Several thick tree trunks suddenly burst from Yamato's arm and shot toward the kunai.
After several booming explosions, the kunai embedded themselves in the branches, and the flames from the exploding tags blasted the wood into pieces.
"Wood Release?"
A shocked, hushed cry came from the forest.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, but saw nothing.
They waited on guard for a long while, yet no second attack came.
Yamato breathed a sigh of relief. He guessed that his Wood Release had intimidated the enemy into making a temporary retreat.
His face darkened as he approached the wealthy merchant.
"Shouldn't you give us an explanation? This has long since exceeded the scope of a C-rank mission."
"Even the slightest error in intelligence can get shinobi killed. Now enemy shinobi have shown up. This is already the standard of a B-rank mission. We have the right to quit, and we can even drive you out of the country."
The wealthy merchant's face changed instantly. Frantic, he repeatedly explained himself to Yamato.
"We truly didn't know! At most, I thought a few bandits were blocking the road. Who would have thought shinobi would get involved? I was only entrusted by the Land of Grass to transport a shipment."
Yamato eyed the fat man suspiciously, but the way he was anxiously pacing in circles did not seem fake.
The fat man sighed and had no choice but to reveal the truth.
"This shipment was entrusted to the Fuma Clan by the Land of Grass. We went through enormous trouble to transport it from the Land of Iron."
"When we passed through that lawless stretch, quite a few of our clan brothers had already died. That was why we thought of taking a detour through Konoha. We figured no one would dare