Hearing Seimei's question, who was already startled like a frightened kitten, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
What the hell?
When did this guy come over here? And what did he say? This one beside me is a shadow clone?
I don't know what a shadow clone is. But I can clearly feel that this is no illusion.
I can clearly feel his arm touching my shoulders. And judging by how he arrived right beside me without even making a sound, he had all the time in this world to stab me and my guards in the heart.
Not to mention the terrifying power he and his companions just displayed.
Outrageous.
Are you now asking me whether your proof is sufficient?
Do you even need to ask this anymore?
I don't dare say no. I really don't.
Won't you stab me the moment I respond with something negative?
Monstrous brat! No need for such sarcasm. Please speak like a human.
The merchant, Satoshi, complained inwardly, but he didn't say it.
He could only nod his head repeatedly like a pecking chick and exclaim, "I believe it. I absolutely believe it. I see that you three are respected Shinobi, who are only carrying out your missions."
Satoshi tried to smile while giving his reply. But the smile was so strained that his facial features almost twisted grotesquely.
Seeing such a horrible smile up close, Seimei's clone's lips couldn't help but twitch.
Brother, if you can't smile properly, then don't smile. What's up with that bizarre smile on your face? Please don't. I am afraid I will have nightmares tonight. Seimei's shadow clone complained inwardly.
However, the shadow clone quickly pushed the distracting thoughts away and gave Satoshi an innocent smile like a little radiant sun.
"I see. I am glad we could agree. In that case, we won't hold you back any longer. You can organize your force and continue on your path."
Satoshi's mood relaxed somewhat after hearing Seimei say that, and he replied, "Thank you. Thank you for your understanding."
Then, he reached into his pocket and brought out a thick envelope.
Satoshi handed the envelope to Seimei's clone, who accepted it and looked at Satoshi curiously.
Satoshi explained, "If not for your timely assistance, I would have lost my life here. Since I am a merchant, I can only thank you with money."
"This envelope has one million ryo. Please accept it."
Seimei's clone looked at the envelope and fell into deep thought. He gave Satoshi a meaningful glance before nodding, "Since that's the case, I will gladly accept your generosity."
"If you ever need protection for long journeys or to travel to faraway lands, you are always welcome to Konoha. Our force is the strongest on the continent. I am sure you won't be disappointed. Your and your caravan's safety is guaranteed."
Well, Seimei is a ninja in training from Konoha after all. This merchant seemed loaded.
So, he shamelessly promoted Konoha.
If he came to Konoha to request protection, it would mean more missions for the Konoha ninjas, making the economy of Konoha thrive even more.
Satoshi nodded once again. "Of course."
Seimei slipped the envelope with one million ryo inside into his pocket and waved at Satoshi. "Well then, goodbye. I hope you have a safe trip."
With that, the clone disappeared from Satoshi's sight and appeared beside the real Seimei.
The shadow clone handed the envelope to the real Seimei before disappearing with a puff of smoke.
Not long after, Satoshi's hired guards, ninjas, and samurai cleaned up the battlefield, retrieved the corpses of their comrades, organized their forces, and marched forward with Satoshi to their destination.
Once Satoshi's caravans moved far away, Haneda and Touma turned their heads toward Seimei in sync and spoke simultaneously.
"Let's divide the money equally, Seimei." x2
Hearing their words, Seimei's lips couldn't help but twitch.
What is this, my friends?
The moment I get money, you immediately set your sights on it?
At least, pretend not to be so blatant.
What kind of plastic brotherhood is this?
But honestly, I would have done the same. So, no hard feelings.
Seimei thought inwardly. No matter which world you are in, money is always important. No amount of money is too much.
Anyway, those one million were a good side income. And they wouldn't even have to notify Konoha about it. A good haul indeed.
Seimei coughed and said, "Let's divide it after we finish this mission. We take 330,000 ryo each. As for the remaining 10,000 ryo, why don't we hold a gathering in Akimichi's BBQ restaurant?"
Haneda rubbed his chin. "Hmm…good idea."
Touma also nodded in affirmation.
"Alright. Let's not dwell on this topic now." Seimei continued, pointing his fingers at the two crippled and restricted B-rank hobgoblins. "Touma, get to work. Extract as much useful info as possible from these two green-skinned pests."
"Got it. Leave it to me. Just make sure I am not disturbed." Touma nodded and decisively walked toward the crippled hobgoblins.
His Sharinhan glowed menacingly as he looked toward the hobgoblins with a predatory gaze.
And so, Touma began to apply his delightful torture techniques…cough cough…profound investigation techniques based on Genjutsu and application of Sharingan to extract relevant intel from the hobgoblins' minds.
The entire process took less than twenty minutes. However, he spent another ten minutes assimilating the memories he had extracted from the hobgoblins.
After that, he swiftly killed the hobgoblins, releasing their souls from suffering and helping them achieve nirvana.
After all, Touma was a gentle soul. He couldn't just sit back and watch the hobgoblins whimper in pain and grief of shattered limbs.
Plus, these hobgoblins were surely missing their comrades.
So, he reunited them with the other departed goblin souls.
Amitabha!
Touma buried the corpse and returned to Seimei and Haneda. He told them about every single intel he had extracted from the two hobgoblins' memories.
Hearing that, there was a brief moment of silence as Seimei and Haneda contemplated their next actions.
Haneda was the first to ask the question. "So…there's a possibility that the goblin stronghold still has no less than 150 goblins. And that includes at least 20 more B-rank hobgoblins and one A-rank goblin lord leading them. Is that correct?"
Touma nodded solemnly and replied, "At least that's what I saw in their memories of the last eleven days. If you ask me, the current number of goblins in that stronghold can very well exceed 200."
Seimei added, "Touma is right. And we don't know what powers the A-rank goblin lord might have." He continued. "If we don't handle it well, they will surround us and end our lives."
"After all, no matter how fierce our offense is, they just need to drive a single blade, claw, or arrow through our vitals."
Haneda and Touma fell silent. Haneda snapped his head back at Seimei and asked, "So, what do we do? Retreat?"
Seimei shook his head and explained, "No. First, we will go to their stronghold and scout. We need to see if we can deal with them ourselves."
"If we can, fine. Otherwise, we will retreat and bring reinforcement to annihilate these pests."
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