Inside the Hokage's office, Jun reported the current situation to Tsunade.
"He's posing as a food supplier, not a ninja." Jun explained.
"...Seiji Michiba..." Tsunade glanced up in thought, "Where have I heard that?"
"Ah? The communique we received from the Sand Village a few days ago mentioned that name," Shizune quickly informed her. "Let me get it," She rummaged through some papers, "Hold on, it's here somewhere,"
"Any day now," Tsunade tried to hurry her.
"Found it!" The message was handed over and Tsunade reread the contents.
"He was arrested on smuggling charges, but he escaped..." That's not good. The Hokage furrowed her brows.
"The restaurant owner said Seiji was missing an ingredient, and if my hunch is correct, he'll have to reobtain it," Jun brought up her theory. "Cassia buds are frequently exported from the Land of Wind,"
"I'll inform them immediately," Tsunade nodded to Shizune to get on it, "Jun, you continue your search for him."
"Understood."
"I think we're close enough for me to sense him," Ayame said, his pace slowing as he focused on tracking their target. He was getting better at tracking and sensing for other nin, but he still required concentration to get accurate readings.
"He's 180 meters ahead of us," Ayame shut his eyes tightly, "If we increase our pace we can catch up to him before he crosses into the Land of Rivers,"
"Is anyone with him?" Susumu asked, pushing off a tree branch as they continued their chase.
"I don't sense anyone else," Ayame replied.
"Should we wait for Jun?" Susumu looked to him for guidance.
"No time," Ayame picked up his speed, as they raced through the trees, "The two of us should be able to hold him off until then," It sounded like a solid plan; and how dangerous could it really be with a two-against-one scenario? It wasn't long before the distance closed between themselves and their target. Just up ahead they could hear the footsteps cease.
"Get ready, he must've noticed us," Ayame whispered, signaling Susumu to be on guard.
"We could split up, maybe you can go around and outflank him," Susumu suggested.
"Got it," Ayame waved as he broke away and disappeared deeper into the trees. Susumu continued forward to intercept the thief and found a man facing him. He loosely wore a sleeveless kimono, a wok for a hat, and had a giant cleaver strapped to his back. Susumu also spotted the scroll and stepped forward.
"Seiji Michiba? Hand it over," Susumu called out, although he was apprehensive, this guy was ripped.
"Hmph…You've come for the scroll?!" A gravelly voice came from the man.
"It's not too late to turn yourself in!" Susumu tried to bide for time; Ayame should nearly be in position. "I know all about your deal with the restaurant. It doesn't have to be like this!" On some level, he hoped this negotiation attempt might work.
"Don't presume to understand that which is beyond your feeble comprehension." Seiji's voice lowered in disgust.
"Then…what is this about? Why steal the scroll?" Susumu asked genuinely.
"Do you hunger for that knowledge?" Seiji chuckled and tilted his hat up to get a better look at Susumu. "Heh…" his mouth pulled up into a smirk. "I understand your cravings,"
"S-Sure," Susumu gave a swallow, confused by the word choice.
"Very well, I suppose I can leave another satisfied guest—" Ayame signaled that he was in place.
"Now!" Susumu shouted.
"What?!" Seiji checked the surroundings. Ayame leaped forward to grab the scroll while Susumu slid into Seiji's legs to knock him off balance. Their plan would've worked too if a Seiji hadn't substituted himself at the last minute.
"Damn it, can you sense him?" Susumu scanned the area for any signs of the thief.
"He's 14 meters to our left!" They bolted after him, "And next time don't shout!" Ayame added angrily.
They managed to close in on Seiji, however, he turned to face them and performed a sequence of seals.
"Susumu get down!" Ayame grabbed his teammate's arm as he tried to dodge what he thought was an incoming fireball.
"Nnhh…I-I can't see?!" Instead of a flame burst they were surrounded by a red mist that made them cough and burned their eyes.
"You fools thought you could capture me? I'll show you how unruly guests get treated!"
"Ugh, why is he talking like that?!" Ayame kept his arm up to shield his face and reached over to make sure he held a firm grip on his friend and tried to lead them outside of the mist. "Come on, the branches," The mist was still thick, but it was less so the higher they climbed; once they could breathe without issue, they stopped. "How are your eyes? Can you see?" Ayame checked Susumu.
"I don't think I can. Nnhh…" He tried to open them and felt the sting just as strongly as before.
"Here," Ayame ripped cloth from Susumu's sleeve and tied it around his eyes.
"Did you just ruin my shirt?!"
"I wasn't going to ruin mine!"
"There you are!"
"Uwah?!" Susumu could hear someone else on the branch and felt around for a spot he could climb to. He jumped down and then felt the tree trunk, this should be safe to stay on.
Once Susumu stood up, he listened carefully. Ayame must've headed off somewhere else, he had to assume that he'd be fighting Seiji alone. The branches rustled above him, alerting Susumu who threw two shuriken in the direction of the sound. Every rustling leaf could potentially signal enemy movement, he couldn't rely on his hearing alone.
How else could he find this guy without his vision?!
"…Wait a minute…" Susumu sniffed the air, "That's…" A distinct fragrance, a special blend of aromatic spices, "There you are!" He threw more shuriken, this time toward the origin of the odor, and heard a grunt of pain.
"Tch…you utilized your other senses to find me…" Seiji sounded close, so Susumu lunged towards the sound with a kunai drawn. "Too bad I have to kill you; you might've made a decent chef!"
Susumu's kunai clanged against the metal of Seiji's own cleaver; it sounded large and heavy, whirring as it swung through the air. Whenever Susumu heard the sound, he leaned away or ducked to avoid getting hit, managing to hold Seiji off with just his kunai.
"You're a chef?! Then why…" Susumu grunted as he pushed back an attack, "Are you doing this?!"
"Fwah!" The man laughed loudly, "A chef?! I'm a master of both ninja and culinary arts!"
"I…I-I don't know what that means!?" Susumu matched his loudness in confusion.
"It means, I'm not just a chef, I'm a ninja chef!" He still couldn't see what the chef guy was doing and listened intently, not knowing Seiji's cleaver was raised high above his head.