Chapter 71: Scales of Justice (Part-2/12) [Becoming the bait]

Chapter 71 - Scales of Justice (Part-2/12) [Becoming the bait] {I forgot to update the arc name in the last Chapter but here it it.} When the Third Hokage had asked Utakata to travel alongside Juichi and Homura as part of the diplomatic delegation, Utakata requested permission to bring his team along. Hiruzen had agreed, reasoning that early exposure to a political environment would be valuable for the Genin's future growth. After receiving approval, Utakata had informed Team 1 about the nature of the mission and instructed them to be ready by the time the delegation was set to leave. This led to the current situation. Since Ren didn't usually share mission details with his father until the mission was completed, he missed the chance to inform Juichi ahead of time. Likewise, Juichi hadn't been told that Utakata would be bringing his students, which brought them to this somewhat awkward encounter. "What are you doing here, brat?" "What are you doing here, dad?" They both spoke at the same time. Ren was the first to respond. "We were going on a mission." Juichi followed. "The ambassador is an old friend of mine, so I'll be going there too." Before they could continue their conversation, a stern voice cut through the air. "Enough with the chit-chat. We need to get going now if we want to reach the Land of Iron on time and have enough spare time to search for the evidence we need." Ren turned and saw Homura Mitokado, one of the Leaf's elders, standing there with his usual sharp expression. Juichi waved his only hand casually. "Don't worry, old man. We'll reach there in time. You should be the one making sure you don't lag behind too much." Homura's response was calm and cutting. "Then let's just have Shikeru charged and executed for treason, since these old bones can't keep up with you young folks and would be late to the meeting where actual negotiations take place." Juichi, wisely, said nothing further. Everyone present knew that aside from Hiruzen himself, Homura was the only one skilled enough in political negotiations to possibly prove Shikeru's innocence through diplomacy and strategy. If strength had been the goal, someone like Jiraiya would have been sent. But now, words were their only weapons. At that moment, there was a flicker between the two groups. Yoru, the ANBU Commander, appeared without sound or warning. "The route has been cleared. We are free to go." And just as suddenly, he vanished again. Homura turned back to the group. "The guards will handle the front. You people take care of the rear." With that, he began instructing the guards on formation. Juichi turned toward Ren and noticed the frown on his son's face. "That was Yoru, the ANBU Commander. He's strong." Ren nodded slowly. The moment Yoru had appeared, an oppressive pressure had settled on him. His instincts had screamed to react, but he found himself frozen in place. Just one glance from the man, and all action was stripped from his body. Only after Yoru left did the pressure vanish. Juichi continued, "That feeling you had? That was just him letting you feel it. If he didn't want to be noticed, none of us would've even realized he was there." Ren glanced at his teammates. Both Yugao and Hitoshi looked pale and were lightly sweating. Juichi added, "He doesn't care much for rank or age. But he doesn't think you kids are necessary for this mission. That was a warning. Stay alert the whole time." Ren nodded, then quietly activated his Mystical Palm Technique, calming his own nerves with a subtle pulse of chakra. He did the same for Yugao and Hitoshi, who gave him thankful nods. Then, Utakata clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Let's go. The caravan is ready." He walked toward the prepared procession: three wagons, surrounded by guards on three sides. Team 1 and Juichi took positions at the rear, securing the caravan from all angles. Once everything was in place, the gate guards gave the signal. The caravan began moving. This would be Ren's first mission traveling to a foreign nation, one with power and stance on par with the Five Great Nations. ~~~ The Iron Capital, located in the snowy Land of Iron, sat nestled between the Three Wolves Mountain, landmark peaks famous across the continent. The snow-covered terrain of the Land of Iron was a stark contrast to the Land of Fire, which only experienced brief periods of snowfall each year. From Konohagakure to the Iron Capital, a normal squad of shinobi would take no more than two days to complete the journey. However, the current delegation included non-shinobi from the negotiations team, and the carriages were pulled by horses so the travel time was estimated at five full days. When the messenger from the Land of Iron had arrived, he stated that the trial of Shikeru Nara would be held ten days from that date. With two days spent gathering intel and preparing the team, and five days required for travel, that left three days for any investigations or political maneuvering once they arrived. The group stopped once per day for rest and proper sleep, and twice more for meals. This pacing made the journey excruciatingly slow for Team 1, who were used to the fast-paced rhythm of typical shinobi operations. Even missions involving merchant escort were usually wrapped up in two days. By the third day, their bodies were practically brimming with unspent energy. Oddly, there hadn't been a single bandit attack so far, not even a wild animal sighting, despite them moving through forested areas. Ren figured this had to be the ANBU at work, silently clearing the path ahead and ensuring no disruptions. That night, on Day 3 of their journey, the group stopped as usual. The weather had begun to chill slightly as they neared the snowy terrain of the Land of Iron, but it was still manageable without cloaks. As the negotiations team sat together, enjoying the hot stew prepared by the guards, Team 1 sat a short distance away by themselves. Both Juichi and Utakata were absent at the moment. Yugao stretched out her legs with a groan. "I'm so bored. It feels like I don't need to wait till old age for my joints to stiffen up, this mission alone might do it." Ren chuckled. "Don't forget, we still have to come back." "Ugh." Yugao groaned again, flopping back into her blanket at the thought. Just then, one of the guards walked over and handed them plates of food, meat stew with rice. There were also optional side dishes, but the Genin politely declined. They were used to surviving on jerky and ration pills during missions, so even this meal felt like a luxury. Ren, out of habit, performed a quick poison detection test on his portion. Finding nothing, he began to eat. It was around that time that Juichi and Utakata returned to the camp. The Genin offered them food, but both men declined. Yugao took the opportunity to speak up. "Sensei, aren't we traveling too slowly? I'm sure we could do something to speed things up a little." Utakata shook his head. "No. This is an official procession of the Leaf Village, one of the Five Great Nations. If word got out that we rushed our negotiation team, especially one composed of civilian representatives, it would reflect badly on the village and even more so on the Fire Daimyo." He paused before adding, "Daimyos' place great importance on appearances and protocol. If we break formation or look desperate, we lose political standing. You'll understand in the future." The Genin nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation. Ren, meanwhile, thought back to his previous world. Politics there were also heavily influenced by "saving face," even in modern times. Here, in a world modeled on feudal Japan, those customs were taken even more seriously. Once the Genin had finished eating and returned their utensils, they gathered again with Utakata and Juichi by the low-burning campfire. The flames crackled quietly as Utakata shifted his gaze to his three students and began, "Alright, listen, the three of you." His tone instantly straightened their postures. "Once we arrive in the Land of Iron, me, Juichi, or any of the other guards will be effectively tied down by protocol. We won't be able to do any investigative work beyond what the officials explicitly permit. From that point on, the responsibility for covert operations will fall to the ANBU squad accompanying us, primarily Yoru's team." The Genin nodded silently as Utakata continued. "Normally, Genin are not brought along on diplomatic missions like this. But since you're here, the assumption from outsiders will be that the Leaf Village is confident in your abilities and that alone will attract some attention." He looked each of them in the eye before continuing. "However little that attention may be, it's exactly what we need." He let the silence settle before continuing with the full weight of what he was saying. "Your role will be to act as a decoy. While the ANBU handle the real investigations in secret, you will act as open investigators. Asking questions, probing the surface, and collecting whatever public information you can. Every bit of data you uncover will be passed on to the ANBU through established drop points. They'll act based on what you find." He paused again, letting the message sink in. "Your goal is to attract attention. The more eyes on you, the fewer on them. You will effectively be the bait during our stay in the Land of Iron." Yugao frowned slightly. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. Ren just stared, listening intently. "Don't take this lightly." Utakata continued, " We have just received the report that the Land of Iron is currently under strict lockdown. The samurai have likely received orders to monitor every foreign shinobi inside their borders. That means the ANBU's freedom of movement will be severely restricted. Technically, their very presence violates the neutrality agreement. If caught, things could escalate." He leaned back slightly. "As for you three, no one will move openly against you. Not while you're within the Iron Capital. But..." his tone dropped ever so slightly "if you get too close to something, or someone realizes you're not just there to show off, things may change quickly." The fire cast shadows across their faces. No one said a word for several seconds. Then Yugao asked quietly, "So what happens if we do find something important?" Utakata responded without hesitation. "You report it immediately. Don't act on your own. No heroics. If you're being watched, change your drop method. If the situation gets dangerous, disengage." Seeing the mood get a little too tense, Juichi suddenly chimed in, his tone light, "Hey, don't scare the genins like that. I'm sure they're smart enough to understand the situation without you highlighting every threat." He turned toward the three of them and continued more seriously, "But still, kids, be cautious. Someone is framing Shikeru. That person definitely won't want anyone getting near the truth. If you do, they'll try to eliminate you." He paused for a moment and then added, "When you're there, don't trust anyone. If someone acts overly nice, be even more suspicious. Right now, Konoha is the target, so anyone showing you good intentions could very well have ulterior motives." The genins nodded, their expressions serious. Just then, there was a flicker of movement and an ANBU appeared silently beside them. The mask she wore was almost blank white, with the exception of three small star symbols arranged diagonally across it. Ren had never seen a design like that before, it was clearly a distinction that marked her apart from regular ANBU. Her voice was calm and sharp as she spoke. "I'll brief the three of you." Without wasting time, she pulled out a scroll from her pouch and unfurled a detailed map of the Land of Iron onto the ground. Several points were already marked on it with faint red ink. "These points are your drop-off and meet-up zones," she said, gesturing to the red markings. "There will be an ANBU stationed at each of these locations at all times. If you have any information, check for tails, then make your way here. No delays." She let the map sit in place for three seconds, giving them just enough time to visually memorize key locations before rolling it up and replacing it with another. This second map also had marked zones, but the markings this time were in blue. "These are the locations we suspect will hold information we need. Libraries, administrative records, restricted zones, archives. Your job is to hover near these places. Find natural reasons to be there and don't force it." Again, she paused for just three seconds before rolling the second map up. She handed both maps to Ren, giving him a single nod as if to acknowledge his role in leading the data flow, then added quietly, "If you miss a drop or we lose contact with you for more than 6 hours, you'll be assumed compromised. So make sure that doesn't happen." With that, and without taking any questions, she flickered away just as silently as she had arrived. ~~~~ {2280 Words} {There won't be much action during the mission, instead there would be a lot of actual ninja like stuff. But I'll make sure that story does not get boring with too many details.} {Yoru is the ANBU commander, his squad is different from regular ANBU squads, I'll explain it in detail once we reach the correct stage.} {I'll try and make all the Chapters during this arc 2k+ so do your part.} {STONES!!!!!!!}