Besides samurai, the capital of the Land of Iron also had many commoners and travelers from other countries. After changing their appearance, Hyuga Satoru and Aburame Shibi did not look out of place in the capital.
After gathering some information, the two came to an inn.
The innkeeper was a young woman. When Aburame Shibi recited the secret code, she quietly led them into a secret room.
As soon as they entered the secret room, the innkeeper seemed like a different person, solemnly bowing slightly to Aburame Shibi.
"ANBU codename Red Dove, reporting to you, sir."
"ANBU codename Bug," Aburame Shibi stated calmly.
The innkeeper shifted her gaze to Hyuga Satoru, revealing a puzzled look.
Hyuga Satoru's expression became awkward. ANBU codename... what a crappy codename! I'm not even in the ANBU.
"He is not an ANBU member," Aburame Shibi said.
Not an ANBU?
The innkeeper couldn't help but feel surprised. The Hokage actually sent a member outside of the ANBU to execute such an important mission, and he was even this young?
Hyuga Satoru looked at Aburame Shibi, thinking inwardly: It seems the teacher holds a very high status within the ANBU, and he can even lead a team with the identity of a Jonin-he must be a special existence in the ANBU.
"Tell me the latest intelligence," Aburame Shibi said concisely.
The innkeeper took a breath, her eyes flickering. "A few days ago, when we were inquiring about that transaction in the Black Market, we made a new discovery. The purchasing party has been confirmed as Iwagakure, and the contents of the transaction should be reserve supplies. The transaction time is in two days."
Iwagakure? Reserve supplies?
What kind of supplies were worth over one hundred million ryo?
Hyuga Satoru felt rather heavy at heart. He thought of how his previous mission content was discovering that Stone Shinobi were searching for supplies in the Grass Country-to think they had already reached their hands into the Land of Iron? Such a large supply reserve was probably preparation for a war!
Aburame Shibi's brows furrowed deeply as he realized this as well, sighing, "It seems the Hokage's worry was correct. With Iwagakure making such a large move, they are indeed preparing for war."
Hyuga Satoru pondered for a moment and said, "Since the transaction time has already been confirmed for two days from now, can we disrupt the transaction within this timeframe?"
"No!"
Just as his voice fell, Red Dove shook her head.
"Transactions in the Black Market are protected by Black Market forces. Before the transaction is completed, if anyone makes a move to disrupt it, they will be besieged by all the Black Market shinobi."
Is that so... Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue. He wasn't just speaking off the cuff; with the Byakugan and the Magnetic Storm Heavy Sniper Rifle bonuses, he was quite adept at stirring up trouble.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the secret room turned oppressive.
"Hand over the location of the Black Market and related intelligence to us. We are going to investigate the scene," Aburame Shibi said in a deep voice.
"Yes."
Street.
Hyuga Satoru and Aburame Shibi walked side by side.
"Shibi-sensei, who do you suppose is selling off such a large batch of supplies through Black Market channels?" Hyuga Satoru thought for a moment and asked.
Aburame Shibi replied, "In the Shinobi World, certain large merchant associations conduct money laundering transactions through the Black Market. Aside from that, daimyo from many countries have their own channels in the Black Market, though transactions of this scale are still relatively rare."
Hyuga Satoru nodded. He always felt this matter was somewhat fishy. The Land of Iron was not a shinobi nation, so why would anyone be selling off such a massive amount of supplies in the Black Market?
The two chatted quietly all the way, soon arriving at the Black Market mentioned in the intelligence.
Finding a good spot in a nearby izakaya, they began their reconnaissance.
Their current identities were travelers from out of town visiting the Land of Iron, so it wouldn't do to enter the Black Market directly; hiding outside to scout was the best choice.
"Satoru, can your Byakugan see the situation inside?" Aburame Shibi asked.
Hyuga Satoru made a rough estimate and said, "At this range, there shouldn't be any problem."
With that, he quietly activated the Byakugan.
In the vision of the Byakugan, the ordinary-looking izakaya opposite them revealed a massive space inside, teeming with a bustling flow of people.
Judging by the chakra feedback, quite a few of them were actually samurai.
No wonder even the Land of Iron has a Black Market of this scale; it turns out many samurai are mixed into it, Hyuga Satoru inwardly muttered.
The Byakugan's ability was maximized in the special environment of the Land of Iron. Because there were so many samurai, the shinobi's chakra stood out like a searchlight.
After filtering out some scattered shinobi, he discovered a group of powerful shinobi in an inn about five hundred meters away from the Black Market.
"Shibi-sensei, in the inn five hundred meters away at the three o'clock direction, seven shinobi are gathered. Judging by their chakra volume, there are roughly five Chunin and two Jonin. Among them, one Jonin has a massive chakra volume-he should be an Elite Jonin."
Aburame Shibi nodded. "It seems this is that batch of Stone Shinobi from the intelligence. Let's wait and see for now."
Hyuga Satoru breathed a sigh of relief. The strength of this group of Stone Shinobi wasn't exceptionally high; looking at it this way, the danger level of this mission shouldn't be too high.
Just as he intended to deactivate the Byakugan, he suddenly made an unexpected discovery.
"Wait! Shibi-sensei, something's wrong!"
"What is it?" Aburame Shibi's heart tightened as he hurriedly asked.
"At a location about six hundred meters from that inn, a Jonin is hiding!"
"Are they also a Stone Shinobi?"
Hyuga Satoru shook his head solemnly. "No, he is definitely not on the same side as the Stone Shinobi. Judging by his actions, it seems he is monitoring them."
Monitoring?
Aburame Shibi took a breath, his eyes narrowing instantly. This was not good news-it meant that besides them, a third-party shinobi faction had appeared in the capital!
The direction of the mission instantly turned murky and unpredictable.
Hyuga Satoru's heart grew heavy as well, the joy of just having discovered the Stone Shinobi team vanishing instantly. If he hadn't kept his guard up and conducted a more thorough search, he might not have discovered him at all; the opponent's method of concealing his presence was quite brilliant.
"Can you determine which faction's shinobi he is?" Aburame Shibi asked tentatively.
"No way," Hyuga Satoru shook his head. "The opponent's counter-reconnaissance awareness is very strong. The Byakugan can only see his chakra flow; it's impossible to determine his identity."
"Is that so?" Aburame Shibi nodded. "Let's stay here and observe for now, and adapt to the situation."
"Yeah!"
Hyuga Satoru took a deep breath. He suddenly thought of an old saying: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
And right now, it seemed they were competing for the role of the oriole with that mysterious Jonin's faction!
Just like that, by evening, the mysterious Jonin moved.
"Shibi-sensei, he's moving toward the outskirts of the city."
"Let's follow!"
The two quietly trailed behind the mysterious Jonin. Because the opponent's counter-reconnaissance awareness was very strong, the two maintained a considerable distance.
Until they reached the deep forests outside the city, Hyuga Satoru's gaze sharpened.
Through the Byakugan, he saw the location where the other party stopped.
"The location that Jonin is heading to seems to be a stronghold. I've detected a lot of powerful chakra flows."
Aburame Shibi's eyes narrowed. "As expected, this mission is not as simple as it appears on the surface."
Just as the two were constantly advancing toward that stronghold, Aburame Shibi suddenly raised a hand to block Hyuga Satoru. "Wait, Satoru. There's a situation."
Hyuga Satoru looked over and saw several black Kikaichū flying in from the woods, landing on Aburame Shibi's shoulders. While tracking, Aburame Shibi had also released Kikaichū for reconnaissance; the moniker of an all-around shinobi wasn't just for show.
After absorbing the intelligence relayed back by the Kikaichū, Aburame Shibi's expression turned ugly.
"The Kikaichū found that there is a sensory barrier ahead. If we rashly step into it, we'll be discovered by the enemy."
Hyuga Satoru immediately used the Byakugan to search. Sure enough, near that stronghold, several shinobi could be seen sitting cross-legged, seeming to maintain the barrier.
Were they just going to turn back empty-handed like this?
Hyuga Satoru's heart sank.
Before you continue