-------------- Scene change to Sawamura -----------------------
I (Sawamura) along with other clones returned to the Inn after we left the bar owner and his daughter at home safely. After an hour of rest in bed, I heard a knock on the door; as I stood up and walked to the door to open it, the knocking became more and more intense.
I am irritated; I don't know who is knocking on the door in such a manner at night. While I am holding back my frustration I opened the door aggressively and shouted at them without looking at them, "who the hell are you?"
Then I looked at them and they looked at me. Five people are standing in front of me. Four of them wore uniforms; they were guards employed by the village head or personal guards. The fifth person in common clothing may be a commoner, whose face was filled with fear and his hands were gripped by two guards from both sides.
The guard standing in front of me looked at the fifth person and asked him, "It is him, right?"
The fifth person nodded his head, "yes, it's him."
The guard looked at me, "you and your followers were arrested for committing a crime in Kisaragi village. So, don't resist and obediently come with us."
As a result, I expected this scenario, "I am responsible for everything. My guards only followed my orders. So, they were innocent. I will come with you but leave them out of this."
"I don't care; you were all arrested for damaging property and creating chaos in the village. I am arresting all of you."
I and others followed them; of course, this is part of my plan. So, I just followed it.
---------------- Scene change to Bashira ----------------
I, Hirata Senju, with my newly acquired identity, Bashira, head of the merchant group, to investigate the Kisaragi village head and his accomplices and assassinate them. While I was on my way to meet with others (my clones) in the inn, I found a cat behaving suspiciously. So, I followed it to see what kind of secret it holds. I stepped into a building and entered a room. In the room, two black-clothed people are guarding a man who is panting out of exhaustion, sitting in front of a crystal lamp.
One of the two guards turned on the lights in the room. The entire room was illuminated, causing the light from the candle in the center of the room to fade away under the bright illumination of the room lights.
Another guard supported the panting man from falling back with one hand while standing. He took out a mud-green pill and fed it to the exhausted man. The panting man swallowed the pill and lost consciousness. After a minute, the panting man's complexion returned to normal as if he were sleeping as the man in black slowly placed him on the floor.
Then both guards looked at each other and nodded at the same time. Both stood five meters away from each other, while the fainted man and crystal lamp were in the center. Both guards performed a series of same-hand seals synchronously and then slammed both hands on the floor.
Seals spread from both and form a concentric circle. After the concentric circle sealing is completed a double-layer barrier appears around the sleeping man. This dual-layer barrier is different from the normal double-layer barrier and looks much more complicated.
One black-clothed man looked at the other and said, "Number 212, with this seal, this place won't be detected." You should go to the village head and cooperate with him for a while. You must remember that when your seal is activated you have to leave this village with the number 455 as soon as possible. Keep in mind you must protect this man with your life and he has to be unconscious. Don't disappoint singles."
The other man in black, number 212, sweated when he heard not disappointing singles, "yes number 23, I will deliver number 455 even at the cost of my life."
Number 23 left after giving instructions; number 212 looked back at the sleeping man inside the barrier, number 455, and muttered, "if I complete this mission successfully may be I will become double and maybe I can meet singles also."
Though he muttered to himself, I heard clearly. After number 23 left, I followed number 212, staying on his shoulder. Number 212 isn't strong enough or skilled enough to see through my disguise, even if he stands in front of me.
I observed for another two hours and I learned three things about his organization. First, everyone in this organization is called by their number and if anyone uses their name they will be killed irrespective of their status. Second, the more digits a number has the lower his/her rank in the organization and he is at the lowest level. Third, the main objective of this organization is still unknown, or maybe his level is not enough to know about it; but there is no doubt that they want to create chaos in elemental nations.
After hearing number 212 mutter everything he can think of in frustration, I found some things about this secret organization. Simply put what I observed is; an unknown organization has unknown numbers with unknown strength in disguise working for unknown reasons to create chaos in elemental nations.
Since I got all the information I needed, I decided to leave silently. I reached a place where I could transform back into mercenary Bashira; just then I lost concentration due to the transfer of memories back from the clones that were held in jail after meeting the village head, fell flat on the ground, and returned to my original body.
I sat straight and started to assess my situation and the next course of action based on the memories I received from my clones. To put it simply, my clones were interrogated by the village head in order to locate me, and even offered a handsome ransom for the information. However, my clones acting as mercenaries refused to cooperate with him.
As for the clone acting as a merchant, Sawamura had a very pleasant conversation with the village head. I found more details about the current political situation in Land of Fire.
The village head asked Sawamura, "Why did you come to this village?"
Sawamura smiled and said, "Me, I am a merchant. As a village head shouldn't you know what a merchant does?"
The village head was taken back by Sawamura's answering a question with a question and that too in front of him. He coughed lightly and continued in a soft tone, "I don't know what merchants do. But I want to know why you came to this village when no other merchants are willing to come here."
Sawamura smiled, "since no other merchant is not willing to come here. That means if any merchant is willing to take a risk and comes here, then he can monopolize the entire market. Aren't merchants also profiteers, right?"
Village head nodded as if he understood merchants are profiteers and willing to face risks for profits. However, unknown to him, Sawamura squeezes his hand, releasing a faint smoke that fills the entire room.
As he continued, "I can understand your thoughts. You haven't heard of me before, right? That's because this is my first time selling merchandise. In the past, I used to provide support and connections to aspiring merchants. You should know Karimono; a famous merchandise that rose to the top five in a short period of time. I am the one who provided the necessary connections and opportunities for it."
The village head was surprised but still looked at Sawamura suspiciously. He is aware of Karimono, a new merchant group that has grown into one of the leading merchant groups in the Land of Fire in just two years. Now its activities are spreading outside the country. But no one knows how they were able to grow that much in a short amount of time. This is because the country's economy shrank down due to the war's aftermath.
Most people have the same thought. An unknown big shot helped them, and I, Hirata Senju, am one of them. Upon hearing about the Karimono's launch, the village head assumed someone was behind them, supporting them in the dark. So, after hearing the prepared story of Hirata, the village head almost believed it if not 100%.
To divert the attention of the village head, Sawamura used the most famous rumor. According to the report, the village head's intelligence index is 1.5 out of 5. Despite an intelligence index of 1.5 and an ambition or greed index of 3.8, I am still not sure how a man with an intelligence index of 1.5 can become a village head. This shows he is a narcissistic and shrewd person.
The points system is one of several things an Anbu does while investigating a person. Anbu's measuring system assigns index points to the target once they receive information from their investigations. This analysis is done by seniors in Anbu who are part of information handling.
Since the mission was extremely important for the security of the land of Fire, all higher-ups were watching everything from behind the scenes and I don't know how many eyes were watching me from the dark. So, to avoid their gauges on me, I have to go to such lengths as using clones to form a Mercenary group & merchandise to stay incognito.
After conversing with him for two more hours, Sawamura found another clue regarding the unknown organization. A political group and this unknown organization are working together to create chaos in the Land of fire. This village head is the center of it as the main mediator between them.
It was through this unknown organization that the village head became active in national politics and became the village head of Kisaragi three years ago. Some officials and ministers fear that the Ninja villagers could take over the country through their sheer military power. So, civil officials and ministers of the Land of Fire formed a group out of concern about Ninja villages. Their main goal is to reduce the power the Ninja village holds.
So, these political groups want to create chaos in the nation and blame it on Konohagure and prevent it from growing stronger.
Knowing the root cause behind the political issues in Land of Fire and learning the true depth of this mission I am surprised if not shocked. I never expected this mission to be a simple test to evaluate my performance. But, I am damn sure this isn't a mission I should be involved. The fact that I came in incognito instead of following Anbu in the dark has relieved me.
Surprisingly, I even got some of the names of civil officers in political groups that are planning to diminish the military powers of Konoha. This is done by blaming the Cause of Chaos in the Land of Fire by borrowing the strength of the unknown organization.
At one point in time, I had doubts about the village head. Would he want to sway me away by giving me false information? The more he talks, the more I am inclined to believe he is trying to sway me away. Even though the herb I used creates hallucinations and delusions in a person who inhaled it. But the village head's response is much stronger than what I know.
Sawamura asked the village head how he got to know about the unknown organization. After listening to his answer, I am sure that this unknown organization purposely approached the village head and used him for their personal goals. For now, all I can say is they are planning to create a huge chaos in the Land of Fire starting with Kisaragi village. The village head doesn't know about it. Despite not being aware of the fact that this organization is using him, he still believes he is the one who benefits most from it.
To assassinate this village head tomorrow night, Sawamura sent mercenary clones to inspect the mansion. After Sawamura gathered enough information he left the mansion with others. After making sure no one was watching them they dispelled themselves to pass the information they acquired to the main body.