In the dead of night, after discussing some intelligence, the group vanished from their original spot.
Satoru, who was standing beside them, stroked his chin and watched them disappear.
"They've been targeted, huh? I hope they don't get killed and I lose out on my mission payment."
He didn't have strong feelings about the Hogoromo Clan being targeted.
But if the employer were killed, wouldn't he lose his money?
Also, was that Gato the same Gato that Naruto would encounter later in Wave Country?
He was quite ruthless, not focusing on legitimate business but resorting to methods of a criminal organisation.
As one of the world's leading capitalists, Gato was quite famous globally.
Satoru had seen him in the memory of a certain Ninja.
Unlike the original story where Gato only brought a few thugs and bodyguards, this Gato had many more tricks up his sleeve.
And he wasn't surrounded by just ordinary hooligans.
Rich people are afraid of death.
The more money Gato accumulated, the more he feared death.
The Ninja group he had gathered around him was not small, nor could it be breached by just one or two Jonin.
As for whether some unforeseen circumstances occurred later, causing him to act like a fool and personally lead people to deal with Zabuza and Kakashi, that was unknown.
At least, according to Satoru's current intelligence network, Gato had at least two Jonin-level Ninja protecting him daily.
It seemed his methods of accumulating wealth had never stopped!
This world also had many differences; not every event followed the original plot.
For instance, the Darkness Technique.
When he read about it, it was created by the Second Hokage, but in the sealing scroll, he saw it was created by Hashirama.
Many small details differed greatly from the original work.
"Oh, they told me not to run around, but I've been wandering everywhere. I feel bad about it.
Let's see. With these guys who can't even feel genjutsu, even if other teams have similar ones, there's no reason they could take down a capitalist like Hogoromo, right?"
In Satoru's perception, the Hogoromo Clan's Ninja guards were quite numerous.
However, there were only two or three Jonin; most of the others were externally hired Ninja, just like them, the Konoha Ninja.
Stretching, Satoru returned to the team's resting place.
All the guards and Ninja he passed by seemed not to notice him as he walked past.
They automatically ignored him.
Inside the room, Hyuga Chong and the other two were discussing.
"Captain won't be discovered, will he? There are quite a few guards here!" Inuzuka Tsuyoshi worried.
Hyuga Chong's Byakugan showed the surrounding meridians, and he replied, "I don't think so. In my Byakugan, the Captain has already disappeared."
He had heard family elders say that Satoru was an elite among Jonin, but he hadn't believed it.
In his analysis, Satoru should not have left the scope of his vision, yet there was no trace of him.
He hadn't expected that besides the legendary Sharingan, there was also an ability that could bypass the Hyuga's Byakugan.
Woof!
Inuzuka Tsuyoshi's husky suddenly barked.
Aburame Shikyō's insects also stirred.
Then, Satoru's figure appeared before them.
It was as if he had been there all along, and they simply hadn't noticed.
"You have to believe in the Captain's ability. I won't drag you down," Satoru said with a smile.
Hearing Hyuga Chong's words as soon as he entered made him a little proud.
Illusion: Body Concealment, he could even deceive the Byakugan now.
"This ability…" Aburame Shikyō's eyes behind his sunglasses shifted.
He recalled his clan's special passive ability.
Due to the secret technique of cultivating insects within the body, life force would decrease, and the body would emit pheromones similar to insects, causing people to unconsciously overlook them when not paying close attention.
The Captain's ability seemed like an enhanced version.
Judging by the unusual movements of the insects on his body, the Captain's Stealth Release was already perfected.
Stealth Release was a broad category in Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu that allowed one to hide and not be discovered was called Stealth Release.
It wasn't an elemental Ninjutsu but a usage category.
Just like offensive Ninjutsu, defensive Ninjutsu, etc., there was no doubt that the Captain was strong in this aspect.
He just didn't know if he had a habit of peeping into women's bathhouses.
Inuzuka Tsuyoshi patted his husky's head and asked Satoru, "Captain, how was it?"
Satoru had not gone out specifically to find those Ninja targeting the Hogoromo Clan. It was a Ninja's habit to first familiarise himself with the surrounding terrain, and he just happened to stumble upon some gossip.
"Of course, I'm the Captain. Collecting terrain is simple."
Satoru took out a scroll from his Ninja tool pouch, summoned a drawing board, paper, and pens, set them up, and began to draw the terrain he had just collected, one by one.
He also marked key areas.
What objects were there, what buildings, and so on?
"Captain, isn't that too extravagant? Using storage scrolls for these everyday items?"
Inuzuka Tsuyoshi looked on enviously.
Normally, raising his dog and buying various Ninja tools already made his wallet tight. But the Captain used them to store these things; he was too rich.
"Extravagant? I'll teach you a method. As long as you achieve it, you can do this too."
Satoru replied with a smile while drawing the terrain.
"What method?"
The three pricked up their ears, eager to know.
They only dared to use storage scrolls for important Ninja tools.
"First, become a Jonin, capable of independently taking A-rank missions and executing S-rank missions."
"Tch, Captain is so perfunctory."
Which Ninja didn't know that was a fast way to make money? But wasn't strength accumulated through resources? Wasn't this a dead end!
"Second, like me, find a rich wife.
Or a wife who has a rich father. Either way works first."
"So that's it, Captain, you're a kept man."
The three suddenly understood. No wonder he was so rich; he was a kept man.
The first one was just for show, right?
Contempt!
"Ah, you don't understand. If you have the chance, you'd best find a wife who is young, beautiful, rich, gentle, and willing to spend money on you.
That feeling is even better than becoming Hokage."
Satoru indicated that they were too young.
"…"
The three were speechless.
Nonsense, they also wanted to find a girl like that.
No wonder the Captain wasn't ashamed but proud; if they could marry such a wife, it wouldn't be so bad either.
"Alright, enough with the small talk. This is the terrain map of the Hogoromo Clan that I collected today.
Take a look. If you encounter combat, you can better utilise the terrain to fight the enemy, or to escape."
Satoru stopped writing, and a precise terrain map sprang to life on the paper.
The three immediately focused their gaze on the terrain map.
Then their eyes widened.
Goodness, in such a short time, the terrain map you collected is a bit outrageous.
On the blueprint, the entire Hogoromo Clan's terrain was depicted.
The key wasn't just that, but the annotations on it: how many trees were on the training ground, where it was suitable to use Earth Release, where Fire Release would have an assisting effect, and so on, were all noted on the paper.
And simplified, understandable mathematics was used to mark distances, coordinates, and various other data.
Even the Hogoromo Clan's own people probably couldn't draw such a detailed terrain map, could they?
How did he even do it?
Even Hyuga Chong, who possessed the Byakugan, was impressed.
Even if he could see through things, he couldn't draw such a terrain map; he could only roughly sketch it.
Because his knowledge was insufficient…