Mutsuki instructed his disciples to investigate whether the giant eagle was harassing the people and to gather some opinions of the villagers about the mayor. Meanwhile, he himself headed straight to the mayor's house to conduct an investigation.
To prevent any accidents, Mutsuki dispatched a Shadow Clone to secretly protect his disciples.
Although Mutsuki didn't ask where the mayor's house was located, he didn't need to. He knew that heading to the most luxurious courtyard would be the right choice.
Mutsuki quickly found a significantly more luxurious courtyard than the other houses, complete with flower beds and ponds. He quietly sneaked in.
"Haha, I'm still clever. Once we spread the word, there will definitely be people willing to help us get rid of that strange bird."
A triumphant middle-aged voice reached Mutsuki's ears.
"Indeed, Mayor-sama, you are so wise," someone flattered beside him.
"Of course, why else would I be the mayor?" The mayor chuckled smugly.
"Do you really expect those commoners to hire Ninjas to deal with this strange bird? I bet that person has already taken the money and run, or maybe died on the road. The world is chaotic," another person commented cynically.
"Mayor, you are wise, but since you know those commoners might not return, why not just take the thirty thousand Ryo to compensate for your loss, or arrange for someone to follow them?" someone nearby asked, puzzled.
"Foolish. Making them spend money to get things done and directly robbing them are two different levels of resistance. Besides, it's too dangerous now. The henchmen I pay aren't meant to protect those commoners. Thirty thousand ryo are not important to me, but it's important to make those commoners broke. There are still a few pieces of land in the town that are not mine, and I feel uncomfortable just looking at them. Besides, the youngest daughter of the Paten family is quite nice."
Mutsuki silently memorized the mayor's fat and lecherous face. After listening to the conversation between the mayor and his subordinates, he basically understood the situation.
Tojiro did not tell the whole truth. Even the two burly men might have been hired to act or were simply from Kawakita Town, all to provoke their sense of justice to deal with the mayor.
Although Tojiro did not tell the whole truth, his accusations against the mayor were basically true. Just from what Mutsuki heard in that short time, the mayor exposed himself by forcibly annexing land and even trying to coerce others into selling their daughters.
"Have you collected information on the whereabouts of that strange bird? Those Ninjas came to urge us in the morning. They're a bunch of lunatics, doing free work for others so diligently," the mayor couldn't understand those Ninjas.
Mutsuki could only say that different professions were like different mountains. Perhaps the mayor was proficient in land annexation, but he couldn't grasp the value of a bird Summon Beast to Ninjas because he had no idea about the existence of Summoning Jutsu and Summon Beasts.
The mayor's subordinate nodded, and the two of them, along with a few guards, prepared to go to the temporary residence of the Ninjas.
"How dare you beg here? Don't you know that our mayor is famous for his compassion and can't stand seeing people suffer? Go away," the subordinate scolded when he saw someone begging in the courtyard.
The beggar, seeing the fierce-looking guards, quickly apologized and bowed before moving to another place.
Mutsuki followed.
"Ninja-sama, we have brought the whereabouts information of that strange bird. Its nest is at the top of the mountain," the mayor said in a different tone when speaking to the Ninja, wearing a friendly smile.
"Then there's no problem. We'll go and deal with that strange bird later," the Ninja in black leather with a sword on his back said indifferently.
"I'll stay here and wish you all success in eliminating the threat for the people," the mayor said with a stern expression.
"Hehe, since it's for the people, Mayor, you should at least make some gesture, right?" a muscular Ninja in black leather chuckled.
"Didn't we agree earlier not to expect any reward?" the subordinate asked, puzzled.
"How did you talk to Ninja-sama? It's easy to talk about rewards. As long as the strange bird is dealt with, I'm willing to offer fifty thousand ryo as compensation for your labor," the mayor said with a smile.
In fact, he was cursing inwardly. If he hadn't seen the terrifying scene when the Ninja fought the strange bird, he would have turned his back long ago. He had agreed not to pay, but now he was going back on his word.
Those Ninjas were like humanoid monsters, capable of summoning lightning. The thugs he employed were no match for them.
"Haha, then it's settled," the muscular Ninja in black leather nodded in satisfaction.
Dealing with a bird Summon Beast large enough to carry a person and earning some extra money on the side, this trip was simply too profitable.
Perhaps feeling the pain of losing fifty thousand ryo, the mayor quickly left without much further conversation.
"Beroka, isn't this bad for the village?" a tall, skinny Ninja in black leather said as he saw the mayor and his entourage leave.
"Haruo, you're too rigid. What impact could this have? They didn't even post a mission in the village. They're not our clients at all, and this isn't even in the Land of Lightning. We didn't even bring our headbands," Beroka said indifferently.
"I doubt they even recognize our Hidden Cloud headbands here," Beroka asked the black-leather Ninja carrying a sword.
"Iraka, what do you think?" Beroka looked at the black-leather Ninja carrying a sword and asked.
"Haruo's concern is not unreasonable. If this war goes smoothly, our Hidden Cloud will become renowned in the ninja world. Then we'll receive many foreign commissions. If news of this incident gets out, it will be troublesome. After capturing the Summon Beast, let's kill those people. They must have plenty of money to afford such a grand mansion," Iraka said casually.
"You're ruthless," Beroka gave Iraka a thumbs-up.
He just wanted to make more money, but Iraka was suggesting raiding the enemy's house directly.
"We can leave behind a Sand Ninja headband to mislead the local people," Iraka continued.
This was meant to deceive the local population. They wouldn't understand much anyway. He wasn't so idle as to kill everyone. His target was just the wealthy mayor.
During wartime, the death of such a minor character wouldn't attract attention.
Iraka had the two of them check their equipment and then they headed towards the mountain.
"With their complexion and appearance, they must be from the Hidden Cloud," Mutsuki confirmed the identities of the three.
He used Identification Jutsu to take a quick look. Among them, the one called Iraka had decent data from the Hidden Cloud, with over 4,000 Chakra, and proficient-level Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation of around 2,000 points. The remaining two Hidden Cloud members had Chakra in the low 3,000s and no particularly strong skills.
"These capabilities make them suitable opponents for Kakashi and the others," Mutsuki thought to himself.
Considering the Hidden Cloud's ninja level of strength, he had no intention of intervening, feeling it could be used to train his disciples' combat abilities.
Apart from Kakashi, Obito and Guy lacked real combat experience. Last time, because the opponents had two Jonin, one of whom was even an elite Jonin, Mutsuki had acted rather urgently. This time, he decided to let his disciples handle it.
Mutsuki split off another Shadow Clone to follow the Hidden Cloud ninja, while he himself, using his Byakugan, took another stroll around to prevent any strong Hidden Cloud ninja from lurking in the shadows.
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