As Yami was eating the attendant came back and gave Yami a key and said "You can stay on the first floor of this inn for tonight. I am not as greedy as I look." The attendant said trying to put up a serious face.
'He doesn't want me to contact anyone else who can get me on the ship. This will make him lose the money he can get tomorrow.' Yami thought. He took the keys and continued eating. He had made sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. The inn also had 3 shinobis at different places like the counter, and the seats, and on was sitting on the roof.
'All these people are genin and low chunin level. I guess the only strong ones are Mr. Santo and his siblings. The attendant said Terumi clan. Wasn't the 5th Mizukage from the Terumi clan?' Yami thought as he finished his food and went up into the room. He didn't want to act suspicious in any way that could jeopardize his getting on Mr. Santo's ship tomorrow.
After he went to his room, Yami took out another piece of paper and wrote
'The village near the dock in the land of forests is quite peaceful. But the ones that protected them so far will leave for the hidden mist so this village might be in danger from the pirates and bandits.' Yami then rolled it and made some symbols on the ground with his blood summoning a bat. Yami had only one messenger bat but this time his bat had already gone to deliver the letter to Zabuza and also follow him till the hidden mist so Yami summoned another messenger bat.
"Give it to the Hokage only when she is alone." Yami said as he tied the letter to the bat's legs and let him out of the window. This bat seemed to fly faster and higher than his own messenger bat and disappeared in no time.
'As far as I know Lady Tsunade, she will send Shinobis here to protect the village after Mr. Santo leaves with his family and men. This is the least I can do for these people.' Yami thought as he closed the window and laid on his bed. Yami didn't leave his room and even ordered dinner in his room. He kept on calculating different scenarios and thinking about solutions for them. Very few of them ended with him keeping his identity a secret. The best plan included all the spies that Konoha have in the hidden mist to work together but that would blow their cover.
This could be a risky move but Yami wanted to properly make use of Zabuza and Haku as well with anyone knowing that they do Yami's bidding. Yami used his enhanced senses to hear everything that the people around and in the inn were saying.
The Shinobis who were guarding the inn and the roads surrounding it were talking about how most of them are leaving tomorrow and how they are scared to fight after reaching the hidden mist. The villagers were a bit nervous but they didn't let it affect them much as they trusted Mr. Santo and his siblings to make arrangements to keep them safe. Yami sensed that the villagers had become quite dependent on the Shinobis protecting them just like the ones in the hidden leaf. The reason the Shinobis were afraid was because they didn't have much experience in fighting those who are Shinobis as well. They mostly fought against pirates and bandits that relied on dirty tricks or brute strength.
Yami thought he might have to leave in the darkness of the night to collect info but he already had more than enough info for now so he slept in his room. The following day Yami woke up at 4 and got ready. He wore clean clothes this time but not too lavish as to someone who questions his identity or origins. He could've transformed himself into anyone he wanted but he guessed that his being 10 years old was the biggest advantage. Yes, yesterday was Yami's birthday and he had now turned 10 years old.
At 4:40 Yami left his room and came down to the dining area of the inn. He saw the same attendant eating grilled fish and rice. As he saw Yami come down, he waved his hand and said "Come here kid and eat something. You never know what food you get at sea." Yami nodded and sat on the chair beside the attendant. The chef served Yami some food which he ate and left the inn with the attendant.
As they were walking toward the docks the attendant gave Yami some basic knowledge about the Terumi siblings. "The eldest one is Mr Santo who is 24-25 years old. One year younger than him is his sister Miss Kana and the last two are 19 years old Toru and 18 years old Nana. All 4 of them are strong shinobis and Mr Santo and Miss Kana are Jonin and chunin level Shinobis. You have no idea how strong a chunin is kid. By the way kid what is your name? I didn't ask you yesterday."
"Yuta. By the way since when are Mr Santo and his siblings staying here?" Yami said.
"Since the hidden mist came to be called as the blood mist. I mean that's what I have heard. I came to live year 4 years ago." the attendant said and Yami noticed that they had reached the docks. He saw a big ship and many people on it. Most of the people were shinobis as Yami could feel the chakra fluctuations in their body. He also sensed 6 strong fluctuations inside the ship as well which Yami guessed must be the siblings but he didn't know who the rest 2 were.
"Wait here" the attendant said and ran toward a bald man who was instructing people to load crates onto the ship. He talked with the bald man for a few seconds and even pointed at Yami a couple of times. Yami walked toward the two of them while they were talking.
The bald man looked at Yami and said "Yuta you will be paid 5000 Ryo to help out on the deck. I will pay you half now and the rest after we reach the hidden mist. For a 12-year old you are quite brave to travel the seas alone. I'll give you that. We will leave in 15 mins so hop on the ship and wait for me on the deck."
Yami gave the attendant the money he had promised and boarded the ship. He saw that the ones doing the work on the ship were genin-level shinobis or civilians. He looked at the vast sea as this is the first time he was seeing such a big one since he came to this world. In the land of waves he had only seen lakes and rivers but seeing a majestic blue sea without plastic floating on it was new for him.
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