Chapitre 76: Simple Merchant
Using the Transformation Jutsu, Suguru altered his height and face. He made his features more sharp and cunning while also giving himself an unscrupulous air.
With jet-black hair tied up in a long ponytail, Suguru had the vibe of a wandering ronin.
However, he did not wear any weapons at his waist. The Kiba swords were too high-profile. He did not want the infamy that came with wielding those blades.
Instead, Suguru had several scrolls stacked on his back. Each of them contained various items that he had outsourced from the Land of Rivers.
With them, he had plans on getting some initial capital. With enough Ryo on hand, he would increase the quality of his wares. Then rinse and repeat, gathering wealth and reputation.
Up until a certain point. After all, he planned only planned on staying here for about three months.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu,'
Suguru put his hands together and formed three clones, each bearing twenty-five percent of his chakra. With his total chakra reserves split into four, he began his life in Sunagakure.
***
Tsukamoto Kaori was strolling the streets of Sunagakure, wearing her brand-new flak jacket — a symbol of her rank as a chuunin.
Recalling the events of her Chuunin Exam, Kaori was still in awe of its results. The destructive ball of flames had been an eye-opening experience to bear witness to, first-hand. She never expected that a genin could unleash such a powerful jutsu.
"Sigh,"
Kaori had just returned from training, and her body ached in several places.
Ever since the Chuunin Exams, she had been going on missions nonstop. Sunagakure was both pressed for manpower and raw strength at the moment. With the incident that occurred during her Chuunin Exams, Iwagakure had been putting pressure on the village's higher-ups.
Despite having only killed a single Iwa genin, the retaliation was spiteful.
"Oh, young lady!" A voice called out, "You there! Young lady!"
Kaori realized that she was the one whose attention was needed. She turned her head and spotted a sly young man sitting in front of a bunch of random items.
"Oho! Hello there," The young man greeted her with a smile, "You're a familiar face. Have we met?"
Kaori frowned. There was a dissonant note in the way the young man smiled.
However, she could not tell what note it was.
"I don't think we've met..." Kaori replied. "Wanna remind me?"
"Ah~!" The young man slapped his head in animated surprise. "I might have gotten the wrong person! She wanted to buy something from me, after all."
Kaori raised a brow, breaking her frown. If the young man mistook her for someone... Could it be her elder sister?
"Can I ask what she wanted to buy?"
The young man shook his head. "That's a secret~ If word gets out that I sell such a thing, Konohagakure will surely hunt me down!"
'...Suspicious,' Kaori squinted. She was going to have a word with her sister later.
That woman always engaged in weird hobbies, making their parents worried. Despite being one of Sunagakure's jounins, her sister was quite the wildcard.
For now...
"Is it alright if I get your name?" Kaori asked.
The young man tilted his head, "Oh my~ Asking for my name when we just met? How forward of you!"
"...What?"
"Haha, I'm joking." The young man said, "I'm Amai. As in the word, sweet."
Amai then handed her a piece of paper. On it were several Fuinjutsu seals that she found unfamiliar.
"I'm a seller of weird things and valuable treasures. Though, I don't sell treasures to people I don't trust. You can use this paper as a gauge of how far you've got until I trust you."
Amai's smile grew, "So, if you want to access my array of jaw-dropping treasures, then please patronize my shop! You won't regret it, Kaori-san!"
Amai then shooed her away, "Since you aren't buying anything for now, shoo! You're disrupting business~"
Kaori rolled her eyes as she left, still holding the piece of paper in her hands. What she found odd, however, was that she had yet to throw the paper away. There was something about that interaction that felt off...
"Huh?" The realization dawned upon her mind.
Kaori glanced back at where she came from, hoping to find that weird street peddler. However...
'He's gone?'
Looking around, there weren't any traces of the young man at all. It was as if he dissipated into particles of sand and joined the desert breeze.
Like the bustling streets of Sunagakure, Kaori's thoughts were similarly filled with confusion.
'...How does he know my name?'
***
Looking at his fellow examinee through his Kaisugan, Suguru thought it was fate that she was one of the first people he recognized while selling his wares.
Piquing her interest in the mysterious young peddler named Amai was easy. Suguru was already vaguely familiar with her personality and style. Watching someone fight revealed a lot about their character.
Now, all Suguru had to do was await the snowball that would eventually come.
***
Konohagakure.
In the Hokage's office, Danzo was seated behind a desk that was chock-full of paperwork. Despite his decisive nature, the arrival of documents was an endless stream that he could not escape.
No matter how quickly he came up with schemes, nor how heavy-handed he was at times, the village's issues continued to pile up. It was a mystery to Danzo, whose Sharingan's only use at the moment was for expediting his working process.
—Knock...
—Knock, knock.
Danzo looked up, 'This timing should be Torune's...'
"Come in,"
With the squeal of rusty hinges, Tornue walked into the Hokage's office with his squadmates. Bowing before Danzo, they felt ashamed of themselves.
"We've failed, Danzo-sama." Torune, as the leader, spoke first. "Without a sufficient scheme, capturing Hiryu Suguru will be impossible. He can seamlessly hide from sensor-nins and use the Body Flicker Jutsu to match the speed of jounin-level ninjas."
Danzo squinted, "What have you seen?"
Torune handed Danzo a scroll, "Here's the detailed report. To quickly summarize its contents..."
Torune took a moment to pause and think, "Hiryu Suguru seems to be collecting a large number of corpses. Known as the Ghost of the Land of Rivers, he had caused widespread panic among the civilians. More than a dozen settlements had disappeared over the months."
Danzo raised a brow, "Do you know what he needs those corpses for?"
Torune shook his head. "Other than as research material, we couldn't find out anything. The makeshift laboratories he had left behind were all thoroughly destroyed."
"However..."
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As you've noticed, my upload schedule has slowed down to every other day. Fret not, this is only until December 7. I just need to survive my Final Exams qnq
I appreciate your support on P@treon! Hehe~
Link: pa treon.com/ubemantou
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone