Chapter 55: Outsourcing the Mission
After leaving the bar, Haruko took Anko directly to rent a room.
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Mm..." Anko lowered her head, her voice muffled. "I'm sorry, I..."
"Don't worry about it." Haruko interrupted her and turned to pour some water. "It's just a rumor. Whatever the Fuma Clan wants to do has nothing to do with us."
"But..."
"Alright, alright, enough with the 'buts'. Get some good rest today, we still have to find someone tomorrow."
Anko held the cup, looking down at her reflection.
"Haruko?"
"...What is it now?"
"Do you think Lord Jiraiya is really nearby?"
"Who knows? Anyway, we'll look again tomorrow. If we can't find him, then so be it. If Lord Jiraiya really wants to hide, who could possibly find him..."
Anko watched his back, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
Forget it, no point thinking about it.
Anyway, with this kid here, it should... be fine, right?
...
The next day, the two set off early in the morning to scout around the Lawless Street.
The results were about the same as yesterday; the most recent lead was from a few days ago. No one knew where Jiraiya had gone, and he might have already left the Lawless Street.
By evening, the two were sitting in a small restaurant.
Anko poked at the rice in her bowl, looking dejected.
"It looks like we really can't find him..."
"Yeah." Haruko was quite calm. "So I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"Outsource it."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. The Lawless Street is huge, and the Land of Rice Fields is even bigger. We're unfamiliar with this place; we might not find him even if we search for another ten days."
"So you mean..."
"Let the local snakes help us find him." Haruko said matter-of-factly, "The Fuma Clan has been hanging around here for so long, and they have many people; their information network must be better than ours. We can just spend some money to have them help us ask around."
Anko frowned and thought for a moment. "That... could work? Will you be okay by yourself? I don't really want to deal with them again..."
"No problem, just wait for me at the inn."
Haruko waved his hand and turned to leave the restaurant.
...
The same bar, the same private room.
Haruko took a sip of tea, his expression calm. Across from him was Kagero, still in the appearance of a buck-toothed, hunchbacked man.
"I heard you have something to entrust to us." Kagero got straight to the point, with a business-like attitude. "What is it?"
"Help me find someone." Haruko took out a piece of paper with a sketch of Jiraiya on it. "The one mentioned yesterday. White hair, middle-aged man, with a forehead protector bearing the character 'Oil'."
"What's the payment?"
Haruko held up five fingers.
"Five thousand Ryo?...Isn't that a bit low?" Kagero frowned.
???
'Has the Fuma Clan really fallen to this point?"
Seeing Haruko's confused expression, Kagero asked tentatively, "You... don't mean fifty thousand Ryo, do you?"
"Otherwise? Do you think catching a cat is worth five thousand Ryo?"
Suddenly, arguing could be heard from outside.
"I've said it how many times! Joining Orochimaru is a dead end!"
"Then what do you suggest?! The clan can barely survive!"
"Even if we can't survive, we can't go throw our lives away!"
"Shut up, all of you! Lady Kagero is still inside discussing business!"
Haruko didn't change his expression, pretending not to hear.
'It really has come to this..."
He took out ten thousand Ryo and placed it on the table. "This is the deposit. I only need accurate location information; no contact is needed, and no fighting is required."
Kagero was silent for a moment before putting the money away. "Deal. Our informants are all over this country. As long as he is still in the Land of Rice Fields, we will have news soon."
The deal was done.
Before Haruko could get up, Kagero suddenly spoke. "You... heard that just now, didn't you?"
"Your companions reacted so strongly; you clearly know Orochimaru well. Can you tell me about him?"
Haruko leaned back on the sofa and refilled his tea.
"Orochimaru, huh... He can indeed grant people power. The core technology he possesses... cough, I mean, he has mastered quite a few Forbidden Jutsu and human experimentation techniques, which can turn some ordinary people into powerhouses."
A glimmer of hope flashed in Kagero's eyes.
"However," Haruko changed his tone, "in this process, you will lose everything that makes you 'human'. Dignity, freedom, even your own body. In his eyes, subordinates are just expendable materials. Useful tools are maintained a bit longer, while useless ones are simply discarded."
"You should understand that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Selling yourself to the devil in exchange for power is a gamble. High risk, high reward, it's fair. Although, the risk is extremely high."
Kagero was silent for a long time; her expression was unreadable, but her tightly clenched fists betrayed her internal struggle.
After a long while, she loosened her hands, seemingly asking Haruko, or perhaps talking to herself. "Do you... not find me disgusting?"
She pointed at her current appearance—the hunched back, the protruding buck teeth. Even people of her own clan sometimes subconsciously showed disgust.
But from yesterday to today, this young man's gaze had always been clear and calm, without a hint of disdain, as if he were looking at an ordinary person.
"Why would I find it disgusting? To revive your clan, you didn't hesitate to turn yourself into this. I don't know exactly what it is, but I can tell you're accumulating power for some kind of dangerous Forbidden Jutsu. And the side effects of such techniques are usually not small, and even..."
Haruko rested his chin on his hand, his gaze seeming to penetrate that ugly exterior to see some kind of essence.
"Although I don't approve of this method, I respect this resolve. Your soul is quite beautiful."
Kagero's pupils trembled slightly.
"...I'll give you an answer within three days."
Kagero stood up and hurried out, her footsteps seeming somewhat flustered.
'Tsk tsk tsk, the tragedy of small characters. Both are desperate ultimate moves; one was blocked easily, the other almost kicked us into the series finale."
Haruko shook his head and also got up to leave the bar.
...
Perhaps it was because the money was sufficient, or perhaps the information about Orochimaru was very valuable, but the Fuma Clan brought news of Jiraiya the very next morning.
"You found him?" Anko was cleaning her Kunai; hearing this, she immediately jumped up.
"In an abandoned shrine. Let's go, let's see what that legendary Sannin is actually up to."
The shrine was built on a secluded mountain; the dilapidated torii gate was covered in moss, the stone steps were broken, and dead leaves were scattered everywhere. This shrine had clearly been abandoned for many years.
"Traces of someone having been here, very fresh." Anko crouched down, inspecting the footprints on the ground. "Over there!"
The two tracked him all the way to the main hall, but it was empty, without even a shadow of a person.
In the center of the offering table, a scroll sat alone, with a note pressed down beside it.
Haruko picked up the note and took a look, his mouth twitching.
[I guessed you were here to find me. I don't want to return to the village. The intelligence is in the scroll; take it and finish your mission. — Jiraiya]
"THAT! BASTARD!" Anko crumpled the note into a ball and threw it hard onto the ground. "He knew we were coming long ago! He might even be hiding nearby watching us make fools of ourselves!"
'Should I say, as expected of a Sannin? Our intelligence-gathering capability was completely crushed..."
"Forget it, forget it. At least we have the intelligence, so the mission is considered complete." Haruko handed the scroll to Anko. "Anko-sensei, go back to the inn first, I'll go settle the bill with the Fuma Clan."
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