章節 19: Chapter 19: Investigations
Tekku followed his sensing ability, navigating through the streets of Tanzaku-gai with ease. He never had been to this city before, so he had to rely on his snsing technique to have a general idea of where he was going. As he walked, he couldn't help but observe the bustling streets and the lively atmosphere of the city.
After a short walk, Tekku arrived at the designated inn, where he sensed Inoichi's chakra and the presence of the rest of his Genin team. It was a modest establishment but well-maintained. He climbed up from the backside and entered the inn room through the window, looking around and spotting Inoichi, Hana, and Haruto already sitting at a corner table, sipping on cups of tea. Inoichi noticed Tekku's arrival and waved him over.
"Tekku, good to see you. Have a seat," Inoichi greeted, gesturing to the empty chair across from him. Tekku obliged and sat down, a sense of familiarity and comfort settling in. "Good, now that we are all here, we can begin to exchange our information," nodded Inoichi as all of them were now present.
"What did you find, Hana?" asked Inoichi, turning to the only female Genin of the team who had three pups snoring at her feet. They were clearly exhausted from the stress of the Day.
"Nothing strange. As soon as I found Minoru-san, I observed him from a distance. He went normally to work and then home to his wife," said Hana as she recounted what she saw that day. It was a very average day for a Civilian, and boring for her.
"How about you, Haruto? Did you have more luck?" Inoichi turned to the hotheaded Kenjutsu user of the team.
"Well, I couldn't find anything about the reason why Minoru-san is acting strangely. But I could confirm that he comes home late from time to time. Their neighbors in the store close by are already gossiping about it. I overheard some older woman talking about it," explained Haruto, looking tired out. It was clear that information gathering wasn't his favorite thing to do.
"Hmm, okay. At least there is something true about the client's fears, if others already saw something wrong," nodded Inoichi before turning toward Tekku. "Did you have more luck?"
"I spoke with the mayor," he began. "He was cooperative and allowed me to look through the city archives. I spent the afternoon sorting through the reports since there were quite a lot of them. Well, there are two money lending organizations that could be responsible for the strange behavior of Minoru-san. Although there are three more that use criminal means to accomplish their goals, these ones only target women to force them into prostitution. No, the two I am talking about are called Golden Skull Lending and Black Money Lending. They target all kinds of clientele, trick them into debt, and later force them into labor, prostitution, or even harvest their organs if they can't repay the money," explained Tekku seriously.
"I see, yes, they sound like the ones we should be looking into. Anything else? Maybe some criminal gangs?" asked Inoichi, interested in further possibilities.
"Not really. Any gangs that try to enter the city get destroyed cooperatively by the different gambling and money lending businesses since they are bad for business. They are trying to keep the City as clean as possible from this kind of bad influence to attract as many Tourists as possible. Even these Businesses have to try to be not that obvious in their Crimes or the others will take care of them. I only found reports about such incidents; none of the Gangs managed to establish themselves," answered Tekku.
"Okay, that's good. That limits the number of targets we have," nodded Inoichi before continuing, "How do you guys think we should proceed?"
This time it was Hana who spoke up first. "I think I should keep observing Minoru-san. Although he doesn't stay late every day, sometimes he does, and I should be able to see what is going on. That may be our best bet."
Tekku had to agree with her. "Yes, one of us should always keep an eye on him. That is the most efficient method to make sure we complete the mission. How about Haruto and I each pick one of the two criminal money lending businesses and try to gather information on them?"
Haruto nodded in agreement. It sounded much better than listening to gossip from some old women. "Yes, I think that is a good idea!"
Inoichi also agreed. "Okay, Tekku, you will try to gather information on Golden Skull, while Haruto takes Black Money. I will begin my own investigation but won't interfere unless necessary. This mission is a good opportunity for all of you to gain experience."
Tekku explained the locations of the two businesses, so Haruto knew where he had to go. With that, they finished their mission discussion, and Inoichi gave each of them their respective rooms. The rooms looked quite cheap, but there was no point in getting better ones since it would only lower the reward. Each of the Genin rested for the night and headed out early in the morning, ensuring they weren't seen together. So they wouldn't be identified as Shinobi Team.
- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -
Once again, Tekku lay on the roof of a neighboring building overlooking the Golden Skull Lending headquarters. He had spent the last two days observing the shady business, following any members he deemed important in hopes of discovering something useful. But unfortunately, he had no luck yet.
The same went for his two teammates who were also diligently carrying out their respective tasks, trying to gather information on their targets. However, the past two night meetings didn't bring any new information, and Inoichi-sensei found great amusement in the frustration of his three Genin but didn't provide any additional insights. As he wanted them to solve this Mission themselves.
When one of the members left the building, Tekku recognized him as one of the deputy leaders of their organization. Once again, he decided to follow him, remembering his chakra signature and ensuring he remained unseen. Tekku trailed the deputy leader through the crowded streets of Tanzaku-gai, but the area became increasingly desolate as they reached the city's shady outskirts near the wall.
The deputy leader turned a corner and entered a rundown building that appeared uninhabited, with broken windows, holes in the roof, and decaying wood. Tekku sensed three other chakra signatures inside, two of which were somewhat familiar—lesser members of the Golden Skull. They were regular goons assigned to heavy tasks. However, the third signature was entirely unfamiliar to him, and it seemed the deputy leader had joined them on the same floor entering the Room they were in.
Determined to uncover what was going on, Tekku circled the rundown building and found a window that directly overlooked their room, where he felt the four chakra signatures. Making sure no one was watching, Tekku used chakra to stick his hands to the old wall and silently scaled it, ensuring his face was covered with a cloth and wearing a cloak over his clothes to avoid being recognized. This way, he could maintain his identity without resorting to the Transformation Technique for the rest of this Mission.
Arriving at the wooden window, he already heard a painful cry before even was looking inside.
- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -
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