Konoha Light

"The child of Hokage!" The shop boss's pupils contracted fiercely as he pondered the authenticity of the other party's words. His face quickly shifted to an honored expression. „Unexpectedly, it is the young master of Lord Hokage. I was truly disrespectful before."

"Although this guy was acting a bit strange earlier, hearing my resounding title and being shaken is perfectly normal—everything is going according to plan!" Asuma nodded contentedly, letting out a smug "hmph" through his nose.

"The son of Hokage has such an attitude?" The shopkeeper had his doubts, but he dared not probe further. Instead, he took the initiative to explain himself. „I am a merchant from the Land of Thunder. Since this is my first time in Konoha, I was unaware of your status, dear guests. I sincerely apologize."

"Why should I care where you're from?" Asuma waved his hand impatiently. "I, the second-grade class leader candidate, came here mainly to buy some fresh top-grade beef to win over my classmates."

"A five- or six-year-old already knows how to buy votes? Has Konoha already fallen to such corruption?" The merchant sneered in his heart but maintained a cheerful expression. "How much beef would you like to buy?"

"No rush, I need to take a look first." Asuma put on an air of expertise.

The merchant inwardly chuckled and followed behind, expecting to see an amusing performance.

However, ten minutes passed… then half an hour… then a full hour…

The merchant's patience was wearing thin. That arrogant little brat was still standing there scrutinizing the meat!

"Damn it, I still have an operation tonight!" The merchant cursed in his heart, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. "Perhaps, young master Hokage, you are preparing for dinner? Why don't you come back tomorrow to make your selection?"

Asuma rolled his eyes. "Idiot, I'm being elected class leader tomorrow. If I wait until then, what's the point of this beef?"

The merchant internally roared in frustration. How am I supposed to know when your elementary school elections are?!

Finally, after a painstakingly long time, Asuma patted a piece of beef with a satisfied expression. "This one."

The merchant nearly shed tears of relief. Finally, he could get rid of this annoying little demon.

Worried that Asuma might change his mind, the merchant quickly said, "I'll wrap it up for you right away."

"Wait, I didn't say I was done. Do you have no patience in business?"

The merchant froze. "Hahaha, my apologies. I was being too hasty."

Asuma nodded in satisfaction and said with a grand gesture, "Cut 5 kg of lean meat for me. Not a single bit of fat, got it?"

The merchant sighed in relief. That wasn't too bad.

After swiftly cutting and wrapping the lean meat, the merchant smiled. "That'll be—"

"I'm not done yet. I also want 5 kg of fat, and not a single bit of lean mixed in. Got it?"

The merchant's veins bulged in anger. He nearly grabbed his knife right then and there.

"Stay calm… Stay calm… The world is already full of suffering. Losing my temper won't help…"

Taking a deep breath, the merchant forced a smile. "Of course. I'll prepare it right away."

Hearing the merchant's barely concealed bitterness, even Shimizu, who had been enjoying the show, almost burst out laughing.

And so, the torture continued.

By the time the moon had climbed into the night sky, the merchant was at his limit. He silently wept inside. "Finally, it's done!"

He quickly wrapped the fat and handed it over, his expression completely numb.

But then—

"Oh, right! I almost forgot! Give me 5 kg of bones too. The dogs from the Inuzuka clan love chewing on them."

The merchant's face twitched. His grip on the knife tightened.

"Have I been exposed? No… If I had been exposed, it wouldn't just be these two brats confronting me. I have to stay calm. I can't afford to make the first move."

Patience.

A long silence followed.

Finally, he picked out the bones and handed them over.

"Do you two young guests have any other requests?" The merchant bent forward slightly, trying to appear polite, but he was like a predator ready to strike.

But at that moment, Asuma muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard.

"Still holding it in, huh? Disappointing. I thought all you Cloud Shinobi had short tempers."

The merchant's eyes flickered, sensing something off.

Before he could dwell on it, Asuma spoke again.

"Hmph! Both generations of my Hokage died at the hands of your Cloud Shinobi! I will have my revenge!"

"Phew… So it's because of that!" The merchant felt his palms grow damp with sweat.

Quickly composing himself, he hurriedly replied, "Our Cloud Village suffered from that coup d'état too. The Second Raikage was killed by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers."

"Tch! But those two were still from your village!" Asuma huffed and turned away. "Consider yourself lucky today. Next time, I won't let you off so easily!"

Low on funds, he made a swift retreat!

Although Asuma hadn't paid or taken the beef, the merchant was simply relieved to see him go. The last thing he wanted was to deal with that brat any longer.

"Phew, finally done." The merchant rubbed his sore wrists, glancing at the table full of meat with twitching lips. "I hate kids the most… especially Konoha brats!"

At a distance from the shop, Asuma excitedly whispered, "That guy definitely has something to hide."

Shimizu nodded. "And whatever it is, it's big."

"So we should—"

"Let the higher-ups handle it."

Asuma's excitement faltered. Then, grinning, he said, "But wouldn't it be a waste to not check it out ourselves?"

Shimizu raised an eyebrow. "You want to track them?"

"No, we'll do it together!"

"That's too dangerous."

"It's not." For once, Asuma was serious. "Konoha has its barrier detection system. If a strong enemy appears, the Hokage and the others will be alerted immediately. The worst we'd run into is their hired guards."

"That's still dangerous. We're not even genin yet."

"Not all ninja are the same," Asuma scoffed. "With our skills, dealing with some low-level thugs is easy. And Cloud definitely wouldn't send top-tier shinobi for something this shady."

"But what if they have a proper ninja with them?"

"Even if they do, we can retreat. And since we're in Konoha, they won't be able to make a move against us too easily."

Shimizu hesitated, but Asuma pushed on. "If they're leaving tonight, we don't have time to report it."

After a moment of deliberation, Shimizu nodded solemnly. "Fine. But if they don't act tonight, we report it tomorrow."

Seeing Shimizu relent, Asuma pumped his fist excitedly. "Alright! The counterintelligence squad is ready for action!"

Shimizu sighed slightly, as if regretting going along with this, but a flicker of light flashed in his eyes. "If this leads to someone important, then I'll have to use you as bait, Asuma."