Chapter 171: Next Time, Just Stay A Backwater Nobody

Chapter 171 - Next Time, Just Stay A Backwater Nobody Kenshi Town was one of the few major towns in the Land of Fire and Ren's next stop on his mission. The Zukoma Village, his true target, was one of the many small villages clustered around Kenshi Town. There were countless such villages scattered throughout the Land of Fire. Usually, the strongest person in these villages was only at the level of an elite jonin, which was exactly why they were called small villages. But if a village managed to produce a true S-rank shinobi, then the status changed. Villages with an S-rank shinobi at the top were known as minor villages and these minor villages often had their own "Kage" or shadow leader, although their strength obviously wasn't on par with the Kages of the Five Great Nations. The true great villages were those with multiple S-rank shinobi and at least one real Kage-level combatant. Each major country in the shinobi world had exactly one such village and for the Land of Fire, that was the Hidden Leaf Village. In a way, the Leaf Village held the power of the fist, but they were still technically subordinate to the Fire Daimyo. Of course, the Daimyo had to give the Hokage enough leeway to act freely because a Kage wasn't someone a mere Daimyo could truly control. How much authority the Daimyo had over a village depended entirely on how much freedom the Kage chose to allow. Just as the Fire Daimyo had the Leaf under his rule, he also governed all the small villages scattered throughout the Land of Fire. But since these small villages usually only had elite jonin at best, neither the Leaf nor the Daimyo paid them much mind beyond what was necessary. However, if one of these villages suddenly produced an S-rank shinobi, the entire balance shifted. An S-rank shinobi could carve out their own minor village, claim a slice of territory, and even be recognized by a new Daimyo, splitting the Land of Fire's control and drawing the interest of other great villages. And that was exactly what the other villages and Daimyo would prefer any fracture in the Land of Fire's power was an advantage to them. But, this situation could also happen with others, so, while on the surface, all the great villages allowed shinobi from small villages to grow, the moment they crossed a certain line, they were left with only two options, merge completely with the great village or die. The Leaf must have done this countless times before and now, it was Ren's turn to eliminate the next potential problem. From the perspective of a small village, it might seem cruel and unfair. But from the perspective of a future high-level leader of the Leaf, it was just necessary maintenance. Who'd want an unstable component in their brand-new, finely tuned machine? That was exactly why Ren had accepted this mission without hesitation, aside from the fact that he wanted to fight an S-Rank Shinobi, and now, roaming in the markets of Kenshi Town, he'd already spread out his butterflies, the silent scouts flitting through the forests and fields, combing the area for Zukoma Village and its suspected S-rank shinobi. ~~~ It took Ren about two days to gather all the information he needed with his butterflies summons flitting tirelessly across the forests and narrow village paths around Zukoma Village. Zukoma itself was about half a day's journey from Kenshi Town for the locals, which meant Ren could cover the distance in just a few hours at most. The situation in the village, though, was more interesting than he'd expected. On the surface, everything looked perfectly normal, almost too normal. From the information his butterflies gathered, this "peaceful" state had only begun a few days ago. Before that, Zukoma had behaved just like any other small village of its level, laid-back, unguarded, largely unnoticed. But now? Now they were trying very hard to look normal. The hints were subtle but clear if you knew what to look for, more disguised patrols at all times and even more at night, hidden entrances being sealed off, a full sensor network deployed after dark, and certain important people slipping in and out of the central building at odd hours. Any one of these changes alone wouldn't have raised much suspicion. But together they practically rang alarm bells. So the first part was confirmed, there was something brewing inside Zukoma Village, definitely. The only thing left was to figure out what. Was there really an S-rank shinobi here, or was it something else? Fortunately, Ren already had a lead. One name had popped up the most during his information sweep, Roku Amai. He'd come up again and again, always hovering at the center of the village's new tension. If anyone was worth investigating, it was him. One last confirmation was all Ren needed. Once he got eyes on Roku and used Observe, the truth would be clear, was Roku really S-rank, or just a convenient decoy and after that, the rest of the mission would practically complete itself. But Ren wasn't reckless enough to just charge in blind, not when he had the tools to prepare properly. So the next step was obvious, gather more intel about Roku. His first stop was the local bounty center. A single bingo book couldn't possibly contain every active target, especially not A-rank bounties that were specific to certain regions. That's why each area usually kept its own local bingo book, with updated names and threat levels for that territory. With his plan in place, Ren changed his appearance completely as he couldn't risk anyone recognizing him. This was because he'd already earned enough of a reputation in the bounty circles and as per the directives he couldn't do anything that would leave any trails behind. ~~~ When he arrived at the center, Ren paid the fee without a single complaint, it was a neat thousand ryo in exchange for the local bingo book. He flipped through its thin, slightly ragged pages, eyes scanning each entry as he searched for any local A-rank shinobi worth noting. Though his main target was obviously Roku Amai, it made sense to check every potential A-ranker in Zukoma Village. After all, there was always a chance that the real threat was someone else hiding under the radar. But it turned out he'd been overthinking it. There were only five shinobi from Zukoma Village with bounties high enough to be listed as A-rank and three of those were barely Jonin level, their reputations inflated by local legends and nothing more. That left only two real possibilities, the current village leader, Kiharu Homu, and the semi-retired former leader himself, Roku Amai. With his focus confirmed, Ren headed for his next stop, the underground information brokers. Unlike the bounty centers which were semi-legitimate and sometimes even acknowledged by the great villages but these brokers operated entirely in the shadows. Their sole business was to buy and sell information, no matter how sensitive. Ren had used them before too, selling carefully crafted "half-truths" about himself, the young genius of the leaf. It didn't hurt him at all, but the bait was good enough to draw out bounty hunters and wandering S-ranks who might come looking. That little stunt had earned him a VIP access pass since he sold information about leaf's genius, this gave him a convenient ten percent discount on any purchase he made. Still, for this job, he didn't use the pass. It might leave a trail that someone clever could follow, and Ren wasn't about to leave footprints in the dark. He had his butterflies locate the nearest broker, walked in with his disguised appearance, and bought a complete dossier on Roku Amai, from birth up until now. The price was a tidy five hundred thousand ryo which was the usual rate for full information on an elite Jonin. He skimmed through the early pages quickly which included birthplace, academy graduation age, first missions and none of it mattered. The main points were what he wanted. Back when he was active, Roku had been the strongest shinobi in the area, a big fish in a small pond. But a few years ago, he'd all but retired. These days, he only ever emerged if Zukoma Village was in true danger. His so-called "retirement" was odd too as Roku had no missing limbs, no permanent, life-threatening injuries that would force him to step back. According to every report Ren could buy, Roku had simply decided he'd rather spend time with his family and train the village's young hopefuls, living quietly until the end of his days. The only thing that even hinted at trouble was an old rumor that a rogue shinobi had attacked the village a while back. Roku came out of retirement to handle him, but the fight left him with major injuries which were bad enough that he hadn't been seen in public since. Ren frowned slightly as he closed the last page. If all that was true, then the odds of Roku jumping from a slightly broken elite Jonin to an S-rank threat were close to zero. His Taijutsu which was his main fighting style would be the first thing to suffer from any serious injuries. Sure, there was always a chance he'd somehow recovered but advanced to S-rank level on top of that, that was just absurd. Just to be sure, Ren also bought a file on Kiharu Homu. But that turned out to be a dead end too. Kiharu was as ordinary as they came, his skills just barely placed him at elite Jonin level here. In the Leaf or any other great village, he'd still be considered a regular Jonin at best. But that was how it always was with these small villages. Once someone grew stronger than the other Jonin around them even if it was by a small margin then they'd immediately be labeled an "elite Jonin," whether they actually measured up or not. All in all, Zukoma's so-called "strength" was barely holding up under the smallest bit of scrutiny. Ren snapped the folder shut and let out a quiet breath. If Roku really was the target, then this would be easier than he'd expected. But something still didn't sit right. Since the information he'd gathered was still too vague to draw any solid conclusions, Ren knew there was only one option left and that was to see this Roku Amai for himself. ~~~ Once the decision made, he flickered away like a ghost through the forest, crossing the distance in just over an hour until the quiet, isolated Zukoma Village came into view. The place looked exactly like what you'd expect from a small, half-forgotten settlement clinging to the edges of a major town's influence. Rows of old wooden houses with sagging roofs, a scattering of concrete buildings that looked like they'd been dropped in from another century, and near the edges there were thatched huts so shabby they could barely keep out the rain. As for the "village walls," that was a generous word. They were mostly just sturdy wooden fences patched here and there with stretches of proper stone walls, like someone had tried to upgrade but run out of cobblestones halfway through. The so-called defenses were laughable. One glance was enough for Ren's mind to start picking them apart. The Fuinjutsu work on the outer barrier was passable at best the signature of a Level 4 Fuinjutsu master, tops. For someone like Ren, dismantling it would be easier than breathing. The sensor network was marginally better but still wouldn't be able to spot him. After all, even Four, one of the best sensors in the Leaf couldn't pin him down when he didn't want to be found. So, with that, he slipped inside. He roamed the village streets openly, blending in perfectly in the borrowed appearance of a local farmer, the poor man would wake up in a few hours with a headache and no memory of lending his face to an infiltration mission. A single butterscotch ice cream in hand completed the disguise; no one ever suspects an old, impoverished guy licking ice cream in broad daylight. While he strolled lazily, his butterflies kept feeding him bits and pieces. He already knew the general location of both Kiharu Homu and Roku Amai. Kiharu was holed up in the central building which was the hub of local bureaucracy but Roku's position was trickier. The old man was tucked away in a sealed-off corner of the village, an area too sensitive to risk sending in bugs that could easily be detected. That meant he'd have to check it himself and so he did. Ren flickered away from the bustling street so cleanly that the people around him didn't even register his disappearance. He stopped by the central building first to check on Kiharu. One quick peek and an [Observe] confirmed it, Kiharu was just an ordinary jonin, Level 67, but hailed as "elite" in this backwater village. It was all exactly as the reports had suggested, Zukoma's standards were a joke. Without wasting another second, Ren left not a trace behind as he headed for the far corner of the village. There, standing awkwardly alone, was a single squat building that looked more like a prison block than a house, just plain concrete, one door, and a lone grimy window. Ren landed silently on the window ledge and leaned forward, eyes narrowing to study the scene inside. The interior was stripped of any comfort, a single tatami mat, a low table pushed to the wall, and heavy metal rods driven deep into the concrete floor, forming a crude sealing formation around a lone figure. Roku Amai sat cross-legged in the center, eyes closed, his posture rigid, like a man in eternal meditation or a monk serving out penance. The dim light cast sharp shadows across his gaunt face and wiry frame. But none of that mundane detail mattered. What mattered was the pulse of chakra Ren could feel humming faintly around the old man, different from the dry, fractured signature the dossier had led him to expect. A manic grin crept across Ren's lips as he pressed closer, pupils dilating with predatory interest. His fingers drummed once on the window frame, then he vanished again. ~~~~~ {Don't worry, this won't be some cultivation BS but a really fun opponent to fight with and someone who might actually give a little trouble to Ren, so just wait for it.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}