Shota slipped into a narrow alley far enough from the main gate that the sensor ninja could no longer feel him.
The streets were busy with merchants and children, so no one noticed a boy simply disappear between two buildings. He quickly changed into his black ANBU gear, pulled the porcelain mask over his face, and formed the hand seal for the Hiding with Camouflage Technique.
Light bent around him. His shadow vanished. Even his scent melted into the hot air. To any normal eye, he was gone. Even his smell was camouflaged to the surroundings thanks to the A rank jutsu.
He had confidence in the A ranked stealth jutsu to keep him unnoticed from most people other than sensors and dojutsu users or people with unnatural shinobi instincts which you can call this world's equivalent to danger sense.
He moved silently across rooftops toward the centre of the city. The noble estate which was also the City lord Estate stood like a small fortress. High stone walls. Red tiles on the roofs. Samurai walked slowly along the top of the walls with hands resting on their swords. The main gate faced the busiest street. Civilians came and went with baskets or scrolls, asking for audiences or delivering goods.
Shota crouched on a roof across the street and watched. He maintained his distance since there might be another sensor nin inside the estate monitoring the surroundings.
'The Sensor nin would be the biggest problem in this mission.' Shota thought as he focused on the main gate of the estate.
According to the mission scroll and the intel that Spider had given him, the gate should have regular civilian guards and one samurai.
The civilian guards were there because most who visited the estate were themselves civilians and you needed civilians to handle them.
They were easy to trick and easy to walk past.
But what he saw made his blood run cold.
Two men stood at the gate in plain guard clothes. They laughed and chatted like lazy workers. One scratched his stomach. The other yawned. A samurai in full armour leaned against the wall behind them, looking half asleep.
Everything looked normal.
Everything was wrong.
Shota's trained eyes saw the truth. The "lazy" guard on the left had fresh wire cuts on two fingers. Only shinobi who practised ninja wire every day got those marks.
The second guard's sandals were worn in the exact places a shinobi's feet pressed when running on walls.
And more than that their eyes never stopped moving. They scanned every face, every basket, every child that walked past.
These were not city guards. And Shota swore that he would cut his own penis if they were just normal civiliian guards.
These were shinobi pretending to be guards. And not any of the shinobi that were supposed to be in Tamashiro's employ.
Shota's stomach twisted.
'Fucker has hired shinobi from outside. And they are likely from another village. He knows that someone is after his life.'
Tamashiro had hired outside help. Real shinobi from another village. That meant the noble knew someone was coming for his life. He had prepared a trap.
Shota stayed perfectly still under his camouflage. His mind raced.
If these shinobi were from another hidden village, the mission just became ten times more dangerous.
He watched the fake guards for a long time. No headbands. No village symbols. No colours that would give away their origin. They were professionals. And he knew that he had not seen him in any of the Bingo books.
Shota cursed inside his mask. He hated smart enemies.
His original plan was simple.
His plan was to enter the estate as a civilian child, demand audience with his target and take him and his guards by suprise and eliminate him in a single strike after the noble agreed to meet him.
The Assassination was going to be the simple part. The hard part would be escaping.
The sensor nin would know how he is escaping and where he is going and would lead his pursue along with other shinobis and samurai under the noble.
But considering the level of shinobi were only chunin, Shota was sure that he would be able to escape with his superior skills and speed and with some careful prepared traps.
As for some stronger samurais, once he has seperated them from the larger group, he would be able to take care of them.
He had the plan worked out in his mind and he just needed to look out for variables
Today, he was here to get a lookout over the estate and to prepare escape routes.
That plan was dead.
He needed new information. How many foreign shinobi were here? Were any of them jōnin level? Did they have their own sensor? Where did they sleep? When did they change shifts?
Shota stayed on the roof until the sun began to set and the shadows grew long. He watched every person who entered or left the estate. He counted samurai. He noted which windows stayed lit. He memorised every alley that led away from the walls.
'This mission would not end in one night. It might take days. Maybe weeks.' He thought, knowing that he could not rush. One mistake and Spider's head would roll. One mistake and Suna would suffer.
Shota took one last look at the fake guards laughing at the gate. Then he slipped away, melting into the growing darkness.
He moved silently toward a particular location on the outskirts of the city.
---------Author Notes--------
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