Four hours later, Kenshin and his sons were two hundred kilometers from home and approaching the Hinohara Outpost. Over the fifty years since its founding, the Hinohara Outpost had become something like a small city inhabited by shinobi. This place was unique because shinobi not belonging to any structure could take missions here, trade, and exchange information.
"Stick to the legend as we agreed," Kenshin mentally warned his sons as he casually approached the outpost.
"Who are you?" the man at the checkpoint asked lazily. He wore the forehead protector of Konoha on his forehead, and his gaze was filled with arrogance toward outsiders.
"We're here looking for work," Kenshin replied politely, activating his charisma. He could only slightly sense the man's mood and guessed that he simply didn't care about them.
"Go ahead, but keep it quiet. We don't need aggressive young punks from your backwater who are used to being the center of attention. This isn't your filthy village, and if you try to break the law, you'll be dead in an instant. Got it?"
"Yes. We won't cause any trouble," Kenshin replied just as politely, not wanting to irritate this eternal Genin. Even a simple Genin from Konoha could consider disrespectful treatment from a mere human an insult, even if accompanied by two strong Genin and a Chunin. The Konoha Genin had no doubt that Kenshin was just a regular human. Shinobi could easily determine a person's approximate rank from the slightest movements and reaction speed.
Once Kenshin and his sons were inside the walls, they couldn't hold back their surprise. The sight of this small city differed from all the villages they had seen before. All the houses were stone and arranged in a special military order for easier defense.
Kenshin asked a passerby for directions to the needed building and headed straight there. Then came an hour and a half of bureaucracy that Kenshin hated. He had to fill out several forms at the registry, then wait until the deputy head of the outpost could see him.
"So you want to register your mercenary group?" the black-haired man with a scar over his left eye asked immediately from behind the desk.
"Yes, that's right," Kenshin said, and after a slight nod from the man, sat in the chair.
"A mercenary group leader without chakra... Looks strange, doesn't it?" he asked Kenshin with a smile, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's not quite like that, Setoru-san. We live in a small mountain settlement, and lately we've had problems with food supplies. The elder, my father, found the two most talented guys in the settlement and also sent my older brother here. Unfortunately, they have no idea how to negotiate, so I'm going with them for the first time," Kenshin explained with a smile. He had thought out the legend for a long time and even found the right settlement on the map during discussions with Kasumi, where she had met several talented shinobi not belonging to any power.
"You want to take missions for pay... A bit of a strange name for a mercenary group, considering most of the group aren't blood-related," Yamada Setoru drawled skeptically, raising an eyebrow as he waited for Kenshin's answer.
"The thing is, we're all relatives in some way and share the same surname. Gojo's mother is my third cousin once removed, and Mitsuo's father was found in the mountains by my grandfather's cousin and took the Nakayama surname. That's why our group is called 'Nakayama Family'," Kenshin said with a light smile. At that moment, he praised himself again for the right decision to go on the mission as the negotiator.
"Hm, I see... Fine, every group member needs to fill out a form. Come back tomorrow morning, and I'll find you a test mission. You're dismissed."
Kenshin said goodbye politely and left the office, then the building itself, heading to a small inn kindly suggested by the registry worker.
Once inside the four-person room behind the door, Kenshin deployed a simple formation and only then sighed in relief. Yamada Setoru reminded him of a cunning old hound ready to catch a scent and follow the trail at any moment.
Kenshin collapsed wearily onto the bed and advised his sons to do the same. After resting from the hard journey, they went to a local eatery and ate heartily, then strolled around the town, checking out the few sights. The four-story building of the outpost head and the large watchtower, where Kenshin first saw a member of the Hyuga clan.
The man in his forties just glared at Kenshin with his white eyes, looking at him like he was nothing, and turned away. Apparently, the Hyuga clan member was acting as a radar, but Kenshin couldn't capture the Byakugan activation because loitering near a strategically important spot would attract unwanted attention.
After "sightseeing," Kenshin went back to the room with his sons, deciding to go to bed early. He spent most of the evening replaying the conversation with Setoru in his head, trying to spot any hidden details in his behavior, but noticed nothing.
The next morning, Kenshin headed to the deputy outpost commander and, after a short wait, entered the office.
"Good morning, Setoru-san," Kenshin greeted politely, continuing to play the role of a courteous and harmless guy.
"Hm? Ah, Nakayama... Sit," Yamada Setoru replied and returned to his work.
Five minutes later, he finally looked up from his papers and glanced at the patiently waiting Kenshin.
"One of the mountain settlements sent a request for help eliminating proliferating Storm Wolves. That will be your mission. Your group needs to kill at least six specimens. Here are the coordinates," Setoru said, handing Kenshin a map with a small pencil mark.
"Storm Wolves?.." Kenshin drawled questioningly, not understanding the mission's difficulty.
"Don't you have those?" Setoru asked in surprise, and seeing Kenshin shake his head, continued, "Storm Wolves are born with an affinity for the Lightning element and love living high in the mountains, absorbing chakra after lightning strikes. Not many can use the element, and on average, a qualified Genin can handle one wolf. A group of four Genin can take out a dozen, so no need to worry," Setoru replied, showing friendliness for the first time.
A few minutes later, Kenshin left the office thoughtfully and, accompanied by his sons, left the building. He hadn't learned anything specific, except for particularly important information. Setoru assured him that even the weakest Chunin could kill a Storm Wolves leader, and there was nothing to worry about.
First, he went to the eatery, and while everyone had breakfast, he pondered the action plan. He had heard before about animals that could produce chakra, making them physically stronger and faster, but he had no idea how to fight them.
Kenshin mentally told his sons the mission details, wanting to hear their opinions.
"If these wolves aren't stronger than Genin, we'll handle them no problem. Plus, we have formation protection," Ichiro said mentally.
"Yes, father, these wolves are just dumb animals, and fighting them should be much easier than shinobi. Great training chance!" the Third declared.
"Uh-huh, these wolves won't touch us if the older one and I activate Sharingan. No extra people nearby. Perfect opportunity!" the Fourth supported his brothers.
Kenshin smiled contentedly. At that moment, he wanted to ruffle their hair, but he held back in case of nearby eyes. He was pleased with how reasonable his sons had grown and wanted to share it with Aiya and Natsumi.
"Good, let's eat. We have a long way ahead," Kenshin said with a smile and pulled his ramen bowl closer.