Shota and Shisui donned civilian clothes over their shinobi gear. Since the weather was a little cold in the land of water, they wore sweaters and jackets that would hide the gear inside without any problems.
They sealed some stuff in storage scrolls but they did not store everything because if a fight broke out they would need the gear within reach.
As they reached the village gates, they saw a line already formed with many of the ones in the line, a little scared because of the recent activities in the Mist and its tag as "Bloody Mist."
Merchants and travelers stood nervously. Their eyes stayed on the ground and their hands kept close to their belongings.
Shisui spoke in a low voice while they waited. "Woah these guys are really terrified." He watched a grown man jump when a guard simply cleared his throat.
Shota answered with quiet certainty. "They should be. Kiri is not nice or hospitable. The rules by their Daimyo to not harm civilians and merchants is the only thing stopping them from killing or robbing the civilian merchants." The village's dark reputation was well earned.
Shisui continued in a joking tone, "Damn Konoha is so much sunshine compared to Kiri. People are all smiles back home and here they look like they just saw a ghost that asked them for taxes. I feel like if I smiled too wide someone might report me for being too happy."
Shota looked at Shisui and said whispering, "Shhhh keep quiet. We are nearing the end of the line." The front of the queue was only a few people away and any talk could draw the wrong attention.
Shisui answered without lowering his volume much. "I do not think they could hear us."
Shota reminded him of the danger. "You never know if someone has a Kekkei Genkai that lets him hear from a distance away."
Shisui said chuckling, "That would be the stupidest Kekkei Genkai. But very handy. Imagine hearing your mom and dad doing the things to know when you would have a little brother or sister or hearing who your neighbour's wife is screaming the name of her husband or someone else."
Shota swore that this guy might be the one to get them found out and killed with how unserious he was.
As they reached the gates Shisui finally shut up. The guards examined their faces and noticed that they looked like teens. He let his guard down and did not think much about how they were.or about seeing their faces somewhere in the bingo books.
Young travelers were common and rarely caused serious trouble.
One of the guards asked his usual question in a lazy voice. "Purpose for you kids for coming to Kiri?" He already looked bored of asking the same thing for hundreds of people that day.
Shota gave the prepared answer without hesitation. "We are rogue shinobi, genin level. Heard Kiri is offering mercenary work so came here to offer our services." He knew Kiri was hiring outside fighters to hunt down bloodline users from outside Kirigakure currently but inside the Land of Water.
There was a sneer on the faces of the guards. Mercenaries and rogue shinobi were not much appreciated in any of the great villages. The men still waved them forward after a short look. "Do not cause any trouble," the guard said in a flat tone.
Shota answered with a polite bow. "Of course who would dare cause trouble in the great Kiri." The respectful words satisfied the guards. They let them in afterwards without even looking at their IDs. The recent losses from the Kaguya attack had left the gate staff tired and less careful than usual.
As they walked inside the thick mist of the village streets Shisui looked at him impressed. "Wow senpai. 'Who would dare cause trouble in the great Kiri' and we are here to steal valuable intel. You are such a great actor."
Shisui asked the next question. "So where to now? We will find the most intel in the Kage building so we should probably go there."
Shota shook his head at once. "Too much risk and there would be too much security for us to sneak inside and get anything valuable."
He offered a better target. "There is another place where we would be able to get intel easily. The academy. Kids are more easier to manipulate and get the information from."
Young students talked freely and often knew more than adults expected. Rumors about missions and village plans spread quickly among the classes. Shisui agreed with that assessment after a moment of thought.
They still walked in their civilian clothes while the plan formed. Shisui looked at the serious face and the frown on Shota's face and asked a question. "We are not going to the academy just to gather intel are we?"
Shota looked at Shisui in a new light. The guy could easily see through the emotions of other people.
He answered honestly. "Our mission is to cause chaos in the Land of Water. And what better way to cause it than by blowing the academy and the killers they are training to take to the battlefield when they graduate."
The future generation of Bloody Mist shinobi trained inside those walls. Removing that training ground would hurt the village for years and create the exact instability the joint mission needed.
--------Author Notes---------
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