Kazushi Kawada's idea was simple.
If the Ichihara family managed to repel and follow these small criminal gangs, they would not know about the involvement of the Kawada family.
But if the enemy fails to stop these robberies, it won't be too late then to make huge profits with each robbery afterward.
And since this time he made sure that more than 50 of these stores were attacked, he would make some profit and at the same time be able to find out the numbers of the ninjas involved with the Ichihara family.
It doesn't matter if these ninjas work for the Ichihara family or are from another force, they must have limited numbers.
And regardless of their strength, they won't be able to defend so many stores at the same time.
With a clear objective, Kazushi sent orders to these gangs and ordered his own men to be vigilant.
The days passed in this way, and Kazushi waited for updates on the operation.
In their opinion, as long as they know the enemy's capabilities, they will be able to devise optimal plans for the subsequent operation.
But as the days passed and he received nothing, Kazushi felt a bad feeling.
And when he received the first report a week later, the man confirmed his suspicions.
With the first report in hand, Kazushi read it quickly.
And as I expected, it wasn't good news.
The man began by reading the news that all the infiltrators in these stores never came out again.
His men made sure to watch from a distance to observe the operation.
And they could clearly see how some members of the criminal gangs entered the stores while the other group waited outside with carriages ready to take away the stolen merchandise.
Minutes passed, and instead of a few from the first group leaving the store with the stolen merchandise in their hands, it was other individuals who came out.
Because it was night and they were moving quickly, his men could not see their faces.
They could only see them moving as if disappearing from one place to another, and the thieves outside the store were quickly captured.
And the way in which the latter were captured frightened his men.
Frightened, his men retreated and quickly passed on the message.
Kazushi grimaced as he read the following reports.
If only a few stores were defended, they could make huge profits by attacking as many stores as possible and stealing all the merchandise they can.
But the fact that more than 50 stores have ninjas defending them means that the force behind these ninjas is not simple.
The Ichihara family definitely does not have the capacity to command so many ninjas.
Not even independent clans from some ninja village could have so many ninjas available to protect simple shops.
This definitely had a ninja village involved, and Kazushi thought they'd be in trouble.
But in the end, he could breathe a sigh of relief because his subordinates did a good job and did not attract the enemy's attention.
While the various gangs in several cities went into the stores to rob them, their subordinates had made sure to stay away to witness the response of the force behind these stores.
They expected a bloody battle between this force and the thieves, but instead they witnessed the easy capture of these thieves before the astonished gaze of their men.
These thieves had literally knelt down and waited to be captured.
Kazushi didn't know what happened and could only guess that a ninja had used Genjutsu to control the actions of these thieves.
And since the same thing happened in all the stores, Kazushi could only guess that no matter how many stores they targeted, the same thing would happen in all of them.
In this way, it was useless to send ordinary people and he could only send ninjas if he didn't want them to be easily captured again.
Although it seemed impossible that hundreds of stores would have a Genjutsu user, it doesn't mean there won't be other types of ninjas.
After all, ordinary people are helpless against a chakra user.
Kazushi was in a dilemma.
To proceed from here, he didn't want to involve his men, but he couldn't rely on third parties either.
Given what happened, I didn't think others would accept the job again.
According to the report in their hands, the bases of these gangs were wiped out overnight and there were no survivors, causing chaos in the country's underworld.
It was fortunate for his subordinates that they always worked with third parties as contacts with these gangs, so they quickly disappeared into the crowd and hid for a few days.
It was only after they were sure that no one was following them that they sent their reports.
It was when all the reports were put together that Kazushi made a summary and learned the extent of this force.
Not knowing what to do, the man met personally with the old man Yusuke to ask for advice, and the old man remained silent for a few seconds before answering.
"You're right, there's a good chance a ninja village is working alongside the Ichihara family."
"But it could also be something else..." said old Yusuke, the last part in a low voice.
"What does he mean?" Kazushi asked.
"Do you remember the commotion the Daimyo caused recently?" asked old Yusuke, and Kazushi paused to think about it for a moment before opening his eyes.
"Elder Yusuke, are you saying that this is the force the Daimyo is seeking?" Kazushi asked.
The only event that came to Kazushi's mind when he heard old Yusuke was that day when a nearby mountain was split in half.
It is important to know that the capital is the most important place in the land of fire and where the Daimyo resides.
Therefore, the event where a huge mountain near the capital was split in half was no small matter.
Just as a mountain could be split in half, what would happen to the city itself?
It was extremely important to know who the person was who split that mountain and what their intentions were.
Of course, Kazushi knew that old man Yusuke wasn't referring to the Ichihara family being involved with this person.
But with that organization that had a secret training base under that mountain, whose remains were discovered when the scene of the crime was examined.
The presence of such a powerful person acting near the capital was one thing.
But the existence of an organization that secretly trained ninjas was another matter entirely. And they even did so brazenly near the capital.
Kazushi heard that the Daimyo became furious when he learned of such brazenness and immediately ordered the search and elimination of such an organization.
Training additional ninja forces is strictly forbidden without the Daimyo's permission, so he mobilized his army of Samurai across the country to begin the search.
Besides maintaining control over their country, these illegal ninja organizations are involved in illicit activities, so it is appropriate that they be eliminated before they cause problems.
In addition to the ninja clans loyal to the Daimyo, the services of ninjas from the Leaf Village were also contracted.
Besides the money, these ninjas put in a lot of effort in the search and it was thanks to the ninjas of the Hyuga clan that two other illegal ninja training bases were discovered within the land of fire.
After all, there are already enough ninjas in the country, and they couldn't let another one appear.
Unfortunately, they didn't find anyone inside these bases.
The illegal organization seemed to predict that they would be hunted down, and these bases appeared to have been recently abandoned.
"Yes, I'm sure," said old Yusuke with great confidence.
"Think about it"
"These unknown, wealthy ninjas suddenly appeared without any explanation of their origins."
"At the same time, an illegal ninja organization was discovered, but they quickly vanished into thin air."
"I'm sure they're hiding in these stores."
"Are you sure?" Kazushi asked.
"This company's registration predates the emergence of this illegal ninja organization."
"I'm sure," replied old Yusuke.
"This organization most likely wanted to launder its illegal money and they targeted the Ichihara family."
"The Ichihara family agreed, but feared being implicated in the end."
"Therefore, they let an insignificant member of the Ichihara family lead this operation."
"The Ichihara family makes huge profits, and Kozue Ichihara can easily be disposed of by them at any time if any problems arise."
"And when this organization was suddenly discovered, they needed a place to hide."
"SENBON TORII stores are spread throughout the country, making them a good place to continue their illegal operations after the manhunt for them slows down."
"And meanwhile, they could use their ill-gotten gains to open more stores."
"It's better than letting it gather dust."
The old man Yusuke's words sounded convincing to Kazushi, and the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.