Fujiwara Hidemasa sat opposite Naruto, his back ramrod straight. As an aristocrat whose family had inherited its status since the Warring States period, he looked down from the bottom of his heart on ninjas who had gradually risen to prominence by being hired to do dirty work.
Naruto did not look at him, merely focusing on the tea set on the table. He lifted the small iron kettle and poured the warm tea into the empty cup before Fujiwara Hidemasa. The stream was steady, without spilling a single drop. His movements were elegant and composed, every detail impeccable. He looked nothing like a ninja who fought on battlefields, but more like a young master from a prestigious family who had received strict etiquette training since childhood.
That eerie sense of harmony only deepened Fujiwara Hidemasa's unease.
What was this brat up to?
"Lord Fujiwara, I heard you have three sons and two daughters, all of them exceptional."
Naruto finally spoke, and his very first sentence made Fujiwara Hidemasa's heart clench violently.
He forcibly suppressed the surging emotions within him and raised his teacup, trying to conceal the instant stiffness in his body with that gesture.
"Commissar Uzumaki is quite interested in my family affairs?" he countered, deliberately stressing the title "commissar" with a faint, barely perceptible sneer.
Naruto smiled and nodded. The smile remained gentle, yet did not reach his eyes.
"Of course. Since we may be working together for a long time, understanding a partner's family situation is basic courtesy."
As he spoke, he took a thin dossier from his robes and gently slid it across the tatami before Fujiwara Hidemasa.
"This is...?"
Fujiwara Hidemasa did not reach for it, merely stared at the dossier warily.
"A small token of my respect," Naruto answered for him.
There were no