Iron Country

In the capital of the Iron Country, besides the samurais, there were also many civilians and travelers from other nations. After Satoru and Shibi disguised themselves, they didn't attract much attention in the city.

After gathering information, they arrived at an inn. The inn's owner was a young woman who discreetly led them to a secret room after Shibi provided the secret code.

Upon entering the secret room, the owner's demeanor changed, and she respectfully greeted Shibi and Satoru and introduced herself "I am Anbu codename [Red Dove]"

"I am Anbu codename [Insect]," Shibi said calmly.

The landlady shifted her gaze to Satoru, showing a puzzled expression.

Satoru felt embarrassed by the whole "codename" situation, as he wasn't a member of the Anbu Black Ops.

"He's not an Anbu member," Shibi clarified.

This revelation surprised the proprietress. She couldn't believe that the Hokage would assign such an important mission to someone outside of the Anbu, and especially to someone so young.

Satoru looked at Shibi and thought to himself, "It seems like Shibi-sensei holds a high position within the Anbu and has the authority to lead the team as a Jonin. He must be a special presence in the Anbu."

Shibi straightforwardly asked for the latest intelligence.

The owner took a deep breath and said, "A few days ago, when we were investigating a transaction in the black market, we made a discovery. The buyer has been confirmed to be from the Hidden Stone Village, and the contents of the transaction seem to be reserve supplies. The exchange is scheduled to take place in two days."

Hidden Stone Village? Reserve supplies?

What kind of supplies could be worth over a hundred million ryo?

Satoru felt a sense of heaviness. He remembered his previous mission, where he discovered Hidden Stone shinobi searching for supplies in the Land of Grass. He didn't expect them to extend their reach to the Iron Country. This large stockpile of supplies was likely being prepared for war.

Shibi's brow furrowed as he also noticed this point. He sighed and said, "It seems the Hokage's concerns were justified. The Hidden Stone Village is indeed preparing for war."

After contemplating for a while, Satoru asked, "Since the transaction is confirmed to take place in two days, can't we disrupt it during this time?"

"No, we can't," said Shibi, shaking his head. "Transactions in the black market are protected by black market forces. If anyone attempts to sabotage it before completion, they will be surrounded and attacked by all the black market shinobis."

Upon hearing this, Satoru clicked his tongue. He wasn't just saying it casually; with the boost from his Byakugan, "Magnet Release" and bow, he was quite skilled at causing trouble.

The atmosphere in the secret room became tense.

Shibi instructed, "Provide us with the location of the black market and all relevant information. We'll investigate on-site."

"Understood."

...

They walked together on the streets, side by side. Satoru asked Shibi, "Sensei, who do you think is selling such a large quantity of goods through the black market?"

Shibi responded, "In the shinobi world, some large trading companies conduct money laundering transactions through the black market. Apart from that, many daimyos from different countries have their own channels within the black market. However, such a large-scale transaction is still quite rare."

Satoru nodded. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. The Iron Country wasn't a shinobi nation, so why would someone sell such a large quantity of goods through the black market?

According to intelligence, they continued their conversation in hushed voices as they arrived at the black market location.

Since they were outsiders, traveling to the Iron Country, they couldn't directly enter the black market. So they chose to investigate from the outside.

"Can your Byakugan see the interior of the place?" Shibi asked Satoru.

Satoru estimated the range and replied, "Within this range, it should be possible."

With that, he removed the contacts from his eyes and silently activated his Byakugan.

Through his Byakugan, the seemingly ordinary bar on the opposite side revealed a vast space with people bustling inside. According to the chakra feedback, many of them were samurais.

"No wonder Iron Country has such a large-scale black market. It turns out many samurais are involved in it," Satoru murmured.

In the unique environment of the Iron Country, the abilities of his Byakugan were maximized. Due to the large number of samurais, the chakra of the shinobi stood out like spotlights.

After eliminating some scattered shinobi, Satoru found a group of powerful shinobis gathered in a hotel about 500 meters away in the 3 o'clock direction. He estimated there were about 5 Chunin and 2 Jonin, one of whom had a large chakra amount and seemed to be an elite Jonin.

Shibi nodded, "It seems this is the group of Hidden Stone shinobi mentioned in the intelligence. Let's observe for now."

Satoru sighed in relief. Since this group of Hidden Stone shinobi wasn't particularly powerful, it seemed that the danger level of this mission wouldn't be too high.

Just as he was about to deactivate his Byakugan, he made an unexpected discovery.

"Wait! Sensei, something's not right!"

"What's wrong?" Shibi's expression tensed as he asked.

"About 600 meters away from that hotel, there's a hidden Jonin!"

"Is it also from the Hidden Stone Village?"

"No, he doesn't belong to the Hidden Stone. Based on his actions, it seems like he's monitoring them."

Monitoring?

Shibi's eyes narrowed. This was not good news; it meant that besides them, there was a third-party shinobi force in the capital.

The mission suddenly became more complex and uncertain.

Satoru also felt a sense of heaviness. The excitement of discovering the group of Hidden Stone shinobi vanished in an instant. If he hadn't been thorough in his search, he wouldn't have noticed the hidden Jonin; their concealment techniques were quite advanced.

"Can you determine which side the shinobi belongs to?" Shibi asked cautiously.

"No, I can't." Satoru shook his head. "His anti-detection awareness is strong, and my Byakugan can only see the flow of his chakra, but I can't determine his identity."

"I see." Shibi nodded. "Let's stay here and observe. We'll adapt accordingly."

"Okay!"

Taking a deep breath, Satoru thought of an old saying, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

And now, it seemed that they were in a struggle with this mysterious Jonin force for the oriole's identity.

As evening approached, the mysterious Jonin made a move.

"Sensei, he's heading outside the city."

"Let's follow him!"

...

They silently trailed the mysterious Jonin from a distance, as he seemed to be quite aware of surveillance attempts.

Until they reached the deep forest outside the city, Satoru's eyes sharpened.

Through the Byakugan, he saw the figure stop at a location.

"It seems that the Jonin is heading to some kind of stronghold; I sense powerful chakra signatures inside."

Shibi's expression grew serious. "As expected, this mission isn't as simple as it appears."

As they proceeded toward the stronghold, Shibi suddenly raised his hand to stop Satoru. "Wait, Satoru, something's wrong."

Satoru looked ahead and saw several black bug drones flying over from the forest. They landed on Shibi's shoulder. Having released his bugs for tracking, Shibi received the information.

His expression turned grim. "The bugs found a perception-type barrier ahead. If we rashly step into it, they will detect us."

Satoru's heart sank. Should they turn back now?

The situation became tense and uncertain.