are the Konoha ninja. I heard that the nearby villagers have joined forces to pool money and issue a mission request to Konoha?"

"That is indeed the case; they are all survivors who were left behind after following your orders previously. That is why I recently ordered the village massacre. My lord, should I go and finish off all those ignorant civilians?"

"No need! You aren't a ninja and don't understand the rules of the ninja villages. When a mission is accepted, the village collects the payment in full. Even if the employer dies, the mission is not canceled! Therefore, if a ninja fails a mission, it affects the village's reputation! Ninja who fail missions face severe punishment! If it hadn't been for my companion's mistake that caused our mission to fail back then, I wouldn't have left Sunagakure to become a rogue ninja!" Lord Shimura's tone was filled with resentment.

"It's all that companion's fault. Otherwise, with Lord Shimura's strength, you should have become a Jonin by now, right?" the bandit leader flattered.

"Shut up! Even if he was an idiot, he isn't someone you are qualified to disparage! Besides, he did it for... forget it, the man is dead, and there is no point in saying these things. But remember this: you are not allowed to disparage any ninja in the future, or you know the consequences!" It seemed this Lord Shimura was also a man with a history.

"Yes! Lord Shimura! This one will never do it again. This one deserves to die! I am willing to accept punishment." The bandit leader put on a trembling act, though Nawaki could tell he was just performing, and his acting was quite poor.