Chapter 14: The Black Market
After leaving the garbage dump and walking for another half hour, Kael's group finally arrived at Spring Meadow Town's commercial district. It was considered the most prosperous town in the northern part of the Land of Hot Water.
To Kael, however, it looked no bigger than a small county town from his previous life, and the foot traffic wasn't particularly heavy. Still, he felt a flicker of excitement. He bought two seaweed-wrapped rice balls from a shop. The variety of goods in the Hidden Hot Water Village was quite limited; he had never seen such appealing-looking rice balls there.
Earlier, Inoshita had offered to treat the students to grilled meat, but Kael had refused. He saw the forced generosity on his instructor's face and guessed what a strain it would be on his meager teacher's salary to treat over a dozen growing children to a barbecue.
After a simple meal, the group split into two teams to search for information about the Jashinists in the town.
Two hours later, Kael's team had found nothing.
"Kael-kun, oh, wait! Should I be calling you Captain Kael now?" Rei asked, her face a little discouraged as they left another shop. "Do you think we'll be able to find any trace of those Jashinists?"
Kael just chuckled at the title but answered her question patiently. "Even if there are Jashinists hiding in this town, it would be difficult to find them with our limited manpower and strength. Don't be discouraged. If I'm not mistaken, the journey back won't be as peaceful as it is now..."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rei asked, her face full of surprise. The other students in their squad looked just as shocked.
"From what I know, those Jashinist guys almost never operate alone. The fact that we only encountered one Genin that night was highly unusual. I suspect the others took the villagers and left ahead of him. And given how arrogant and vengeful they are, they will definitely be back for revenge."
"Kael-kun, are you saying that they're going to ambush us on our way back?" Rei gasped, a flicker of hatred in her eyes.
"Most likely," Kael nodded.
Despite saying that, Kael had still managed to find a hidden underground black market in the town. Of course, it was the Earth Dragon that had found it.
Following the deep tunnel dug by the Earth Dragon, Kael's group soon arrived in a brightly lit underground world.
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap...
As soon as he climbed out of the tunnel, Kael heard a series of rapid, rhythmic slapping sounds. The sound was familiar and made him feel a little hot under the collar. He shot a quick glance at a simple wooden room nearby and then nonchalantly led Rei and the other students away.
But as they passed the room, a woman's moan, as if reaching the peak of pleasure, suddenly echoed from within.
Kael: "..."
He froze for a moment, feeling a certain part of his body beginning to stir. His face twitched, and he continued walking without looking back. But someone gently tugged on his sleeve from behind. He turned to see Rei looking at the room with a pained expression.
"Kael-kun, shouldn't we go and save that woman? She sounds like she's in so much pain..."
Kael took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Rei, you're still young. You don't understand the kind of joy that big sister is experiencing. Now, be a good girl and come with me..."
"Oh..." Rei pouted and mumbled in agreement.
Murakami Rin and the others, who were also feeling inexplicably flushed, had no choice but to follow Kael deeper into the black market.
"C-Captain, what is this place? It looks so strange... It feels completely different from the world above," Murakami Rin asked Kael, a look of confusion on his face as he walked.
Kael slowed for a moment before continuing forward. "This is a black market," he said without turning around. "You can think of it as another world. All the darkness in people's hearts, you can find it here..."
Murakami Rin looked like he only half-understood, but Kael didn't care. He had only come here to do his due diligence and see if he could find any clues about the Jashinists.
After a short walk, they arrived at a crude-looking street. The number of people here increased, and most of them exuded a sharp, bloodthirsty aura. Some of them looked at the group of young kids with surprise, then their gazes turned malicious, openly sizing them up.
Several men stared at Rei with lewd, predatory eyes, as if they wanted to devour her whole. The blatant stares terrified her, and she pressed herself against Kael, gripping his arm tightly.
Kael glanced back at Rei, who was clinging to him like a frightened chick, and the other male students, who were pale with fear. He frowned and cursed inwardly, Useless.
He turned and scanned the crowd with a dark expression. "What are you looking at?" he snapped impatiently. "Do you have a death wish?"
SHING! SHING!
Several shuriken flew from his hand in an instant, whistling past the faces of a few of the leering men.
"That kid's a shinobi!"
"What incredible throwing skill! I misjudged them. I thought they were just a bunch of chicks, but there's a hawk hidden among them!"
"Hmph!"
Instantly, all the insolent stares vanished, replaced by looks of caution and respect.
"Kael-kun, you're amazing!" Rei's face was flushed with excitement, her eyes shining like stars as she looked at him.
Behind him, Murakami Rin and the other boys also looked at Kael with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
Faced with the worship of his inexperienced classmates, Kael felt a flicker of emotion and sighed. "These guys are all bounty hunters who live on the edge. They take on shady jobs for nobles and merchants. Heh... they're just a bunch of bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong. What's there to be afraid of?"
He paused and turned to look at Murakami Rin and the others, who looked a little uncomfortable. He decided to speak his mind. "We're all third-year students. We might not know any ninjutsu, but we've all extracted some chakra and are proficient in basic taijutsu and throwing skills. We have no reason to be afraid of ordinary people who don't even have chakra. The village is safe, but it's because of the protection of the older shinobi that we don't get a chance to grow. As future shinobi, we will have to face enemies ten, a hundred times more dangerous than these people. I hope you can all overcome your fear and, at the very least, be able to pick up your kunai and protect yourselves."
After his earnest speech, he looked at the ashamed faces of his classmates. He then fixed his gaze on the most mischievous boy in the class. His expression hardened. "Murakami Rin, can you do it?"
CLINK!
Murakami Rin drew his kunai from his tool pouch and gripped it tightly, his eyes blazing with newfound determination. "I can!"
Kael nodded in satisfaction. These students were his peers, and they would most likely graduate to become Hidden Hot Water shinobi. If Kael wanted to make a name for himself in this world, he would need some loyal followers.
He then looked at the other six boys.
No one spoke. They all drew their kunai and held them tightly, their eyes filled with resolve as they looked at Kael. With just a few words, he had chased away all the fear in their young hearts.