Naori folded the note and tucked it into her wallet, then put the wallet away: "Then we'll continue as normal, but we need to be more cautious and wary of our surroundings."
Torifū affirmed Naori's words: "Don't be so tense. Since he did this, he must intend to use it as leverage."
"We'll see what he wants." Naori sighed. Trouble arose as soon as they began the mission. It seemed this trip to the Land of Lightning was destined not to be particularly smooth.
"I could have slept in longer, but now I'm wide awake. Why did it have to be this morning?" Torifū ruffled Naori's hair: "Don't complain. Let's go see what's for breakfast."
"Alright." Naori was clearly in a bad mood. After getting up and washing, she went out with Torifū. At the inn's entrance, Torifū saw the owner and mentioned adding another room. The owner happily stated that there were many empty rooms and recommended the one next door to their current room, which would be quite convenient. Torifū naturally had no objections. After paying, he and Naori left.
They had expected the streets to be relatively empty, but found the entire street almost as crowded as it had been last night. Stalls of all sizes lined the main thoroughfare.
"Wow, so many people this early in the morning? The capital is really that prosperous?" Torifū exclaimed, standing at the inn's entrance. At that moment, the owner also walked out of the inn.
"You two must be from another village, right? The capital has always been like this." Torifū didn't mind the owner's comment and went along with it: "That's right, my sister and I came to the capital to find relatives, but we haven't found them yet."
The owner nodded: "I guessed correctly. You two were the ones robbed by that child last night, weren't you?" Torifū scratched his head awkwardly: "It's a bit embarrassing to say, but yes, it was us."
The owner waved his hand, looking like he'd seen it all before. "Nothing embarrassing about it. That little rogue is very nimble; even the city guards can't catch him. You two children don't look much older than him, so what could you do?"
Torifū feigned surprise, his mouth agape: "Owner, do you mean that thief robs people often?"
The owner shook his head: "Not often, he does it EVERY day. But each time, the amount of money stolen is relatively small, so the city guards aren't willing to get involved. If you get robbed, you can only consider yourself unlucky." Torifū then asked: "Is he also from the capital? I noticed his clothes were very simple. If he's stealing money every day, he shouldn't be dressed like that."
"He's not from the capital. No one knows where he lives. He disappears for a day or two every month, presumably to fence stolen goods."
"As for why his clothes are simple, I'm not sure. I can't keep an eye on a rogue every day."
Their luck seemed to have turned around again that day. They had just left the inn and already received some information, which gave them more insight into the child. However, they were still at a disadvantage, with the enemy in the dark and them in the open.
The inn owner turned to go back inside but suddenly remembered something. After a moment's hesitation, he added a piece of advice to Torifū and Naori. "I advise you two children to either find your relatives quickly or return to your village soon. Things might get restless lately." Torifū wanted to ask more questions, but the owner just shook his head, refusing to say more. Torifū was already very grateful for this. Although the veracity of the information needed to be confirmed, it was still some kind of gain.
Naori, standing beside him, hadn't interjected because she wasn't as natural as Torifū in this aspect, and her questions could easily turn into interrogations. It wasn't until they were quite a distance from the inn that the two began to converse.
"Is it reliable?"
"The information about the thief should be accurate, as it's practically common knowledge in the city. But the part about things getting 'restless' is questionable."
Torifū then added: "It's normal for the inn owner to gather a lot of information, so it's not necessarily false. We need to ask more people." In truth, they only needed to meet with their informant in Kumogakure to get all the intelligence about the village's movements. However, it wasn't time for the meeting yet, and going early would be pointless and could even expose the spy they had placed in Kumogakure. Torifū and Naori collecting information in the capital could also indirectly confirm the authenticity of the spy's reports. After all, Kumogakure didn't have the authority to weave a national lie just to mislead a single spy.
Thus, for the entire morning, Torifū and Naori went around the streets, asking residents if they knew anyone named Tachibana Chinamehane. Everyone's answer was no, because Torifū had made up the name. As long as they answered, Torifū could naturally continue the conversation and ask questions until he got the answers he wanted, then move on to a new target after maintaining a significant distance. This method yielded considerable results and largely corroborated the inn owner's words: the Land of Lightning indeed seemed to be stirring.
However, the exact timing was inconsistent: some said within the next few months, others next year, some in a few years, and even some exaggerated claims of action within the next few days. The time spans mentioned by these people were too broad to be accurate references. The true timing could probably only be obtained through the spy's intelligence.
"Didn't Hokage-sama say the meeting with the informant is in three days? When should we set off?"
"Kumogakure isn't very far from the capital. We have plenty of time. We can leave early the day after tomorrow and return directly to Konoha Village after getting the intelligence." Naori nodded, finding Torifū's plan very reasonable. Their mission in the capital was now complete.
During the morning's inquiries, they discovered that many people wished for the Land of Lightning to invade other countries, but when asked for reasons, they were all unable to articulate any. However, it was hardly surprising; a nation's people often reflected its nature. While asking questions, Torifū also inquired about the little rogue. Some people mentioned seeing him near the Land of Lightning's border before he disappeared. This led Torifū to believe that the little rogue's home might be in a village somewhere along the Land of Lightning's border. Perhaps he could pay attention to this on their way back. Since this child knew about the Uchiha clan, he was definitely not simple.
After a morning of wandering the streets, the two were a bit hungry. Unsure which restaurants were good, they chose a crowded one and walked in. With so many people eating there, the taste probably wouldn't be too bad.