Chapter 198: Mission Secrets
"Excuse me, which one of you is Mr. Hamaji? We're the Ninja who accepted the mission," Mugetsu asked, studying the three peculiar individuals before him.
Why peculiar? Because two burly men flanked a timid, scrawny man looking less like bodyguards and more like kidnappers escorting a hostage.
Still, Mugetsu dismissed the thought of an actual kidnapping. No one in their right mind would dare take a client hostage inside Konoha. That would be suicide.
"I… I am Mr. Hamaji," the thin man in the middle said quietly, stepping forward.
"I have a question," Mugetsu began, his tone calm. "In the mission report, did the black giant eagle display any special abilities—such as breathing fire or spitting lightning?"
If it had elemental abilities, it could almost certainly be identified as a Nin-Beast, one capable of real combat.
"Ah, Big Black is just strong. He doesn't breathe fire or spit lightning," Mr. Hamaji replied, shaking his head.
"Big Black?" Mugetsu repeated, raising a brow. The name seemed oddly affectionate for a creature labeled a menace. Shouldn't it be called something like 'Dark Talon' or 'Shadow Eagle'?
"I have no further questions. We can depart at any time," Mugetsu said simply.
"Then let's go now. We can't let this monster keep causing trouble," one of the burly men urged.
Mugetsu glanced at Mr. Hamaji, who nodded timidly. With the client's confirmation, the team departed, heading for Kawakita Town in the Land of Rivers.
Kawakita Town was located in the northern region of the Land of Rivers—a place that seemed to live up to its name.
To the west lay the Land of Wind, an endless expanse of desert and wasteland. To the east, the lush forests of the Land of Fire. The north bordered the war-torn Land of Rain, while the south stretched toward the coast.
The southeastern region of the Land of Rivers was the most developed; the north, however, was poor and unstable. With no Ninja Village of its own and constant spillover from neighboring conflicts, it was a chaotic place where bandits and beasts often ran rampant.
"Mr. Hamaji, hurry up! If we return late, everyone will suffer losses!" one of the burly men barked impatiently.
"Yes, yes…" Mr. Hamaji stammered, quickening his pace.
By the time they reached a dense, uninhabited forest, Mugetsu motioned for Obito to follow him and scout ahead. Kakashi and Guy stayed behind to guard the rear in case of an ambush.
"Mugetsu-sensei," Obito said, cutting through some vines with a Kunai, "doesn't this mission feel strange? Why's the client so timid?"
"There's definitely something off," Mugetsu agreed with a nod. "We'll talk to him tonight."
The problem was so obvious that even Obito could see it.
Their first day passed quietly. As expected, the Land of Fire's roads were safe and well-patrolled. When night fell, Mugetsu decided it was time to address the situation.
Without warning, he cast a genjutsu—instantly knocking both burly men unconscious.
"You—!" Mr. Hamaji gasped, startled as the two large men collapsed stiffly to the ground.
"Don't worry, Mr. Hamaji," Mugetsu said calmly, a faint smile on his lips. "We Konoha Ninja don't harm our clients."
"Based on what we've seen, these two men don't seem like your bodyguards. What's your relationship with them?"
Mr. Hamaji looked at the fallen men nervously. After confirming they were truly unconscious, he finally spoke.
"They were sent by the Mayor to protect me on my way to Konoha to post the mission," he admitted honestly.
He'd never witnessed a Ninja's power before. The way the two collapsed without a sound was terrifying.
"If they were protecting you, why were they treating you so badly?" Mugetsu asked, his tone still composed.
Mr. Hamaji hesitated, then glanced again at the two unconscious men before lowering his voice.
"Actually… Big Black never harmed the townspeople. He only took the Mayor's poultry."
Mugetsu's eyes narrowed slightly, but he gestured for him to continue.
"Big Black isn't vicious. We found him injured in the woods and raised him together. But that greedy Mayor tried to capture him to keep as a pet. He failed—and Big Black fought back."
"How can there be such a scoundrel? If I saw him, I'd definitely give him a good beating!" Obito burst out angrily after hearing the story.
"Then why did you still come all the way to Konoha to post a request to drive Big Black away?" he asked, frowning.
"There was no other choice," Mr. Hamaji said helplessly. "Our fields are all rented from the Mayor. He forced us to pool money to request a mission to drive Big Black away. If we refused, he said he wouldn't rent the land to us anymore."
"And he made you pay for it yourselves?" Kakashi was taken aback. He had been wondering why the Mayor would send Mr. Hamaji in the first place.
"Such a man has already lost his youth! He should be given a good beating to reignite it!" Might Guy declared passionately, his fists clenched.
Mugetsu, however, remained calm. This Mayor was indeed suspicious. He wasn't even cunning enough to cover his greed. If he wanted to control the villagers, he could have simply taken the money and sent his own men to post the mission.
"Is he afraid of Ninja?" Mugetsu mused silently.
It was likely. People in remote regions who had never seen real Shinobi from major villages often feared them. Sending two muscle-bound men to "escort" Mr. Hamaji was probably a way to ensure he didn't run off with the money.
Of course, there was another possibility—that Mr. Hamaji was lying. But judging from his timid demeanor, Mugetsu found that unlikely.
Either way, he didn't care. Once they reached Kawakita Town, he would confirm everything himself.
If this Mayor really was exploiting the villagers, Mugetsu wouldn't mind dispensing some justice of his own.
He didn't hate Iwagakure or Kumogakure Ninja. The only reason he killed them was because if he didn't, they'd kill him.
Unlike the other Konoha Shinobi, Mugetsu had no sentimental attachment to the village. He was just a transmigrator who had been there for less than a year. He could develop attachments to people, yes but not to the so-called "village."
What was there to be emotional about? It was, after all, a military stronghold that sent children barely ten years old to the battlefield. With the values he brought from his previous life, Mugetsu couldn't feel patriotic toward such a system.
Between foreign Shinobi and feudal tyrants who preyed on the weak, Mugetsu despised the latter far more.
"If they won't rent you land, then don't rent it. Just farm your own," Obito said, scratching his head.
Mr. Hamaji froze, momentarily speechless.
His own land. What a distant memory. His family had once owned land—over ten years ago. But hardship after hardship had forced them to sell it to the Mayor.
"Because we no longer have land of our own," Mr. Hamaji finally sighed. "Almost every field in the town belongs to the Mayor now."
He didn't understand why. Everyone worked hard in the fields, yet every year they grew poorer, while the Mayor, who did nothing, grew richer—buying more and more land.
"Ouch!" Obito yelped as Mugetsu flicked his forehead sharply—harder than usual.
"Konoha is one of the most developed places in the Land of Fire," Mugetsu said. "Don't compare its environment to other regions."
If there were such a thing as per capita GDP in this world, Konoha's would undoubtedly be high. The village was vast and prosperous.
The Chunin Exam training grounds alone spanned a ten-kilometer radius. In his previous life, even a major city's inner ring roads weren't that wide. Konoha truly had land and wealth to spare.
After Mugetsu finished speaking, Mr. Hamaji seemed to relax and soon drifted into sleep.
"Mugetsu-sensei, what should we do?" Obito asked uncertainly. He really didn't want to help that greedy Mayor get what he wanted.
"We'll go to Kawakita Town first," Mugetsu said evenly. "Then we'll see what kind of creature is actually troubling the people."
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