An hour before Tamashiro Tamiko took his last bite, Shota was curled inside a wooden crate that smelled of onions and dried fish. He was in his Anbu gear, fully armed.
The cart rattled slowly toward the estate gate. Five days of waiting in the city had paid off. The shinobi inside the hidden Suna outpost had delivered him the required information which was very accurate and precise making his task easier. He was sure to put up a good word for them when he was back in the village.
The weekly delivery of groceries for the estate was the only way inside without fighting through walls of samurai and shinobi. It was still very dangerous and he was sure that there would be a sensor nin that would definitely check the carriage.
'I should have watched the entire Money Heist series before dying. That would have given me more ideas about how to infiltrate places with very high security.' Shota thought as he took out a small box form his pouch.
Shota swallowed a small black pill that he took from the box, something that every assassination division Anbu had. It tasted like bitter metal but he swallowed his complaints about the bad taste just like he swallowed the pill.
The effect hit instantly.
His heart stopped.
His chakra vanished completely.
His body went limp like a dead fish.
He could not move. He could not breathe. Everything went black for several long seconds. Inside his mind he counted slowly, trusting Suna poison experts knew what they were doing.
The cart rolled through the gate.
Shota heard muffled voices. Boots on stone. Boxes being moved. Then everything stopped.
Air rushed back into his lungs. His heart kicked hard, once, twice, then settled into a normal beat. He gasped quietly, sweat running down his face.
That was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever felt. Suna poison masters were scary people.
'Suna really outdid itself in poison making to make such a thing. That was an uncomfortable experience though.' Shota thought
The pill had made him truly dead to any sensor. Not even a civilian spark of chakra. So to any sensor there was noone inside the cart not even a civilian.
Now that the poison was fading, he carefully raised his chakra to the tiny level of an ordinary child and waited.
A small explosion boomed on the far side of the estate. Shouts followed.
It was perfect timing for Shota. The outpost team had done their job. Their job was to create a diversion for the sensor so that the sensor would look and focus on the other direction from where the explosion came from and an additional civilian level chakra would go unnoticed.
If the sensor nin was a skilled or trained by a great shinobi village, he would have noticed this but since it was someone who had been taught privately by the noble, he would not notice such small things, no matter how experienced they were.
The explosion was not masive just a small Explosion but enough for sensor to focus on in that direction.
He pushed the lid of the crate open and slipped out.
A young servant stood right in front of him, holding a sack of rice. The man's eyes went wide.
"Who…"
A senbon appeared in Shota's hand and flew. It struck the servant's neck perfectly. The man dropped without a sound.
Shota stared at the body.
The servant's face was thin and tired. His hands were rough from years of hard work. He probably had children waiting at home for the money he earned today. He had done nothing wrong except be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Shota felt his chest tighten.
Another innocent life gone because of him.
He hated it.
He hated that his hands were already steady. He hated that the sadness only lasted a few seconds before cold focus took over. He hated that killing was starting to feel normal.
This world forced children to grow sharp edges or die soft. Shota had chosen to live. That choice came with blood on his fingers that would never wash off.
He was becoming a real shinobi. The kind who could cry inside and still finish the mission.
He took a slow breath and pushed the feeling down deep where it could not slow him down.
With the tiny amount of chakra he allowed himself, he formed the seal for the Camouflage Technique. Light bent around him. He vanished completely.
The A-rank jutsu drank chakra fast at his current low level of chakra but his control was perfect from months of failing at Spider's chakra strings ninja art. He could hold it long enough.
Bare feet silent on cool stone, he left the storage room and entered the hallways of the estate.
Servants rushed past carrying buckets and bandages toward the explosion. Samurai shouted orders. No one saw the invisible boy walking the opposite direction.
Shota remembered the map he had memorised of the estate. Left corridor. Up the stairs. Past the garden courtyard. The centre of the estate was a large round hall with high windows.
'The centre part of the estate is likely where the sensor was.... Perfect position to sense equally in all directions as well as safe from anyone looking to eliminate the sensor.' Shota thought
---------Author Notes--------
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