Chapter 15: Planning

The three already knew that the captain was going to spend the whole night investigating the village and that he would not inform them of the current situation until tomorrow.

Their task was just to blend into the village, get lodging and wait for Canteen to inform them tomorrow how they should proceed.

"Well, I was tired of sleeping outdoors anyway," Nomad said.

"This..." Custus looked like he wanted to say something but she just looked at both of them for a few moments without saying anything.

"Is something wrong Custus?" asked Rasa confused, while Nomad also hoped to know what was wrong with her.

"Well, if I remember correctly, the captain said that our cover story was supposed to be that you two were related and I was the wife of one of you wasn't it?" said Custus to the two of them.

They both nodded not understanding the problem.

"Yes, you already made it clear that you preferred Gold as a fake husband over me, what's up with that?" said an irritated Nomad.

"In that case, what would we say at the hotel?" asked Custus.

"Simple, first we will look for an inn where everyone can have their own room and as the last option we will ask for only two rooms," said Rasa lightly understanding Custus' problem.

It was obvious that she was worried about the two of them having to share a room by saying they were together, but if it's an inn they can simply split up as they want in the inn, and in case it's not possible, the worst that can happen is that Rasa and Nomad will have to share a room.

The captain had decided that they would use that cover story only because it was common for young couples to travel from town to town.

The three of them naturally walked through the town and then entered an inconspicuous hotel.

Although the hotel area is small, the interior decoration is also very beautiful.

And it doesn't seem to be overcrowded, because it remains unnoticed, so there are few guests inside.

So there is absolutely no problem to accommodate the three of them in separate rooms.

The owner of this hotel is an older couple.

After Rasa asked for three rooms, the old lady took the three of them upstairs.

The rooms are quite spacious.

"Must surely come from far away, do you plan to stay?" asked the hotel mistress, with a kind smile on her face.

She watches travelers throughout the year and usually encounters many clients who are looking to settle down and seek work to support themselves or their families.

Many often seek safe and quiet shelters where they can raise their families in peace, although peace never lasts no matter where you go.

The three people in front of her are not much different from her other clients, all men or women who travel hidden from public view to avoid trouble and conflict, they all try to keep a low profile so as not to be targeted by anyone and she can understand that.

The slightest thing can ruin anyone's life or cause anyone's death.

Rasa and Custus didn't dare to say much, for fear of saying the wrong thing.

But Nomad replied in a bored and tired voice:

"Look, for now, we just want to rest."

"Oh, I see, you sure are tired, how rude of me" the woman politely apologized for keeping them.

"Don't worry ma'am, my cousin can be a bit out of place sometimes. For now, we're just here to look around, then we'll decide what to do" Rasa replied calmly.

"So are you here to travel?" the old lady then casually asked.

"We don't know yet, there is the possibility of staying, it all depends on whether my wife decides," Rasa said warmly drawing Custus to her side, she followed his performance and clung to him in a warm hug.

"Of course. A happy life is only achieved with a fulfilled wife, I hope you both find your stay pleasant!" smiled the woman as she looked at the couple.

While Nomad simply looked at the whole thing with annoyance.

"By the way, Madam, have there been any bandits around here?" asked Nomad suddenly remembering that the village seemed to be quite prosperous as to be true what the salesman told Custus.

Rasa and Custus looked at Nomad and both felt the urge to hang him for being such a fool.

'This idiot, how could he ask her that' they both thought.

"Huh?. When ... Of course, there is no such thing." the woman seemed surprised by the question but then quickly answered.

"Young man, our village is a very peaceful and prosperous place now. Under the leadership of the village chief, everyone is very rich. How come bandits exist?" the woman explained again.

"I see! forgive my cousin again, he is afraid of trouble so he tries to avoid it you may know" Rasa quickly commented.

Then, after a brief exchange, the woman withdrew.

When the woman came out, Custus asked irritated:

"Nomad, do you really want to ruin everything?"

" Huh?, come on, it was just a question, besides now we know something strange is going on because of how she reacted, don't we?" defended Nomad.

And so the two began to argue with each other.

Rasa could only sigh and shake his head as he listened to the two argue.

'He may be an idiot, but he's right that the old woman's behavior was strange, something is going on' analyzed the situation Rasa to himself.

"Alright, we can't go back in time and take back what Nomad said, our task is to locate and kill these bandits, why does she say there are no bandits in such a strange way?, I don't know, but tomorrow we will mention it to the captain and he will decide, in the meantime be prepared for whatever we should do tomorrow" after saying that, Rasa retreated to his room.

Nomad and Custus looked at each other angrily and even though they couldn't see each other because of the turbans covering their faces, they both knew the look the other was sending to each other.

After a few seconds, they turned and went to their own rooms as well as Rasa.

The next morning, after a simple breakfast, Captain Canteen came to Nomad's room and called Gold and Custus.

The three sat on the floor, listening intently to what Canteen was saying.

"The mission target is just outside this town, they have a base far enough away to not be noticed, I will take over tonight from the Jonin and you will take care of all the bandits and civilians that are inside this radius of the base. kill everyone there! Pay attention to everyone" said Canteen pointing on a map to the area where the rogue Jonin's base and the group of bandits were located.

The three nodded and looked at the location of the base which was a few kilometers from the village, far enough away and hidden enough that no one would notice them.

"This is your mission. Inside this scroll there is a map where I indicate to you all the places you must check inside the Base, I will be in charge of eliminating the Jonin on my own, as well as extracting as much information as possible from him and you will do the rest, any doubt?" asked Canteen to the three of them.

"Did you get to see how many are the bandits and their rank?" asked Rasa.

"Yes, there are many bandits, but mostly trained civilians without much experience and only a few of them are errant ninjas, but they seem to be only lower Genin and Chunin."

"Then it won't be a problem," commented Nomad arrogantly.

"Don't underestimate their strength or the strength of you and your teammates. Don't be too arrogant, unexpected things can always happen, stay on guard at all times" said Canteen first to Nomad and then to everyone.

All three nodded.

"Good, as soon as I finish with the extraction of information from the target and eliminate him I will see about going to meet you at the enemy Base" Canteen confirmed to them.

It was obvious that they should be more than capable of dealing with this situation without problems, but as the captain said, it's better to be cautious.

Canteen looked at the three faintly, and said to Rasa:

"Gold, from now on, while I am gone, you are the squadron captain. Then it's up to you to command and analyze the enemy's intelligence, and then set targets to eliminate them."

"Understood" Rasa replied calmly.

He was already expecting this to happen, after all, he was the only one of the three in the group who didn't usually argue and despite looking like the youngest of the group he was the most analytical together with Custus, but she got too sidetracked by Nomad and his nonsense, and Rasa just ignored that.

"Good luck everyone" Canteen pulled out a scroll and threw it to Rasa, then turned and left, he quickly disappeared.

Rasa took the scroll and began to plan along with Custus and Nomad how they would make the attack.

Canteen had left the three of them on the scroll the exact times he would deal with the Jonin and when they should act.

So the three of them started planning everything based on that.