Let's start this from the beginning

Kabasawa Mines

III

"Kiba-"

"I know, I know. Just a little bit longer, okay? I'm sure it can't be far now."

Just like you were sure of that when you said it an hour ago? Or the hour before that? While Shino thought that, he didn't speak it out loud. After all, it wasn't as if he couldn't understand why Kiba was so determined not to give up. He felt exactly the same way. Itachi-sensei had entrusted them with this, so they both obviously wanted to succeed in finding the scene of the attack. Furthermore, the fact that they had travelled for almost a day already while doing only the bare minimum of breaks necessary without finding anything made the entire situation all the more suspicious, meaning the success of their task might actually prove essential later on.

Giving up before they found something - anything - just didn't sit right with either of them.

Unfortunately, Shino hadn't asked because he truly thought they should turn around but because they had not much of a choice in that matter.

"Sensei said to go no further than one day worth of travel," he reminded his teammate, ignoring the annoyed look the other boy shot him. "We can't go much further."

Shino had to hand it to Kiba that his self-control had improved immensely over the last few weeks. Back during their early days as a team, and for the years of their acquaintance before that, he wouldn't have accepted this truth and complained about it instead. He might have restrained himself as long as their sensei was present, of course, but once he was gone, he would have started to grumble about how unfair the situation was.

Now, on the other hand, he kept his composure. Oh, his expression was pinched while a low growl crept from his throat, making it clear for all the world to see that he was just as displeased about this as Shino, but ultimately, he didn't argue with him.

Shino was genuinely impressed with that development. It also made him wonder what kind of changes he himself had undergone he wasn't aware of and what his teammates were thinking about them.

But then again, Itachi-sensei probably wouldn't have allowed them to go off on their own if he didn't think they were both ready.

"I know," Kiba repeated once more, visibly restraining himself to not raise his voice. "Listen, we ran off during midday, right? The sun is not yet at its zenith, so let's give it a bit more time. I will be the first one to turn around if we still haven't found anything by then."

That was a reasonable proposal. Besides, it would give them a bit more than an hour to continue their search, giving Shino exactly what he wanted as he was all in favour of continuing. With a good reason to back that decision up, he saw no reason whatsoever to turn around quite yet.

However, before he had the chance to express his agreement, Akamaru's bark caught both their attention.

"Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring Shino in favour of running up to his ninken. "Did you find something, boy?"

The dog gave another bark that even Shino recognized as an affirmation, and while his face didn't immediately lit up like Kiba's, he couldn't have suppressed the smile that crept up his lips even if he would have wanted to.

"Hah, I knew we could do it!" Kiba turned around to shoot him the kind of cocky grin Shino had found aggravating just a few weeks ago but now seemed oddly contagious. "Good thing we didn't give up, eh? We finally have a trail! Let's go!"

Kiba didn't even wait for him to reply before he jumped away to follow the trail Akamaru had found, leaving Shino with no other choice but to follow after them. Not that he minded, of course. For once, Kiba's brashness and cockiness didn't feel overbearing or annoying. It didn't feel like he was looking down on him at all.

He had also said that he knew they could do it. Kiba had included him without even thinking about it, counting this as a win for both of them rather than just for himself even though it was his - or, to be more precise, his ninken's - nose that had found the scent.

For that alone, Shino could overlook his behaviour.

Once Akamaru had helped Kiba find the trail, the boy quickly took the lead, guiding their group away from their previous eastward course and moving them further north instead. Meanwhile, Shino made sure to send his Kikaichū out in larger and larger quantities to make sure nobody would be able to sneak up on them. The likelihood of them being attacked here was slim, of course, but one could never be too careful. Especially not with the mystery of the boar attack still not being solved yet. And with Kiba occupied otherwise and the rest of their team being absent, the job of keeping aware of their surroundings fell to him.

They had kept a more economical pace till now to conserve their stamina, well aware that they would probably be travelling for quite some time and that tiring out prematurely would be a bad thing, but that changed now. With an actual trail to follow, there was no reason not to hurry. They didn't outright run as fast as they could, but definitively much faster than before.

Even so, they still needed more than half an hour to actually find the scene of the attack.

"… is it just me or is this a bit underwhelming?"

Shino shook his head, his forehead furrowed in consideration. "It isn't just you, no."

There were about two or three dozen carts, half of which were overturned while the rest stood abandoned on the side of the route. Furthermore, regardless of whether they still stood on their wheels or not, most showed varying amounts of damage which clearly indicated that an attack had taken place. What stood out much more than that, however, were the various corpses lying around. Not of humans, though. Instead, there were countless carcasses of horses and oxen in different stages of decay. Many showed signs of having been fed on by animals, too.

None of this was strange. In fact, it was just as one might expect from such a scene. Two things stood out to Shino which bothered him, though:

First, as far as he could see, all carts had been looted of all their good. There were neither raw materials nor any other products left to be found. He would need to take a closer look to make sure he wasn't overlooking something, but as far as he could tell right now, there was truly nothing left. There were obviously some possible explanations for this. For example, bandits or even just random people passing by could have taken it, using the opportunity to enrich themselves. Considering how much stuff must have been lying around here, however, that was rather unlikely. Unless it was a big group of bandits, there was no way everything could be gone.

Second, there were no human corpses. He had sent out his Kikaichū just to be sure there were none hidden beneath some rubble, but considering they didn't find anything either, he could be relatively sure that there was indeed nothing to be found. That was probably the strangest thing. It shouldn't be possible for there to be no casualties after an attack that resulted in so much damage. Consequently, there should be at least a few corpses.

Again, there were a few explanations that could potentially make sense of the situation, but Shino didn't think any of them was quite sufficient.

For example, their client could have sent a party to collect the bodies. That would also explain where all the goods had vanished. After all, if one already sent a part to collect the bodies, why not let them get all the valuable goods as well? Unfortunately, while this sounded good in theory, it was unlikely to be the case. There had simply been not enough time to amass a party big enough to do these things that then also travelled all the way here. Civilians would be much slower than Shino and Kiba who were shinobi, especially if they needed to travel with bulky carts to carry all the stuff, so the journey alone would probably take several days.

No, Shino was sure that wasn't what had happened.

It could also be that the survivors of the attack returned to collect the bodies of their comrades, and while this was already more likely, it still didn't solve the problem of the vanished goods…

"Hey, Shino," Kiba called from Shino's right where he had been examining some wreckages. "There's something strange here."

Discarding his musings for the moment, he began moving towards his teammate. "Something strange, you say?"

Somehow, Shino doubted he was talking about the things he had been thinking about himself. While Kiba would probably notice these details himself if he actually examined the scene at large, he had been busy with other things. He didn't quite know what it was exactly they were looking for, but the way Kiba and Akamaru had slowly but surely followed some invisible trail to the outskirts of the scene off the road and close to the tree line proved that there was something specific that bothered them.

"Yes," Kiba confirmed, his face for once completely serious. "Something very strange." He raised his hand and pointed at the tree line about fifty metres away from their position. "I followed the trails of the boars, you see. They apparently broke through the carts and caused some chaos before running back into the forest over there." He then turned around to point at the trees right next to them. "However, I can also smell that people took this path here as well. And I mean a lot of people. There shouldn't be much of a trace of human scent left by now, but it's actually so strong that it almost masks the one from the boars. They must have come and gone several times since the attack. Probably within the last few hours, too."

That was indeed strange. Very strange, even. "It could be the survivors of the attack who came back to collect their comrades' bodies," he said, voicing his earlier thoughts.

"While being drunk?" Kiba snorted, a sardonic grin on his face. "With how strong the smell of alcohol hangs in the air, I'm surprised you can't smell it as well."

He couldn't, but if Kiba said it was there, he had no reason to doubt it. But why would they come all this way while being drunk…?

There was only one way to find out the answer to that.

While Itachi-sensei technically hadn't forbidden them from following any other lead they potentially found, their task had been very clear: find the scene of the attack and then return to him and Hinata. What Shino - and, if he read the expression on his face correctly, Kiba as well - currently thought of was most certainly not part of that.

However, not following up on this just felt wrong.

There were pros and cons to this, arguments for and against it, but no matter how he looked at the situation, following the trail seemed like the right thing to do. After all, if something fishy was going on, there was the very real chance that this trail would already be cold by the time they returned with Itachi-sensei. Not only would they take considerably longer for the journey back now that they were already tired out, but they would also need to travel back here afterwards. At the very least, valuable clues might be lost by then.

Moreover, he and Kiba had the kind of skillset that would allow them to remain unnoticed by anyone even if they followed this lead. They would notice anyone long before they noticed them, allowing them to retreat and hide if necessary.

Yes, this was truly the most logical choice.

"Well then," Kiba said as if in reaction to his thoughts, "shall we?"

Now was the last chance to change his mind, to tell Kiba they should turn around and get the rest of their team, but obviously, Shino didn't do anything like that.

"Lead the way."

Ironically, this might very well be the first time they had been absolutely and unquestionable of the same mind on something.

They had been given adjoining chambers, and even Itachi had to admit that their host had gone above and beyond to accommodate them. Having a roof over one's head was already considered a luxury for a shinobi on a mission, so having several rooms with expensive carpets, beautiful paintings, a bed big enough for five that was furnished with the finest satin, and even a private balcony with a perfect view of the garden and the town in the distance, to name just a few things, was a rare event indeed.

Itachi's family was anything but poor, but as the Uchiha always preferred to use their wealth for more practical things, he couldn't say he was used to anything quite like this. Hinata would probably find this even more overwhelming than he did, too. After all, where he had experienced similar accommodations in the past, she certainly had not.

They had even been given an entire wardrobe to use during their stay. This was actually something that had surprised even him. While it wasn't unheard of for wealthy clients to offer the shinobi they had hired robes they found more appropriate, he had never heard of a case where one offered an entire wardrobe just like that.

The sheer amount of clothes in all kinds of sizes their host must have lying around just to be able to offer this to his guests must be astonishing.

The paranoid part of him, the one that every shinobi possessed to keep themselves alive, had grown suspicious at these generosities. After all, just because he couldn't immediately find a possible explanation for how this action might be part of a plot to harm them didn't mean that there wasn't one. However, judging by the behaviour their host had displayed earlier, which Itachi had tentatively deemed not to be an act, this was very much in character for the man, so he silenced the voice for the time being.

It was this that led to him wearing the midnight blue robes which were probably expensive enough to fed an average family of three for an entire year and would be more fitting for a high-ranking noble at the daimyo's court than for a mere shinobi while taking small bites from the food in front of him, sitting to the left of Akihito himself with Hinata, who wore a white and red kimono more appropriate for a princess than a kunoichi, to his left respectively.

The noble had held word and threw a feast for them, and it was only natural to be offered seats of honour at his side.

While Itachi wasn't necessarily a fan of such events, particularly when he was at their centre, he was thankful for this opportunity. After all, it gave him the chance to observe everyone important all at once, taking away the need to make in-depth reconnaissance work later on. Not only were all the important people of Akihito's administration, from minor nobles to influential residents of the town below, present, but most servants who worked at the mansion and many guards were as well. With how many guests there were, that wasn't much of a surprise.

He would still need to do some research later, of course. This feast lightened his workload immensely, but it didn't take it away entirely.

Maybe I should let Hinata do it instead, he mused silently even while he kept making meaningless small talk with one of the many guests that had approached him so far. She seemed rather disappointed with herself over her self-proclaimed failure.

Itachi didn't blame her for being caught flat-footed by their host's behaviour. Even he had been surprised by it. However, while she listened to his words when he told her just that, it was clear that she didn't take them to heart and that she blamed herself more than what was reasonable.

Doing something she perceived as useful would surely lift her spirit.

Throwing quick glances to his two neighbours, he confirmed that both were still busy. To his right, Akihito was having a rather animated conversation with someone who, judging by the calluses on his hands, his clothes that were scarcely appropriate for the setting, and the hard contours hiding underneath, could be a miner or even a retired guard while Hinata to his left was talking to the lord's nine-year-old daughter, Nezu, who had been introduced to them at the beginning of the feast. The little girl had developed an instant liking for his student, apparently being fascinated by her eyes, and Hinata seemed more than happy to indulge her.

While Hinata was good enough at hiding her discomfort at both the expensive robes she had been given and the feast itself to make sure no one but the most observant observer would notice, it was this distraction that allowed her to truly relax, and Itachi was glad for that. Partly because it wasn't good for her to be so tense all the time, partly because there was the chance that the little girl could let something slip while talking to her. Children were generally more loose-lipped than adults, after all.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any, he excused himself from his own ongoing conversation and raised to his feet, only taking a few moments to notify his student what he was doing before slowly walking to a relatively empty part of the hall close to the arched windows that made up a large part of the northern wall from where one could look into the garden.

It took less than a minute before the man whose eyes Itachi had felt on him for quite some time now approached him, a benign smile on his face and a drink in each of his hands.

"Uchiha-san," he greeted him as soon as he was within talking distance and offered him one of the glasses. "I hope I'm not a bother, but I was hoping to speak with you."

"Not at all, Neishin-san," he replied with a tilt of his head while accepting the offered drink. "I was merely enjoying the view. There's nothing comparable to these gardens back in Konoha, you see."

Neishin, who was the adviser in charge of the treasury he and Hinata had met upon their arrival here, chuckled in response before pointing with his free hand towards the exit. "Would you like to take a closer look, then? It should be quieter outside as well. Much more pleasant to talk with each other, too."

"It would be a pleasure."

He let himself be led outside while continuing their meaningless chatter, both of them being well-aware of the eyes on them. Whatever the other man wanted to talk with him about was apparently just as sensitive as what Itachi wanted to talk about with him, shining an entirely new light on his oh so innocent invitation outside.

It was only once they had entered the gardens and were an appropriate distance away from the exit that Itachi decided to bring his subject up.

"I haven't been able to spot Mikata-san all night," he said casually while observing his companion's reaction from the corner of his eyes. "Is he not a fan of feasts?"

Neishin let out a soft chuckle that sounded like a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "He certainly isn't, no. He always complains about the costs no matter how often I tell him that he should let me worry about such things, and when it isn't that, then he complains about the additional workload for his men. He also never attends them himself if he can help it. Regardless, his absence tonight has less to do with his personal preferences and more with the fact that he left the mansion several hours ago."

"Oh?" Itachi already knew that, of course, having observed the column of riders leaving the place himself, but he still put a hint of surprise into his voice. "There hasn't been another incident, I hope? My student and I would have been more than willing to help. That's why we're here, after all."

"Oh no, not at all. Unlike Akihito-dono, Mikata isn't a fan of shinobi, you see. As you surely remember, he took great offence to the news of your other two students already rushing to the scene of the attack, so he decided to rally some of his men and ride out himself." Neishin shook his head in clear disapproval. "We had actually planned to send a party tomorrow morning. We sent out some men to collect the corpses and look for injured as soon as the news of the attack reached us, even before we sent a message to Konoha with our plea for aid, but organizing transport for all the good takes longer. I don't know for sure what he tries to accomplish by forcing this early departure, but if I had to take a guess, I would speculate that he doesn't want your team to solve this problem for us."

He doesn't like shinobi, huh? "So the party you sent out to collect the dead and look for injured has been on the move for about five days, then? Maybe they will encounter my other two students. While their knowledge in that field is very basic, they might be able to help with some minor injuries if they do meet."

"That's a very kind offer, but the party has returned two days before your own arrival. Your students might encounter Mikata, but other than his group, none of our people is currently on the road."

That actually caught him by surprise. "They have already returned? This soon?"

Assuming they set out a day or two before the message with the mission request arrived at Konoha, they would have been gone for something between three and for days. Their horses would have been more rested at the beginning, meaning they would have been faster during the first day before slowing down from then on. Especially if they needed to pull carts, and even more so if these carts were weighed down by the bodies of the injured and dead. With that in mind, the scene of the attack couldn't be too far away from here.

However, Kiba and Shino still hadn't turned up. Even if they weren't running at their full speed, they should have been able to reach the scene and subsequently arrive at the mansion by now if the attack had happened this close to it. Itachi would know if something had happened to them as he had sent a clone with them in secret, so there must be another reason for their delay.

"Indeed," Neishin agreed after he took a sip from his drink. "Their timely return came as a surprise to all of us. Apparently, a few of the survivors managed to lift their dead comrades onto carts, put some horses in front of them, and make their way home. By the time the survivor who rode ahead to notify us about the attack arrived, they had already covered a good stretch of the way themselves, so our people didn't need to ride all the way to the scene itself to find them."

That would explain some of his previous confusion, but Itachi still felt unsatisfied with that answer. It made sense, but his gut told him that there was more to it. He didn't let these thoughts show on his face, though, and merely nodded in understanding. "That is very fortunate indeed. I hope there haven't been too many casualties?"

The other man sighed. "Not as many as it could have been, but too many still. There could also be even more dead whose bodies the survivors couldn't recover or people who managed to flee into the woods after the attack and died of their wounds later. The group brought sixteen bodies with them, and of the seven survivors that came back, four died within hours of their arrival."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said with a slight bow of his head. "Were you able to contact their families?"

For the first time since they moved outside, the other man smiled. "Most of them, yes. There were some who were members of travelling merchant groups, but those that had family in the town were easy enough to be found. Most of them are present here tonight as well. Akihito-dono regularly invites both the simple miners and merchants to his feasts to show them his gratitude and, as it's the case with the families of the victims, sympathy."

"I did notice a surprising number of citizens at the feast. It's a most unusual action, I must say, but it surely helps in fostering good relations between Akihito-dono and the people."

"It does very much so. He even went as far as to arrange an entire wing of the mansion to be made available for them after yesterday's funeral! Needless to say, he's quite popular."

That made Itachi pause. "There has already been a funeral as well?"

"I assume you're surprised at how quickly it happened?" Neishin asked with an understanding expression on his face. "I'm inclined to agree, but most of the relatives wanted to have them receive the priest's blessing as soon as possible and Akihito-dono acquiesced." He pointed to his right. "There is a special graveyard on the premise where all those who died while working for Akihito-dono's family get buried. Well, as long as their families agree, that is."

Every time things start to make some sense, something new comes up. Itachi suspected from the very beginning that something weird was going on, and the longer he was here, the more sure of it he became. His first suspicion regarding some kind of foul play between Akihito and Sudou, the shinobi usually in charge of missions related to the Kabasawa Mines, was probably wrong, but there was clearly something going on behind the scenes.

He had a few more ideas, of course, but speculating too much wouldn't do him any good right now. He needed more information before he could make any educated guesses. Everything else would be a waste of time and energy.

"Anyway," Neishin continued after a few moments of silence, "let's not talk about this dreadful topic any longer. That's not what I approached you for anyway. In truth, I wanted to ask you for a favour, Uchiha-san."

Itachi pushed his suspicions aside for the moment to focus back on the conversation on hand while making sure that his expression was as friendly and open as it could be without looking fake. "If it's within my power, I would be more than happy to help you."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, expressing his gratitude with a small bow. "It's nothing complicated, I assure you. All I ask of you is to deliver a message to your Hokage."

Now that was an interesting development. "And what kind of message would that be?"

"That it might be a wise decision to start looking for new sources of iron as the Kabasawa Mines are beginning to dry up."

His only reaction at this news was a single blink, but considering how much control he usually had over himself, even that was a tremendous thing. Although Itachi hadn't been living in Konoha anymore at this point in time of the former timeline, he would have heard if something important like the drying up of the Land of Fire's most important mines had happened. He didn't, though, so there should be no way for it to happen now.

"Is this confirmed?" he asked, manipulating his voice to sound only appropriately grave instead of as suspicious as he felt. "Are there any doubts whatsoever?"

The reply was immediate. "It's not, no." Then, Neishin scoffed. "Akihito-dono is an admirable man, but he also refuses to acknowledge the possibility that not only his family's pride and joy but also his income might be about to run out. He denies all of my requests to carry out a detailed inspection, and no matter what I try, he won't change his mind."

"If there has been no inspection, what makes you think the mines might be drying up?"

"With every passing month, our men need to work longer and dig deeper to find the same quantities of iron ore as the month prior. There have been more accidents, too. Collapsed tunnels and the like. So far, the number of casualties remains relatively low, and Akihito's popularity keeps the people in check, but there's no telling how long that will last."

"In that case, you should have contacted Konoha much earlier," Itachi said. "Even if it's not confirmed yet, this news would have been enough to make the Hokage insist on a closer inspection."

Neishin bowed, lowering his head much more than a man of his station ever should. "I should have, and I regret not having done so. Akihito-dono forbade me from speaking about this with anyone. I was afraid of what would happen if he found out I sent a secret message, so I remained silent. I understand now that this has been a mistake. One which innocent workers paid for with their lives." He looked up. "I can't stay silent any longer, however. Not now that such an opportunity has presented itself. Sudou-san agrees with Akihito-dono, that much has become clear during his last visit, but as it's you and your team who came this time instead of him, there is a chance for me to speak freely without fear."

Depending on how things had played out during the last timeline, there was the distinct possibility that Neishin had never mentioned the drying up of the mines in the last timeline because of this fear. That would not only explain why Itachi hadn't heard of this before but would also fit nicely with his first suspicion regarding Sudou. However, just as he had mused earlier, there seemed to plop up another question whenever he thought he had found an answer, and this time was no different. As much as this explained a lot, it also left him with doubts.

None of which he could address right now, though.

"I will pass on the message," he said instead, noting how Neishin's shoulders relaxed at his words. "I will strive to finish this mission as quick as I can and then return to Konoha with all haste to make sure this can be dealt with as soon as possible. Your safety will naturally be guaranteed, so please don't worry."

The other man bowed again, this time even lower than before. "Thank you, Uchiha-san. You have no idea how grateful I am for that."

The longer I'm here, the more suspicious things become, Itachi mentally repeated what he had thought earlier. How is it that the possibility of a bothersome but ultimately harmless backdoor deal developed into a potential iron crisis within a single day?

He knew that it was almost a tradition for missions to go wrong and that the first mission of Genin teams in particular tended to spiral out of control beyond even that, but this was simply ridiculous.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it now other than observing how things developed from here. Then, depending on what news Kiba and Shino brought with them when they finally returned, he would decide whether they should act themselves or send a message to Konoha to have some other, more qualified team take care of this.

Patience was a virtue, after all.

Although Kiba knew that the situation was serious and that he should focus all his attention on the mission, but he couldn't not get distracted by how excited he was. This was, after all, his very first assignment outside the village and, maybe even more importantly, without the supervision of his sensei. Part of the reason he had been so determined to continue the search when Shino pointed out that they would need to return soon - not that he really wants to leave without getting some results first himself, that hypocrite - was that he didn't want to fail the very first time he had the chance to prove himself. To prove that he had taken his lessons to heart and that he could live up to his family's reputation as trackers.

Having not only successfully found the scene of the attack but also a suspicious trail to follow was consequently like a dream come true. Kiba knew that they would need to report back to their sensei as soon as they found the people at the other end of the trail and that they couldn't, well, take care of them themselves, but just having found them was already great!

Unless, of course, it turned out there was nothing suspicious going on at all and these people were mere innocent civilians who accidentally stumbled over the aftermath of the attack, in which case his and Shino's decision to go after them would have been nothing but a waste time.

There was no use in worrying about that, though. They would find out whether that was the case or not sooner rather than later anyway.

They had followed the trail for about half an hour now, with him and Akamaru in the lead while Shino covered their backs. They could have been faster, but considering they didn't want to risk being seen, they moved slower and more cautious than usual. Still faster than civilians could ever hope to be, but slower than Kiba would have liked.

That actually makes things even more suspicious, Kiba thought. They wouldn't move such a distance as often as they must have judging from the strength of the scent if they weren't up for no good. Add to that the tracks of carriages they had found about ten minutes away from the scene and everyone would be able to see that there was something fishy about the entire situation. Yeah, no way is this all just a big misunderstanding.

The thought of that only excited him even more, and it took a considerable amount of effort to suppress the grin that tried to spread over his face in favour of focusing back on the mission.

Thankfully, it was then that the sound of voices could be heard in the distance, giving him something to focus on other than his thoughts.

"We're close to the camp," he whispered as he came to a stop on a tree branch, looking to his right where Shino had landed with an almost inaudible thump. "Are there any watchmen?"

The scent had constantly grown stronger and stronger as they got closer. So strong, in fact, that he could no longer confidentially claim he would notice someone trying to sneak up on them with his nose alone, even if it irked him to admit that. There were simply too many other smells that obscured such minor details. Shino had no such problems, though.

He waited in silence as his teammate held up one hand on which several insects landed within seconds, watching as he, well, communicated with them. To be completely honest, he had still no idea how that actually worked. If he wanted to speak with Akamaru, his companions would bark in response, and while most people might struggle to understand what he was trying to express from that alone, at least everyone could hear that he had done something. With Shino's insects, on the other hand, Kiba didn't notice anything that could count as communication.

Regardless, it obviously worked and that was all that truly mattered.

"There are eight guards positioned around the camp," Shino said a few seconds later, finally breaking the tense silence. "However, judging from the amount of alcohol in their blood, they won't be much of a problem. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be anyone with strong enough chakra to be a shinobi. As long as we move carefully and stay in the trees, we should be able to move closer while remaining relatively safe."

While the 'or be able to escape in case we're spotted after all' went unsaid, Kiba heard it clear as day. He didn't like the thought of it, but he understood the value of having an escape plan just in case.

Nodding his understanding, he let Shino take the lead, realizing that his skills were better suited to get them closer without being seen than his own now that his nose was all but useless. It sucked, sure, but considering it was he who had led them this far, he supposed he could let Shino have the honour of this last part.

It took only a little less than three minutes for them to reach the outskirts of the camp which was located on a small clearing, spying down on it hidden from the treetops surrounding it.

The camp, if it could even be called that, was chaotic and unorganized. Tents were erected all over the place without any apparent system in place, people loitered around half a dozen burned down fireplaces with drinks in their hands that were clearly alcoholic in nature, and even more were just lying asleep on the ground in the most random of places, most likely having passed out there earlier. All in all, there were about sixty or seventy people.

The only real thing of note was the pile of crates in the centre of the camp whose content he couldn't see but which Kiba would bet his left kidney on were the missing goods from the caravan the boars had attacked.

Jackpot.

"It's a damn shame neither of us can use some kind of camouflage technique," Kiba muttered. He had heard of them but never thought of learning one himself. After all, apart from them being relatively hard to learn even for people with excellent chakra control, Kiba preferred a more straightforward approach, meaning he hadn't really seen the appeal before now. "Do you think we could use a transformation technique to infiltrate the camp?"

"Too risky," came the immediate response. "The likelihood of this being a tightly knit group is too high. Transforming into a stranger would probably attract attention almost immediately, and transforming into one of them might become a problem if our acting is even just a little bit off or if we run into the person we're emulating."

Kiba bristled at being shot down like this but kept his opinion to himself. Starting a fight about it now was a terrible idea, especially when he knew Shino was technically not even wrong. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it, though…

Putting these thoughts aside, he focused on trying to catch what the people closest to them were talking about. At least with so many of them being asleep, the overall noise level was lower than it could be, making that relatively easy.

For the most part, nothing of note was being said. The vast majority of conversations were about booze, women, or various deeds the men had supposedly carried out in the past. Pretty boring, really. The topics of the conversations around them didn't get any better when he and Shino decided to split up and circle around the camp in opposite directions. If anything, it got worse as half of the groups were so deep in their cups that their voices were little more than unintelligible gibberish Kiba couldn't make any sense of.

It was only when he had almost given up hope entirely and was considering just rushing in, knocking everyone out, and checking the crates himself that he finally overheard something that made him pay closer attention.

"…much longer do you think we have to stay here? Let me tell you, I'm damn tired of sleeping in a tent."

"Don't sweat it. It's no different from what we do usually do when we travel, isn't it?"

Kiba turned around until he found the ones who were speaking, spotting the two men in leather armour standing a little apart from the nearest other group and having drinks in their hands that were - surprisingly enough - nothing alcoholic for once.

"At least we usually have a different scenery every day. Seeing all these idiots" -he made a wide gesture towards the rest of the camp, only the fond tone of his voice belying his harsh words- "getting drunk day in and day out can't quite compare, don't you think?"

"A small price to pay for all the money we get out of this if you ask me."

The other man snorted. "If there is anything left after deducting the cost for all our lost wagons and horses, you mean."

"Please," the second person said with a roll of his eyes and an amused grin on his lips. "After this gig is over, we will have more than enough money to retire for good. Maybe start a little farm or something like that far away from here." He clapped the other man on the shoulder. "You know what the boss said."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still doesn't mean I have to be happy to have so many of our animals trampled to death by oversized pigs, though."

"It's not like they can't be replaced. Just buy yourself some new ones when we get our payment."

That brought a genuine smile to the other man's face. "You know what? I think I will do just that! At the very least, they're much more pleasant to look at than the face of the boss. I mean, is it really too much to ask for that he doesn't scowl like we have pissed in his drink when he talks to us?"

The conversation started to digress from there, but Kiba had heard enough. Once he was sure they wouldn't speak any more about this mysterious boss of theirs or the attack that he now knew had clearly been staged, he rushed off to find Shino, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

This kind of underhand plot was exactly what he had hoped for in a mission. Wheels within wheels and secrets within secrets; the excitement that shot through his veins at the thought of what would happen next would have made it impossible for him to sit still even if he tried. Even the exhaustion that had slowly accumulated from all the running he had done since departing from Hinata and Itachi-sensei was all but forgotten.

He wondered if Shino had found something out as well. Who knows? Maybe there was even more to this entire situation than what he had heard already!

The thought of that possibility didn't help calm him down at all.

All he and Shino needed to do now was to return to their team's side, inform them of what they had found, and then take care of the problem. What exactly that would entail, he didn't know, but it would surely be amazing! After all, if there was some secret "boss" pulling the strings in the background, they needed to be found and captured, right?

Kiba could hardly wait.

Sorry for not updating last week. Life got in the way. Please accept this long chapter as an apology :)