"What?" Kento was beyond excited.

"Where is it?"

Kumiko responded with a tensed sigh. She took a deep, deep breath and spat out the info she gathered.

"Okay. This might freak you out but trust me. As Hinako-chan told you before, a big auction is going on over there. It’s all rich Lords and Ladies. A strange-looking monk with a long beard is planning to give the Tourmaline of Mobility to the highest bidder."

"Well, even if it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever…. We've got to go then. We must win the bid and get that jewel back!"

In a moment Kento hurried right into the auction site. He was quite shocked to verify the accuracy of Kumiko's words. Yes. There were a lot of rich Lords and Ladies there, all fighting to obtain the second piece of the star of Izanagi, the Tourmaline of Mobility. Nakamura approached the crowd slowly and slowly sought more intel from the people around him. He eventually realised that he would have a tough time obtaining intel from such a powerful group. After much difficulty, he clarified that the current price of the fragment had already risen to a staggering price of one Ichibuban. The price was powerful enough to send a shock through his body. It was intense.

Kento pushed himself into the crowd of aristocrats, with the hope to join and win the bidding. One of the bidders caught sight of Kento's arrival and started annoying him when he was just about to get close to the bearded old man.

"Hey, you brat. This is an auction mind you. It is for rich people like us. Just walk away and don't make me summon my samurai to get rid of ya!”

Kento patiently listened to their bullying words, while his friends joined him. The crowd burst out laughing when they caught the words of the bidder bully. This deeply aggravated Kento’s comrades, especially Nakamura who attempted to advance into the crowd to deal with the nobility. Yamazaki too was almost about to draw his naginata to attack the bodyguards of the bully.

Kento however valued his ninja code and quietly listened to them, even when his friends couldn't. Kento could successfully pause their humiliating acts by just revealing his identity. But being a ninja meant being a person with a heart and an intellect. So he didn't.

But his attempt to conceal his identity eventually failed because the Monk, or more specifically the Yamabushi with a long beard, who was the person who was holding the auction, exposed these personal details when greeting him.

"Oh welcome! Welcome! Hattori Kento san!"

The whole crowd reacted with a well-timed gasp.

"What? Is he really the son of Battalion Leader Katsuro?"

The lord ordered his guards to retreat. But Kento fell on a deeper thinking.

"This is messed up. How come this Yamabushi recognised me when these aristocrats didn't? Oh…wait. Why am I so dumb? This guy must be a Kōga, or he must at least have a good relationship with Sensei Keiichi. Moreover, why did he call my name out so loud? Well, I can only think of one answer. He must be doing all this on purpose. He might be trying to expose my personality so that everyone would focus on me. But I should not care. I've got to stay calm."

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Kento opened up his pouch produced a small bag full of coins and slowly replied to the Yamabushi's words.

"I want that Orange Jewel."

"Then you've got to place your bids first, Ke…I mean…Hattori-sama." said another lady from the bidding team in a rather humorous tone.

Just then Nakamura started whispering into Kento's ear, asking for confirmation.

He subsequently confirmed his decision and joined the bidding. The Yamabushi's disciples said in an alerting voice.

"The highest bid is one Ichibuban."

Just then Kento lifted some coins in his hands, updating the highest bid.

"I bid three Ichibuban!"

The whole crowd went silent. It was fair for them to be surprised by Kento's act. Even for rich Lords, Koban was precious. It was surprising to know that Kento had a lot of money. As for their parents, their income wasn't that big.

"Hey, kiddo! How did you earn this much money?"

"Simple!" Kento smiled. "And it's certainly none of your business."

A roar of laughter spread across the downtown marketplace. A rich lady with an uncontrollable laugh then began teasing Kento.

"Huh! Wait who are you? Are you even Katsuro-san’s son? Huh...lemme guess. Did he send you to rob us by any chance?"

The minions of the rich woman followed their mistress’s actions and filled the atmosphere with laughter, while the maximum bid was updated by the same rich lady.

"Your venerable, mind updating the highest bid to two Koban?"

Kento faced his bullies and his will to defeat them grew even stronger. His other friends had their sights locked on him, except for Kyuzo, who barely managed to squeeze through the crowd to crawl into the group as Kento was going up against the nobles.

"Hey, Onii-san…"

Hinako's hand instantly enfolded Kyuzo's mouth, nullifying the cry.

"Kyuzo, don’t do it. Onii-chan is trying to win the bidding to get back the jewel."

"You are joking, right? It is quite obvious that the Monk has some relationship with Sensei Keiichi. He should be over here trying to finish that guy off without a second thought!”

"Will you try to keep your mouth shut for a minute?" Hinako struck Kyuzo on the head but his painful reply wasn't heard by the others in the crowd. Yamazaki took the opportunity to complete Hinako’s statement.

"Kyuzo, don't you know your brother's nature?"

"What do you mean?"

"You got to remember the fact that he always chooses to avoid combat. It's the way of the ninjas. Embedded into our shinobi code. I suppose that’s the reason why he decided to join the bidding. But don’t get me wrong. I do feel suspicious about this monk. He is up to something very fishy. But even then Kento persisted. Because I know that my bro has a plan rolled up in his sleeves. So, the best we can do now is just keep believing in him."

"I second that," Nakamura said in a low voice. "But guys…."

His sudden pause gained the attention of Kumiko and Hinako, who were examining the area very cautiously.

"What is it, Nakamura-san?" Kumiko spoke while her left hand rested on the sword handle.

"Those guards over there, they seem to be holding weapons. And my gut is allowing me to further confirm their ninja identity. So keep your eyes peeled people!"

Now let's get back to Kento.