I'd very much wanted for today to be one of rest. With the way things have been for the last few weeks, though, I shouldn't have been surprised. After returning from the shrine yesterday I hastily prepared for a run to Tanzaku Quarters, and was supposed to have set out early this morning, while the light was still a blueish gray.
As I come up to the gates, I get the feeling of being watched- not the one I haven't been able to explain, but the more normal one. It seems I'm expected. I don't see anyone until I'm almost out of the village, but then in the corner of my eye I see a large man step out of the shadows. I almost jump; it's Ibiki. There's a very stern and knowing look on his face, and he holds my gaze without saying anything for a minute. "...I know how to put two and two together, Hinata."
"Ibiki, it's not like what you-"
"I'm pretty sure it's exactly like how I think it is. A ninja executing Yamaha with a Water Release taijutsu, one that takes a very high level of precision- perhaps even necessitating the use of a dojutsu- was also the one that took out the warehouse, again making use of a Water Release technique. You did good by using the Transformation jutsu both times, but not good enough to fool someone who knows where to look." Ibiki stares into my eyes, his scars starkly shadowing his face in the early morning light. "I also know how you feel about the girls. Us ninja, even ones who interrogate others for a living, aren't monsters or ghosts. We're human. And I think that's your greatest strength, and weakness: others have let go of their humanity after everything they've seen, but you've held on. And that's a very admirable thing." Ibiki reaches into his long coat and pulls out a scroll, and hands it to me. "I'd recommend not going after Taizo directly, but in there is some information that could make his life Hell, if used the right way." I look at the scroll and then up to Ibiki, who simply nods and walks away without another word.
I stand at the gates for a moment, unsure of what just happened. But if I'm to do this I need to be on the move now, and so I sigh and take off.
I'm not headed straight for the Quarters. After thinking about what Yusei said, it would make sense that if some of the Akiyama Group would be traveling with him disguised as his guards, that Nurari would be one of them; he'd know all the back roads to take and might even make contact with some of his people in the palace. From Tanzaku Quarters to the daimyo's palace there's one main road. The times I've traveled it I've only seen a few smaller roads branching off, most of them heading towards Konoha. The main road of course goes near the palace, but a few miles away it's rejoined by some rural roads. It's the long way to get there, but I think that with what's happened in Tanzaku Quarters, Nurari would direct Taizo's caravan to take the smaller roads to avoid notice. I've decided to head for the first branch off the highway, which is almost a full day's run from Konoha.
During my brief stop for lunch I look at the scroll Ibiki gave me before I left. Inside is a laundry list of things Taizo has had smuggled into the daimyo's palace, as well as the the places those items came from. Beside the list are streaks of colored marker, which I think each represent a group or gang that provided for Taizo's needs. Further into the scroll are names, with brief biographies attached. Some of them are marked out with an X, which I presume means that they're deceased. There's a lot to get to and make use of, but for the moment I'm focused on Nurari. I roll it back up, and continue my run. I begin to plan the ambush, think of where a likely spot a stop for lunch might happen. It probably won't be right off the branch, as not far from there there are some woods where attackers might easily be concealed. I think a little farther past to where the woods thin out again is a likely choice, as it's i the open and by that time it should be in the afternoon. And who should I appear as? I think of becoming Raiko, The Rainmaker, but if she is truly to be a ghost on the wind she can't make the strike. The thought of ghosts makes me smile for a second, and I settle on who's appearance I'll take using the Transformation Jutsu.
With those thoughts in place, I focus on the run and pick up my pace...