The moment Lord Kiyosuke saw Sena, his smile widened with genuine delight.
"Sena, is that really you?"
Sena answered with a smile so bright it almost blinded me. Her voice carried a warm, sunny tone.
"Kiyosuke-sama, it is an honor to meet you again."
Kiyosuke walked toward her with a steady, measured step, his expression softening as he studied her face.
"The last time I saw you, you were the cutest little girl. Look at you now, a proper young lady and even a shinobi. An overachiever, just like your father. Though I must say, I am glad you inherited your mother's refined beauty."
He let out a soft, pleasant laugh, a sound I never thought I would hear from a noble.
Sena bowed gracefully, her tone polite but still warm.
"Your words honor me, Kiyosuke-sama. I hope the journey was not too troublesome."
Kiyosoke shook his head slightly, his voice carrying a curious and thoughtful note.
"On the contrary, it was fascinating. Traveling as a regular merchant gave me a new perspective. I saw and heard things I would normally miss as a noble. I enjoyed it far more than I expected."
Sena's eyes sparkled as she replied with a touch of playful pride.
"Knowing that you wanted the full merchant experience, we prepared a proper cart for you. It even has some merchandise attached to it. Kiyosuke-sama, you will be a direct contributor to the economy by delivering this shipment to Konoha yourself."
Kiyosuke's eyes lit up with genuine amusement.
"Only you would come up with something like this to indulge me. But let us keep this from your mother."
He chuckled at his own words, and Sena laughed lightly, her voice soft and airy, like a gentle breeze.
"I would never. It will be our little secret."
Kiyosuke's expression shifted to one of determined excitement as he straightened slightly.
"Very well then. What are we waiting for? Let us change carts and make sure our delivery arrives on time. If we are going to do this, we should do it properly."
A more nostalgic warmth softened his eyes as he added with a faint smile,
"And truth be told, ever since I last visited your family's home, I have not been able to get it out of my mind. I am curious to see if anything has changed since then."
I could not believe my eyes. Ever since we became friends and later teammates, Sena had been changing little by little. She laughed genuinely more often, reacted more like a normal person, even showed flashes of rare, genuine warmth. But now, standing there with that perfect smile, it felt as if all that progress had vanished. In an instant she slipped back into her old polished self, the perfect merchant heiress, poised and radiant, and she did it so well that for a moment I almost believed it was real. She nearly fooled me even though I knew exactly what she was doing, like a magician explaining their trick to you while performing it, yet somehow you still fall for it.
Then there was the noble himself, the kind of bourgeoisie who wanted to experience the life of the proletariat as if it were some novelty. I had to bite back the urge to suggest the most authentic way to do it was to donate all his wealth, give up his connections, and start over from zero. That would have been a real merchant's journey.
I forced my thoughts back into line. This world is not my old one. Here, class struggle is not a decades-long story but a five-minute problem solved by a Tsuchikage ending it with Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique to the face.
Sena then asked the noble to follow her to the cart. As they approached it, she said with an almost cheerful warmth,
"Kiyosuke-sama, I brought some tea and sweets that are usually enjoyed by ordinary merchants, so you can experience the most authentic journey."
Kiyosuke laughed, clearly amused and even more curious than before.
"I have never tried regular tea or sweets. I wonder what they will taste like," he said with innocent curiosity.
Kaen followed them, looking extremely out of his element, while my eyes widened slightly. I could not help but wonder when Sena had arranged for such things. Had she done it after learning about the mission?
At that moment, Shisui glanced at me and then at the jonin bodyguard.
"Noa, I know you have already placed seals on the cart to make it harder to observe or track, but my clone will cast a genjutsu around the cart for a short while until it gets far enough away. It is just an extra precaution."
He then turned politely to the jonin.
"Is that acceptable?"
The jonin did not speak but gave a single approving nod.
Shisui continued,
"We will take the decoy cart with 'Lord Kiyosuke' out first to draw attention. The real cart should start moving a little later, preferably when other carts leave as well, to blend in."
The bodyguard seemed satisfied with the plan and nodded again before climbing into the cart, taking his position as Kiyosuke's guard. Meanwhile, Shisui's shadow clone, transformed as the merchants' original guard, took the reins of the horses pulling the cart.
I exchanged a quick glance with Shisui as we created four more shadow clones. Each transformed into one of the key figures, Kiyosuke, Sena, Kaen, and the jonin bodyguard, as we slipped quietly into the noble's cart, which waited just outside the private stables.
We then took our time, pretending to browse the other stables before casually circling the waystation as if we were showing it to the shadow clone transformed as the noble. The clone made sure a few people noticed him looking around the place with polite curiosity before we finally began moving.
----------------------------------------------------
Sena's POV
The cart remained still for a while after we had all settled inside, the faint murmur of the waystation just beyond the wooden walls. I kept my posture composed and my expression pleasant, using the delay to pour tea into the plain cups I had set aside for this purpose. Outside, I could hear distant hooves and the clatter of other carts departing, their wheels creaking over the packed earth.
Eventually our own cart jolted forward, joining the slow-moving line of departing travelers. The road stretched ahead under a pale sky streaked with thin wisps of cloud. Dry grass bent with the breeze, and the air carried the faint taste of dust. Every so often the cart hit a rut or a bump, rocking us gently while the rhythmic clop of the horses' hooves mixed with the low rumble of the wheels.
Across from me, Kaen shifted in his seat at the first few jolts. He gave the road ahead a grim, silent look, as though it had personally offended him. A gust of wind brought in a small swirl of dust, and he brushed it off his sleeve with stiff, controlled movements, his discomfort plain despite his effort to stay composed.
I poured tea from a simple clay pot into equally plain cups, my movements steady and precise, as if I had done this a thousand times before. Lord Kiyosuke's eyes followed the gesture with open curiosity, as if even the chipped cup carried a story worth hearing.
"Please try this, Kiyosuke-sama," I said with a calm, polished smile. "It is the sort of tea most merchants drink during long journeys. Unremarkable at first glance, but surprisingly pleasant on the road."
He accepted the cup as though it were something exotic, sniffed it briefly, then tasted it. His brows rose in pleasant surprise.
"Remarkable. It is so plain, yet there is something comforting about it. I can almost feel the road in the flavor."
I inclined my head slightly, acknowledging the compliment without breaking my composed demeanor. Then I placed a small plate of simple sweets between us.
"These are also common among merchants. They may lack refinement, but they offer steady energy on long travels."
Kiyosuke sampled one and smiled with genuine approval.
"I see what you mean. This is exactly the experience I was hoping for."
Kaen sat stiffly, arms crossed, watching the exchange as though waiting for something suspicious to happen. His eyes moved from the tea to the sweets to Kiyosuke's delighted expression, his posture tightening slightly whenever the cart jolted on uneven ground.
I kept my composed smile, neither encouraging nor dismissing Kaen's discomfort, and smoothly guided the conversation with our guest. I asked about his impressions of the journey through the Land of Wind and about the merchants he had observed along the road. Kiyosuke responded warmly, eager to share his thoughts.
After some time spent watching the road and the passing carts with quiet intrigue, I brought out a small travel Go board I had packed for the trip, explaining that many merchants used it to pass the time during long journeys. The game was simple to set up even in a moving cart and engaging enough to keep the mind active. Kiyosuke's eyes lit up with genuine curiosity as he admitted that he had not played Go in a long time and that playing it again while on the road would be a fresh and amusing experience. We set up the board and began a game. I played just slightly below his level, keeping the match exciting while letting him feel as though he had earned a hard-fought victory after a long and lively game.