Three days slipped by in a flash. During that time, Uchiha Kairen either lay in bed or perched up in the big tree outside his home, quietly reflecting on his recent experiences and pondering his next steps—what kind of path and training he should pursue from here on.
Each day passed uneventfully. The only notable incident was when his father came home at noon on the second day, stormed straight into the kitchen, and said something to his mother. The gentle woman who rarely raised her voice then showed Kairen firsthand why the Uchiha clan stood proudly atop the shinobi world.
Even with just a frying pan in hand, a three-tomoe Sharingan user could fight an elite jōnin to a standstill—and might even have that elite jōnin running for their life. No wonder the saying went: "In a one-on-one, no one can beat an Uchiha."
Later, Kairen met up with his usual friends at their old gathering spot. Uchiha Ankoku handed each of them a short staff and announced the training assignment for the month: street patrols.
"Wait—what? What happened to specialized training? What about the personalized, scientifically designed regimen you promised?!"
Seeing Ankoku's face as dark as thunder, the three kids froze up immediately. They'd been terrified enough by the last forest training session—none of them dared to ask questions now.
And so, the City Guard Squad began their first-ever patrol. Their assigned area: the Food Street.
"From here all the way to the end of the street," Ankoku said, "that's your training ground for today."
All three of them felt black lines forming on their foreheads. You've gotta be kidding us...
"Of course, just walking around doesn't count as training," Ankoku continued. "By sundown, I want a full report: which shop has the most customers, which place gets the most ninja visitors, information on every shop owner, each shop's approximate daily revenue.
"How many outsiders are in the area? Which ones are merchants? Which countries are these traders from? Who among them might be spies? Where are the Anbu positioned? And how many undercover agents do our own Police Force have here?"
Hearing this, the three students' lazy expressions vanished. They began thinking seriously for once.
This was training in intelligence gathering—a skill far from easy for beginners. The trio immediately divided tasks and began their day's work in earnest.
A nearby member of the Police Force, watching, muttered to Ankoku, "You're not going easy on those brats, huh? This street isn't that long, but in terms of foot traffic, it's top three in all of Konoha. The assignments you gave them aren't exactly simple."
Ankoku replied calmly, "That's exactly why I gave them something they can't finish. These three are all young geniuses, spoiled to the bone. The last field training showed them that a ninja can die in the blink of an eye—it's not a child's game.
"This time, I'll make sure they understand that everything they think they know means nothing in the real shinobi world. If they want to be true ninjas, they'll start by mastering patrol work."
Having said that, Ankoku stepped into a nearby sushi shop and sat down.
Another Uchiha nearby chuckled, muttering under his breath, "Heh, this should be fun. Those kids are in for a rough time."
When the evening lights came on, the three of them gathered their intel and handed in their report, looking deflated but determined.
Ankoku glanced over it once and smirked.
"What the hell is this? Is this crap supposed to impress me? The pride of the Uchiha Clan, and all you give me is a pile of garbage? What do you expect me to do with this—use it as fertilizer?"
The scolding made their faces burn red. Honestly, Ankoku wasn't wrong—the report was trash. They were so embarrassed they wished they could stuff their faces into their chests. Unfortunately, their heads were too big, and their chests too flat.
"Heh, at least you still have the decency to feel ashamed. Good. Dismissed for today. We'll continue tomorrow."
With that, Ankoku's body dissipated—the clone dispersed.
Only then did the trio realize the old man hadn't even bothered showing up in person.
They decided to find a quiet spot to talk things through, sent word home through some clan members, and went off to grab a meal at Ichiraku Ramen.
As they ate, they chatted and analyzed their mistakes. Between bites, they reviewed everything that went wrong and strolled through the Food Street again and again, deciding to focus on the essentials this time.
Step 1: identify the Anbu's observation points—places with a full view of the street or hidden corners that people normally overlooked.
Step 2: under the pretext of inspection, ask shopkeepers for their business data and boss information, record daily and monthly revenue, and have them take note of foreign customers—especially merchants—and which nations they came from.
Step 3: observe individuals with suspicious behavior or who frequented the street unusually often. They would complete these three steps first and then figure out how to finish the mission.
The next day, the three began training on their own initiative, going door-to-door along the street. And truth be told, they were starting to look the part—though their investigation ended in failure again.
And so the training went on. Three months later—
"Boss, one order of unagi-don! Business has really picked up lately. Guess it's thanks to the war ending. If it weren't for some help along the trade routes, I wouldn't have dared to travel."
A burly man with a thick beard muttered to himself inside the shop.
Sensing something off, Kairen quickly signaled to the other two, and they regrouped.
Uchiha Honō said, "That guy's suspicious. For three days straight, he's come to the same restaurant, sat in the same seat, and said almost the same things every time. Certain words keep showing up: 'recovery,' 'war,' 'trade routes,' and 'help from others.'
"Then, every evening, he goes to the izakaya across the street. Always the same routine—one cup of sake, one plate of grilled saury. When others talk to him, he just chuckles and keeps quiet. And he always stares across the street at that fishball shop.
"Before leaving, he buys exactly three skewers—the third skewer from the left-hand side of the display. Eats two, leaves one in a paper cup, and tosses it at the corner of the street."
"Oh? Interesting." Uchiha Retsu's eyes lit up. "I think he's waiting for some kind of message. Looks like we've got a fish to catch. Maybe if we pull this off, we'll get a new kind of mission. I've had enough of patrolling."
Kairen thought for a moment before replying, "The restaurant owner's name is Tanaka Kunie. He used to be a merchant from the Land of Fire and has lived in Konoha for ten years. The izakaya across the street is his, too. His grilled saury is a special import from the Land of Lightning.
"The fishball shop he keeps staring at—the third skewer is hollow inside; they usually stuff it with small fillings. The owner, Kizaru, has only been here two years. Honō, you keep an eye on the bearded man. Retsu, watch the fishball shop. I'll tail the bearded guy."
"Got it. Be careful, Kairen," said Retsu. "I'll also check where that fishball shop gets its supplies."
"Understood. I'll start at the market," Kairen nodded.
---
"After a couple of days of observation," Kairen reported, "I think they've already exchanged the intel they wanted. The bearded man left yesterday. The fishball seller replaced the hollow fishballs with ones made from squid ink. When I asked about it, he said he changed the recipe.
"Yesterday, the bearded man barely touched his food—he didn't even finish one skewer, only two bites."
"That's not all," said Retsu. "The fishmonger at the market checks out fine, but the delivery person is suspicious—a young orphan girl.
She's the one hauling an entire cart of fish, but she doesn't deliver to just one shop.
"An orphan girl, half-starved most of her life—where would she get the strength to pull a full fish cart? Every time, halfway through the route, one of the fishball shop's workers takes over the cart.
"The boss always invites her into the shop afterward for a skewer of those hollow fishballs. Today, they ran out, so he said he had to 'refill the stuffing.'"
"That confirms it," Kairen said with a grin, eyes gleaming. "They're a long-term message relay station. Looks like we've uncovered quite the little network. I can't wait to meet them again."