Under Nawaki's guidance, the group had found a decent inn to stay at. After several days of reconnaissance, they were all somewhat exhausted.
Hayashi instructed Minato and the others to get some rest, then quietly slipped out alone.
Of course, he wasn't sneaking out for personal enjoyment.
This level of dedication was rare. If Jiraiya were on this mission, he would likely head straight to the red-light district under the guise of gathering intelligence. Tsunade would probably be investigating several casinos. Orochimaru would most likely focus on any suspicious activity involving children.
A captain like Hayashi, who diligently and seriously collected information on his own, was truly rare.
Yet, he did not enjoy having to do this. Though the mission was only B-rank, the scarcity of intelligence made it more complicated, forcing him to act personally.
As for his teammates, they might grow stronger in the future, but for now, Hayashi considered them inexperienced.
Leaving the inn, Hayashi noticed the streets were nearly deserted. The ongoing war had kept most people inside. After some patience, he finally spotted a lone passerby hurrying along.
With a subtle genjutsu, he stopped the person and extracted the location of a major merchant association in the capital. During prior reconnaissance, he had already identified the emblem of one merchant group, so learning about the others was straightforward.
Once freed from the genjutsu, the passerby continued on as if nothing had happened. Ordinary citizens like him might appear affluent to outsiders, but in reality, they still lived under constant control and exploitation.
Now that Hayashi knew the merchant association's address, he was confident he could gather more useful information from those in charge.
He did not leap dramatically from rooftops; instead, he followed the simple, practical methods of a ninja, moving through shadowed alleys as instructed by the passerby.
Soon, he arrived at the merchant association. It was past ten o'clock at night, long after most businesses had closed. Yet this merchant association remained brightly lit.
Hayashi easily infiltrated through an open third-floor window. In a well-lit wooden building, stealth was less effective, so he moved directly. With Whitey's infrared perception, no movement within a large radius could escape detection.
After checking the three floors of the attic and finding no one, he guessed the activity was elsewhere—likely on the second floor.
Sure enough, sounds of movement echoed from the deepest part of the second floor. Samurai and rogue ninjas were stationed along the corridors as guards.
Upon his appearance, the guards quickly surrounded him. Many were ordinary strong men, some ninja mercenaries, but none possessed advanced techniques or the strength of a trained village ninja. Their skills, while intimidating to civilians, were easily countered by someone of Hayashi's caliber.
He cast a genjutsu, effortlessly subduing all the guards. Then, he entered the room and controlled the three merchant association chairmen with the same technique.
The Sharingan proved invaluable. While Hayashi had countless methods to extract information, genjutsu was by far the most efficient. Those under its influence obeyed without question.
He gathered the necessary intelligence and realized the situation was more complicated than expected. This matter involved the Guardian Ninja Twelve, an elite force directly protecting the Fire Country Daimyo. Facing all twelve together would have been overwhelming.
Hayashi had no intention of harming the chairmen. Killing them would only draw attention and compromise the mission. After a short delay, the genjutsu would wear off, leaving them with no memory of the encounter.
He swiftly exited through the window and returned to the inn within minutes.
"You're back?" Minato asked, surprised to see him near midnight.
Even Nawaki was still awake, clearly waiting for his return.
Hayashi nodded and gave them a subtle look of disapproval.
"Didn't I tell you to rest? Why are you still up so late?" he asked.
"How could the team sleep while the captain is out on a mission?" Nawaki replied, rolling his eyes.
Hayashi retorted weakly, "I only went out to gather some necessary information. Not for personal amusement."
He needed to be careful—if Nawaki accidentally mentioned this to Mikoto tomorrow, Hayashi would have no peace.
"Did you find anything?" Minato asked eagerly.
"Yes, some leads. I'll explain the details tomorrow," Hayashi said.
"Then we'll discuss it tomorrow," Minato said, settling into bed.
Only Nawaki remained awake, sighing as he lingered on thoughts about the Daimyo's young lady. Hayashi watched him, slightly puzzled. Was Nawaki already so mature in these matters at such a young age?
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