_________ POV Narration _________
The Nobu family was closely tied to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, they resided over a rather wide region of both forest and plain fields.
They were the main producers of grain and vegetables for the entirety of the Land of Fire. And their leader was none other than Kojiro.
He had ruled over the Nobu Clan for decades already, he led a rather easy life, and his hand could reach just about everywhere, which was why he was mad that he couldn't really get much of a lead for the Information Guild.
Things could be so much better for him if only he managed to get them in his pocket. He had the money, he had the means, he was just missing a few pieces of the puzzle.
The grand halls of the Nobu estate echoed with Kojiro's frustrated footsteps as he paced back and forth in his lavish study.
Golden ornaments adorned the walls, a testament to the wealth and power he wielded. Yet, the one thing that eluded him, the Information Guild, gnawed at his pride like an insatiable beast.
Seated behind a grand mahogany desk, Kojiro tapped his fingers impatiently, his mind concocting schemes to bring the elusive organization under his control.
The Information Guild, a coalition of formidable factions, held secrets that could make or break nations. Kojiro yearned for that influence, for the leverage it would provide over his rivals and allies alike.
His contemplations were abruptly interrupted by a soft, eerie melody wafting through the air.
The room seemed to grow colder as the haunting notes reached Kojiro's ears, it was quiet, and one could easily mistake it as a wind chime.
The grand curtains behind him billowed, most likely because Kojiro had cracked the windows leading to his balcony open, he did it to let some air in, but it also made the melodic sound louder.
An unsettling silence followed, broken only by the creak of the door.
Intrigued, Kojiro leaned forward, his eyes scanning the room. "Who's there?" he demanded, his arrogance momentarily replaced by a trace of uncertainty.
The door swung open, revealing a stern-faced guard, his eyes avoiding direct contact with the noble.
"Lord Kojiro, urgent matters in the courtyard require your immediate attention," The guard's tone was low and respectful.
Kojiro, intrigued and somewhat annoyed by the interruption, rose from his seat. "What could possibly be so urgent? Speak quickly."
The guard hesitated for a moment before responding. "A group of bandits has breached the estate perimeter. The gate guards are currently being overwhelmed, we require immediate assistance."
Kojiro's frustration turned into a surge of anger. "Bandits? In my estate? Unacceptable!"
It was simply unheard of. Bandits?! Since when did those dirty mountain dwellers dare set foot into his land?
He had heard of them becoming more rambunctious as of late, robbing more and more caravans.
Was it possible that they had finally gone mad and decided to try their hand at attacking a noble family as well?
'Hmph... Dirty fools.'
The Noble huffed, some steam coming out of his nose. He immediately clapped his fat hands together.
In an instant, four figures appeared in front of him, all of them wearing black jumpsuits, with their faces covered by masks.
They were Shinobi in Kojiro's employ, 3 of his strongest.
"You lot, go and help those incompetent bastards at the main gate.
If even one of those dirty bandits sets foot on my pristine red carpet then I will make sure that your heads are on the chopping block next!
Alongside the useless guards that I apparently pay for nothing!"
Kojiro shouted with vitriol, spit came out of his mouth and dirtied his messy beard as he waved his hand and shooed everyone in the room away.
Currently, the problem he had was the eerie melody which continued to linger in the air. To the paranoid noble, it simply felt unnaturally rhythmic.
Again, it was most likely nothing more than the windchimes in the courtyard, especially since not even the shinobi he hired reacted to it in any way before they were sent away.
With that in mind, he decided to just leave his guard down, and sit back at his desk, where his meal awaited him.
Of course, it was only customary that food was to be present at his office at all times, food was to be brought to him wherever he went in fact. Yet another decadent rule born from the excess of wealth and affluence.
As the stuffed pig sat down on his chair. as its four legs creaked under the pressure, his hands reached back towards the food in front of him.
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He grabbed a drumstick with a smile on his face, his greasy fingers tightening around it as he thought about which of his 'personal maids' he would bed that night.
It was then that it happened. It felt almost as if something had entered his mouth, too quick for him to react. In an instant, what felt like a chicken bone was stuck in his throat.
The Pig coughed and slapped his table, but for some reason, he couldn't make any noise, it was almost as if his hand was stopping each time before he managed to slap the table.
The curtains behind him ruffled silently as he choked and tried his best to dislodge the bone from his throat, even going as far as to punch his chest, causing the fat on his body to ripple.
But it seemed to be completely stuck there, almost as if it had been glued on the inside of his oesophagus.
Kojiro's eyes quickly turned bloodshot as he frantically looked for his personal guards, the shinobi he had paid oh so much money for.
But of course, they weren't there. He was the one to send them away.
And so, the noble's vision slowly turned black, and his body slumped to the side, falling off of the chair, but still not making any sounds, as a strange force seemed to have cushioned his fall perfectly.
The fat noble's last thoughts were filled with frustration. The only thing he could think of was how unfair life was to him in his last moments, despite having lived a life so privileged, his last moments were still spent in tears crying of unfairness.
Alas, no one was there to witness his pathetic writhing mess. No one besides the man that killed him in the first place.
The window, which had been cracked open slightly, now slowly closed. Almost as if it was done by the wind.
And as the pig lay dead on the floor of his illustrious study, the courtyard and main gate of the estate were filled with the sounds of battle.
It was only a matter of time before the experienced shinobi drove away the bandits from the estate, but by the time they won, they weren't even able to celebrate.
After all, they returned to the man who was supposed to pay their salaries, only to find him already passed away, his face purple and tongue sticking out of his open mouth, eyes bloodshot and filled with dried-up tears.
Ken yawned as he waltzed away from the Nobu Family's compound. He had no interest in the aftermath of his target's death, he had merely gone in and done his job.
Tipping off a greedy group of bandits that the Nobu Family was not well guarded and had a lot of wealth hidden inside of it was also extremely easy for someone like him.
That was also especially true since the Nobu family had a lot of actual wealth, and their guards were not as numerous as one would think, the leader had either been skimping on the defence or banking on the three shinobi to do the job.
It was the most simple and 'to-the-books' silent assassination. First, he created a distraction, then infiltrated the premises with the help of his target, then shoved a chicken bone down the target's throat sideways.
With Ken's speed and body manipulation, he was able to do it perfectly. Making his hand smaller was also a parlour trick to him after all.
Getting in and out of the place undetected was the actually difficult part. It might've been impossible even for anyone other than Ken, but those were just details of a past mission now, one that took less than 3 days to complete.
The thing that took the most was getting there and attracting the right group of bandits for a distraction. Otherwise, it was a rather straightforward job.
Regardless, Ken moved on ahead without ever looking back. Not that he could see much there anyway.
With his mission done, he only really had one thing left to do. And that was to return to his employer.
Getting to Konoha continued being easy for Ken as he donned his civilian disguise and reverse-summoned himself into a dumpster.
'Sometimes I wish my sense of smell was not this dastardly good...'
The unmasked assassin scowled as he flung away a banana peel from his head and tried his best to ignore the smell of dung and rotten food around him.
His entry into Konoha was maybe not the most pleasant one, but at least it was stealthy.
He immediately made his way to 'Ramen Ichiraku', the bangs covering half of his face swayed from side to side as he made his way through groups of people without bumping into anyone.
His very presence was unassuming, not even fleeting, just too average for anyone to care about. That was his way of blending in now, as at that point that lack of presence would likely attract more attention than needed.
He could afford to make no mistakes when contacting Teuchi, it was a matter of professionalism first of all.
And their meeting went similar to the first one. This time Ken acted like a customer who had been there once before and enjoyed the service.
This time he once again asked for some more exotic spices, and the shop owner urged him to follow him to the back of the shop again.
Everything went smoothly as they walked through the dimly lit network of corridors stretching from the unassuming Ramen Shop.
And they found themselves back in Teuchi's office.
This time the figurehead of the Information Guild sat down with a bit more leisure, his eyes a bit less questioning and hostile.
Instead, a friendly and pleased smile was plastered onto his face.
"I must say... You work incredibly fast." His starting words were just as friendly.
"As advertised. Any request you may have, I shall personally assure that it gets done per your requirements..." Ken nodded at the Ramen Shop Owner, his hair bobbing a bit as he did so.
He offered his services personally, and his words made it clear that he had no plans of half-assing anything. His credibility was on the line after all.
"Hmm... Indeed, you have proven your commitment. In this case, I shall prove mine as well..."
Teuchi then clapped his hands, and immediately a number of scrolls shot out from the shelves around them, Ken's senses flared up as around 10 scrolls landed on the table in front of him.
"This is about how much we have compiled until now, these are more popular clans that are still very much active in the shinobi world, information about them isn't difficult to find, and neither was a DNA sample."
Ken nodded, he had already somewhat expected that the more 'popular' clans would be easier to collect DNA on.
But the Information Guild was large, enormous even, it was only a matter of time before they completed Ken's request properly.
"Very well, I am also pleased with your progress. I would even dare say that our partnership is solid at this stage.
If you find yourself needing my services again, you know where to find me. Same for completing the rest of my request." Ken slowly swyped the 12 scrolls on the table and stood up.
He gave the Information Guild Leader a toothy smile and extended his hand.
Teuchi looked at it for only a minute before smiling a bit and shaking it firmly.
"Good. We shall keep in touch, I'll send a few peddlers your way in the following weeks."
Ken nodded at the Ramen Shop Owner's words, his stay was a lot shorter this time around, as there wasn't much else to add to their current arrangement.
Still, with this alliance secured, Ken was now able to grasp more and more power.
It was only a matter of time before his goals fully materialized.
Whether or not he could create a permanent peace, or just a very long-lasting one, was still up for debate. But one thing was for sure...
'There's no stopping me at this point... The Daimyo better be prepared.'