The Battle for the Oriole

Besides samurai, the capital of the Land of Iron also had many civilians and travelers from other countries. After disguising themselves, Hyuga Satoru and his companion did not stand out in the city.

After making some inquiries, the two arrived at an inn.

The innkeeper was a young woman. After Aburame Shibi gave the code phrase, she immediately and discreetly led them into a secret room.

The moment they entered, the innkeeper seemed like a different person. With a solemn expression, she gave Aburame Shibi a slight bow.

"ANBU codename [Red Dove], at your service, sir."

"ANBU codename [Insect]," Aburame Shibi said calmly.

The innkeeper shifted her gaze to Hyuga Satoru, her expression puzzled.

Hyuga Satoru's face turned awkward. ANBU codename... My ass! I'm not even in the ANBU.

"He is not an ANBU member," Aburame Shibi said.

Not an ANBU member?

The innkeeper could not help but be surprised. The Hokage had actually sent someone outside the ANBU to carry out such an important mission, and someone so young at that?

Hyuga Satoru glanced at Aburame Shibi and thought to himself, Looks like Sensei holds a high position in the ANBU. And he can lead a team as a Jonin, so he must be someone special within the ANBU.

"Tell me the latest intelligence," Aburame Shibi said succinctly.

The innkeeper took a breath, her eyes flickering. "A few days ago, while investigating that transaction in the Black Market, we made a new discovery. The buyer has been confirmed to be the Hidden Stone Village, and the goods being traded should be stockpiled supplies. The transaction will take place in two days."

The Hidden Stone Village? Stockpiled supplies?

What kind of supplies could be worth more than a hundred million ryo?

Hyuga Satoru's heart grew heavy. He recalled that during his previous mission, he had discovered Iwa ninja searching for supplies in the Grass Country. He had not expected them to have already reached into the Land of Iron. Such a massive stockpile... they were probably preparing for war!

Aburame Shibi frowned deeply, having noticed the same thing. He sighed. "It seems the Hokage's concerns were correct. Such large-scale movements by the Hidden Stone Village are indeed preparations for war."

Hyuga Satoru pondered for a while, then said, "Since the transaction time has been set for two days from now, can we disrupt it before then?"

"No!"

The moment he finished speaking, Red Dove shook her head.

"Transactions in the Black Market are protected by the Black Market's forces. Before a transaction is completed, anyone who tries to interfere will be besieged by every Black Market ninja."

So that was how it was... Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue. He had not said it casually. With the Byakugan and the Magnetic Storm Heavy Sniper Rifle backing him up, he was quite skilled at stirring up trouble.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the secret room became oppressive.

"Give me the Black Market's location and all relevant intelligence. We need to investigate the site," Aburame Shibi said gravely.

"Yes."

Street.

Hyuga Satoru and Aburame Shibi walked side by side.

"Sensei Shibi, who do you think would use Black Market channels to dump such a huge batch of supplies?" Hyuga Satoru asked after thinking for a while.

Aburame Shibi replied, "In the Shinobi World, some large merchant associations use the Black Market for money-laundering transactions. Beyond that, the daimyo of many countries have their own channels within the Black Market. However, transactions of this scale are still rather rare."

Hyuga Satoru nodded. He kept feeling that something about this was suspicious. The Land of Iron was not a ninja country, so why would someone be offloading such an enormous quantity of supplies through the Black Market?

The two chatted quietly as they walked, soon arriving at the Black Market mentioned in the intelligence.

After finding a suitable spot in a nearby tavern, they began their investigation.

Their current identities were travelers from elsewhere who had come to the Land of Iron. It would not be appropriate for them to enter the Black Market directly, so investigating from outside was the best option.

"Satoru, can your Byakugan see what's happening inside?" Aburame Shibi asked.

Hyuga Satoru roughly estimated the distance. "At this range, it shouldn't be a problem."

With that, he silently activated his Byakugan.

Through the Byakugan's vision, the unremarkable tavern across from them contained an enormous space within, packed with crowds.

Judging by the chakra signatures, quite a few of them were samurai.

No wonder the Land of Iron has a Black Market on such a large scale. So many samurai are mixed up in it, Hyuga Satoru thought.

The Byakugan's abilities were maximized in the Land of Iron's unique environment. With so many samurai around, ninja chakra stood out as conspicuously as searchlights.

After filtering out several scattered ninja, he discovered a group of powerful ninja in an inn roughly five hundred meters away from the Black Market.

"Sensei Shibi, there are seven ninja gathered in an inn five hundred meters away at three o'clock. Judging by their chakra levels, there are probably five Chunin and two Jonin. One of the Jonin has an enormous amount of chakra and is likely an Elite Jonin."

Aburame Shibi nodded. "It seems this is the group of Iwa ninja from the intelligence. Let's wait and see."

Hyuga Satoru let out a breath. This group of Iwa ninja was not especially powerful. In that case, the danger level of this mission should not be too high.

Just as he was about to deactivate his Byakugan, he suddenly made an unexpected discovery.

"Wait! Sensei Shibi, something's wrong!"

"What is it?" Aburame Shibi's heart tightened as he hurriedly asked.

"About six hundred meters from that inn, there's a Jonin hiding nearby!"

"Is he also from Iwa?"

Hyuga Satoru shook his head solemnly. "No. He definitely isn't on the same side as the Iwa ninja. Judging from his behavior, he seems to be monitoring them."

Monitoring them?

Aburame Shibi took a breath, his eyes narrowing at once. This was not good news. It meant that aside from them, a third ninja force had appeared in the capital!

The course of the mission instantly became impossible to discern.

Hyuga Satoru's heart also grew heavy. The joy of finding the Iwa ninja team vanished in an instant. If he had not been cautious enough to search further, he might not have discovered that person at all. The other party's concealment methods were exceptionally sophisticated.

"Can you determine which side that ninja belongs to?" Aburame Shibi asked tentatively.

"No." Hyuga Satoru shook his head. "The other party has a strong awareness of counter-surveillance. The Byakugan can only see the flow of his chakra. There's no way to determine his identity."

"I see." Aburame Shibi nodded. "Let's remain here and observe for now. We'll adapt to the situation."

"Mm!"

Hyuga Satoru took a deep breath. He suddenly recalled an old saying: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.

And now, it seemed that they were competing with that mysterious Jonin's faction for the role of the oriole!

By the time evening arrived, the mysterious Jonin finally moved.

"Sensei Shibi, he's heading out of the city."

"Let's follow him!"

The two silently followed behind the mysterious Jonin. Since the other party had a strong sense of counter-surveillance, they maintained a considerable distance from him.

Not until they reached the depths of the forest outside the city did Hyuga Satoru's eyes sharpen.

Through the Byakugan, he saw where the other party had stopped.

"The place that Jonin is heading to appears to be a base. I've detected many powerful chakra signatures."

Aburame Shibi narrowed his eyes. "As expected, this mission is not as simple as it appears."

As the two continued advancing toward that base, Aburame Shibi suddenly raised an arm to block Hyuga Satoru. "Wait, Satoru. Something's happening."

Hyuga Satoru looked over and saw several black Destruction Bugs flying out of the woods and landing on Aburame Shibi's shoulder. While tracking their target, Aburame Shibi had also sent out Destruction Bugs to scout. His reputation as an all-around ninja was not undeserved.

After receiving the intelligence relayed by the Destruction Bugs, Aburame Shibi's expression turned grim.

"The Destruction Bugs found a sensory barrier ahead. If we enter carelessly, the other side will discover us."

Hyuga Satoru immediately searched with the Byakugan. Sure enough, near that base, he could see several ninja sitting cross-legged, seemingly maintaining the barrier.

Were they going to turn back just like this?

Hyuga Satoru's heart sank.