Back at the inn, Kaito stared at the gold bar, as if it would suddenly disappear the moment he looked away.
"S-Should I even exchange this for ryō?! What if they just kill me and steal it?!"
As he contemplated whether he should exchange the gold, a woman in her mid-thirties walked in. Alongside her was a teenage woman and a teenage man.
Kaito got up and greeted them, "Honey, you're back." He looked towards his son that was beside his wife, "How's Uncle Kanji?"
Kanji was the older brother of his wife and was also the captain of one of the ships that regularly traversed the ocean for merchants.
Kaito expected an answer from his family, however no one paid him any attention as all eyes were locked onto the gold bar that was laying on the table.
"Honey… Where did you get that gold bar from?" Mina, Kaito's wife, asked, "You didn't steal it, did you?!"
Kaito realized that he had left the bar on the table. He quickly ran back to the table and took the bar, afraid that someone would steal it, "No, I would never steal!"
Kaito's daughter, Asahi, asked, "Then where could we possibly get a gold bar?!"
Although the family was well off, they wouldn't have enough to buy such a big gold bar, even if they were to sell their entire business.
Juro, his son, also asked, "Did you perhaps sell the business?"
Kaito sighed and began explaining the details of what had happened while the others were gone. He explained how a group of ninjas came in and rented the entire inn and then left.
Thinking it was a scam, Mina quickly told Kaito to return the gold bar. But in the end, the family just waited patiently for the ninjas to come back, as they had no idea where to look or what they even looked like.
And after a few hours of waiting, a group of cloaked and masked ninjas walked in, carrying wagons and strange scrolls.
When the group arrived, Mina walked towards them, telling them that the gold bar was far too much, but Toji insisted that they take it.
Toji wasn't being kind, it was just that they had no money but the gold bar. If they were to exchange everything now, it would cause too much of a commotion. Although buying an entire inn using a gold bar would also cause a scene, it wouldn't be as bad as exchanging them at the city hall.
And so three days passed. Toji and the group of ninjas were watching Kaito's family's every move, not just because of interest, but also to watch anyone that would get close to their goods.
In the end, Toji believed that the family of four would be good enough for their business in the port town. However, he didn't want to get started with anything yet, as he wanted to first visit the Tepei family for trade.
Toji got up from his bed and immediately went towards the southern gate of the estate. He was there to meet up with someone, a merchant that's close to the head of the Tepei family.
From the intel his men had gathered, the merchant would arrive at the southern gate at noon. Leveraging this information, Toji planned to intercept him with Sakina and the others to secure a direct audience with the head of the Tepei family.
When Toji and the others finally arrived at the southern gate, they were met with a peaceful gate, unlike that of the other entrances into the estate. The other gates, except for the northern gate, were bombarded with small-time merchants.
The northern gate was used for nobility, while the southern gate was most likely used for high-status merchants or for those who had connections with the Tepei family.
Toji and his group made their way towards Kyo, the merchant that has a personal connection with the head of the Tepei family.
When Kyo saw the group of people wearing masks, he stayed vigilant and signaled his hired ninjas to stay alert.
"You there! Who are you?!" yelled the hired ninja's leader.
The man was tall but skinny, and he wore the standard armor of the Land of Fire.
Toji bowed to show respect, "Me and my friends here just want to speak with Sir Kyo…"
The ninja scoffed and was about to answer, when Kyo suddenly spoke, cutting the ninja off, "And you are?"
Kyo was a veteran in the industry. He knew when someone was profitable, and he could sense that these people smelled of money, especially those carts full of scrolls.
"Are they selling ninjutsu?!" Kyo thought to himself.
Ninjutsu was a scarce resource because almost no ninja clan would sell its techniques to civilians for any amount of money. If this group was truly selling ninjutsu, Kyo believed he could make a fortune by copying the scrolls and selling them to civilians.
Toji straightened up and answered, "We're just a small group of merchants…" Before he could continue, Toji glanced at the ninja protecting Kyo before returning his gaze back to Kyo, "I believe a more private conversation would be more appropriate."
The ninja glared at Toji and was about to retort, when Kyo suddenly stopped him once again, "Fine. Inside my carriage should do."
Kyo was a man that rose from nothing to being one of the biggest merchants in the Land of Tea, his influence even reaching the Land of Fire. He grew his massive merchant empire not through cowardice, but through bold and life-changing decisions.
However, even with balls of steel, he knew that anywhere other than his carriage would be too dangerous. After all, he didn't know these people, and within the comfort of his carriage, at least his hired ninja could easily protect him.
Toji nodded and stepped inside Kyo's carriage, where the two began to converse.