Fishing

The mountain forest was unnaturally quiet at night, as though the ambush had been nothing but a dream. But they all knew that beneath the calm surface, waves were about to surge.

The three-person squad took Kawata Genji with them and drove their carriage toward Bluestone Town under cover of darkness.

Inside the carriage, Kawata Genji kept his head down and his face taut, not daring to make the slightest move. After last night's ambush and interrogation, he knew exactly what he was: bait on a hook. Death waited on every side. His only chance of survival rested with the Konoha Ninja before him.

Tsukimi's Shadowkhan moved through the forest, spreading out to scout for anything unusual within two kilometers ahead.

They pressed on, and by the time daylight filled the sky, the outline of the town finally came into view.

They had reached Bluestone Town.

As a distribution hub for medicinal herbs in the eastern Land of Rivers, Bluestone Town was already bustling. A river ran through it, with pharmacies and warehouses lining both banks, their stores piled high with herbs. Rich medicinal scents mingled with the clamor of the streets, and passersby could already be seen in the distance.

When the four reached the dense woods outside Bluestone Town, Tsukimi raised a hand to halt the squad.

"Stop!"

A faint light flickered in Tsukimi's eyes. Sharing the vision of the Shadowkhan around him, he confirmed that no one was lying in wait nearby before recalling them.

"From here, Kawata Genji goes back alone."

Kurenai and Asuma were taken aback. Neither understood why, but they waited patiently for Tsukimi to continue.

"Kawata Genji will show himself alone. The three of us will follow in hiding without revealing ourselves."

Tsukimi wore a smile, but his gaze was unusually steady as he slowly explained his reasoning.

"First, we need to get one thing straight: Kawata Genji never had access to the core secrets."

"All he did was receive the goods and deliver them on schedule. The other side even sent ordinary people to handle the transactions. He doesn't know who's behind it or where the experiments are being conducted!"

Kurenai's eyes lit up as she caught on. "So he isn't a key witness they absolutely have to silence?"

"Exactly."

"Wait, wait, hold on! If Kawata isn't a key witness, why did they send Death Soldiers after him last night?"

Asuma hurriedly waved a hand to interrupt them, looking utterly confused.

What? How did I suddenly lose the thread? Which part did I miss? I was there the whole time!

Tsukimi ignored Asuma and continued his calm analysis. "Kawata kept withholding medicinal powder, raising his prices, and using his control of the supply as leverage. He crossed their line. This time, he deliberately brought guards and posted an escort mission, so they sent a Chunin to kill him."

"Their goal was never to silence him to protect their secret."

Because the old bastard doesn't know the secret in the first place!

"They sent Death Soldiers so that, while killing Kawata, none of them would be captured alive and reveal the real secret," Kurenai added.

"Oh, now I get it." Understanding dawned on Asuma's face.

-_-||

Go read more books when we get back, kid!

"Now for the crucial part." Tsukimi looked away. "Normally, if a Genin squad were ambushed by a Chunin Death Soldier and then discovered that a major nation was involved, they'd immediately abandon the mission and return to report it."

"If we carried on with our original plan today, even if we pretended to leave, they'd guess we were setting a trap. Kawata isn't worth that risk to them."

Asuma finally caught up, and his furrowed brow relaxed. "Then they'd simply give up on Kawata and never show themselves again."

Kurenai's expression sharpened. "So we need to disappear completely. Once they think we've abandoned the mission and withdrawn, they'll strike again to get rid of the greedy merchant who ruined their plans."

"Exactly. The fish we're trying to catch is their routine cleanup once they're sure it's safe."

Tsukimi looked at Kawata Genji with an easy expression, took out the mission scroll, and spoke gently. "Let's settle the mission first."

Kawata shuddered and nodded vigorously, not daring to disobey. This was his only way to buy himself a sliver of hope.

He signed the mission scroll, officially completing the C-rank escort mission.

"Remember," Tsukimi said as he put the scroll away, giving him one final instruction. "When you go back, act panicked and frightened. Make sure they know we've abandoned you!"

"Understood!"

"Mr. Kawata doesn't even need to act. He just has to let his real feelings show," Asuma joked cheerfully from the side.

Kawata gave an awkward acknowledgment. With the three of them helping, his outer clothes were torn and disheveled, smeared with grass and dirt from the forest. His hair was a mess, scratches marked his exposed skin, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Kawata Genji took a deep breath and stumbled toward Bluestone Town alone, looking thoroughly bedraggled.

"Split up, change positions, keep your distance, and follow him without being seen," Tsukimi instructed quietly once Kawata had left the woods.

"Okay!"

Asuma and Kurenai answered together. After using the Transformation Technique, they suppressed their Chakra signatures and followed Kawata Genji from a distance in a triangular formation.

Passersby gave the disheveled man a quick glance and assumed he was a merchant who had run into bandits on the road. No one paid him much attention.

Before long, Kawata Genji had crossed half the town and arrived at a detached, two-story residence. With its tall gate and spacious grounds, it was a typical wealthy merchant's home.

Kawata took out his key and opened the gate. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, its silence made him stiffen, and his face went pale.

It was too quiet!

He hurried into the rear courtyard, where the sealed storeroom for his medicinal herbs stood. But when he opened its doors, the sight inside made his legs go weak. He nearly collapsed.

The entire storeroom was empty. Not only had every bit of Green Velvet Grass he had stockpiled been taken, but none of his other herbs remained either.

Refusing to give up, Kawata Genji rushed through the other rooms. A few minutes later, he came out looking lost. Every transaction record, account book, and letter he had stored was gone.

Even the wandering Ninja who had stayed behind to guard the herbs had vanished.

It was as though someone had swept the entire residence clean, leaving not a single clue behind.

The three hidden nearby saw it all.

Asuma's voice grew grave. "You were right, Tsukimi. They really did act on both fronts at once."

Kurenai spoke softly as well. "The wandering Ninja who stayed behind is missing. Most likely, he's already been killed."

At the same time as they sent people to kill Kawata Genji, they had cleared out his residence. All the medicinal powder Kawata had withheld, along with his own herbs, had been packed up and taken away. Every trace had been erased.

If they had chosen to abandon the mission and withdraw last night, Kawata Genji would probably be dead by now, and this lead would have been lost for good.

Tsukimi's gaze settled on Kawata. The empty courtyard before him was just what he had expected.

"They came here to recover the medicinal powder he withheld, but they haven't left yet. We've cast the bait. Now we wait for them to bite."

"Asuma, you go—"

"Master, you're back? What happened to you?"

Before Tsukimi could assign their roles, a voice suddenly came from outside the gate.

The three immediately turned their attention toward it. Kawata Genji looked up too. An elderly man of about fifty, carrying a large bag of ingredients, hurried inside.