Konoha Light

In order to avoid Asuma making any more stirring remarks, Shimizu hurried to continue the previous topic. "But the eyes… they're not hidden by the mask!"

Asuma nodded thoughtfully, then stared at Shimizu. "Shimizu, take a guess—what am I thinking right now?"

Shimizu's calm gaze met Asuma's, making the latter feel a little weak. "Before now, you weren't thinking about anything. And now, you should be warning yourself not to think about anything either."

Asuma's eyes widened. "That's intense! Is this some kind of mind-reading trick?"

Shimizu shook his head slightly. "It's not mysterious at all. I just know your personality too well. If it were a stranger, even with their facial expressions, movements, and demeanor, I could only analyze a few details at most."

"That's still pretty intense," Asuma said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Shimizu, can you teach me this?"

"Of course. After all, I plan to introduce this in the psychology society."

"Eh? I thought your psychology society was just about listening attentively."

"If it's about psychology, then understanding people's true thoughts is the key."

Shimizu smiled slightly. He had no problem letting psychology take root in this world.

Psychology had an inevitable charm—many were interested, but few were truly willing to delve deep into it. What he planned to teach was only the basics of facial expression analysis. However, those who were highly skilled in controlling their expressions could manipulate how others interpreted their "true thoughts."

After listening to Shimizu's brief explanation, Asuma suddenly felt like he had mastered the art.

Psychological analysis—so it's all about observing the eyes?

"Who should I practice this new skill on?" Asuma muttered to himself before his eyes lit up. With a swagger, he walked in a certain direction.

"What are you doing back here, kid?" The liquor vendor from before frowned upon seeing Asuma standing before his stall, chest puffed out.

Crossing his arms, Asuma decided to use what Shimizu had just taught him—"forestalling the opponent by showing dominance." "You're selling fake liquor!"

The vendor was startled for a moment before he quickly became angry. "You little brat, looking for trouble?"

"Hm? He's not looking away—that means he's not afraid. Damn, my first attempt failed." Though Asuma felt a little disappointed, he wasn't about to be intimidated. He was the son of the Hokage—how could he not act domineering?

Seeing that the vendor was getting angry, Shimizu stepped forward. "The liquor may not be fake, but it's been diluted several times, hasn't it?"

The vendor straightened up, his voice defensive. "Kid, you don't understand. Liquor needs to be blended."

"But the taste is so weak. Are you sure even the Raikage would drink this and not find it undrinkable?"

The vendor's expression stiffened.

Next to him, Asuma whispered excitedly, "Side glance—he's really afraid!"

Hearing Asuma's loud remark, the vendor became angry out of embarrassment. "What do you brats even know? The Raikage—wait, no, why am I even explaining myself to you?"

As the vendor teetered on the edge of losing his temper, Shimizu calmly raised a hand. "Standing before you now is the son of the Hokage, a future elite ninja, and the vice president of the psychology society at the Ninja Academy!"

The vendor's clenched fist stopped midair, his expression shifting dramatically. "Uh… sorry, my mistake!"

Asuma smirked, pleased with Shimizu's introduction. However, he still felt something was missing. "Shimizu?"

"You want me to come up with a title for you?" Shimizu asked with a strange look, then shook his head.

"I think 'Mind Hunter' sounds pretty cool! A hunter who seeks out and eliminates those who lurk in the darkness!" Asuma, feeling quite proud of himself, continued strolling through the market, looking for his next target.

At that moment, Shimizu suddenly stopped in front of a shop.

"Shimizu, why'd you stop here?" Asuma tilted his head, then his eyes brightened. "Wait, Shimizu, don't say anything yet—let me analyze!"

Seeing Asuma's enthusiasm, Shimizu was quite pleased.

If it had been the Asuma from before, getting him to think things through like this wouldn't have been easy.

"Hmm… Just now, when you stopped, your eyes focused on the shop's signboard. Your brows furrowed slightly, meaning you found something off about it."

With that, Asuma turned to look at the signboard.

"Oh, I remember this place. I passed by before and noticed something. The owner wrote all the prices out in advance on the signboard—and the prices are super high! Probably to keep people like us from bothering him."

Asuma looked at Shimizu. "So, what's the issue?"

Shimizu hesitated for a moment. "At first, I thought the same thing. But after passing by a second time, I noticed something strange."

"What's strange about it?"

"This shop sells specialty goods from the Land of Lightning. If merchants from Konoha were buying from the Land of Lightning, they would usually wait for Lightning Country merchants to bring their goods here to resell them. That means this shop was likely rented or bought by merchants from the Land of Lightning themselves."

A flash of realization crossed Asuma's face. "The surrounding Kumogakure merchants are selling in stalls, but this guy rented or bought a shop. If he wasn't planning to cater to Kumogakure customers, he should have been hoarding goods to sell later. But instead, he set an unreasonably high price, as if he's deliberately turning customers away. That suggests this business might just be a front."

Shimizu nodded. "We can't be certain, but it's definitely suspicious."

"Hmph, whether he's up to something or not, this hunter is going in to investigate—"

"Wait. Rushing in headfirst might not be the best approach. If this guy really is hiding something, his psychological resilience will be far stronger than that liquor vendor from before."

"Then what do we do?"

"Heh, we make sure they reveal their own weaknesses. That's why, Asuma, I need you to play your role perfectly this time…"

After a brief discussion, two overconfident "actors" made their grand entrance.

"Boss! Boss!"

"Huh? Huh…?" The shop owner hurried over, saw the two kids standing in his doorway, and hesitated for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. "Little ones, what brings you here?"

"Hmm… this guy's mental fortitude is strong!" Asuma, the self-proclaimed unprincipled troublemaker, secretly evaluated the shopkeeper's acting skills.

"We're just shopping. Can't we stop by to see ?"

"…!"

The shopkeeper was puzzled but kept a polite tone. "Little ones, my goods are very expensive. Maybe you should play somewhere else."

Asuma didn't respond but simply tilted his head back, looking down at the shopkeeper from his nose.

At this moment, Shimizu stepped forward.

"Standing before you now is the son of the Hokage, a rising talent, the future successor of the Sarutobi clan, and the formidable second-grade class leader of the Ninja Academy!"