I controlled myself as I continued. "It is like they have no concept of retaining customers by offering good pricing. They only look for a short profit, and in the long run, they lose."
Kakuzu gave a slow nod. He kept his gaze forward, pulling his hood down until his face was completely obscured.
The bartender spoke in a fearful tone, trying his best not to look at the hooded man. "Fine. Just pay me 70 ryo and let us get it over with, if you want the info."
I sighed and dropped my shoulders. Although this was part of the mission, I felt horrible buying something for its actual price out of principle. The village was paying, though, so I didn't feel too bad.
After I placed the money on the counter, the bartender handed me a slip of paper. "This is who you should contact and their location. Now go. I am not interested in haggling with the likes of you."
I stood up, grumbling, then looked to the side. "It was good talking to you, sir."
Kakuzu waved his hand, entirely uninterested, as I left the bar.
The walk back felt like an eternity. I had to fiercely fight the urge to look over my shoulder. I did not even dare to send out a pulse of chakra, utterly terrified that the mercenary might be tracking me. Finally, I reached Shisui. He was waiting in a small, dark alley behind an abandoned, ruined shop in the slums.
"Why are you so tense? Did something go wrong?" Shisui asked, his voice laced with concern.
I shook my head. "No, I got the information. However, I think I might have met our target's bodyguard."
Shisui's Sharingan immediately focused on me. "How do you know?"
I sent out a brief sensory pulse. To my immense relief, there were no powerful signatures in the area. "My intuition. He is extremely dangerous. We might need to pass on this one, sensei."
Shisui raised an eyebrow. "I promise you I can handle any threat. What did he look like?"
I scratched the side of my head. "He was terrifying. His skin had an unnatural, earthy tan. He had pupilless green eyes with red sclera, and he wore a mask that covered his nose and mouth."
Shisui stiffened for a moment before asking, "Are you sure?"
I nodded, and Shisui pinched the bridge of his nose. "How does a criminal syndicate boss have the money to hire someone of that caliber? He must have gone all out to stabilize his rule."
I played dumb, making sure not to act like I already knew the answer. "Do you know him, sensei?"
Shisui sighed, his expression grim. "He is a missing-nin. A very powerful and deadly one called Kakuzu. We do not have much information on him since his victims never survive to tell the tale."
I gulped. "So, what now?"
Shisui started pacing, turning the problem over in his mind. As he walked, I realized something. His Sharingan had been almost constantly active since this mission started. I was certain of the reason. His baseline eyesight was weakening, forcing him to rely on the three-tomoe Sharingan just to see details clearly. That realization made my chest ache with sadness.
Suddenly, Shisui stopped. "I have already sent a message to the Hokage with what happened, but a response will take some time. I guess our only solution is to utilize the help of the ANBU team active in the Land of Waves. I know how to contact them. They can go for Gato, while we occupy the mercenary."
Shisui wove a hand sign, and a shadow clone popped into existence. It gave a quick salute to its creator, then flickered away as he spoke. "My clone will arrange for them to meet us here so we can draw up a plan. Let us just hope that they are available and not already on a mission."
He then gestured for me to continue as I opened the note the bartender had given me. It contained Gato's suspected location. Surprisingly, it was not too far from where we currently were. The fact that Kakuzu had been at the bar meant his employer could not be too far away either, which lent more credibility to this info. It also included a small piece of intelligence that the boss might be moving soon to quell one of the gangs resisting his orders, which meant that we had to act fast.
Shisui looked pleased with the validity of the information. We stayed hidden and carefully surveilled the suspected hideout, monitoring the guards' movements closely while doing our best to avoid detection.
After a few hours, something happened. Shisui stood up and looked at the roof above us. I followed his gaze to find three ANBU standing there, observing us intently. Behind them stood Shisui's shadow clone, which popped out of existence once it had completed its mission to guide the ANBU to its original body.
One of them dropped down into the alley. She was a woman wearing a swine mask. She tilted her head and spoke in a mischievous tone. "Shisui-san, long time no see."
Shisui's eyes widened the moment he heard her voice and received the clone's memories. For some reason, he immediately moved behind me.
I narrowed my eyes as I observed her.
"We usually would not offer help to an agent to finish their own mission. We have more important things to do, after all," she said. She approached slowly, swaying seductively. "However, given that you fought a small Iwa army, I was surprised and impressed. I thought I would cut you some slack. Plus, I really miss working with you, Shisui-san."
Shisui grabbed my shoulders and pushed me forward. He was essentially using me as a shield.
"Oh, what do we have here?" She ran her fingers over the mouth of her mask, her tone intrigued. "A new toy?"
Now my eyes widened. I started to retreat, my mind screaming 'stranger danger.' I glared at Shisui, looking at him as if he had betrayed me and sold my soul to the devil.
"Sorry, Noa," Shisui whispered with an apologetic tone. He stayed hidden behind me and addressed the captain. "We need to get this done fast. Otherwise, Gato might move or go into hiding. I only called for you since he is protected by an S-rank missing-nin. We will, of course, take care of that threat while you carry out the assassination. We will keep the mercenary occupied. Your job should be easy."
The Swine chuckled in amusement, speaking in a hushed tone. "Is that so?" Her eyes locked onto me, and I shivered as she continued. "For Shisui to trust such a young man to help him fight an S-rank ninja, you must be quite formidable."
She was dangerously close now. I continued to retreat, and Shisui mirrored my backward steps perfectly to stay securely behind me.
The large ANBU wearing a gorilla mask dropped down and spoke with a powerful voice. "Captain, we do not have time for this. If we are going to help, we need to do it fast. We have many tasks to get done. Us being here is already cutting it too close."
The Swine sighed. She petulantly stamped her foot, hitting the ground with enough force to almost pierce the stone. "You are no fun."
For some reason, their third teammate, who was wearing a bull mask, was focused completely on me. I found it weird. However, given the demeanor of their captain, I reasoned that this entire team might not be all there in the head department.
Shisui took out a map with a rough drawing of the hideout and the guards' usual rotations. "We will make a quick attack on the perimeter outside. This will ensure that Gato sends Kakuzu to protect the main entrance. We will keep him busy while you slip in and finish the job. Make sure to take the body. We might be able to convince Kakuzu to abandon his mission by showing him his dead employer. The Hokage has a use for the corpse, so make sure to keep it stored in good condition if that doesn't work."
The Swine nodded. Her demeanor was much more serious now at the mention of Kakuzu. "We will get this done." Then, the dangerous tension dissolved just as quickly as it had appeared. She looked at me and winked. "Good luck with the hard part of the mission. I will be rooting for you."
I gulped. I was unsure if the dread in my stomach was from the fact that we were about to fight one of the strongest missing-nin alive, or from the way she was looking at me. Her expression reminded me of the way I looked at bright-faced beginner merchants who weren't ready for my three-hour haggling routine.