Chapter 200: The Compassionate Mayor
Chapter 200: The Compassionate Mayor
Mu Yue instructed his disciples to investigate if the giant eagle had been harassing the villagers and to gather some feedback about the mayor. Meanwhile, he headed straight to the mayor's residence to conduct his own inquiry.
Out of precaution, Mu Yue dispatched a shadow clone to secretly protect his disciples from any unforeseen dangers.
Although Mu Yue hadn't inquired about the mayor's residence, he knew exactly where to go—straight to the most luxurious compound in town.
Soon, Mu Yue stumbled upon a grand estate that far exceeded the splendor of the surrounding houses. It even boasted flower gardens and a pond. He stealthily made his way inside.
"Hahaha, I knew I was smart to spread the word. Surely, someone will help us deal with that pesky bird," boasted a self-satisfied middle-aged voice that reached Mu Yue's ears.
"Indeed, Mayor, your wisdom knows no bounds," a sycophantic voice flattered from the side.
"Of course. Otherwise, how could I be the mayor?" The mayor chuckled, clearly pleased with himself.
"Do you really expect those peasants to hire ninjas to deal with the bird? I bet that guy took the money and ran, or he's dead by now. These are treacherous times," another voice added.
"Your insight is remarkable, Mayor. However, since you knew that peasant might not return, why didn't you just confiscate the 30,000 taels to compensate for your losses or send someone to follow him?" a curious voice asked.
"You fool! The resistance I'd face by blatantly robbing them is far less than when I cleverly scheme to take their money. Besides, I don't keep my men around to protect those peasants. The 30,000 taels are insignificant to me, but ensuring those peasants stay penniless is crucial. There are still a few fields in this town that aren't mine, and it irritates me. Plus, the younger daughter of the Bao Tian family isn't bad either," the mayor explained.
Mu Yue silently committed the mayor's fat, sleazy face to memory. From this short conversation, he had already gleaned a good understanding of the situation.
Hinjiro hadn't revealed the entire truth, and the two burly men were probably hired to stage a farce or were merely henchmen from the northern town, meant to provoke a sense of justice in others to confront the mayor.
While Hinjiro had been less than forthcoming, his accusations against the mayor were largely true. In just this short while, the mayor had revealed his intentions to forcibly carry out land annexation and even coerce others to sell their daughters.
"Have you gathered any intelligence on that damned bird's movements? Those ninjas came by this morning, nagging us again. They're a bunch of weirdos, eagerly working for free," the mayor grumbled, unable to fathom the ninjas' motivations.
Mu Yue could only attribute this to the vast differences between their professions. While the mayor might be adept at land grabs, he couldn't fathom the value a bird contractual spirit beast held for a ninja, as he was oblivious to the existence of contractual spirit beasts and the Art of Contractual Spirit Summoning.
The mayor's subordinate nodded, and the two of them, accompanied by several guards, prepared to head to the ninjas' temporary residence.
"How dare you beg here! Don't you know our mayor is renowned for his kindness and intolerance for suffering? Get out of here!" the subordinate snapped upon spotting a beggar in the courtyard.
The beggar, intimidated by the hostile glares of the guards, quickly bowed apologetically and scurried away.
Mu Yue swiftly followed.
"Ninja-sama, we've brought you information on the damned bird's movements. Its nest is at the top of the mountain," the subordinate said, his tone shifting to one of respect as he addressed the ninja.
"Then we shall proceed to take care of it," the ninja carrying a sword on his back replied nonchalantly.
"I wish you all the best in eradicating this menace for the people.
"Didn't we agree not to ask for payment before?" his underling asked, confused.
"How dare you speak to a ninja like that? Don't worry about the payment; just take care of that pesky bird, and I'll gladly pay five thousand taels as a token of my appreciation," the mayor said with a hearty laugh.
In his heart, however, he was fuming. If he hadn't witnessed the terrifying clash between the ninja and the giant bird, he would have called off the deal. How dare they ask for payment after initially refusing it!
Those ninjas were monsters in human form, able to wield lightning. The thugs he employed were no match for them.
"Haha, then it's a deal," the muscular dark-skinned ninja nodded in satisfaction.
A bird Contractual Spirit Beast large enough to carry people, and a chance to make some extra money on the side—this trip was turning out to be quite profitable.
Perhaps due to the loss of five thousand taels, the mayor soon departed without further pleasantries.
"Bellocca, this might not reflect well on the village, eh?" A tall and skinny dark-skinned ninja spoke up after the mayor's group had left.
"Hairo, you're too uptight. How could this possibly affect us? They didn't post the mission in the village, so they're not officially our clients. Plus, we're not even in the Land of Lightning; we left our headbands behind for this trip," Bellocca replied nonchalantly.
"I guess even if we had them, it wouldn't matter. The folks around here probably wouldn't recognize the Cloud ninja headband anyway," the other ninja added.
"Right, Irak? " Bellocca turned to the sword-wielding dark-skinned ninja for confirmation.
"Hairo's concern isn't unfounded. If we succeed in this war, our Cloud ninja village will become famous in the ninja world. We'll likely receive many foreign missions, and if word of this gets out, it could cause problems. Let's capture that Ninju and then kill those guys. Anyone who can build such a grand mansion must have a lot of money," Irak said calmly.
"You're ruthless, Irak," Bellocca said, giving Irak a thumbs-up.
He just wanted to squeeze a little more money out of them, but Irak was planning to wipe them out completely.
"We can also leave behind a Sand ninja headband to mislead the locals. They're not very knowledgeable, so I don't plan on killing everyone. My target is just the wealthy mayor," Irak continued.
This was to divert suspicion. During wartime, the death of a minor character like the mayor wouldn't attract much attention.
Irak instructed his companions to organize their equipment, and they set off toward the mountain.
"Their appearance and skin color confirm they're from Cloud," Mu Yue remarked, identifying their village.
He used his Appraisal Technique to assess their strengths: Irak had the most promising stats, with over four thousand chakra and a skilled level of two thousand points in lightning-attribute chakra nature transformation. The other two Cloud ninjas had chakra levels just over three thousand and lacked powerful skills.
"Their abilities are perfect for pitting them against Kakashi's team," Mu Yue thought to himself.
With their level of strength, he didn't feel the need to intervene personally. Instead, he saw this as an opportunity to temper his disciples' combat abilities.
Aside from Kakashi, both Obito and Might Guy lacked real battle experience.
During the last encounter with two Jonin-level opponents, one of whom was an elite, Mu Yue had stepped in quickly. This time, he decided to let his disciples handle it.
Mu Yue created another shadow clone to follow the Cloud ninjas, while his main body, with the Byakugan, scouted the area to ensure no hidden Cloud ninja experts were lurking nearby.
(End of Chapter)
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