16. Hidden Grass

Hidden Grass,

Kent, a spy from Konoha, sat quietly at a small tea shop in the streets of the Hidden Grass Village.

This village was supposed to be neutral, but the sudden increase in activity from shinobi with unknown affiliations had set off alarm bells. And now, sitting there, Kent spotted something peculiar—a seemingly ordinary merchant carriage entering the village.

It wasn't the carriage itself that caught his attention but the people accompanying it.

A fisherman with bored expiration and empty bucket. clear.

A farmer whose clothe is half dyed in mud. clear.

And a prostitute, farmer beside her had sided his hand under her kimono, playing with her tits, but showing her ninja gear in process.

Even without her ninja tool she was dead give away, when farmer was playing with her boobs, pinching her nipples she maintained stoic expression, if she was whore she would have been, you know…

Kent almost choked on his tea. "Are they even trying to blend in?"

The carriage past him, the "fisherman" kept looking nervously at the farmer, who seemed way too interested in checking 'every' thing beside him.

"This is too easy," Kent muttered to himself, "but this can be a trap, I have to be carful."

…

The carriage eventually stopped at a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of the village. The group quickly unloaded crates, moving them inside while keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

Kent followed them, before he enter he decide to write down what he seen up until now in scroll, in case he don't have time to do so.

As he entered inside the warehouse things took a humorous turn when the "prostitute" tried to act natural by twirling her hair flirtatiously. Unfortunately, as she did so, a kunai slipped from her sleeve and clattered loudly onto the cobblestone street.

The group froze.

The fisherman quickly bent down, scooping up the kunai and shoving it into his bag of "fish," which Kent was now certain was full of weapons.

"Whoops!" the woman said, laughing nervously. "Silly me! That's just... uh... my hairpin!"

The farmer glared at her, whispering harshly, "Idiot! You'll blow our cover!"

"I said it's a hairpin!" she hissed back, stomping her foot.

Kent was struggling to keep a straight face. "I've seen academy students do better undercover work."

"Is the stash secure?"

Kent nearly facepalmed.

The fisherman slapped the farmer on the back of the head. "Quiet, you fool!" he whispered harshly.

The prostitute rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Why do I always get stuck with the amateurs?"

"Close the fucking door first," fisherman shouted trying to maintain his clam.

Farmer lazily moved towards the door behind them,

Meanwhile Kent took out his kunai and slashed nearby cargo, as he opened he saw various ninja weapons, there was even head bands…

"So, they're Rock shinobi," Kent thought as he took out one head band and sealed in storage scroll, "And judging by the amount of weapons here, they're preparing for something big."

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the warehouse as one of the crates tipped over, spilling its contents. The prostitute groaned. "Great. Just great. Now the explosive tags are everywhere."

The farmer began picking up the tags, muttering, "I told you we should've secured the load better."

"You told me?!" the fisherman snapped. "You're the one who didn't tie the ropes properly!"

As the three of them bickered, Kent took the opportunity to sneak closer. He carefully wrote down notes on a scroll, documenting everything he saw.

But then they stop whatever they were doing,

"Activate the seal," the prostitute said in commanding voice.

Both farmer and fisherman moved toward the wall of warehouse and purred there chakra activating barrier!

The fisherman grinned. "End of the line, Leaf spy. Hand over the scroll, tell abut all spy in village and we might let you live."

Kent smirked, "You think I'd make it that easy for you?" he said as he jumped out and throw kunai with explosive tags on ground, where countless explosive tags were scattered.

The prostitute stepped forward, without care, her kunai glinting in the moonlight. "We'll see about that."

BOOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook as a huge explosion engulfed the warehouse.

When the dust began to settle, Kent squinted through the haze. The "prostitute" emerged, her appearance disheveled but otherwise unharmed.

Behind her, remains of the "farmer" and "fisherman" lay on ground missing most of body parts,

"Oh you ruined my plan!" she said with sarcasm. "But unfortunately for you, those two fools were expendable."

Kent gritted his teeth. "Of course. Rock shinobi never value their own."

Kent quikly bit his thumb and with few hand seal summoned Hawk, He quickly tied the scroll containing vital information on hawk's leg.

"Go!" he commanded, releasing the hawk into the air.

The hawk shot upward, its wings slicing through the smoky air. Kent's heart pounded as he watched it ascend. But before it could escape the warehouse, a kunai whizzed through the air and struck the hawk.

The bird let out a piercing cry and tumbled to the ground, lifeless?!!

"No!" Kent roared.

From the shadows, several more shinobi revealed themselves. They had been hiding in the cargo, waiting for the right moment. One of them picked up the scroll from the hawk's corpse, a smug grin on his face.

"You thought it would be that easy?" the man sneered, holding the scroll up mockingly.

Kent's mind raced. 'No matter what, this scroll has to reach Konoha,' he thought.

If he fail countless leaf shinobi and civilian, even his family will lose there lives in surprise attack.

Without hesitation, Kent summoned another hawk. This one was slightly smaller but just as fast. He dashed toward the shinobi holding the scroll, dodging a volley of kunai as he moved.

With a sudden burst of chakra, Kent tackled the shinobi, forcing the man to drop the scroll. He snatched it up and tied it to the second hawk's leg with trembling hands.

"Fly!" he shouted, releasing the bird.

The hawk flapped its wings and soared upward.

The Rock shinobi weren't done yet. One of them, a kunai already in hand, took aim at the bird. Kent saw it coming.

"Not again," he thought.

With a burst of adrenaline, Kent threw himself between the hawk and the shinobi, the kunai embedding itself deep into his shoulder. Pain seared through him, but he didn't falter.

The shinobi charged at him, intent on finishing the job. Kent fought back with everything he had, his movements growing slower and more desperate with each passing moment.

The hawk was almost out of the warehouse when another kunai sailed toward it.

Kent didn't hesitate. He leaped into the air, using his body as a shield. The kunai struck him square in the back, but the hawk flew free, disappearing into the sky.

As the last of his strength left him, Kent collapsed to the ground. His vision blurred, and he could hear the furious shouts of the Rock shinobi around him. But none of it mattered.

The scroll was on its way to Konoha…