Hours went by as Naruto was sleeping inside the inn. The previous night, he had spent all night observing the bandit base, so he was exhausted and slept the entire day. Only towards the evening was Naruto woken up by Kakashi.

Naruto quickly dressed up and soon after the girls also arrived inside the room.

"Alright, everyone is already aware of the situation, right?" Kakashi asked as he looked over the genin.

"So some merchant is setting a trap for us? Do we quit this mission, sensei?" Sakura asked with a fearful expression.

Kakashi had also explained the situation to the girls, so they also knew that this was a trap.

However, much to Sakura's disappointment, Kakashi shook his head. "No, we will continue. We have no physical evidence that this is a trap, so we don't have a good excuse to quit. In fact, us quitting now will only bring more problems to Konoha."

"I hope you aren't suggesting that we walk into the trap, sensei," Saori said.

Kakashi's lone eye turned into a crescent shape, signifying his smile. "Of course not. All of you are my students, so there is no way I would allow anything to happen to you. We just have to adjust our plan and we will continue. The city lord was the one speaking on the behalf of the merchants, so I bet that he knows all the answers. We can start there."

A smile appeared on Sakura's face. "That's right, with our team, there is no way we can fail this. Though its a good thing that sensei found out about their plans. If you hadn't, then who knows what would have happened..."

Naruto's eyebrows rose, just so slightly, as he looked at Sakura.

"Kakashi found out?" Naruto thought inside his head.

He then turned to Kakashi who didn't seem to be paying any attention to him.

"Oh... Did he take the credit because he was afraid that tensions would start rising if these two found out that I moved alone?" Realization came to Naruto.

"In any case, you guys don't have to worry too much. Even if this is a trap, we still have the advantage of knowing about it. For the time being, Sakura and Saori should stay here, while me and Naruto will head to the city lord's mansion to ask some questions, "Kakashi stood up as he gave out his orders.

Saori's face turned into a frown. "Why are we staying here, while Naruto is heading out?" She asked.

Kakashi smiled again. "Well, someone has to protect the inn so that ninja wouldn't sneak in here, right? Meanwhile, if I were to investigate everything alone, it may raise some suspicions."

Saori closed her mouth as she heard the reason. There was some reluctance, but she still nodded. She knew first-hand how good Naruto was at "asking questions".

With the orders given out, the team went about their tasks. Saori and Sakura were staying at the inn, making sure no shinobi try to sneak in, while Naruto and Kakashi walked outside of the inn.

Kakashi then turned to Naruto. "Alright, Naruto. Given the situation, I will allow you some free reign. I want you to find the city lord's aide, Takeshi, and get some answers out of him with your sharingan," Kakashi said as he didn't even hide the fact that he was aware of some of Naruto's skills.

Naruto also turned to Kakashi. "Didn't you say something about being a team? Why leave those two behind? Also, what about you?" Naruto's asked.

Kakashi could only release a helpless sigh. "Well... Truth be told, Sakura isn't skilled enough to fight against a shinobi if they were to sneak inside the inn. And she isn't the investigative type, so we can only leave her in the inn with Saori as back up. On the other hand, I will be heading out on my own to do some investigations."

Kakashi's lone eye narrowed. "Our mission's success depends heavily upon your results. Can I count you?"

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He only closed his eyes, and once they were opened again, a red sharingan was glaring at Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded his head and the two shinobi went towards their own objectives.

It only took several minutes for Naruto to reach the city lord's mansion. Just like previously, it was still stupidly lavish and there were a lot of people here. Naruto looked around the mansion, trying to find a good entry point into the mansion.

After 10 minutes of investigation, Naruto had finally found an empty room on the second floor and used it to silently enter the mansion. Silently, Naruto walked around the mansion, avoiding all the servants and merchants, while also trying to find the city lord's aide.

After some careful sneaking around, he finally found the man in a back room of the mansion.

Takeshi had average looks, was skinny, and had sunken eyes, which made it seem like he was a man of average abilities. This man was now sitting behind a desk, next to him several piles of paperwork that he was diligently working through.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he observed the man. In contrast to his below-average appearance, his quick work displayed his great talent.

"I had underestimated this guy. There is no way that the city lord's closest aide would be an average man, I suppose," Naruto thought inside.

Naruto then carefully used his chakra to sense his surroundings for any other people. Once he confirmed that there was nobody in their immediate surroundings, Naruto stopped hiding and revealed his presence.

Takeshi's pen immediately stopped as Naruto appeared. However, what surprised Naruto was that the man didn't even seem fazed. He was sitting there with an indifferent look on his face. After looking over Naruto, he went back to his work.

Naruto's eyebrows rose as he didn't expect to be blatantly ignored.

"Ignoring a shinobi who snuck inside your room?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

"If you had wanted me dead, I would already be dead," Takeshi said as his pen didn't stop even for a second.

Naruto reassessed this man again.

"So you're not afraid of dying?"Naruto asked again as he started applying some pressure.

This time, Takeshi's pen stopped moving. "That would be the preferable option, in my opinion. Trust me, it is a nightmare to work for this man. Anyways, what do you want, Konoha shinobi?"

Hearing Takeshi identify him without difficulty, Naruto raised his guard. Naruto couldn't understand how this man had identified him as he was standing in the shadows, completely hidden.

"That is because I have been wanting to meet you. Though I was expecting the meeting to take place in a few more days. In any case, if you want to understand your situation better, then it is obviously better to confront the city lord's aide first, so your actions are still within my calculations, " Takeshi explained as if he had seen through Naruto.

"He had predicted that we would visit him?" Naruto's eyes grew wide as he thought about it.

Once Naruto understood that he was lying in Takeshi's palm, he started feeling very insecure and annoyed. However, he suppressed his feelings as he observed the man.

Takeshi's look was that of a man who was completely certain of his deduction. Realizing that he couldn't fool Takeshi, Naruto could only release a sigh and step out of the shadows.

"It seems that beneath those looks of yours lies a dangerous man," Naruto said as he carefully observed Takeshi.

However, Takeshi simply put his elbows on the table and placed his head on his hands.

"Don't worry, I am not your enemy. In fact, I was intending on helping you uncover the plot... Though it seems you did it before I could make my move," Takeshi said with a sigh.

Naruto quirked his eyebrows. "Why are you opposing the merchants? Aren't you one of them?"

Takeshi scoffed as he answered, "I was one of them, would be the correct way to say it. In the past, I had my own business in the city, but these merchants had unified against me and put me out of business. With a massive debt on my shoulders, I can only work for the city lord now. And trust me, he is a very unpleasant man. Does this answer your question?"

Naruto nodded his head.

Takeshi then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Good. Anyways, we don't have much time because the city lord has shinobi patrolling the area, so here is the deal.

"These guys have two plans against you: one is to sneak inside your inn and poison your food in order to capture you. The other plan relies on a shinobi that the merchants had secretly hired. Truth be told, even I don't know this guy's true identity as the merchants are keeping him deep in the shadows. However, from what I did find out, he is a powerful man and is considered their trump card. I believe that this man will appear once you attack the bandit camp. Currently, I believe that your best bet to defend against their plan 1, and then attack before they can use their plan 2."

Hearing Takeshi's words, Naruto took it with a grain of salt. After all, there was no way that Naruto could straight up believe Takeshi's words.

But still, if what Takeshi had said is the truth, then Naruto had to agree with Takeshi. They could only defend against plan 1, because the assailants would deny all connections to the merchants. On the other hand, if they were to make sufficient preparations against plan 2, then team 7 could complete their mission and leave this place unharmed.

But before Naruto could think further, Takeshi interrupted him.

"Though there is something you could actually do for me, you know. If you agree, then we will both gain a lot from it," Takeshi said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do anything for you?"

"Because we will both gain benefits which speaks a lot more than empty words, no? And if you complete this, then we can take down these merchants, thus eliminating the threat to Konoha," Takeshi explained.

Seeing that Naruto was hooked on his bait, Takeshi smiled.

"My plan is to expose the merchants. Because meeting up between merchants and bandits is a sure-fire way to lose all reputation, merchants tend to use pigeon messengers to communicate with the bandits. I firmly believe that the bandits are still holding on to those messages, so they could use them as shields in case those merchants were to try to get rid of them. If you can get those messages, we can expose these merchants and have them locked away. And if you let me get this glory, I can establish myself in this city. With me as a friend, I can help keep the merchants off of Konoha's back and you would have gained a powerful friend. I believe it's worth it, no?" Takeshi smiled confidently as he looked at Naruto.

Takeshi's words were swirling inside his head as Naruto thought it over. It was just as Takeshi had said: benefits spoke louder than words.

It's just that...

"You are telling me that you want to steal all of their wealth, which is a clear sign of big ambition. In that case, how do I know that your ambitions don't involve Konoha?" Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Takeshi chuckled in response. "Its precisely because I'm smart that my ambitions don't involve Konoha. The Daimyo is enjoying the benefits of being the only person having influence over Konoha. The moment I try get a piece of the pie, I will immediately be targeted by Konoha's shinobi and the Daimyo. The idea is tempting, but I value my life more."

Naruto stood in silence as he observed Takeshi. The man also didn't say anything anymore. He simply let Naruto digest the information and come to a decision.

Clack, clack...

The two suddenly heard footsteps coming towards the room. Takeshi then turned to Naruto.

"I think you should leave now. Those messages are most likely somewhere in the bandit leader's room. If you agree to my plan, then get those messages and deliver them to me. I will deal with the rest," Takeshi said as he went back to his own work, ignoring Naruto.

Naruto still wanted to ask some questions, but he knew that their time was over.

Creak

The door to the room opened and a maid walked inside.

"Takeshi-sama, I have brought some tea and snacks," The maid said as she placed a tray near Takeshi.

Takeshi smiled response. "Thank you," He said as he took a sip of the tea and then went back to his own work.

From the beginning, the maid had never noticed that another person had been here just a few second ago.

Whoosh

Naruto appeared on a roof of a building. He was facing the direction of the mansion, Takeshi's offer still on his mind.

A deep frown formed on Naruto's face.

Naruto had went to the mansion with every intention of using his sharingan to gain information, but the whole conversation was completely controlled by Takeshi. Before Naruto had noticed, Takeshi had said his piece and driven him out without giving Naruto a chance to ask questions.

And yet, Naruto couldn't ignore this deal because it is a deal beneficial to both parties.

In other words...

"No choice but to do it," Naruto sighed.

After Naruto decided on acting, his mind started forming plans inside his head.

"The only concern is that hidden shinobi. If he was an existence hidden by all the merchants, that means he should be very dangerous, but we don't even have a clue of his identity," Naruto clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Well, standing here won't give me any answers. I'll go deal with the poisoning first," Naruto said as he turned around and made his way to the inn.

It didn't take Naruto long to return to the inn. However, what Naruto found was that the inn was surrounded by many people and that there was a hole on the roof.

Alarms rang inside his head and Naruto ran to his room. Quickly jumping in through the window, Naruto was surprised to find an unconscious Sakura, and a Saori who was bandaging her wounds.

Saori had also sensed a presence, and she quickly turned to the window. Once she saw that it was Naruto, she showed an unpleasant expression but still visibly relaxed.

"What happened?" Naruto already knew that the enemy shinobi had acted but still asked.

"Enemy attack," Came Saori's neutral response.

"What about her?" Naruto looked at Sakura.

"Knockout drugs," Saori tried to keep her voice calm, but you could still hear the exhaustion and anger in her voice.

"And where are the enemy shinobi?" Naruto looked around his room. There were traces of battle, but no enemy shinobi.

This time, the response didn't come, which caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow. He stopped looking around and turned his head to Saori, only to find her face slightly paler than before.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"They... Are dead," Saori eventually answered.

Silence.

Saori was surprised that no sarcastic comments came from Naruto, so she looked up and saw him look at her with a complicated gaze.

"Fine... You can rest now. I will keep watch until sensei arrives," Naruto said as he walked to the table and sat down.

Saori looked him up and down with a suspicious look. In her mind, Naruto was cold and had a habit of sarcastically making fun of people. But now he was strangely considerate and quiet, which greatly confused her.

Eventually, Saori still nodded her head. Say what you want, but she was still a young girl. She wasn't capable of killing people in cold blood, so she was mentally exhausted.

Saori finished with her bandages, took Sakura, and went to get some sleep. It took less than a minute for deep, rhythmic breathing to come from her, signifying that Saori fell into a deep sleep.

After some time, Naruto glanced back at the two sleeping girls.

A deep frown formed on his face.

"I was late..." Naruto's voice was laced with anger.

Six years.

Naruto had spent six years recklessly training, pushing past his limits. He had formed a lot of confidence in himself from improving so much. However, his confidence had received a huge blow in these last few days, because he was being helplessly played around with by a bunch of merchants.

Whether it's their scheming against Konoha, Takeshi playing around with Naruto, or being too late for the sneak attack; Naruto was always a few steps behind. This caused anger to build up within Naruto, yet have no one to vent it on.

As he thought about it, this was the only time that Naruto had been thankful for having teammates. Saori had unknowingly defended against their plan 1, which was like a slap to their faces, relieving some of Naruto's irritation.

As he observed the exhausted and injured Saori, some of Naruto's anger died down.

"Teammates, huh..." Naruto's brows were pulled together as thoughts flashed inside his head.

Eventually, he took his eyes off of Saori and turned to the room entrance.

"Fine! If you want to play rough, then let's do it," Resolve flashed in Naruto's mind as he was already forming a death sentence on the bandits.

Come tomorrow, these bandits will understand what happens when you mess with Naruto Uzumaki.

Author's Notes:

Hello, my dear readers!

Here is another chapter for you, and I hope you enjoyed it. I still have some business IRL, so I don't have as much time to write as I would like, and I also have to leave some time to review the chapters, in order for it to not look like it was written by an infant.

However, I am slowly getting back into my rhythm, which I guess is something to celebrate?

Anyways, thank you for reading, and please drop a review with your opinion in it. Flames, suggestions and everything else is always appreciated!

I hope to see you guys in the next chapter. Toodles!