Chapter 264: A Sacrificial Lamb

Chapter 264: A Sacrificial Lamb

Fire Capital.

A ninja stood inside Ryoma's room, hidden in the darkness and silently observing him. The subordinate of the 3rd minister was unaware of this individual's presence and was steadily completing his mission report. It wasn't long before he finished it and at that moment the intruder made his move.

'Genjutsu art: Timeless Haze'

In mere moments Ryoma was under the intruder's illusion technique and was sitting in his chair motionless.

The shinobi slowly appeared from the shadows and walked towards Ryoma. 'This will put you under while I get what I need.'

He immediately began going through the mission report that was just done and quickly memorized every detail and even made a copy. 'The spy Fujin sent was caught and now the two major corporations are forming an alliance. The young master won't be happy about this.'

He read the details of the alliance and merger between the two parties and gave a light sigh.

The unknown ninja completed his work in a couple of minutes and the next moment he was out of the room. He dispelled the illusion jutsu holding Ryoma and quietly made his exit.

-

The ninja was exceptional in stealth and quickly made his way to his destination with the new information. It wasn't long before he reached a small palace and entered through a secret tunnel. He soon stood in front of his master's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The shinobi entered and gave a small bow before taking a scroll from his pocket. "I have the information you wanted, young master."

"Ahh yes. Perfect. I can always count on you Hotoja."

The shinobi who entered Ryoma's residence in secret was the loyal guard of the youngest prince Katsuya Hino. The third prince immediately went through the report and noted the most important details as Hotoja stood silently. The smile on Katsuya's face widened by the time he finished the document.

"Wonderful. Everything's going according to plan." The prince couldn't help but chuckle. He turned to Hotoja with a teasing grin.New novel chapters are published on

Hotoja was surprised to see his master's reaction. "I thought you'd be angry or at the very least annoyed, seeing that Fujin Genjira's company would soon be shut down. You spent quite a bit of money over the last 4 years on strengthening his company."

"I did. And it was for this exact reason."

"You helped him to fail?"

Seeing his subordinate's confusion the third prince began explaining.

"Over 5 years ago I had been gathering information on most businesses running in and around Fire country. One in particular caught my eye. The Silver Wood Logging company."

"Fujin Genjira's company!"

The prince nodded. "Yes. While similar businesses were struggling due to the two giants Satoru and Rising Sun, Fujin's company was steadily growing. I found it odd and ordered a secret in depth investigation. It took some time but I soon came to know of his spies in the two major companies feeding him intel. Fujin used that intelligence to create tension and skirmishes between the two corporations."

Hotoja began to understand the situation. "Slowing down their growth while strengthening his own."

"Precisely. And it was at that moment I came up with an idea. Can you guess what that is Hotoja?"

The two spoke for a short while before another topic came up.

"I still can't believe the Leaf ninjas would let go of their prisoners in exchange for information I wonder who they were" Hotoja slightly shook his head and wondered to himself.

"I believe I have an idea." Katsuya chuckled as he already deduced an answer.

Hotoja silently looked at his master and waited for him to speak.

"This meeting between the two was kept a secret and was on a need to know basis. Only very few people could have gotten access to that information aside from Fujin's spy leaking the intel. I knew that possibility and was keeping an eye on Yuta. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was some unknown shinobi who contacted him regarding the negotiations and not the other way around"

"So Yuta wasn't the one who hired the ninjas?"

"No. He just tried to take advantage of the opportunity that came" The prince replied.

"But who could have known about this? And what reason would they have to interfere?"

"The only ones with the means to get secret intel like this in this country are very few people. The one I'm suspecting is Danzo Shimura." Katsuya crossed his arms and spoke.

"Based on our intelligence he's the former advisor to the Hokage and the commander of Root. From what I know the Hokage ordered and disbanded the Root but there is scattered evidence of its activities across the 5 nations. But young master, why do you suspect him?" Hotoja recalled the information on the organization.

"I suspect him because of the actions of the Leaf ninjas Danzo isn't someone who likes others to have great power. An alliance between those two corporations would have significant economic changes. The power and influence of the two companies would greatly increase and I'm guessing he didn't want that to happen. And perhaps he even foresaw the potential of what their merger might bring. He's a paranoid old man who still lives in the warring era But then again considering my plans I suppose he was right to be wary."

Hotoja soon understood why his master suspected Danzo. "But that's not a valid reason to attack Ryoma and disrupt the negotiations between those two. If the 3rd minister found out that ninjas from Leaf village were interfering like that, he would report it to Lord Ryuga and he would take action."

The prince agreed. "Yes. Father would not be pleased and the actions of the ninjas would cause friction between the village and the Royal court. The Hokage wouldn't sanction a mission like this so I'm guessing the ninjas were operating on Danzo's orders behind the Hokage's back."

"I see. The Leaf ninjas must have come to this conclusion as well. They didn't want the identity of the attackers to be revealed because they didn't want them to be connected back to their village. They must have captured them in secret and found the information some other way."

"Yes. The fact that the Leaf ninja wanted to hide the identity of their prisoners is the very reason I suspect Danzo." The prince spoke.

Hotoja looked at his master. "Are you going to take any action my Lord?"

Katsuya laughed. "Why? The Leaf ninjas lied. True. But those two did their job perfectly and I have a feeling the Hokage will take the needed action once this news reaches him, if he hasn't already I won't waste energy on a problem others will take care of for me"

Hotoja nodded and stood silently while his master looked at the starry night sky with a small grin.

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Author's Note:

This is all for now regarding the B rank mission and events at the capital. From the next chapter onwards we'll focus solely on Kakashi, Daichi, Naruto and the others till the end of the graduation debacle.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the twist in this chapter. How are you guys liking the Katsuya Hinoo character so far?

If you like my story and want to read ahead, then check out my P.a.T.R.E.0.N page. I've uploaded up to 30 additional chapters there.

Patre /MonkWithAPen (No space)