The Bait Slipped the Hook

Kawata Genji's eyes lit up when he saw the old man. He hurried over, urgency in his gaze and an uncontrollable tremor in his voice.

"Toji, tell me—while I was away, did you come here to cook every day?"

Toji paused, then answered honestly.

"Yes, sir. I came every day to prepare Lord Yungu's three meals."

"When you left last night, did you notice anything around the storeroom? And Yungu—where was he?"

Toji set down his bag of ingredients, looking puzzled.

"There was nothing unusual around the storeroom when I left last night. Lord Yungu was on watch in the back courtyard."

Those two simple sentences struck Kawata like a hammer. His face went pale, and a chill ran down his back.

Hidden in the shadows, Tsukimi and his two companions exchanged glances. They had their answer.

The enemy had indeed acted on two fronts: while sending people to ambush them in the forest, they had slipped in here and taken all the medicinal powder and account books.

Seeing Kawata Genji's wretched state and pallid face, Toji could not help trying to comfort him.

"Sir, did you run into bandits on your way back? Money can be replaced. As long as you're safe, there's still hope. Oh, where's Lord Kaz? Didn't you leave together? And Lord Yungu? I'll make you all a good meal in a little while so you can settle your nerves."

Kawata Genji was too dazed to explain anything to the old family cook. He merely nodded numbly.

Toji said no more. He picked up the ingredients and headed for the kitchen on the west side.

Tsukimi lowered his voice and quickly assigned tasks to his two companions.

"Asuma, you and I will search the estate for any clues they left behind. Kurenai, go to the kitchen and check whether the cook is under a genjutsu. Check the ingredients too. We'll meet back here in half an hour. Remember, don't reveal yourselves."

"Got it!"

The two answered, and all three immediately set to work.

Tsukimi and Asuma slipped silently into the courtyard and searched every room. They examined the storeroom, the side rooms, and the grounds, checking everything from cracks in the floor to the edges of the window frames. They even searched the artificial rockery in the back courtyard.

But the entire estate had been cleaned spotless. The enemy had been meticulous and left no trace. Yungu, the Ninja who had stayed behind, had vanished as though into thin air, without even a drop of blood left behind.

Meanwhile, Kurenai Yuhi circled into the alley behind the kitchen and watched Toji closely through a half-open wooden window.

She focused her Chakra, gradually sensing the old cook's entire body.

Toji's movements as he cooked were smooth and natural, and his expression was relaxed. His eyes held none of the dull, vacant look of someone under a genjutsu, nor was there any foreign Chakra in his body. There was no sign he had been affected.

Kurenai turned her attention to the ingredients, identifying each scent and using her Chakra to sense whether any toxins had been mixed in.

All the ingredients were normal. Nothing appeared to have been tampered with.

Once she had confirmed that, Kurenai retraced her steps to the team's hiding place and rejoined the others.

"I checked. The old cook isn't under a Genjutsu, and all the ingredients he brought are normal."

Kurenai reported her findings quietly, her brows drawing together. "He looks like an ordinary cook."

Asuma sighed.

"Tsukimi and I searched the whole estate and found nothing either. They cleaned up too thoroughly. There isn't a single clue left."

Standing in the shadows, Tsukimi watched the cooking smoke rising from the courtyard. A faint unease stirred in his heart.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. But for the moment, he could not work out what it was.

"Since we haven't found anything suspicious, we'll keep watch and wait for them to come to us. Asuma, take the west side of the courtyard. Kurenai, watch the back of the estate. We'll cover three directions and wait for them to walk into the trap. I'll spread the Shadowkhan out too."

Before long, Toji finished making lunch and carried the food into the sitting room. Kawata Genji ate a hasty meal, then went upstairs to rest in his bedroom, exhausted in body and mind.

After clearing the dishes, Toji went into the rest room beside the kitchen to take a short nap while he had the chance.

As noon arrived, Bluestone Town gradually grew quiet. More than half the pedestrians had disappeared from the streets.

Tsukimi and the others remained stationed around the estate, alert to every movement as they waited for the person behind it all to show himself.

Several hundred meters from the estate, a figure stood in the shadow of a rooftop, unnoticed by anyone.

Orochimaru's long black hair fell over his shoulders. His narrow, serpentine eyes watched the wealthy merchant's residence below, and an amused smile touched his lips.

"Set the bait and wait for the prey to come to you? Not a bad idea. A fairly thorough plan, too. Unfortunately, you're still far too green..."

His rasping murmur faded into the wind without drawing anyone's attention.

A true killing blow never came as an obvious, head-on attack!

Time passed. The sun drifted west, and soon it was afternoon. Yet the enemy Tsukimi expected never appeared. The Shadowkhan spread throughout Bluestone Town reported nothing, and the entire estate seemed to have fallen silent.

The long wait only deepened Tsukimi's unease.

"Something's wrong!"

Tsukimi's expression changed. He straightened abruptly, every trace of his relaxed posture gone.

The enemy had ambushed them while infiltrating the estate to take the medicinal powder. By all rights, they would not ignore Kawata Genji returning to Bluestone Town alone. Yet hours had passed since morning without any sign of them. That was not normal!

"Asuma, Kurenai, get in here! The second-floor bedroom!"

Tsukimi no longer cared about staying hidden. As he called out to them, he channeled Chakra into his feet and ran up the courtyard wall toward the second-floor corridor.

Bang!

He kicked open the bedroom door. The curtains were half drawn, leaving the room dim.

Kawata Genji lay on his back in bed, eyes wide open. His face had turned a strange bluish gray, and his limbs lay slack. He was no longer breathing.

There were no wounds on his body and no signs of a struggle in the room.

Tsukimi narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening.

The three of them had lain in wait around the estate, and he had even spread the Shadowkhan out. But the enemy had not sent Ninja to attack at all. They had used a single lunch to poison their target.

The bait had slipped the hook!