Chapter 37: Quiet Calculations
For now, however, he needed to gather information about his current predicament.
He needed to gauge Konoha's stance on him.
And after that—
He would decide how to move forward.
With some difficulty, and with only one hand, he formed hand seals.
For the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
With a soft puff—
A shadow clone appeared in front of him.
Immediately, he spoke.
"Go to the black market and gather information."
"Stay as discreet as possible."
The clone simply nodded.
Then disappeared through the window using the Body Flicker.
As soon as the shadow clone vanished—
Kenzo let out a slow breath, warm air leaving his mouth.
His face was slightly pale.
Using ninjutsu in his current state was not ideal.
If he pushed too much, it would only aggravate his injuries.
His gaze shifted toward the window.
It was still raining.
It was always raining.
A light drizzle fell from the sky, quietly tapping against the wooden walls and the ground outside.
Kenzo's eyes stayed outside the window.
As if he was just watching the rain.
But his thoughts were already elsewhere.
Already starting to calculate the risks and benefits of this place.
This place—
The Land of Rain.
More specifically, the small village he was currently staying in.
Shiguare Village.
It wasn't large at all.
At most, around a hundred to two hundred people lived here.
Mostly farmers and a few traders.
And people who had nowhere else to go.
The buildings were old.
Mostly wooden, traditional-style houses.
All of them looked worn down by constant rain.
The roads were mostly mud.
Completely unsuitable for carriages to pass.
Supplies were limited.
Food was scarce.
It was the kind of place that barely survived from one season to the next.
Which explained everything.
Including the old man.
But this was definitely not exclusive to the Land of Rain.
Everywhere around the world was the same.
There were differences, sure—
But not much.
Even in the Land of Fire—
Seemingly the most prosperous nation with the most fertile land—
It was the same for common people.
The nobles took the majority of the share.
Leaving only scraps behind for the lowly peasants.
And what was even more pitiful—
Most of the farmers themselves believed they were lower than nobles.
Believing themselves to be of lesser status.
Truly pitiful creatures.
Truly, the saying was correct—
What limits a person is not where they are born, but how they choose to remain.
Morality.
Restrictions.
Sacrifices for the "greater good."
All of these were tools.
Used by those in power—
To keep those at the bottom in check.
And the people at the bottom—
Willingly let those chains restrain them.
Believing themselves to be righteous.
Since they followed the rules.
Freely allowing those in power—
To exploit them.
Not realizing—
The greatest sin in this world is not being weak.
It is choosing to remain weak.
Kenzo shook his head slightly.
Not willing to dwell on that topic and waste further time.
Instead, he focused on the advantages.
The environment itself was useful.
Constant rain.
Low visibility.
Sound disturbances.
Tracking here would be a nightmare for any force.
Especially for ordinary shinobi.
This made it a good place to hide.
For now.
The village was also insignificant.
Too small to attract attention.
That meant fewer eyes watching him.
At the same time—
Places like this often had connections to underground networks.
Small, but present.
Enough to gather information if used properly.
However, this could also work as a disadvantage.
The same conditions worked both ways.
This place was unstable.
People here would do anything to survive.
Trust had zero value here.
As already proven.
If needed, anyone could sell him out without hesitation.
There was also another issue.
The Akatsuki.
An extremely powerful organization.
Though it shouldn't be fully developed yet—
The threat was still there.
Especially in his current condition.
He was severely injured.
His left arm was gone.
His combat strength was at an all-time low.
Even if he joined the Akatsuki—
Even at his best—
He might still get devoured alive there.
Just look at Kakuzu.
And what he did to anyone who went on missions with him.
And their plan to capture tailed beasts—
Required strength far beyond the norm.
However, that didn't mean he wouldn't join them later.
After all—
In the current shinobi world—
There were only a few people capable of restoring his arm.
And all of them were, or would be, part of the Akatsuki.
Even Tsunade—
With her medical skills—
Couldn't restore something like this right now.
So joining the Akatsuki—
Was a necessity.
But all of that would have to wait.
Until his shadow clone—
Gathered the intel.
And finally dispersed.
His mind then shifted to another problem.
His current understanding—
Of the Path of Killing.
And the consequences—
Of the bottleneck he had reached.
And what consequences it would bring due to this bottleneck.
It was stuck at 9.99%.
His eyes narrowed slightly in thought.
This would have a huge impact on him.
Moving forward—
Maybe even life and death.
He could feel it.
At an instinctual level.
If he passed this hurdle—
He would take a huge step forward.
And if he didn't—
He might remain stuck.
Always on the run.
So—
How could he increase his understanding of the Path of Killing?
This path required understanding killing.
That much he already knew.
But what exactly did he need to understand—
To finally break this bottleneck?
He fell into deep contemplation.
Trying to figure it out.
He went through all his past killings.
During his pursuit.
Analyzing every moment.
Every decision.
Every outcome.
At the same time—
He began recalling the philosophies from his previous life.
Trying to find some connection.
Some missing piece.
Something that could give him a hint.
A direction.
But nothing came.
No clear answer.
No sudden realization.
Only silence.
While Kenzo was busy trying to comprehend the Path of Killing—
Meanwhile—
His shadow clone had already found a black market.
Black markets were never located in obvious places.
They were usually hidden in low-profile areas.
Scattered across different regions.
Most commonly near border zones between nations.
Especially in the Land of Rain.
Rogue shinobi and wandering ronin were common there.
Due to its geography—
Being trapped between multiple nations—
Conflict and instability were constant.
Kenzo's location was already near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
So it wasn't particularly difficult to find one.