Flawless Infiltration

"Who is this? She is not on your household register." The guard looked at Lee while reading through his paperwork. Lee looked him in the face and told him directly. "She is my brother's daughter. Her parents died and she is coming to live with us."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Lee nodded toward Natsume, and so she took out the scroll from her clothes. The shinobi jumped when she reached into her robes thinking she would bring out a weapon, but relaxed when it was just a scroll. In this era, children were just as dangerous as adults. Fortunately, they didn't detect any chakra from her except for what was needed to sustain life.

The man took the scroll and read it carefully. Although the names of her uncle's family weren't mentioned, it was enough to corroborate the story. The shinobi wouldn't make the farmers lives hard if there was no proof of suspicious activity.

However, they interviewed the others in the caravan to double check just in case. They described the story and supported the Lee family in their claims. Lee and Saya heard this and were surprised. They assumed the others lied to help them and made a note in their heart to treat these neighbors better in the future. Saya hugged Natsume and comforted her.

"Alright, but make sure to update your register immediately so this doesn't happen again." Lee nodded and went back on his cart. The caravan was let through without any problems. When they arrived at the farming town, Natsume's eyes went wide. It was unlike anything she had seen before. The landscape was riddled with rice paddies as far as she could see. Considering her visual prowess, it was very remarkable.

"This is our little farming community. We are in charge of two fields. Your uncle works hard, and we make quite a bit more than our neighbors, so they are usually jealous of us. You won't suffer here with us, I promise." Natsume felt guilty at these words and didn't hide it. She took the initiative to hug Saya and nod her head in her sleeve. Saya just rubbed her head and hummed a soft tune.

Saya came to their little two room home and started preparing a place for Natsume to sleep. Natsume needed to register, and Lee needed to pay his tax for the recent sale of rice so they both went to the lord's mansion. The process was simple, and Lee paid out nearly ten-thousand Ryo in taxes. Natsume widened her eyes and realized what Saya meant by their income being very good.

"Since you have a new family member, take back this bit. The lord congratulates you on reuniting with family." The kind receptionist handed him back a thousand Ryo and smiled at Natsume. Lee was thankful and tipped her two hundred. She was used to his generosity and took it willingly. The rest was handed to Natsume.

"Uncle…" She was going to give it back, but his expression was stubborn. She decided to spend the money on gifts for the two. Although she was only here temporarily, her soft heart was already won over by this sincere family. It made her think of the future hidden villages and new shinobi system was even more expectation. Different people could live together peacefully if they willed it, this was proof of love in the world.

On the way back, a farmer was selling fresh fruit on the roadside. Natsume patted Lee's hands to stop the cart and jumped down. She went to the old man and took out the 800 ryo. "Uncle, how much per apple?"

"Ah, 10 Ryo for a dozen." He said smiling at the cute girl in front of him. Saya had done her hair up in pigtails which made her look very cute. She also had two plain ribbons in her hair. Natsume didn't get a chance to see her reflection, so she didn't even realize how her demeaner had changed from that slight modification.

"Uncle, that's too little, here's 20." She handed him the money and grabbed one of the sacks that looked the best. He chuckled and resisted the urge to rub her head. He saw she was with Lee and made note of it. She ran back and jumped onto the cart. Lee tried to help her up but underestimate her physique. Seeing his expression, Natsume put her fist up and smiled.

"Uncle, I'm actually pretty strong. I was just tired and hungry before…"

He didn't say anything but simply grunted. Since he gave her the money, he wouldn't criticize her for how she spent it, but inwardly he was happy with the way she did business. She seemed to be a very clever girl and had a feeling his life would be nicer in the future.

"Uncle, is there anyone selling fabric in town?" She asked shyly. He seemed to understand her intention and looked up at the sun, quickly calculating the time.

"The open market should still be running. We can make a quick detour."

The market was bustling at this hour, since many families just returned from exporting their excess crop for money. A family couldn't live on rice alone, and the local lord would only accept so much rice annually. Therefore, any extra crop was left to the family to deal with. Since he was here, he decided to buy some essentials. Natsume immediately entered the crowd and was like a fish in the water.

Memories surfaced of night markets in a grander scale than this. She felt a comforting sensation being in a place like this and quickly spent all the remaining money she had on fabric. She was only able to get 1 bolt of cloth with her remaining funds, but the seller added in a spool of thread for free.

Natsume returned to Lee's cart and saw that he was already waiting with a large bag of various vegetables and some meat tied up with twine. When she climbed up to the cart, he helped her put away the bolt of cloth. They were shopping for an hour at most, so when they returned, the little home was already transformed. The bedroom had an extra bed, and there was another mat at the table.