Early the next morning, Aoki Tsuki went to the changing room, put his things in a locker, and started putting on his gear for work.
Guard duty was much the same as protecting the daimyo.
Besides their team, three others guarded the perimeter, locking down every entrance and exit from all directions.
Hanzō's living quarters were guarded by his personal bodyguards. The difference was that the perimeter guards stood while the bodyguards sat.
Just as the rumors said, even ordinary non-ninjas who came to see Hanzō were subjected to a thorough search.
Aoki Tsuki couldn't imagine why someone so powerful was so afraid of being ambushed.
Who in the entire Shinobi World could assassinate him?
It was Aoki Tsuki, Kurokawa, and Umatsu's first day on the job, so none of them dared slack off. They had been assigned the area from the entrance to the corridor.
Kurokawa was on the left and Umatsu on the right.
Since none of them knew the unwritten rules yet, nobody spoke up. They stood there staring at one another all day.
That evening, after changing in the locker room, Umatsu hurried off to spend time with his wife and child. He was the first to leave.
After Kurokawa changed, he saw that Aoki Tsuki wasn't leaving and assumed he was trying to get ahead of everyone else. Suspicious, he asked, "Are you planning to secretly work overtime? Don't do that. Your colleagues will hate you for it."
"You're overthinking it. I'm not the kind of person who breaks the rules. I'm just tired from standing and need a rest..."
Aoki Tsuki hastily waved his hands in denial, his expression a little unnatural.
Working overtime was a passive way to wait for the boss to notice you. He was taking the initiative, which was even worse.
"It had better be." Kurokawa left, still not entirely convinced.
Office life was hard. No matter what he did, someone was watching. Aoki Tsuki sighed and closed his eyes to rest.
Satō Ichirō worked two hours longer than they did.
That gave him an opportunity.
"Captain, this is a small token of my appreciation."
Satō Ichirō stared at Aoki Tsuki for a moment, then frowned. "What's this for?"
"Back when I was patrolling the border, you came to my rescue, Captain. I've always remembered it and wanted to find a chance to show my gratitude.
"But I'm no good with words, so this is the only way I can do it."
Aoki Tsuki had dredged up an old incident.
"It's just a small gift, absolutely nothing more. I'm very satisfied with my current job. I plan to spend the next few years building experience and improving myself."
This kid sure knows how to make excuses.
Seeing how earnest and awkward Aoki Tsuki looked, Satō Ichirō couldn't help thinking of his younger self.
In the end, he nodded.
"Mm, that's thoughtful of you. Just this once."
"Yes! I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye."
After gently setting down the gift, Aoki Tsuki tactfully hurried away.
He looked down on himself for acting this way too, but he was no longer simply grinding missions. He had entered the world of office politics, where personal connections mattered.
Getting by at work took more than ability. You also had to keep your boss happy.
Giving gifts was just the basics.
That day, Aoki Tsuki returned home in high spirits, ready to lie down and relax for a while.
But as soon as he entered his room, he saw a note on the table: "Congratulations."
It wasn't signed.
Aoki Tsuki froze. He hadn't expected to receive such a big "surprise" on his first day at work.
He ran downstairs in a few strides and asked his mother Eiko, who was cooking, "Did anyone go into my room today?"
"No one went upstairs. Why... is something missing?" Eiko asked, puzzled.
Her son had grown up and had his privacy. Apart from cleaning, she rarely went into his room, in case she saw something she shouldn't.
"No, nothing's missing. I was just asking. If anyone goes upstairs in the future, remember to tell me."
"Oh, all right." Eiko nodded, still unsure what this was about.
He hadn't been in touch with Root for a long time, not since they had worked together in Kyoto. He had almost forgotten about them.
He hadn't expected Root to send him a congratulatory message on his very first day.
"Are they reminding me they're still around?"
Aoki Tsuki knew perfectly well that it wasn't because Root paid him so much attention. He had only now become valuable in their eyes.
They merely wanted him to provide information about Hanzō and the like.
But that was the dream he had sworn to protect. They'd have to pay more!
Although Root hadn't explicitly asked him to exchange information, Aoki Tsuki knew he had to do something.
From that day on, Aoki Tsuki began paying closer attention to his work.
He quietly memorized the layout of Hanzō's residence, where guards were stationed, how many there were, when they changed shifts, and so on.
Thanks to the intense refinement of his spiritual power and his exploration of natural energy, his sensory abilities had improved considerably. He could now make a rough assessment of how threatening other ninjas were.
When he closed his eyes, the ninjas around him appeared like sources of light in the darkness. The brighter the light, the stronger they were.
"There are two Jonin and twelve Chunin on the perimeter, and four Jonin in the core area. That's the day shift."
Adding in the night shift, those assigned to protect the daimyo, and those on rotation or leave, that was roughly the full strength of the guard unit.
Aoki Tsuki turned to look at Umatsu. As a sensory ninja, the man surely knew the defensive arrangements even better than he did. They could compare notes when they had time.
Umatsu felt Aoki Tsuki's gaze and looked over in puzzlement.
Aoki Tsuki responded with a polite smile, and Umatsu smiled back.
That left Kurokawa, who was nearby, baffled. What are those two doing? Are they that bored? It does seem... pretty boring.
Their initial anticipation and nervousness had gradually given way to numbness, and they let their minds wander to pass the time.
Every day went by like that.
The fact was, none of them, Aoki Tsuki included, had seen Hanzō in a long time.
He seemed never to leave his room.
As a result, Aoki Tsuki had no way to gather information on him.
Hanzō was now in his fifties, and his strength had begun to decline. He was consumed by anxiety.
In modern terms, it was a "midlife unemployment crisis." He had fallen into the mindset that "there are always villains plotting against me."
One evening as Aoki Tsuki was getting off work, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and found an old acquaintance.
"How have the last few days been?" Shioame asked with a smile.
He had clearly known for some time that Aoki Tsuki had joined the guard unit.
The building where Hanzō lived was a three-story tower. Each of the upper two floors was guarded by a squad, and Shioame was on duty on the top floor.
Aoki Tsuki nodded. "Pretty good. It's much easier than protecting the daimyo. There's strength in numbers, after all."
"True, there's strength in numbers. Captain Satō is a very good man. Now it's my turn to envy you."
"Oh? Didn't Captain Shinonome earn great merit last time and bring you all back to the village early? Your squad should have benefited from that. I was stuck suffering in Kyoto for a whole year."
"Haha... I knew you'd still remember that."
Shioame gave a rueful laugh and explained, "I have to correct you there. The captain earned the merit. It had nothing to do with us. He's been promoted to Lord Hanzō's personal guard now."
"So that's what happened. Congratulations to Captain Shinonome on his promotion and raise, then. Who are you working under now?"
"Jonin Tsunodahara."
A plump figure immediately appeared in Aoki Tsuki's mind: small eyes, drooping eyebrows, and the shrewd look of a merchant.
He was no one to take lightly.
"Well, aren't you... lucky. By the way, do you know how the village's last operation against the Iron Fang Group ended?"
Shioame lowered his voice. "I heard they only caught some small fry. The elite squad happened to be out on a mission, so they missed them.
"Afterward, the Iron Fang Group retaliated against us Rain Ninja, and a lot of people died. How else would there be so many vacancies in the guard unit?"
"So that's what happened. Thank you for the gift, fate." Aoki Tsuki pressed his palms together.
Shinonome had taken credit for his intelligence, but after all that, he had ultimately benefited from it.
If that wasn't fate, what was?
Then Shioame revealed another bombshell.
"The village won't let this go. I hear they're planning an operation specifically to wipe out the Iron Fang Group."
He really was a seasoned hand at work. He was much better informed than Aoki Tsuki.
Aoki Tsuki quickly put aside his lingering resentment toward Shioame. Come to think of it, he and Shioame had no real grudge, and they had shared a life-and-death experience.
He put a hand on Shioame's shoulder and said:
"Brother, I was too small-minded and narrowed my own path. Don't take it to heart. I don't really have any bad intentions.
"We're colleagues now, so we should look out for each other. People... have to look forward."
You're the one who keeps looking back! Shioame grumbled inwardly.
He had approached Aoki Tsuki today intending to make friends with him. After all, as a sensory ninja, his combat ability was limited.
He needed a powerful partner who could help him out sooner or later.
He had seen Aoki Tsuki's strength with his own eyes. He could be relied on.
"I understand, I understand. Who hasn't been taken advantage of? All the more reason for us to stick together and get through hard times."
"Mm, it's a deal, then."
Aoki Tsuki readily agreed. More friends and fewer enemies-that was the best way to stay alive.
Over the following days, Aoki Tsuki discreetly gathered a general picture of all of Hanzō's guards through conversations with the two sensory ninjas, Shioame and Umatsu.
It wasn't much different from what he had sensed himself.
For anyone outside the guard unit, such information would have been almost impossible to obtain, but for him, it was just everyday workplace chatter.
It wouldn't arouse much suspicion.
All that remained was to sell it at the right price when the right opportunity came.
He certainly couldn't do it now. He was still very loyal to Lord Hanzō and had no intention of destroying his own livelihood.
In everyday conversation, he always said things like "serve Lord Hanzō," "Lord Hanzō will take action," and "without Lord Hanzō, there would be no Land of Rain."
It felt a little awkward when he first started saying those things, but after two months, even he believed them.
Sure enough, repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth!
One day, an Iwagakure representative came to visit Hanzō.
After repeated searches, he walked to the door of Hanzō's room under the watchful eyes of Aoki Tsuki and the other guards.
"Lord Hanzō, this is a confidential letter Lord Tsuchikage asked me to deliver to you."
The Iwagakure representative took a red scroll from his person and handed it over.
A guard immediately took it and passed it into the room. A moment later, a deep voice said, "Go back and tell Ōnoki that we in Amegakure have no intention of entering the war. Tell him not to waste any more effort."
Under simultaneous attack from Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha, Iwagakure was under immense pressure and could barely hold on.
Ōnoki had made a pile of empty promises without offering any tangible benefits. All he wanted was for the Land of Rain to provide supplies.
Hearing this, the Iwagakure representative immediately said earnestly, "Konoha's ambitions are as vicious as a wolf's. If our country is defeated, the Land of Rain will not be able to stay out of it either. Please reconsider, Lord Hanzō."
"Hmph. As long as I am here, the Land of Rain will endure. Save your breath and leave."
"In that case, I shall take my leave." The Iwagakure representative stormed off.
The state visit, intended to secure an alliance, ended in failure.