Battle for the Oriole

Aside from samurai, the capital of the Land of Iron was home to many commoners and travelers from other countries. After disguising themselves, Hyuga Satoru and his companion didn't 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 password, she immediately led them discreetly into a secret room.

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

"Anbu codename Red Pigeon, at your service, sir."

"Anbu codename Bug," Aburame Shibi said flatly.

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

Hyuga Satoru's face turned awkward. An Anbu codename... my ass! I'm not even Anbu.

"He isn't an Anbu member," Aburame Shibi said.

Not Anbu?

The innkeeper couldn't help but be shocked. 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 Teacher Shibi holds quite a high position in the Anbu. And he can lead a team as a Jonin, so he must be a special presence within the Anbu.

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

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 as Hidden Stone Village, and the goods being traded appear to be stockpiled supplies. The transaction will take place in two days."

Hidden Stone Village? Stockpiled supplies?

What kind of supplies could be worth over a hundred million Ryo?

Hyuga Satoru's heart sank. He recalled that his previous mission had involved discovering Iwa Ninja searching for supplies in the Grass Country. Had they already extended their reach into the Land of Iron? Such a massive stockpile was probably preparation for war!

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

Hyuga Satoru pondered for a moment before saying, "Since the transaction is set for two days from now, can we disrupt it before then?"

"No!"

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

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

So that's how it was... Hyuga Satoru smacked his lips. He hadn't said it casually. With the Byakugan and Magnetic Storm Sniper, 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 in a deep voice.

"Yes."

Street.

Hyuga Satoru and Aburame Shibi walked side by side.

"Teacher Shibi, who do you think would sell such a massive batch of supplies through the Black Market?" Hyuga Satoru asked after thinking for a while.

Aburame Shibi said, "In the Ninja World, some large merchant guilds use the Black Market for money-laundering transactions. Beyond that, the daimyo of many countries have their own channels in the Black Market. But transactions of this scale are still fairly rare."

Hyuga Satoru nodded. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The Land of Iron wasn't a ninja country, so why would someone sell such a large amount of supplies through the Black Market?

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

After finding a good spot in a nearby Izakaya, they began their investigation.

Their current identities were travelers from outside the Land of Iron. It wouldn't be appropriate to enter the Black Market directly, so observing from outside was the best choice.

"Wu, 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 Izakaya across from them contained a massive interior space, packed with a steady flow of people.

Judging from the Chakra feedback, quite a few of them were samurai.

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

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 some scattered ninja, he discovered a group of powerful ninja in an inn roughly five hundred meters from the Black Market.

"Teacher Shibi, in an inn five hundred meters away at three o'clock, seven ninja are gathered together. Judging by their Chakra levels, there are about 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 mentioned in the intelligence. Let's observe for now and wait for developments."

Hyuga Satoru let out a breath of relief. This group of Iwa Ninja wasn't particularly strong. If that was the case, the danger level of this mission shouldn't be too high.

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

"Wait! Teacher 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 there!"

"Is he also an Iwa Ninja?"

Hyuga Satoru shook his head gravely. "No. He's definitely not on the Iwa Ninja's side. Judging by his behavior, he seems to be monitoring them."

Monitoring them?

Aburame Shibi took a breath, his eyes narrowing. This wasn't good news. It meant that aside from them, a third ninja faction had appeared in the capital!

The direction of the mission instantly became impossible to predict.

Hyuga Satoru's heart grew heavy as well. The joy of finding the Iwa Ninja team vanished instantly. If he hadn't been cautious enough to search further, he might not have found that man at all. The other party's concealment methods were remarkably sophisticated.

"Can you determine which faction he 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 his Chakra flow, not identify him."

"Is that so?" Aburame Shibi nodded. "Let's remain here and observe. We'll adapt as the situation changes."

"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, they seemed to be competing with that mysterious Jonin's faction for the role of the oriole!

By evening, the mysterious Jonin finally moved.

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

"We'll follow him!"

The two quietly trailed behind the mysterious Jonin. Since the other party was highly alert to surveillance, they maintained a considerable distance.

It wasn't until they reached the depths of the forest outside the city that Hyuga Satoru's eyes sharpened.

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

"The place that Jonin is heading to seems to be a base. I've detected a lot of powerful Chakra signatures."

Aburame Shibi narrowed his eyes. "As expected, this mission isn't as simple as it appears."

As the two continued toward that base, Aburame Shibi suddenly raised a hand to block Hyuga Satoru. "Wait, Wu. Something's happening."

Hyuga Satoru looked ahead and saw several black Parasitic Destruction Bugs flying out from the woods and landing on Aburame Shibi's shoulder. While tracking their target, Aburame Shibi had also released Parasitic Destruction Bugs to scout. The title All-Round Ninja wasn't given to him for nothing.

After absorbing the information returned by the Parasitic Destruction Bugs, Aburame Shibi's expression darkened.

"The Parasitic Destruction Bugs found a Sensory Barrier ahead. If we enter rashly, they'll detect us."

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

Were they really going to turn back just like this?

Hyuga Satoru's heart sank.