After leaving Roku's location, Ren didn't rush to act imdiately. Instead, he found a small restaurant tucked away in a side street and ordered a simple al. He ate slowly, each bite giving him ti to sift through everything he'd seen.
When he'd peeked through that grimy window, he'd confird sothing that even the underground info brokers hadn't been able to pin down, Roku Amai had indeed crossed the threshold to s-rank, or at the very least, was right on its edge.
At first glance, it shouldn't have made sense. Roku's displayed level was only 73, not even at the limit for a jonin-level fighter. But Ren trusted what he'd seen more, his perfected Hyperfocus and that subtle feel for the Flow let him read the hidden story in a shinobi's chakra.
It was from this sa trick he'd used before, that when he'd tested Choza during their little eating contest and seen the thick swirl of chakra around him. Strong fighters had that telltale convergence, a gathering of power that clung to them like gravity.
He'd used that reference on other people too, Yoru, Fugaku, and Danzo all had chakra that pulled so tightly it felt like looking into the eye of a storm.
Hiruzen, though.
That old man was on another level entirely. Just glancing too deeply at the Third Hokage's chakra flow made Ren's eyes sting as if he'd stared at the sun for too long. That was the first and last ti he'd risked a close look at that monster.
So, by comparison, Roku's situation painted a clear enough picture. The chakra convergence around the old man was stronger than Choza's but noticeably weaker than people like Yoru or Danzo. Which ant one thing that Roku really was an s-rank combatant but he was likely at the lower end of the rank.
The real question was why. S-rank shinobi didn't just get there by training the sa old basics. They always had sothing unique like a technique, a kekkei genkai, a specialization so extre it pushed their power past the normal limits.
Roku's known specialty was Taijutsu with lightning style as support. But judging by the scars and the rods embedded in that "room," and the fact that his Taijutsu must have suffered after that injury that forced him to retire an answer could begin to form.
So where was his hidden ace?
The clue was obvious if you knew where to look, the entire cell practically humd with lightning chakra. It was so dense it almost clung to the walls. Roku wasn't just sitting there, he was likely creating so super advanced lightning technique, sothing strong enough to anchor his strength at s-rank even with his crippled body.
Ren tapped his chopsticks against the table, eyes flicking to the corner of the room as he mulled it over. Those rods were the only real clue he had right now. They weren't just for show, they had to be a part of whatever Roku was cultivating in that cell.
So, the plan stayed the sa, gather more pieces of the puzzle, figure out exactly what made Roku tick, and then find the cleanest way to eliminate him without leaving a trace of the Leaf's involvent.
He finished the last bite of his food, dropped a few ryo on the table, and stood up, a flicker of that sa manic grin playing at the edge of his mouth before he quickly hid it as he thought.
'Hehe, don't you dare make it easy old man.'
~~~
Ren stayed hidden in Zukoma Village for about a week, which was just long enough to piece together a clearer picture of what he was dealing with.
Roku had indeed developed an advanced lightning technique atleast that much was certain, but the exact nature of it was still murky. Every ti Roku activated it, the entire concrete cell practically humd with lightning chakra, crackling so thick Ren could almost taste the static in the air.
But that alone wasn't the real problem. The danger lay in the subtle sensation Ren picked up every ti he got too close, he was certain Roku could sense everything within that humming field. It wasn't ordinary chakra perception, either. That lightning acted like a web, expanding Roku's awareness through every tal rod embedded in the room. One slip, one second too long watching, and Ren would risk blowing his cover.
Still, the bigger clue ca from what that technique didn't do. If it were purely offensive, Ren would've seen a spike in Roku's chakra flow aid outward, or signs of destructive output. Instead, the power just sat there, coiling around the rods in a tight formation. Which left him with a few likely options and they were either defensive, trapping, or sensing.
Lightning wasn't much good for pure defense, unless you were the Raikage with that absurd Lightning Armor technique and nobody sane would waste so much chakra just for a boosted sensing jutsu. So that only left one thing that made real tactical sense, trapping.
Those rods probably ford the core of an advanced lightning barrier, a formation strong enough to pin down even an s-rank combatant if they weren't careful. It explained the constant hum, the seals hidden around the cell, and the fact that Roku hadn't left that concrete box for days on end.
Oddly enough, Ren felt a flicker of relief. If Roku's ace had turned out to be so monstrous offensive lightning release sothing along the kind that could tear apart entire squads in a heartbeat then this mission would've been a headache and a half. He might even have swallowed his pride and asked Yoru to step in, because bragging about solo kills wasn't worth dying for.
But this, a trap? That was manageable.
From what Ren had gauged, Roku's actual combat strength still hinged on that formation. Without it, he'd be just another busted-up old shinobi with a scary amount of chakra and a reputation a decade out of date.
Ren was confident he could take him down with a single punch, even without opening any of his four gates. If things did go sideways, he could always test out his prototype Flying Thunder God Technique to slip away and try again from another angle.
That only left with one thing to do, and that was luring Roku out of the village and that might be even more difficult than actually dealing with Roku, but still, he already had a great plan in place. This plan would ensure that Roku ca out of the village.
However if worst ca to worst and Roku still didn't co out of the village, he still had a fallback, his butterfly summons.
He could flood the entire village with them and blanket the place in a wide-area Genjutsu, pin Roku in place while he dealt the finishing blow inside the village.
But this was risky, very risky, because a Genjutsu of that scale would scream Uchiha to any half-competent shinobi and risk dragging the clan and the village into the ss, which the mission directives specifically forbade. So, that option stayed locked as a last resort.
He leaned back against the creaking wooden chair of his rented room as he took one last glance in the direction of Roku's cell and with that, he slipped out into the night, ready to set his plan in motion.
~~~
For the past few days, Kenshi Town and the surrounding villages had been buzzing with rumors. Word had spread like wildfire about a travelling auction house nad the Azure Dragon Auction House, which had supposedly co all the way from the Land of Lightning, making stops in every major region along the way.
People swore that this mysterious auction had already sold all sorts of rare treasures, and one rumor in particular had caused a stir, that they'd once sold an S-rank jutsu to a minor village. Sure, that village had apparently been razed to the ground not long after, but that only made the rumor juicier. An auction that could sell sothing that powerful made sure that everyone wanted a piece.
Now, word was that the Azure Dragon Auction House was travelling through the Land of Fire, and its next stop was Kenshi Town. According to chatter, this would be its final stop before moving on to the Land of Water.
The morning sun had barely crested the rooftops when the entire region erupted into an uproar. Posters appeared overnight, they were plastered on walls, fences, and market stalls, announcing that the Azure Dragon Auction House would be holding a small-scale auction exclusively for the nearby villages.
So folks found it suspicious that an auction of this reputation would hold an event just for small fry, but for the villages around Kenshi Town, it was a once-in-a-lifeti chance, because if it was truly a huge auction then it wouldn't be their turn to buy would it.
But just when the speculation reached a fever pitch, another wave of fresh posters swept through town the next day and this one was even grander.
These posters declared that, after this "humble" local auction, the Azure Dragon Auction House would host its grandest, final auction for the entire Land of Fire, before leaving for good.
Excitent and envy spread in equal asure, those in the small villages were thrilled they'd get first pick, while the town rchants and nobles were already fighting for seats at the so-called grand event.
All of this, of course, was Ren's doing, or more precisely, his clones' doing. His original plan had been far simpler, spread rumors in Zukoma Village and a handful of nearby settlents to bait Roku out. If word got around that rare items and maybe even forbidden techniques were up for grabs, how could a shinobi at the brink of S-rank power resist taking a peek, especially if it was a very special tal.
But things had snowballed faster than Ren expected. Once the story hit Kenshi Town, rchants and curious nobles started cornering his disguised clones for details, demanding to know why the "great auction" was limited to tiny villages.
Ren, seeing an opportunity, had his clones spin it into an even bigger spectacle. Why not feed the flas? This was his thought. After all, he'd be gone once Roku was dealt with. The Azure Dragon Auction House would vanish as quickly as it appeared, and anyone who tried to dig deeper would find nothing but rumors and gossip.
He'd even prepared a neat final twist to tie up any loose ends, the entire auction story could be traced back to the Cloud Village. Rumors would point to the idea that the Azure Dragon Auction House had been selling stolen Cloud secrets across the lands including jutsu, relics, special ores and even bloodline techniques.
If the Cloud learned about this "auction house," they'd co storming in to wipe it out and reclaim their lost property. A few stubborn buyers might even end up dead for trying to keep forbidden loot, but that would all be chalked up to the Cloud's retaliation.
Ren chuckled to himself as he watched villagers scramble to read the posters from his vantage point on a nearby rooftop, hood drawn low over his eyes.
This bait wasn't just a lure for Roku anymore; it was an entire stage play, complete with scapegoats and villains. By the ti the curtain dropped, Ren would be halfway back to the Leaf and the only thing left behind would be a rumor about a mythical auction that vanished overnight due to them doing sothing that offended the Cloud Village.
Now, all that was left was to keep the act alive, pick the right mont, and draw Roku out from his concrete den and lightning traps, so they could settle this once and for all.
For that Ren had even leaked a very special news, the last item in the small scale auction held by the Azure Dragon Auction House would be a thing that almost any Lightning Style user needed.
The lightning conductive chakra tal ore.
~
{Break for the next 2 days :) }
~~~~~
{We'll begin the auction in the next Chapter and be sure to bid for any items you like, why? Because the Azure Dragon Auction House would vanish after that next Chapter like it didn't even exist.
So, save your money and get ready, for the first ti, at the convenience of your mobile screen, the Azure Dragon Auction House will begin it's auction.}
{If you want, you can support on pat-reon}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{280 Stones = Extra Chapter}
{STONES!!!!}
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