Threats

Stone Mouth Town, Bounty Office.

The night was deep. The oil lamp behind the counter had burned down to a stub, its flame flickering in the draft.

The shopkeeper yawned and was about to get up and bolt the door.

With a creak, the door swung open.

A boy in dark blue Clan Attire walked in.

"We're closed." The shopkeeper waved without looking up. "Come back tomorrow."

The boy said nothing.

He walked straight to the counter, raised a hand, and slapped a sheet of snow-white paper onto it.

Smack.

"I'm here to collect a bounty."

The shopkeeper froze, then finally looked up.

He glanced at the paper. It was snow-white and brand-new, with a bright red acceptance stamp in the lower right corner.

It wasn't just some old notice lying around the shop.

Three days ago, someone had paid a deposit to pin that very sheet at the top, above every other bounty notice.

Eighty million ryo.

"Whose bounty?" the shopkeeper asked, his voice dry.

The boy didn't answer. He simply touched a line on the paper with his fingertip.

Uchiha En... eighty million ryo... dead or alive.

"My own."

The shopkeeper's hand shook.

With a clatter, the abacus slid off the edge of the counter, scattering beads across the floor.

He stood rigid behind the counter, mouth hanging open.

The eighty-million-ryo target had walked in on his own.

The shopkeeper's first move when he came to his senses was to reach for the alarm bell under the counter.

But the boy seemed to know it was coming. He pressed a hand casually against the countertop.

An unseen force shuddered through it.

The shopkeeper's fingers were an inch from the bell when his legs gave way. He dropped to the floor with a thud.

The bell never rang.

Crash!