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In addition to samurai, there were also many commoners and travelers from other countries in the capital of the Land of Iron. Satoru Hyūga and his companion didn't stand out after disguising themselves.
After making some inquiries, the two came to an inn.
The innkeeper was a young woman. As soon as Shibi Aburame gave the secret signal, she immediately led the two quietly to a secret room.
As soon as they entered the secret room, the innkeeper seemed like a different person. She bowed slightly to Shibi Aburame with a solemn expression.
"Anbu Code [Red Pigeon], greetings to my lord."
"Anbu Code [Bug]." Shibi Aburame said calmly.
The innkeeper shifted her gaze to Satoru Hyūga, showing a puzzled look.
Satoru Hyūga felt a bit embarrassed. Anbu Code... What a load of nonsense! I'm not an Anbu member.
"He's not an Anbu member." Shibi Aburame said.
Not an Anbu member?
The innkeeper couldn't help but be surprised. The Hokage actually dispatched someone outside the Anbu to execute such an important mission, and he's so young?
Satoru Hyūga looked at Shibi Aburame and murmured to himself: It seems that Teacher Shibi has a high status in the Anbu. And being able to lead a team as a Jonin, he should be a special existence in the Anbu.
"Tell me the latest information." Shibi Aburame said concisely.
The innkeeper took a breath and her eyes flickered. "A few days ago, when we were inquiring about that transaction in the underground black market, we made a new discovery. The buyer has been confirmed to be Iwagakure. And the transaction content should be reserve supplies. The transaction time is in two days."
Iwagakure? Reserve supplies?
What kind of supplies are worth over 100 million ryo?
Satoru Hyūga felt a bit heavy-hearted. He remembered that the content of his last mission was to discover that Iwa ninjas were searching for supplies in the Grass Country. Unexpectedly, they've already reached out to the Land of Iron? With such a large amount of supplies being stocked, they're probably preparing for war!
Shibi Aburame frowned tightly. He also noticed this and sighed, "It seems the Hokage's concerns were right. With such a big move by Iwagakure, they're indeed preparing for war."
Satoru Hyūga pondered for a while and said, "Since the transaction time has been determined to be in two days, can we disrupt the transaction during this period?"
"No way!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Red Pigeon shook her head.
"The transactions in the underground black market are protected by the black market forces. Before the transaction is completed, if someone tries to disrupt it, they will be besieged by all the black market ninjas."
I see... Satoru Hyūga clicked his tongue. He didn't just say it casually. With the Byakugan and the magnetic storm sniper rifle at his disposal, he's really good at causing a ruckus.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the secret room became oppressive.
"Hand over the location of the underground black market and the relevant intelligence. We're going to conduct an on - site investigation." Shibi Aburame said seriously.
"Yes."
On the street.
Satoru Hyūga and Shibi Aburame were walking side by side.
"Teacher Shibi, who do you reckon is offloading such a large batch of supplies through the underground black market channels?" Satoru Hyūga thought for a while and asked.
Shibi Aburame said, "In the ninja world, some big commercial guilds conduct money laundering transactions through the underground black market. Besides, many Fang Daimyō of various countries have their own channels in the black market. However, a transaction of such a huge amount is still relatively rare."
Satoru Hyūga nodded. He always had a hunch that something was off about this. The Land of Iron is not a ninja country. Why would someone sell such a huge amount of supplies in the black market?
The two chatted quietly as they walked. Soon, they arrived at the black market mentioned in the intel.
They found a place in a nearby izakaya and started their surveillance.
They were currently posing as travelers from other regions who had come to the Land of Iron. It wasn't appropriate for them to directly enter the black market. Keeping an eye from the outside was the best choice.
"Satoru, can your Byakugan see the situation inside?" Shibi Aburame asked.
Satoru Hyūga roughly estimated and said, "I should be able to manage within this range."
After saying that, he took off the Colored Contact Lenses on his eyes and quietly activated his Byakugan.
From the Byakugan's perspective, inside the seemingly ordinary izakaya across the street, a huge space suddenly came into view, bustling with people.
Judging by the chakra feedback, quite a number of them were samurai.
"No wonder there's such a large black market in the Land of Iron. It turns out that many samurai are involved," Satoru Hyūga thought to himself.
The Byakugan's ability was fully utilized in the special environment of the Land of Iron. Due to the large number of samurai, the chakra of ninjas was as obvious as a searchlight.
After ruling out some scattered ninjas, he found a group of powerful ninjas in an inn about 500 meters away from the black market.
"Teacher Shibi, there are seven ninjas gathered in the inn 500 meters in the 3 o'clock position. Judging by the amount of chakra, there are likely five chunin and two jonin. One of the jonin has a huge amount of chakra. He should be an elite jonin," Satoru Hyūga reported.
Shibi Aburame nodded and said, "It seems these are the Iwa ninjas mentioned in the intel. Let's wait and see what happens for now."
Satoru Hyūga let out a sigh of relief. The strength of this group of Iwa ninjas wasn't all that strong. Judging from this, the danger level of this mission shouldn't be too bad.
Just as he was about to deactivate his Byakugan, he suddenly made an unexpected find.
"Wait! Teacher Shibi, something's wrong!"
"What's going on?" Shibi Aburame's heart tightened, and he quickly asked.
"There's a jonin hiding about 600 meters from that inn!"
"Is he an Iwa ninja too?"
Satoru Hyūga solemnly shook his head. "No, he definitely isn't on the same side as those Iwa ninjas. Judging from his actions, he seems to be monitoring them."
"Monitoring?!"
Shibi Aburame took a deep breath, and his eyes immediately narrowed a bit. This wasn't great news. It meant that besides them, a third ninja force had popped up in the city!
The direction of the mission instantly got complicated and confusing.
Satoru Hyūga also felt a heavy weight in his heart. The joy of just finding the Iwa ninja team vanished in an instant. If he hadn't been careful and looked around a bit more, he might not have found the other person. The other person's way of hiding his presence was quite advanced.
"Can you figure out which side this ninja belongs to?" Shibi Aburame asked tentatively.
"I can't," Satoru Hyūga shook his head. "The opponent has a strong anti-reconnaissance awareness. With the Byakugan, I can only see the flow of his chakra. There's no way to figure out his identity."
"I see," Shibi Aburame nodded. "Let's stay here and observe for now, and play it by ear."
"Okay!"
Satoru Hyūga took a deep breath. He suddenly recalled an old saying: The mantis preys on the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it (a Chinese idiom meaning that one is so focused on one's immediate target that one fails to notice a greater threat approaching from behind).
And now, it seemed that they were vying with the forces of that mysterious Jonin for the role of the oriole!
Just like that, as evening fell, the mysterious Jonin started to move.
"Teacher Shibi, he's moving towards the outskirts of the city."
"Let's tail him!"
The two quietly trailed behind the mysterious Jonin. Since the opponent had a strong anti-reconnaissance awareness, the two always maintained a relatively large distance.
It wasn't until they reached the deep woods outside the city that Satoru Hyūga's expression grew solemn.
Using the Byakugan, he saw the spot where the opponent halted.
"The place that Jonin is heading to seems to be a stronghold. I've sensed a lot of powerful chakra flows."
Shibi Aburame's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sure enough, this mission is not as simple as it appears."
Just as the two were getting closer to that stronghold, Shibi Aburame suddenly raised his hand to block in front of Satoru Hyūga. "Wait a sec, Satoru. Something's off."
Satoru Hyūga glanced over and saw several black Parasitic Bugs flying from the forest and landing on Shibi Aburame's shoulders. While trailing the target, Shibi Aburame also dispatched Parasitic Bugs for exploration. The title of Omnipotence Ninja wasn't for nothing.
After receiving the information relayed by the Parasitic Bugs, Shibi Aburame's expression turned grim.
"The Parasitic Bugs have sensed a sensory barrier ahead. If we barge in recklessly, we'll be spotted by the other side."
Satoru Hyūga immediately activated the Byakugan to scan the area. Sure enough, near that stronghold, he could see several ninjas sitting cross-legged, apparently maintaining the barrier.
Should they just head back now?
Satoru Hyūga's heart dropped.