Fujin looked at Tamotsu's back as he analyzed, 'This definitely doesn't sound like Tamotsu. Someone must have given him the information and asked to make me go on a mission. But who?'
Fujin thought for a bit and concluded, 'It's either Renjiro or Hiruzen. Most likely the latter. Oh well. This team doesn't do missions continuously. I should still have plenty of time to train. And I can always ask for breaks when I need more time to train.
Anyways, I have to give credit to Hiruzen. From the way Tamotsu spoke, it looks like he thought that I didn't train. So Hiruzen probably knows that I didn't visit the training ground recently. He probably thought that I had stopped training. Though I am a bit talented, I doubt he has the time to keep tabs on me considering the amount of work this massacre should have put on him. So it's safe to assume that he is looking for everyone who is affected and checking on everyone.
Still, this should be a lesson for me. While the decision to only train Lightning jutsus wasn't bad, deciding against training in the open raised some suspicion. Had I continued with my morning exercises, Hiruzen might not have paid any attention to me and left me alone. I'll have to keep this in mind when I take any action in the future.'
Concluding his thoughts, Fujin returned to the basement. He made hand signs.
'Lightning Release: Electric Needle Spread jutsu'
Lightning appeared on his skin and immediately transformed into small needles. There were around 125 Lightning needles on Fujin's body. He made another hand sign. The needles were immediately launched outwards for 20 meters.
Fujin nodded, 'This is much better than when I started. Though the number of needles can get higher, I don't have much use for them. What I need more is to increase the distance to which these needles go. And, I also have to work on generating needles on only one part of my body. Otherwise, the chakra cost of this jutsu will be needlessly high.'
The next day, Fujin showed up outside the Mission Center. Tamotsu, Katsumi, Ryota, Tadashi and his dog Kenta were already there. Tamotsu went in to accept the mission while others decided to catch up. Most of the conversation was centered around Katsumi recovering from the injuries.
Tamotsu returned and said, "I accepted a mission in the Land of Hot Water. A noble has made some discoveries in the territory under his command. He wants us to provide protection and help with the inspection. There will likely not be any fighting, but he issued the mission as a precaution. We may have to stay there for a few weeks."
Tadashi said, "A relaxed mission to get us started. Nice pick Tamotsu!"
Tamotsu nodded as he thought, 'Yeah. If Fujin is distracted, then his life would be at risk if we take a difficult mission.'
The squad moved out and began rushing towards the Hidden Hot Springs Village. After a day and a half's travel, the squad finally reached and entered the village.
As they were walking, Fujin couldn't help but notice the ridiculous number of hot spring baths in the village.
Ryota noticed Fujin's gaze and chuckled. He asked, "First time here? I too was surprised by the high number of hot springs in this village on my first visit. The village truly lives up to its name, haha."
Fujin replied, "I entered this country multiple times, but this is my first visit to this village. I did expect a high number of hot springs, but this is a bit too much. How do these shops even stay in business if so many exist? Wouldn't they keep undercutting each others' prices?"
Tamotsu answered, "The Daimyo has issued a minimum price for using the hot spring baths. Every bathhouse has to abide by it. This way they don't go into a loss."
Fujin muttered, "It's still too much. After all, if customers don't visit them, they will still have losses."
Tamotsu nodded, "Yeah, many bathhouses do shut down. That said, most of the bathhouses are sponsored by rich nobles who want to have the entire bathhouse to themselves when they come here for vacation. This is why you see so many of them."
Fujin thought for a bit and said, "That makes more sense."
However, he couldn't help but think, 'A certain pervert must be visiting this village all the time.'
As they were talking, they reached a mansion. Tamotsu interacted with the guard and introduced himself. Soon, the Konoha ninjas were guided inside. They were led to a room where only a middle-aged man was sitting.
The man saw them and quickly greeted them, "Welcome to the Hidden Hot Springs Village friends from Konoha. Have a seat. I am Matsushita Yusuke. I issued the mission."
Tamotsu nodded and sat opposite him. Yusuke looked at his servants who brought them here. The servants bowed and left them alone. When the doors were shut, Tamotsu asked, "So, what is our mission? The mission statement wasn't very clear."
Yusuke said, "That is because I wanted to keep this mission as secretive as I could."
Tamotsu became a bit serious on hearing that. The other Konoha ninjas were intrigued as well.
Yusuke picked a map and laid it on the table in front of him. It was a map of the Land of Hot Water. There was a small piece of land marked on the map.
Yusuke said, "This province is under my command. It is around 150 kilometers to the east of this village. One of my workers, who were farming, came across something interesting. I hired an expert to check and I think that we have discovered a mine."
Tamotsu was very alert. This matter seemed very serious. He asked, "What sort of mine is it?"
Yusuke answered, "We will need to conduct a detailed exploration to be sure. Our preliminary exploration indicated that this mine includes rare and precious metals."
Tamotsu calmed down. He thought, 'Though precious metal mines can earn a lot of money, they won't attract too much attention.'
However, Yusuke said, "And I suspect that the mine might have some chakra metal reserves as well."
His words shocked everyone in the room. Chakra metal was extremely precious in this world.
Tamotsu muttered with a grim face, "Why didn't you issue an S rank mission?"
Yusuke said, "I am not sure that it is indeed the case. We may have just gotten lucky during the preliminary exploration. So I don't want to attract a lot of attention. I have talked with our Daimyo. If this mine does have chakra metal reserves, then we will give Konoha the mining rights. We will also give Konoha the first preference while selling it.
So your mission consists of two parts. Firstly, I want your team to ensure that no bandits interfere with the mining process and that no information is leaked out. We haven't allowed the information to leak out, so unless we are very unlucky, rogue ninjas won't interfere with the process. As for the 2nd part, I also want you to contact the Hokage secretly and ask him to send out more squads here as soon as we confirm that the mine has chakra metal reserves."
Tamotsu analyzed the situation, 'This mission can be very risky. If the details get leaked, then we may invite a lot of trouble. But, if the mission is successful, the village will have huge profits. It would help out the village a lot. Especially after such a disastrous loss, this news can improve our morale.'
Tamotsu made a decision and said, "Alright, we will take the mission. I'll send a message to Hokage-sama. But have your exploration team work very rapidly."
Yusuke nodded, "Yes, I'll have them work as fast as they can."
They began discussing the specifics of the mission, the explorers and other factors.
After the discussion was completed, Yusuke smiled and said, "You must be tired from a long trip. I'll arrange dinner for you. You can rest here for the night and go for the mission tomorrow."
Tamotsu smiled and said, "Thank You."
They got up and left. After having dinner, the Konoha ninjas gathered in a room. Tamotsu said, "Ryota, write an encoded message to Hokage-sama. I'll send it to him. Write everything that was discussed with Yusuke."
Ryota said, "On it."
He began writing on a scroll. Tamotsu said, "I wanted to take an easier mission to end our break but this one can go bad. Unfortunately, saying no isn't an option as this can help our village a lot. We will stay on our guard the entire time while protecting that area. However, if we spot enemy ninjas, be it rogue or of any other village, in numbers that we can't take on coming towards the mine, we will escape. Is that understood?"
Everyone nodded. Tamotsu said, "Good. Take a good rest tonight. We will have to be on full alert from tomorrow onwards."
Everyone went to their beds to get a nap. Tamotsu stayed with Ryota until he was done. He borrowed a messenger Hawk from Yusuke and sent the message to Hiruzen.
The next morning, the Konoha group set off.
