Seeing that neither of his teammates had any objections, Uchiha Gen took command of the squad and began delegating tasks.
"I'll go alone to meet the Lord of River Valley Town to get specific information from the client. Ruri, Enjun—the two of you split up and investigate the town for other intel so we can get a more comprehensive understanding of the mission. Also..."
Uchiha Gen bit his right thumb and immediately began forming hand seals.
"Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram."
The five seals were completed rapidly. As his right hand slapped the ground, a thick cloud of white smoke erupted, and over a dozen pitch-black Ninja Crows appeared in mid-air, cawing loudly.
"The Ninja Crows will monitor the surroundings and scout the terrain. Just in case, they might also be able to pick up relevant tracks."
Although these Ninja Crows had only recently formed a summoning contract with him and their combat coordination was not yet fully refined, they had all undergone the basic training of the Uchiha Clan. Performing simple reconnaissance of this small town and its surrounding areas was no difficult feat for them.
On the surface, in the shadows, and even from the sky—Uchiha Gen had made arrangements for everything, being cautious to the extreme.
"You've learned another new Ninjutsu? I never saw you use this back at the Academy."
Sarutobi Enjun scratched his head, watching the flock of crows scatter and take to the sky.
Uchiha Gen didn't explain. He simply looked at Sarutobi Enjun and said:
"Move quickly. We don't want to drag this out and make Lord Orochimaru dissatisfied. Try to finish the intel gathering by 5:00 PM. Regardless of how much information you have, return here at five to regroup."
Sarutobi Enjun suddenly snapped to his senses.
If they failed Orochimaru's trial and were sent back by their Jonin leader, it would be a humiliating matter. At the very least, he would be nagged to death by Biwako and the Third Hokage.
He had to hurry.
Soon, Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as an elderly couple visiting relatives and entered the town.
Uchiha Gen, on the other hand, simply tidied his attire, making the red-and-white paper fan crest of his clan more prominent, before walking into the town to question the soldiers guarding the gate.
The Lord of River Valley Town had the surname Nagatani. His ancestors were vassals of the Daimyo, and in terms of title alone, he could be considered a mid-tier noble.
Possessing his own fief with a population of over a hundred thousand placed him in the upper-middle tier among the nobles of the Land of Fire. While he couldn't compare to the high-ranking nobles who held great power in the capital, he was far above the impoverished petty nobles on the verge of losing their lands.
Minutes later, at the Lord's manor.
"I didn't expect a member of the renowned Uchiha Clan to come and help the Lord deal with bandits."
A short, stout man wearing small round sunglasses led Uchiha Gen into the manor.
Uchiha Gen had never seen the Daimyo's palace, but this manor was filled with painted pillars, red curtains, and terraced pavilions, exuding an air of noble grandeur.
"Steward Ito overpraises me. I see this manor is flourishing; it seems the Lord and Steward Ito are quite adept at managing the household," Uchiha Gen said while observing the passing servants.
This man was named Ito No, the Steward of the River Valley Town Lord—a role roughly equivalent to a head butler.
When a lord was capable, the Steward only handled domestic affairs and scheduling. However, if a lord was uninterested in governing, the Steward would be entrusted with administrative duties and managing the territory.
As for which type River Valley Town fell under, Uchiha Gen felt he needed to observe further. His previous remark was a probe.
Unfortunately, Steward Ito simply laughed it off.
"Haha, Master Gen is too kind. I am merely doing trivial things according to the Lord's instructions. River Valley Town's prosperity today is entirely due to the Lord's brilliant leadership!"
The pudgy Steward Ito led Uchiha Gen into a pavilion.
A man even fatter than Steward Ito was sitting cross-legged on a tatami mat, stuffing snacks into his mouth. He was dressed in lavish clothes adorned with gold and jade, though he was rather unattractive.
"My Lord, this is the ninja sent by Konoha to deal with the bandits, Uchiha Gen."
Steward Ito bowed to the fat man on the tatami.
"Oh, a Konoha ninja. Hey, kid, since you're an Uchiha, you must be really strong! I heard you can all spit fire, is that true?"
Lord Nagatani looked at Uchiha Gen with a very "wise" expression.
The latter frowned slightly.
He roughly understood the situation within the Lord's household. Lord Nagatani's moronic display did not seem like an act.
Steward Ito apologized to Uchiha Gen and hurried over to persuade Lord Nagatani. He said things like the Lord's body being precious and that a ninja's techniques were too powerful and might accidentally injure him.
"I see. Since he's so powerful, I'll leave the bandits to you. Ito, I'm going to the capital for a few days. I'll leave the house to you."
The Lord patted his large belly, causing waves of flesh to ripple, and wobbled to his feet, leaving with the support of a maid.
After bowing to see the Lord off, Steward Ito turned back to Uchiha Gen.
"Since the Lord has delegated the matter entirely to us, I'll have to trouble you for your cooperation."
"We will certainly do our best to cooperate, but... is Master Gen the only one here for the mission? It's not that I don't trust Konoha's ninja, but those bandits are cunning. If there aren't enough people, I'm afraid..."
Steward Ito looked at Uchiha Gen with some hesitation.
No matter how one looked at it, the ninja before him was far too young and was alone. If he hadn't recognized the Uchiha Clan crest and known of their reputation, he might have already shown his displeasure.
Uchiha Gen took a shallow sip of tea and replied:
"It's fine. My teammates are still outside gathering intel on the bandits. We also have a Jonin in our squad; there is no issue with our capabilities. I just wanted to ask you to provide more detailed information."
"Very well. Actually, a year ago, there were no bandits in River Valley Town. It's only as the impact of the Great Ninja War grew that this group emerged."
Steward Ito sighed.
"Did they flee here from the border?" Uchiha Gen asked.
"No, more than that. If it were just that, it wouldn't be so troublesome. The real problem is the true identity of these bandits; they have significant ties to the town's residents."
Uchiha Gen thought to himself, As expected.
If it were really as simple as finding bandits, exterminating them, and recovering tax money, Orochimaru wouldn't have bothered using this mission as a trial. There had to be a deeper meaning.
"The mountains around River Valley Town are rich in mineral veins, and the iron ore is among the best in the Land of Fire. To meet the demand for war supplies, the Daimyo issued orders requiring all lords with iron resources to pay sufficient ore. Because our quality is high, the Daimyo's demands are also high, but production has not increased. As the surface ores were depleted, the miners had to go deeper underground to excavate ore that was harder to mine. And to meet the quotas, we..."
"You pushed the miners too hard, so they were forced into the mountains to become outlaws? And since they have relatives among the townspeople, they hide among the civilians, making them well-informed and impossible to root out?"
"As for the tax theft... since they are ordinary people, the fact that they dared to steal taxes means someone was at their breaking point?"
"So, what is the tax rate in your territory?"
Facing Uchiha Gen's string of questions, Steward Ito's expression was one of surprise. This young ninja seemed incredibly intelligent, able to analyze so much information instantly.
"The territory's tax was originally fifty-fifty. However, after the miners fled, we needed to spend money to recruit extra miners to meet the quota. We also needed money to buy ore from other lords to satisfy the Daimyo. Thus, the tax was changed to sixty-forty."
That tax rate was indeed high. Sixty percent of the fruits of their hard labor had to be handed over.
In the past, fifty percent likely kept people right on the equilibrium line life wasn't great, but they wouldn't starve. This extra ten percent hike had become the straw that broke the camel's back. And those miners who fled to the mountains were these townspeople this one's cousin, that one's uncle.
They probably didn't even know it was tax money intended for the Daimyo; seeing supplies, they simply conspired and stole it.
Uchiha Gen finally understood. No wonder Orochimaru said this mission was carefully selected. It wasn't just about finding people; it was about interrogating your conscience.
These bandits were all pitiful people driven to extremes, but as ninjas, since they had stolen taxes, they had to be wiped out.
Choose the mission, or choose your conscience? This trial of human nature was consistent with Orochimaru's style.
Should I just kill them all and be done with it?
In Orochimaru's eyes, if one couldn't harden their heart for this, they probably wouldn't pass.
Uchiha Gen pulled Steward Ito aside to ask for more information before leaving the manor with a small booklet of notes.
At dusk, exactly 5:00 PM.
The three of them regrouped in the woods outside River Valley Town. Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen, likely watching from the shadows. Over a dozen Ninja Crows flapped their wings and landed.
"Let's summarize the intel."
Uchiha Gen took out jerky to feed the crows while asking his teammates.
"No useful intel. Most of the townspeople were vague. I couldn't get anything out of them regarding the number or location of the bandits," Sarutobi Enjun shook his head regretfully.
"It's probably not that they were vague, but that they were deliberately evasive. Enjun and I split up. I went to a tavern and used money to question a waiter. Shortly after leaving, I was blocked in an alley. I captured them and interrogated them with Genjutsu."
"Many of these bandits are connected to the townspeople. Both sides help each other. This time, it was because the Lord increased taxes, making it impossible for many to survive, which drove more people to the mountains."
Uzuki Ruri sat on the ground, her eyes fixed on Uchiha Gen, waiting for a decision.
"Well, it's similar to the intel I gathered."
Uchiha Gen threw the remaining jerky to the crows. He explained what he had heard at the manor before summarizing:
"Clearly, Lord Orochimaru is using this setup to test us. If we can't harden our hearts and fail the mission, we'll be sent back for retraining."
Uzuki Ruri spoke softly: "So, what we need to do next is find these people, wipe them out, and recover the tax money?"
Sarutobi Enjun said in a low voice: "Is there no other way? They... they're all just ordinary people driven by desperation."
"There is."
Uchiha Gen clapped his hands and released the summoning.
"What is it?"
"Die right now, go down to the Pure Land, and beg the First Hokage or the Sage of Six Paths to resurrect. Ask them to reshape the entire system and make the Daimyo give up their interests to the people. That way, ninety percent of the problems in the ninja world will be solved."
"Let's not make such unrealistic jokes."
"Then there's no other way. Don't forget, a ninja's absolute rule is to complete the mission. Everything else is secondary. This is written in the Ninja Rules."
"A ninja is a tool for completing missions, not a messenger of justice. Words like soft-hearted are not compliments for a shinobi."
"Of course, we don't want to be tools, but reality leaves us no choice—unless you become strong enough. So strong that no one can compare to you. Then you can be like the First Hokage, using absolute strength to make the world give way to your ideals."
"As for now, we are just three Genin. Even if you are the Hokage's son, you can't bring about change."
Uchiha Gen looked at the distressed Sarutobi Enjun and spoke in a flat tone.
"Then can we at least do something within our power? For example, can we just capture them without killing?"
This kid...