Sena and Itachi walked silently. They had gathered extensive intel on the noble's city, the guards, and the servants, and completely hashed out a plan before they even stepped out of Konoha. Itachi was genuinely pleased to find that there were other shinobi as meticulous in their work as he was. It helped Sena leave a stellar impression on him, something she had fully expected. She had already done her research on Itachi beforehand, completely trusting her father's political maneuvering to set up this team before he even pitched it to the Hokage.
Itachi dragged the cart slowly while Sena walked obediently behind him in the modest, submissive manner of a proper peasant wife. They finally reached a secluded inn bordering the slum district, specifically chosen because establishments in this area were notorious for not caring about official records.
Itachi left the cart in the stable while Sena paid the stablehand extra money to keep it safe. The bribe made the guard incredibly happy and far more dutiful than his usual demeanor. Even with the man bought off, Itachi made a mental note to keep a watchful eye on their goods from time to time out of an abundance of caution.
Sena walked into the inn just ahead of Itachi while he finished storing the cart. The moment she stepped inside, several unsavory heads twisted to track her movements. Because her Transformation Jutsu intentionally left her pleasant features visible alongside her blonde hair and blue eyes, traits not too common but not rare in this rugged area, some of the men immediately began whistling. A particularly aggressive thug with messy brown hair, a lanky build, and dark eyes approached her. He looked her up and down, naked lust entirely clear in his gaze as he circled her.
"Well, aren't you a beauty to behold. How about you come up to my room and I show you a good time?" He pinched her rear as he winked. "I won't even charge you for the service."
Sena instantly acted flustered. She shrank in on herself, perfectly playing the part of a woman entirely outmatched by the man's physical presence. He stepped closer, his hands becoming far too aggressive, while she stammered, "I... I am not looking for trouble!"
"Neither am I," the man replied instantly, crowding her space. "I am looking for a good time."
He reached for her again, but a massive figure suddenly loomed behind him. The cold, flat steel of a heavy farming machete pressed hard against his spine.
"Stay away from my wife, or I will cut you in half right here," a rough voice growled with heavy malice.
The lanky man glanced back and was instantly intimidated by Itachi's transformed, broad-shouldered frame. He slowly raised his hands, forcing a mocking tone.
"Come on, buddy. I didn't know she was married, and I am nothing if not an honest man who respects the law," he said jokingly, waving a hand dismissively.
Across the room, multiple men who shared a table with him abruptly stood up. Their hands drifted toward their weapons as they began moving toward Itachi. The tension in the room spiked to a suffocating level, the air growing thick with the promise of violence.
Before blades clash, the innkeeper spoke up, his voice echoing powerfully through the heavy silence. "Goro! I do not want any trouble in my inn. I already pay heavy fees to your boss so you protect this place, not drive my paying customers away. Leave them alone, or I will send a message to him."
Goro clicked his tongue and spat on the floorboards. He shot a final, lingering look at Itachi and then at Sena, his eyes practically licking her up and down. Finally, Goro backed off, returning to his table with his gang to resume drinking.
Itachi gave the innkeeper a grateful nod, and he returned it with a small smile. After paying the innkeeper, they settled into their room. Once they closed the door and covered the windows, Sena very carefully extended her chakra sense. Itachi observed with his Sharingan, noting her absolute control over her chakra-sensing abilities. Her current sensing level even exceeded Noa's. She made sure to sense everything around them, planning to immediately shut her sensory jutsu down the moment she detected any dangerous chakra. Luckily, she did not sense anyone with shinobi-level reserves.
"We are safe," she said as she removed her headcloth. Her hair flew down as her Transformation Jutsu was undone, revealing her pleasant, youthful features. Her eyes regained their light, returning to a striking blue like the ocean under sunlight. Her hair cascaded down long and smooth.
She pulsed a bit of chakra into the headcloth, and several items materialized from the carefully concealed storage seal on the fabric. A neat stack of fresh, decent merchant farmer clothes appeared alongside their prepared food. There were salted and pickled plum onigiri along with a small bundle of sweet dango.
Sena spoke with a touch of shyness, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Even though she hid it well, Itachi's Sharingan easily caught the detail.
"Sorry, I did not know what you liked, so I brought my favorites," she said.
Itachi shook his head. "This is fine," he replied, a small smile touching his face as he dug in.
Sena had planned everything down to the smallest detail. She knew Itachi did not enjoy meat and had a weakness for sweets, so there they were. It was not specific enough to raise his suspicion of her research, but close enough to seem like a natural choice. Pickled root was well known to lift exhaustion and soothe muscle strain, and the sweets provided a rapid energy spike. It was perfect, practical food for a long shinobi mission.
After a quick, energetic meal eaten in comfortable silence, they spent the night. In the morning, they changed into their clean merchant clothes. They headed back downstairs without a fuss. Itachi cleaned up the cart, and they moved out into the streets, looking every bit the part of a respectable merchant farmer couple.
They reached the market, moving with deliberate purpose. There was no wasted time or action. Their synchronicity was almost machine-like. Itachi showed the upper market guards the wooden token, and after a cursory, unenthusiastic check, they were waved through.
Itachi steered the cart smoothly, parking it near the street where the castle's staff was known to enter the market from. They waited and observed the merchant, their movements, and the market patrons. To maintain their cover, they sold a few batches of their high-quality merchandise to passing locals.
After a while, right from the expected direction, a guard appeared holding a long spear. A young servant girl walked beside him. The two seemed to be lightly flirting. The guard was clearly distracted, his attention wholly occupied by the servant's striking looks.
Sena called out to the servant, her voice projecting a melodic, inviting tone. "We have fresh mushrooms! Picked today! Amazing taste, great quality, and a fair price!"
Her pitch worked, drawing the attention of both the servant and the guard. The guard eyed Itachi and Sena warily as they approached, while the servant looked down at the mushrooms, genuinely impressed by how carefully they had been harvested and how fresh they still were. She knew better than to show too much eagerness, lest she drive up the price and catch a scolding from the head maid later, so she simply nodded to her escort.
"How much?" the guard asked gruffly.
Itachi raised his hand slowly, clearly showing both the guard and the servant his fingers to indicate the price.
For a moment, both of them looked mesmerized. Their eyes locked onto Itachi's fingers for an unnaturally long time before they slowly lowered their heads. After a brief round of loud, performative haggling where Sena took the reins to ensure the fair price was overheard by nearby shoppers to legitimize the transaction and leave a trace, the deal was struck.
The servant spoke up, a worried tone creeping into her voice. "That is too little, however. We will need more."
Sena smiled warmly. "Do not worry. Go with my husband. We have some more mushrooms stored nearby at this market. You can check the quality yourself to make sure they are exactly like the ones here before you pay."
The guard nodded and started walking, the servant girl following closely behind as Itachi led them away from the busy street.
They entered a small storage area belonging to an Iwa merchant they had observed using it earlier.
"Are we still too far away?" the guard asked.
Itachi did not respond. Instead, he simply looked around. The guard sensed that something was wrong, but he never had a chance to react. His senses, already dampened by Genjutsu, were far too slow for someone like Itachi. With incredible speed, Itachi slashed the guard's neck, then ended the servant girl's life in one smooth motion before she could fully emerge from her dazed, Genjutsu-induced state.
The Genjutsu was flawless. Itachi had cast it the moment they looked at his fingers in the market.
A few moments later, Sena slipped quietly into the storage area where Itachi had already stowed the bodies inside a strange seal and was erasing any traces of their presence.
Moving with practiced efficiency, Itachi formed a hand sign and created two shadow clones. One took on his farmer persona, while the other matched Sena's. The clones retrieved the handcart, signed out of the inn, and walked out of the city through the same gate they had entered, ensuring the guard saw them leaving as they bowed and thanked him for the opportunity to sell their merchandise.
Meanwhile, deep in the shadows of the storage room, the real Itachi and Sena used the Transformation Technique to perfectly adopt the appearances of the guard and the servant girl. They then moved confidently toward the noble's castle, the final and most crucial phase of their mission underway.