Through the thick forest in the Land of Fire three figures moved at a steady pace in a straight line formation. If anyone were to look up from the road, they would only see three shadows for a brief second before it disappeared from their view.
Kakashi was in front and Daichi was in the back while their client was in the middle. A formation used when there are minimal shinobi escorts. They had been traveling for a few minutes in silence but Ryoma decided to open a conversation with the two Leaf ninjas.
He glanced behind and spoke. "So Daichi, I heard that the next Chunin exams will be held in the Leaf. Will you be participating?"
Hearing the question Daichi discreetly glanced at Kakashi and the man just shrugged. Seeing his teacher's nonverbal reply, Daichi answered their client. "If sensei nominates me then yeah. I'll take part in the exams."
Ryoma nodded his head and gazed forward as he leapt off another branch.
At that moment Kakashi asked a question to his client. "Did you specifically ask for us for this mission? I remember you telling us that you recognized us when we met."
Daichi thought about the reason why his teacher would ask that question. 'Normally Lord Hokage wouldn't give B rank missions to Genins with less than a year of experience in the field. But then again I'm not most Genins. But still… It's best to know if the client has any ulterior motives.'
The middle-aged client lightly chuckled and then replied. "No no. I simply requested for a B rank mission and implied that there might be some ninjas after me. And as for recognizing the two of you… Well… You two made quite the stir when you unearthed a large hidden treasure. And then the whole mess with Lord Taji's nephew. It would be embarrassing if someone in my position didn't know the parties involved."
Kakashi nodded and the mediator looked behind. "There aren't many shinobi who could make impacts like that when they're just starting out."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Daichi said with a small grin. He decided to change the subject. "You have shinobi training but you said that you've been a mediator for over two decades. Are you a retired ninja or…?"
"Hmm… I suppose I am…" Ryoma had a slightly sad tone as he spoke. Kakashi and Daichi intently listened as the man spoke.
"Well I was born in the capital and during my childhood my father sent me to the Leaf Ninja academy to train. I wanted to be a ninja at the time you see. A few years later I became a Genin and spent two years in service. But during that period the great war was raging through the lands and my team was killed by a rogue ninja in an ambush. I was the only one to make it out alive."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Ryoma nodded and gave a small smile. "It is the way of the shinobi. We can't change that. Anyway, I made it back to the village. I was physically unharmed. Mostly. But there were wounds that cut much deeper. After several evaluations it was deemed that I could no longer continue as a shinobi so I returned to the capital… Well, that's the abridged version of my story… Sometimes I wonder if I'm disrespecting my teammates' memories by just giving up."
Kakashi, who was listening, spoke up at that moment. "For some people continuing through this harsh life of ours and serving a cause greater than them is their way to honor the ones who sacrificed their lives for them."
The man looked down in sadness when he heard that. Kakashi looked at him and continued. "But some people honor the sacrifices made by living their life to the fullest and keeping their comrades' memories alive in their hearts. By showing that their deaths and sacrifices weren't in vain… It's different for different people. There is no shame in forging a new path in life."
Ryoma looked up and saw the silver haired Jonin giving him a small nod. "Thank you. That does ease my spirit."
Daichi smiled and just as he was about to speak he sensed several chakra signatures ahead. The chakra signatures were stationary as if they were waiting. The Genin looked to his teacher and saw that Kakashi was also aware of the threat.
Kakashi spoke. "We have company. Not sure if they're here to ambush someone unlucky or if they're specifically waiting for us."
Ryoma smirked. "I'm not worried. I know I'm in capable hands. If they are here for us then it would be helpful if you could find out who sent them."
Kakashi nodded and made a few hand signals to his student. Daichi understood Kakashi's plans and got ready. The three kept going forward without any change in their pace and a few seconds later an attack suddenly came. Several shuriken flew out of the shadows directly aimed at Kakashi.
The Jonin took out a kunai and deflected the throwing stars with ease while Ryoma and Daichi jumped down to the ground. A ninja covered in black cloak suddenly appeared behind Kakashi and tried to kill him with his sword.
The Jonin easily sidestepped the attack and quickly tried to disarm the ninja but quickly changed tactics and jumped back to another tree branch when more weapons were thrown his way by 3 others.
Kakashi quickly looked around and analyzed the situation. He took note of their attire, weapons and posture. 'One ninja of unknown origin. Strength low chunin. The 3 others look like bandits. No proper shinobi gear. They can treewalk but they're not that good. And their aim is poor. So bandits with only minimal training.'
As Kakashi was focusing on his opponents, Daichi was being attacked as well. The area the young Genin was standing on became a small swamp and he began to sink into the ground the moment he landed.
Another unknown shinobi slowly emerged from the ground a few feet away from the sinking Daichi and threw several shurikens at the Genin. 'This was easier than we thought. Then again this kid is just a Genin after all.'
This was the opening the enemies were waiting for. With the two Leaf ninjas seemingly in trouble another third rogue ninja released his camouflage Genjutsu and appeared from the woods.
He quickly took out a kunai and rushed towards his target. 'I got you now.'
At that moment Ryoma was standing a few meters away calmly watching the two battles and looked at the ninja speeding towards him. Despite the situation looking bad he wasn't scared. He knew just how capable the two ninjas that were protecting him were.
The shuriken thrown towards the sinking Daichi struck but the next moment it vanished in a puff of smoke.
And just as the third ninja was about to reach Ryoma a fast punch came from above that slammed the enemy into the ground kicking up dust and small debris.
Daichi looked at the ninja knocked out beneath him and just sighed. 'My base strength is far greater than these ordinary guys. They would need to augment their body with chakra to even come close to matching my strength. At this point taking down these guys won't even be a warm up.'
The other rogue shinobi looked towards the scene and saw Daichi standing above their downed and unconscious comrade. Without wasting time Daichi made a few seals and used a binding genjutsu on his attacker.
Kakashi too made quick work of his opponents and within a minute they were all securely tied up to a tree.
The Jonin began to interrogate them. "3 Bandits and 3 rogue ninjas. From your intentions we know your target is Ryoma. So what we want to know is who sent you."
The bandits were subdued but the three ninjas struggled for a few moments. Seeing that escape was impossible they decided to stay quiet. The silver-haired Jonin groaned at that and turned his head to look at Daichi.
The Genin understood his teacher's intentions and took the client to another area.
Kakashi watched as the two disappeared from his view and then turned back to captured enemies. He gave them a sweet smile that sent shivers up their spine. "Let's have a chat shall we…"
—-
"We haven't even reached Tanzaku Town and already they're coming for me." Ryoma sighed and shook his head at the situation.
"I get why you would be a target but wouldn't the families of the two companies also be in danger?" Daichi asked the man.
Ryoma smiled at that question and replied. "Despite my reputation, my influence has certain limits. If these people were sent by a third party, a company that doesn't want to see an alliance, then they must think that it's easier to target me than face the wrath of the families of two biggest resource corporations in the Land of Fire…"
The Genin nodded. "I see…"
"But there could also be others who are bold enough to go after the two families and if that happens there will be chaos and it'll be such a headache for me."
"I assume they have guards."
"Yes. They have their own security. Still if there is one thing I've learned in life, it's that anything can happen when we least expect it."
Daichi completely understood that sentiment. 'Murphy's law. If that was a superpower I could have probably solved all of my problems by now.'
At that time Kakashi came into view and the two turned towards him for answers. "What did you find, sensei?"
The Jonin turned towards the mediator and spoke. "Well, someone paid them a lot of money to kill you. They were given your description and were told that you would have a team to protect you but they didn't know the details. I got the facial features of the man who hired them for the job but they don't have anything more useful."
Ryoma nodded. Kakashi gave the man information on the person who hired them but he didn't know who it was. "I don't recognize the features. Could be someone in disguise from one of the two families or could be from another company. At this point we don't have much."
"Let's not waste anymore time here. We should get to the town quickly. The patrolling squads should be here in a few minutes. They'll take them to prison."
Under the Jonin's instructions the trio resumed their journey and by late evening they reached Tanzaku Town. The 'dealmaker' made his way to one of the wealthier private Inns in the town.
The head manager of the Inn recognized Ryoma and welcomed the man. "Welcome to Paradise Inn. My name is Kotohaku. Please enjoy your stay." He was a relatively good-looking old man in his late 60s. He had a lean body, short white hair and a goatee.
Ryoma nodded with a polite smile. "Are the other two parties here yet?" He asked the man.
"No sir. But I'm sure they'll be here in a couple of hours." Came the reply from the host.
"Then please show us to our rooms." Kakashi spoke and soon the client and his two guards were in front of a large luxurious room.
Daichi whistled as he saw the amenities. "This is nice." 'This place is like a 5 star resort.'
Ryoma chuckled seeing the Genin's reaction. "Your room will be next to mine."
Before the wealthy mediator could enter the room, Kakashi stepped through and did a sweep of the area. A few minutes later he found nothing that indicated a threat and stepped aside.
"As I'm sure you already know, I will worry about the negotiations. You just need to keep me safe till we return." The mediator said with a smile and entered his suite.
The two ninjas nodded seriously. After they changed into a more comfortable attire, the two ninjas found their client relaxing near an open window. Daichi asked the mediator a question. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you form an alliance with two rival competitors like this?"
Ryoma sat on a chair overlooking the beautiful garden outside and replied after a few moments. "Well, the first step would be initial discussion. The two companies would have an informal dialogue to gauge the other's interest and potential. All of this will of course go through me."
"A neutral third party." Daichi spoke in understanding.
"Indeed. Now the next step would be to find and identify potential areas of collaboration. That could include shared resource gathering and processing, cooperative farming, joint distribution networks and shared protection against potential threats. Then comes the evaluation of each corporation's physical and security strengths. This includes the abilities of the shinobi they may have on their payroll."
"How strong is their security? Do you know?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm not absolutely sure but if I'm right they have a few retired Jonins and chunins in their organization." Ryoma replied.
The Jonin nodded and the mediator continued. "After that comes negotiations then drafting terms and conditions that the two should abide by. Once acceptable conditions are set comes the Legal and regulatory approval. Daichi, do you know who would preside over that?"
"The third minister. Lord Taji Mayima." The Genin replied. Daichi was aware of the working of the important dignitaries in the capital after his encounter with the minister.
"Yes. Lord Taji is in charge of public relations and business overview. The two companies would have to get his approval on the new terms for the alliance to be official."
Ryoma then stood from his chair and looked at the two ninjas with a serious gaze. "Despite this being a matter between two civilian companies, the outcome of this meeting will have an impact on the Fire country. So I need to make sure this is a win-win scenario for everyone. That's my problem to deal with. I'm trusting you two to handle anything that gets in the way of me doing my job."
"You can count on us." Kakashi reassured the man with a confident tone. At that second Daichi slightly turned his head and narrowed his eyes.
"Sensei. Several strong individuals have just entered the building. There are several civilians with them." The Genin reported.
"Other than the parties of the two corporations, Is there anyone else expected to arrive here these next few days." Kakashi asked the mediator.
"No. I specifically requested it to be that way."
"Then I'm guessing they are one of the two parties involved."
Ryoma nodded to the Jonin's assessment. "Yes. It won't be long before the other arrives. Then tomorrow we'll begin."