Risky Move

If it wasn't the main mansion of the Terumi clan, the Patriarch would have instantly come to the conclusion that Kenji is a spy but he didn't think his family would bring someone inside the main mansion without being completely sure that he/she is not who they say they are.

Even Mei and the others didn't feel much suspicion toward Hideki as most of the estate guards knew him well for years. Hideki looked at the twins with complicated emotions and said "Well, it is my duty as their teacher and captain to save their life."

Everyone was surprised when they heard that. Because the difference was not only in his words but also in how he said them. When Hideki played the part of Kenji, he would be a soft-spoken fragile man in his forties but now his demeanor had totally changed.

The guards who were standing at the corners of the hall stepped forward to apprehend Hideki but the Patriarch signaled them to stop.

Kana was truly shocked as the man who was standing in front of her a few minutes ago had completely changed.

The Patriarch sat back in his seat. He was a little relieved that a spy had shown himself but also worried because the spy had managed to enter his closest circle without anyone being suspicious. He could tell from the expressions of Mei and her cousins that they had no idea who Hideki was nor were they suspicious in the slightest.

'Mei and the other 4 are all a little naive and trusting. It is good that AO is at Mei's side or else I would be more worried. But what worries me the most now is this man has openly claimed to be their captain and teacher. Why is he so confident? This conflict between us and the Yagura faction has taken long enough for the other villages to show interest and even try to interfere.' The Patriarch thought as he glanced at Mei along with her cousins and then at Hideki.

"So you are a spy as well and being a fruit vendor is your alias. So which village are you from?" The Patriarch decided to ask questions straightforwardly. These people could very well be from the hidden stone but the fact that they hadn't killed anyone while trespassing made the Patriarch think that these people might not be from the hidden stone.

Daiki clenched his fists and shouted "Sensei people don't do this for us. We have already put you in such a position." On the other hand, Daichi didn't make any noise and continued to look down. He was truly ashamed of what his teacher had to do in order to save him. He saw that his teacher had the perfect cover and the trust of others because of his being cautious for so many years and now he and his brother flushed everything down the drain.

"Daiki I am doing this not just for you but also for our village and this village's peace. So both of you don't blame yourself for this." Hideki said. He said it just to shut up Daiki but inside he wanted to dash out a beating to his students.

Hideki glanced at the Terumi Patriarch and gave a small bow as he said "My real name is Hideki and these two are my students, Daiki and Daichi. We are from the hidden leaf village."

As everyone heard the hidden leaf village the whispers spread again. For the other villages, the hidden leaf was a very prosperous village and no matter how many setbacks the village had over the years, there were always strong people supporting the village. Even if it was when the 4th Hokage had died, when one of the village's strongest clans was massacred overnight, or when the village was invaded by the Orochimaru. The village always found ways to come out as strong so that no one would attack them.

The merchants who would visit the land of water would also sing praises of how prosperous and peaceful the atmosphere is in the Land of fire which is protected by the hidden leaf.

Kana looked at Hideki and thought 'So he is from the hidden leaf and seeing his demeanor now I can say that he is stronger than me and maybe even Santo.' Kana's train of thought was broken by a whisper from Mei who had leaned near her ear. "What are you thinking so much about Kana?"

Kana shook his head and slowly turned toward Mei and asked "Seeing such an ordinary fruit vendor be a strong shinobi, now I am not even sure whom to trust and whom to not. I thought that he came here to really express his gratitude for us helping his nephew Yuta. Now I don't even know if Yuta..."

Mei didn't let her complete her sentence and pinched her cheeks slightly as she said "Kana I don't think this Hideki had planned to do anything here. Didn't you see when he wanted to leave the estate when he heard that there were intruders caught? If he was a coward who wanted to run at the chance of getting exposed, he wouldn't have revealed himself now."

Kana felt relieved as she heard this so she asked "What will happen to him and his students now?"

Mei thought for a few seconds and said "Although spies are always punished with death after the information is extracted from them, the hidden leaf still stands tall after their previous Hokage is injured. I don't think our bloodline clans can match up to the strength of the hidden leaf. But then the chances of the hidden leaf openly attacking us just for the lives of 3 spies are low. Now it all depends on their intention and how father perceives it."

The Terumi Patriarch nodded and said "We know every village has its spies in other villages but all of them work passively in the shadows and don't interfere actively in village matters. I want to know why your students trespassed onto the Terumi grounds."

Hideki glanced at the twins and thought 'I also want to know why these two came here in the first place.'

He turned to the Patriarch and said "They were just worried about me. And the reason for us to come out from the shadows is because of the instructions we received from Lady Tsunade the 5th Hokage."

The Patriarch was about to ask Hideki when a few knocks were heard on the outside door of the mansion. Everyone knew that if the guards are interrupting such an important meeting it means that something has happened.

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