At Taiichi's mention of force, the village chief's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What force? We were just buying peace with money." The village chief wore a sorrowful expression. "Every time they came, they took away a large amount of grain. Maybe because they didn't want to be discovered too early, they never did anything else to the village after taking the grain."
"But things are better now. Those bandits have all run away, and we can finally live in peace again." The village chief smiled at Taiichi. "Come to think of it, we have you to thank for that. If they hadn't heard that Konoha was sending ninja over, they wouldn't have fled in such a hurry."
"It's enough that you don't blame us for arriving late, sir." Taiichi answered politely. "By the way, sir, do you know anything about the stronghold on the neighboring mountain?"
"That stronghold? It's been there for seven or eight years, I suppose." The village chief recalled, "Back then, a group of bandits occupied that mountain, and the stronghold was built then. Later, the bandits were wiped out, and the stronghold was abandoned."
"What, are you interested in that stronghold?" the village chief asked curiously.
"We previously went to Scout the stronghold and found that it was completely empty. The traces left behind were also from more than ten days ago,"
"Going by that, those bandits probably really did flee," Taiichi said, following the village chief's lead.
"Oh, it's even better if you already Scouted it. Then the village can finally rest easy."
"All right, sir. Since the bandits have fled, we won't stay here any longer. We'll return and report our mission now." Taiichi glanced at the sky as he spoke to the village chief.
"Ah, you've worked so hard, and it's already getting late.