The lead ronin weighed the coin pouch in his hand—barely twenty or thirty thousand Ryo. It was a asly "bonus" the rchant had scraped together, but nowhere near enough to satisfy their greed.
Of course, they never intended to keep protecting the caravan; they just wanted to squeeze out one last payout before vanishing.
As for why they didn't simply slaughter the rchant in the street? They weren't that stupid. They wanted cold, hard cash, not bulky, slow-moving crates of trade goods.
This rchant had already greased so many palms along the way that he had very little liquid currency left.
Their plan was to terrorize him into selling off a portion of his inventory at a loss, then make off with the proceeds.
The surrounding pedestrians, long accustod to such sights, gave the scene a wide berth to avoid trouble.
Those who stayed to watch were mostly rival rchants, cold smiles playing on their lips. They were waiting like vultures for the man to break under the pressure and liquidate his goods so they could snatch them up for pennies on the Ryo.
Even if they had done business before or were "friends," sentint was worthless in the face of profit.
Shisui Abura watched it all, his eyes brightening. Wasn't this rchant exactly the employer he had been looking for?
He stepped forward, snatching the young boy away from the skinny ronin's grip. Simultaneously, his foot lashed out, kicking the leg pinned against the rchant's back.
The strike wasn't overly powerful, but it was precise, sending the pudgy ronin stumbling back several steps until he nearly fell into the mud.
Shisui reached down and pulled the rchant up, positioning himself as a shield. He looked at the three ronin with a flat, calm gaze.
"Gentlen," he said, his voice level. "Gouging your client mid-journey is bad business. If word gets out, who will ever hire you again?"
The ronin leader, a man in his thirties with a hardened edge to his face, sized Shisui up. Seeing the youth's tender face, he sneered.
"Don't think people are afraid of you just because you're a ninja. Looking at that protector, you're from the Hidden Waterfall.
A brat from a minor village at your age? You're probably just a Genin. If you want to play hero, make sure you have the teeth for it."
Shisui smiled warmly. "Let's all just make money peacefully. With ninja from various nations setting up checkpoints everywhere, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be repeatedly searched and invite unnecessary trouble, would you?"
The leader's expression flickered. Shisui had hit the mark; these ronin had dirty histories and feared nothing more than a rigorous official inspection.
After a few seconds of tense silence, the leader spat on the ground. "Hmph. Let's go!"
"Wait!" Shisui called out, stopping them in their tracks. "Since you've already taken the money, you should finish the job. Otherwise, please return the hiring fee to this gentleman."
The leader's temper flared. He turned back, glaring murderously at Shisui. But before he could speak, the pudgy ronin pulled at his arm, winking. "Big brother, we have to have integrity. Since the Master Ninja has spoken, let's keep following along."
The three exchanged a look, and a silent understanding passed between them. Their sneers returned, looking even more predatory to the rchant. "Fine then. Let us continue to 'escort' you."
"No... no thank you," the rchant stamred, hugging his son and shaking his head frantically. After what had just happened, he wouldn't dare trust these n.
But reality set in quickly. If he had no escort, how would he reach the Land of Earth? If he sold his goods now at a loss, he wouldn't even recover his initial investnt. He would be ruined.
"Sir, if you don't mind, I can escort you," Shisui offered. His words were like a ray of sunlight piercing the rchant's despair.
The man was overjoyed but quickly regained his composure. With his current finances, could he actually afford a ninja? "Master Ninja... I don't have enough money left to file a formal mission request."
"Money isn't an issue," Shisui said. "I've been separated from my team and was planning to return to the Land of Waterfall anyway.
The Canyon Bridge is currently dangerous and heavily guarded. Instead of trying to enter the Land of Earth directly, it's better to enter the Land of Waterfall first, then head north from there. It's a detour, but the Waterfall is neutral, and the inspections are lax.
It'll actually be faster."
"Really? Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" The rchant was moved to tears. He quickly introduced himself. "My na is Ida Ryuji. May I know your na, Master Ninja? I must find a way to repay you properly one day."
"Haha, I'm Takigawa, a ninja of the Hidden Waterfall. Glad to be of help!" Shisui rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish, "good-natured" grin, perfectly mimicking the personality of a friendly youth.
As they spoke, the servants reorganized the cargo. Ryuji boarded the lead carriage with his eleven-year-old son, Ida Keita.
To the side, the three ronin were surprised. They hadn't expected Shisui to join the group for free. As the caravan prepared to move, the leader hesitated, wondering if they should just return the money and leave.
But the pudgy ronin pulled him aside again. "Big brother, the Land of Grass is in chaos. We might as well use them to get out of here."
He leaned in closer, his voice a barely audible whisper. "Look at him. He's a 'green' brat. I bet he hasn't even killed a man.
We play along for now... if we play our cards right, we might even end up with his gear. Maybe we could even beco ninja ourselves."
The leader was tempted. He was a trained swordsman and believed his Taijutsu was equal to that of a standard Chunin. He had even learned the basics of chakra refinent years ago. The only thing separating him from a "real" ninja was a few decent jutsu.
The three ronin exchanged a final glance and took their positions flanking the caravan, no longer ntioning leaving.
They had no idea that every whisper, every gesture, and even the subtle shifts in their expressions had been perfectly captured by Shisui's senses. He didn't kill them now simply because he didn't want to reveal his true strength in front of a crowd.
Sitting in the lead carriage, Ryuji looked at the ronin with lingering fear. But when he saw "Takigawa" sitting calmly on the driver's bench, his heart settled.
In the eyes of a civilian, a ninja was a ninja, and a ronin was a ronin; there was no comparison. He believed that if the Master Ninja allowed the ronin to stay, he must have a good reason for it.
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