The target was well protected, so I didn't attempt an abduction right away. Instead, I reviewed the intel my informants had managed to dig up. As it turned out, no one here had any intention of making my life easier. My target was guarded better than the local ruler's heir—honestly, it was a miracle they'd even managed to locate an Uzumaki at all.
I was up against a whole mess of seals and Sand shinobi, among whom—wouldn't you know it—was Chiyo.
Yes, that Chiyo!
She was already around forty, had fought through the First Shinobi World War from beginning to end, so she had experience in spades. And along with her came all of her puppets. Pulling off a kidnapping here would take more than just one small me—it'd require at least a dozen jonin, if not more.
In the end, after wandering the city and thinking the situation through, I decided to wait for the redheads. Uzushio's ANBU should be tracking these kidnappers soon. If I played it right, I could get my job done under the cover of their operation. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected that Danzo wasn't really expecting results from me anyway.
For now, I decided to take a stroll through this city with its rather unusual population, leaving behind several shadow and a couple of snakes molded from my own flesh to keep watch on the target.
Right at that moment, I was playing the role of a genin from the Land of Rivers, resting after a tedious caravan journey. Types like that weren't uncommon here—they often arrived alongside merchants from their country. I sat in some not-particularly-respectable dive, digesting the information brought in by one of my snake clones.
There was a sea of data—mostly useless, or things everyone already knew. For example, a conversation between two Sand genin:
"Ugh. Puppets—nothing but puppets everywhere," one boy complained. "There's no place left for a proper shinobi under this blazing sun."
"What's wrong with the Puppet Techniques?" a girl's voice replied lazily. "It's great—less chance of dying, if anything. Better the puppets than me."
"What can those puppets even do? A shinobi who relies on them is basically useless in close combat. The moment someone gets close—it's over."
"Well, they still have to get close…"
"What's so hard about that?" the boy grumbled. "Not everyone's a master like Chiyo-sama, controlling ten puppets at once—and even using corpses if needed."
"The Kazekage-sama knows what he's doing," the girl replied, displeased.
"Shamon-sama obsessed with jinchuriki and puppets," he whispered. "He's smart—even his enemies don't deny that—but lately he's starting to look like a man fixated on just two ideas. Jinchuriki and puppets. Actually… mostly jinchuriki. They say he's looking for a new host for the One-Tail! The perfect vessel."
"And what kind of 'perfect' host for a tailed beast is that?" the girl asked, curious, though she lowered her voice as well.
"No idea. They say Uzumaki are like that. Their chakra suppresses a biju's chakra, makes it easier to control them."
"Yeah, sure. I could spin you a dozen more stories like that about those red-haired devils…"
And the gossip went on in that vein.
Still, I did manage to find something interesting. Unfortunately, not a word about the kidnapped Uzumaki—but there was something related to Hiruzen's official assignment.
Konoha had only recently taken an interest in the Ryumyaku Source, so very little was known about it. There had been attempts to study it, but nothing particularly serious. Gathering rumors and eavesdropping on local officials—that was all chunin-level work. When they finally sent a jonin, then the real intelligence gathering would begin. Possibly even an attempt to steal the Ryumyaku itself—if that was even possible.
As for my assignment, I managed to overhear locals complaining about a depleted mine and a lack of jobs. They also grumbled that chakra-conductive metal would now have to be imported. Later, one of my snakes slipped into a weapons workshop and learned that the metal had been imported even before. Which raised an interesting question: where had the local ore been going?
I found myself torn between curiosity and Danzo's orders. Uzushio's ANBU could show up at any moment—those guys had a talent for appearing out of nowhere—and I didn't want to miss the start of their rescue operation. But my growing suspicions about the nature of the Ryumyaku wouldn't leave me alone. Its power would definitely come in handy.
In the end, I couldn't resist. I decided to at least investigate the mine. And I couldn't even get inside! It had already been collapsed and sealed.
Wonderful!
Just when you start hoping for something good, someone comes along and slams the door in your face. But the forced idleness had already gotten so bad that I was ready to climb the walls. Back in Konoha, Uzumaki and Senju DNA were waiting for implantation—and here I was, stuck in this backwater kingdom forgotten by everyone!
The ocean was practically within arm's reach. The edge of the civilized world, damn it!
The whole situation irritated me to no end, so I was determined to get at least something useful out of my forced stay in Roran. Spreading as many snake clones as possible across the city, I started gathering information about the ore extracted from the local mine. And found nothing! Damn it!
"Whoa there, easy! Don't fall," I slurred, playing the part of a completely drunk genin as I staggered back to my room.
In the end, I'd spent about two hours in that dive and burned through roughly five hundred ryo on drinks. Well, at least it made my cover more convincing. Letting loose after a mission was standard behavior for genin in relatively safe conditions, especially when far from their village's supervision. Back at the inn, I immediately checked the room for any stray seals or jutsu—seemed clean. Then I collapsed onto the bed and started thinking.
In theory, the mine was extracting chakra-conductive iron ore. Where it ultimately ended up, no one really knew—its trail vanished somewhere among the local small private smelteries. And if I hadn't once watched a few Naruto movies, the whole thing wouldn't have even made me scratch my head.
Embarrassing to admit—but I did watch them.
And that gave me a rather interesting idea.
Well, you know, people from another continent didn't come all the way to Suna searching for the Gelel vein for nothing. And here, Roran lies barely a hundred or two hundred kilometers from the coast. And for some reason, this is where something called the Ryumyaku exists—something with tremendous power.
Coincidences happen. But sometimes they're not just coincidences.
Better to check while I'm here. For I doubt life will bring me back to these parts anytime in the next ten years. War—unless it's a victorious one—doesn't exactly encourage long-distance travels. The Second Shinobi War will guarantee me trips only to the front, and that front won't be moving far from the current borders of the Land of Fire.
So, let's think logically.
Ore was being mined—possibly even those mysterious Gelel stones. But where did it end up afterward? Obviously, into the palace, which is connected to the Source. Or maybe not—but it was the last place my clones hadn't managed to infiltrate yet, and one I could check in the near future.
So what now? Take a stroll through the residence of the local queen? Dangerous—but worth a try. Of course, sneaking into the Source itself or the Gardens wasn't a good idea, nor was approaching the queen herself. Though, to be fair, the local ruler was quite attractive—I'd gladly sneak into her bedroom…
If I were absolutely certain I'd make it out alive.
After all, when it comes to queens and princesses, you're supposed to visit them in person—not the way I was planning to "visit" this palace.
The next day, my white snake slipped into the servants' quarters by taking possession of a servant girl and began rummaging around in search of anything of interest. I quickly released the girl I had used to infiltrate the guarded area from the possession technique—I had no desire to harm her. Besides, I had come across a local rat, a far more valuable and inconspicuous agent.
Navigating the ruler's palace turned out to be a nightmare. The complex had clearly been built over decades—architects changed, wars and destruction left their mark… In short, I had no idea how anyone managed to live here! No maps, no evacuation plans on the walls, not even labels on the rooms—no damn safety officer, for God's sake!
I was already starting to worry I'd wasted my time and was about to call it a day when my efforts were finally rewarded!