Gradually, Hane Genma had grown somewhat confident in his "acting skills."
In times of utter chaos like this, all Genma needed was to maintain a stern, serious face to pass as the pinnacle of performance. At most, he'd occasionally let slip a sorrowful, compassionate glance—when life and death hung in the balance, who could afford to smile instead of wearing a grim mask?
As the "elder," Genma returned to the side of "Daisuke's" corpse, diligently resuming his examination of the body.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before two shinobi found him.
"Elder, the clan leader has urgently summoned the clan's top brass."
Genma rose shakily, feigning the difficulty of an old man struggling to stand.
He had observed how the elder treated this deceased shinobi, with what seemed like genuine emotion, so he roughly deduced that their relationship was significant.
Seeing his condition, the two shinobi didn't find it odd. One of them even quickly stepped forward to support Genma.
"What's happened now?" he asked.
"Two squads that were supposed to return to the village by evening haven't come back, and there's been no word from them. The clan leader suspects they've been killed as well."
"So, there's more than one enemy, and they're attacking us from both within and without?" Genma countered.
"Yes, Elder."
Genma nodded. It seemed Uchiha Nanami and Fuma Goro had made their move.
One strike from the inside, another from the outside—a perfect pincer strategy. Truly, the Tsugawa Clan was blessed with such "fortune."
"Elder?"
"I understand. I'll go see the clan leader."
Genma turned to leave but stopped after a couple of steps. "Take Daisuke's body with us to the clan leader," he said.
The two shinobi exchanged a glance before nodding in unison.
"Yes, Elder."
Genma kept up the act, but in truth, he needed them to guide him.
Though he had gathered intelligence on the village's layout, he didn't know the internal structure of specific buildings. Without stepping inside at least once, mere reports wouldn't suffice to let him move with the confident familiarity of someone at ease in their domain.
Thus, he needed escorts.
Bringing the corpse along was also perfectly reasonable. For one, the elder clearly valued this squad leader. For another, a combat captain ranked among the clan's top ten elites. When someone of such importance died, displaying their body was only natural—how else could they emphasize their significance?
Faced with Genma's request, the two shinobi had no choice but to play the role of unwitting guides, leading him straight to the heart of the village's power structure… the village council hall.
Genma's stealthy infiltration and central gambit unfolded exactly as planned.
Faced with an elusive, ghost-like enemy, the Tsugawa Clan's mid- and lower-ranking shinobi began to panic.
The clan's leadership couldn't ignore an infiltration and assassination that shook the clan's very foundations. In fact, they were acutely aware of the danger such an enemy posed. Aside from one combat captain away on a mission, every high-ranking member of the clan had gathered.
A meeting had to be held. There was no avoiding it.
"Forget the lost war supplies for now—what about the vast amount of daily and production resources critical to our survival that were burned to ashes? How long can we hold out?"
"Since the village was founded, we've endured attacks before, but I refuse to accept that an enemy could inflict such heavy losses on us without paying any price!"
"Price? We haven't found a single trace of the infiltrator. How many enemies are there? Where did they come from? Why are they attacking us? We know nothing!"
"The supplies and the entire logistics division were destroyed together. If the infiltrator is still hiding in the village, what do we do?"
"Someone capable of such silent infiltration and killing techniques is no ordinary shinobi. Based on the intelligence we have, can't we deduce their origin or identity?"
The Tsugawa Clan's leadership, gathered in the meeting, was almost universally furious, but it wasn't hard to see the fear lurking beneath their agitation.
The clan leader, Tsugawa Taishi, a robust shinobi in his late thirties, cleared his throat to cut through the arguments. "Shuhei, what did you find at the incident sites?"
Genma didn't immediately realize Taishi was addressing him. He knew the Tsugawa Clan had an elder named Tsugawa Shuhei, who served as the clan leader's advisor, but he wasn't certain if "Shuhei" was the role he was playing.
"Shuhei?"
Only when no one responded did Genma confirm it was him.
"Yes, Clan Leader."
He responded, then fell silent, as if organizing his thoughts.
The clan leader frowned. Normally, Elder Shuhei wasn't this slow to respond. But at that moment, someone whispered in Taishi's ear about the assassination of the combat captain, and he understood why the elder was acting off.
"The enemy left no traces, but one thing is certain: they are exceptionally skilled in assassination techniques and likely use a highly specialized method for concealment and movement… If I had to guess, it's probably Earth Release ninjutsu."
Genma began analyzing himself, naturally keeping his words vague yet plausible.
"The enemy's assassination skills are extraordinary. Our shinobi were all killed silently with strikes from behind. It's highly likely they're still hiding in the village, but finding them will be no easy task."
"What matters now is how we respond… I suggest that no one act alone at any time. Always move in groups of three or more, with each person watching the others' backs."
"Cancel all external missions. All shinobi should gather according to their squad affiliations."
"Deploy reconnaissance and sensory shinobi in a dispersed pattern, with their sensory ranges overlapping. Other shinobi should stay within those ranges as much as possible."
"While it's difficult for us to track the infiltrator, if they're still in the village, it means their objective hasn't been achieved."
"We just need to wait like hunters by a tree stump for the rabbit to come. The next time they strike, we seize the opportunity and eliminate them!"
Though his tone was grave, Genma found the situation increasingly absurd. I'm devising tactics to capture myself? The plan sounded convincing, but how could it possibly work?
The referee, the judge, the witness—they were all him. No, they were all himself.
"What about the ordinary clan members?" Taishi asked after a moment of thought, raising a critical issue.
No one could guarantee the infiltrator's targets were limited to shinobi and didn't include civilians.
Genma remained silent, implying, You know what I mean. How could you not?
The decision on how to balance priorities was the clan leader's responsibility. "Elder Shuhei" was merely offering suggestions.
After a long silence, Taishi finally spoke. "Make the arrangements. Follow Elder Shuhei's plan and have the clan's shinobi act quickly."
Shinobi were the clan's immediate fighting force, its foundation. In times like these, the clan leader had to make tough choices.
Genma glanced at the other elder, who had remained silent. Unlike Genma's role as the strategist, the other elder was likely the muscle.
The enemy infiltrating the village had to be few in number, but they operated in the shadows while the clan was exposed. What use was their strength if they didn't adopt defensive measures? Without them, someone could fall to a blade at any moment.
Who could have guessed that Genma was also "in the open," just invisible to everyone else?
The clan leader's approach wasn't wrong. The more concentrated the shinobi, the more exposed the civilians became. Without safety guarantees, their panic would only grow over time.
At this point, worrying about supplies was the least of their concerns.
They immediately began organizing defenses, setting up the plan to wait for the enemy to strike.
Sitting right beside the clan leader, Genma saw every detail of their arrangements.
But he didn't act immediately. Fear needed time to simmer, spread, and fester.
Why leave the council hall? Everyone here was talented, and their discussions were so… enlightening.
After another hour of deliberation, the combat captains began to leave, tasked with rallying their squads to calm and control the mid- and lower-ranking shinobi.
The clan leader and the two elders would take turns keeping watch through the night, ready to respond to any sudden developments.
So, what would happen tonight?
For a working man, what's worse than pulling an all-nighter?
Standing watch for the enemy—without getting paid.
So, tonight, nothing more would happen.
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