Chapter 101: Paltry Tricks, Yet Daring to Show Off Before a Master
In the early morning, Haruko was sleeping soundly while holding Kaede.
Until—
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
"Haruko, stop sleeping! There's a mission! Assemble at Konoha's East Gate in one hour!"
—He was woken up by a burst of doorbell ringing and received a notification for an out-of-village mission.
"Got it—!" Haruko responded as he crawled out of bed helplessly.
"Ha... what a pain... How did the 'unit of measurement' recover his health so fast? Couldn't he rest for a few more days..."
"Then dear, go get ready for the mission, I'll make breakfast for you."
With such a loud commotion, Kaede naturally woke up as well. She put on her clothes and slipped into the kitchen.
"It's just a mission, is it really necessary to be this early... Speaking of which, how did Hana know I was home?"
—In fact, it wasn't early at all; Kin and Tayuya had already left for school.
Haruko quickly washed up and returned to his room to start organizing his gear.
shuriken, Kunai, exploding tags...
Bandages, medicine, Soldier Pills...
"Dear, breakfast is ready~" Kaede's voice drifted in from the kitchen.
"Coming."
...
Not even half an hour after leaving the Konoha gates, Haruko already wanted to go back.
"Although this mission is C-rank, its main purpose is to hone your teamwork and coordination."
Kakashi led the way in front, reading that little O-book without a shred of shame, not even lifting his head once.
"Unless a Jonin-level enemy appears, or you are on the verge of death, I will not make a move. That is all."
It was entirely the speech of a hands-off manager.
'An opponent who could bring me to the verge of death—could you really handle it if you stepped in?'
Haruko rolled his eyes. As a fellow slacker, he saw through this guy's desire to fish in troubled waters in a second.
"Yes! Kakashi-sensei!" Uchiha Izumi clenched her fists, the fan family crest on her back shining brightly under the sunlight.
"It's time to show the results of these past few days of training." Inuzuka Hana refused to be outdone and patted the heads of the three Ninja Hounds beside her.
"Woof! Woof woof!" The three dogs were also full of energy.
Looking at these two teammates who were acting like they'd been injected with chicken blood, Haruko sighed silently.
Since the leader wanted to watch the show and the teammates wanted to perform, what was the best position for him?
Of course—it was being a background character.
However... Inuzuka Hana's eyes kept glancing over from time to time, her face flushing with a mysterious blush, her expression quite intriguing.
???
'...Damn! So that's it!'
Haruko felt a bit creeped out by her gaze and suddenly realized what was going on.
The noses of the Inuzuka clan were famously sensitive. That's how she knew he was home, and furthermore...
Haruko quietly took a step to the side—if he stayed in place, he could probably carve out a Mona Lisa with his toes from embarrassment.
...
The mission location was Falling Leaf Town, fifty miles away from Konoha.
This was a typical small town that lived off the mountains. The most conspicuous building in town was the Mayor's mansion, its gold-plated plaque exuding the aura of a nouveau riche.
"You've finally arrived!"
The Mayor was a fat man with a belly as round as if he were ten months pregnant. He was crying so tragically that anyone who didn't know better would think his entire family had been wiped out.
"Those damned bandits! Simply lawless! My heirloom Jade Cabbage..."
Haruko stood at the back, his eyes scanning the magnificent hall.
'It seems this Mayor has quite a bit of wealth.'
Standing next to the Mayor was a butler, a tall and thin man wearing glasses. He looked refined and kept handing handkerchiefs to comfort the Mayor, yet his eyes occasionally glanced toward Haruko and the others.
"Please take us to see the crime scene, and also tell us the specific details."
As the person with the strongest desire to perform in the team, Izumi stepped forward without hesitation, taking out a notebook to record information.
"Very well, everyone please follow me." The butler pushed up his glasses and led the way.
"It's like this: a group of thieves recently appeared in town. At first, they only stole money from wealthy merchants, but later they grew bolder. Last night, they infiltrated the Master's vault, stole that cabbage, and arrogantly left this behind..."
The butler took out a card.
On it was drawn a white bird, with a line of text written beside it:
[Ill-gotten gains are taken with honor.]
"This group calls themselves—white bird."
"Pfft."
Haruko couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Bandits these days are starting to do brand building? Even calling themselves white bird?
Why don't you just call yourselves Phantom Thief Kid?
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him.
Haruko immediately restrained his smile, looking serious as if he wasn't the one who just laughed: "Sorry, I thought of something happy... Cough, the arrogance of these bandits is truly appalling. I will definitely bring them to justice."
...
After carefully inquiring about the case, the three-person team began the on-site investigation.
Inuzuka Hana rushed into the vault with her three Ninja Hounds.
Izumi also activated her Sharingan, not letting any clue escape her notice.
And Haruko—
"Tch~"
He took a couple of looks inside the vault, let out a sneer, and then left his two teammates behind.
"Hey, Haruko..." Kakashi moved his gaze away from icha icha paradise.
"I'm going to the town to ask around; I'll leave this place to them." Haruko didn't stop, waving his hand. "Didn't Kakashi-sensei say he wanted to give us a chance to grow? Don't you dare step in."
Kakashi looked at his back thoughtfully but didn't stop him again.
Walking out of the mansion gates, Haruko curled his lip disdainfully.
"Paltry tricks, yet daring to show off before a master."
As an expert in raiding homes, Haruko knew at a single glance that the person who entered the vault was definitely not rummaging through boxes to find things.
The traces at the scene clearly showed that the target item was taken first, and then the place was deliberately messed up. Add to that the cash and silver scattered on the floor—
Friends who often raid homes know that while jewelry has high value, it is very difficult to fence. For thieves, it's far less practical than cash and silver.
"If this isn't an inside job, then that fat guy is playing a game of 'left hand fighting the right'."
Haruko slowly strolled to the town's snack stalls and started buying snacks.
The stall owner was an elderly man.
"Young man, you're a Ninja from Konoha, right?"
"Yeah, I heard you've got bandits here? That... white bird?" Haruko asked nonchalantly while munching on grilled squid.
"Hah! What bandits!"
The old man looked left and right, and seeing no patrol team, he specifically lowered his voice: "Last month, Old Li's family couldn't even put food on the table. The next day, a bag of rice appeared on their table, and that bag had a white bird drawn on it!"
"Oh? This thief is actually quite decent?"
"You bet! Although those big shots hate them to the bone, white bird only targets those black-hearted merchants and corrupt officials, never harming us common folk. Everyone privately calls them the " Chivalrous Thief White Bird "!"
'As I thought.'
The old man was still rambling, but Haruko swallowed the last bite of grilled squid, becoming increasingly certain of his guess.
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