Naruto: Konoha’s Trickster, Starting as the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki Chapter 211: He’s Still Just a Kid!

The food was excellent, but the people who arrived afterward were not necessarily so.

Yanagimura, dressed in white, suddenly appeared, his smiling face making Kazuyama frown.

"Have the four of you eaten well?"

"My na is Yanagimura, and I am the head of the Daimyō's guards."

"In the coming days, I'll need your help to properly safeguard the manor."

The three younger ones nodded imdiately, but Kazuyama simply smiled, stood up, and casually slung an arm around Yanagimura's shoulders.

"Old man, you're stating the obvious. Since we accepted the mission, we'll do our job properly."

"By the way, got anything fun around here?"

"For example… heh heh, you know."

Kazuyama knew exactly why Yanagimura had co, and he disliked being on the defensive. He preferred to take the initiative.

The scent of alcohol on him, combined with his words, made Yanagimura secretly pleased.

"The hot springs and other leisure spots are in the eastern district. You can go anyti—no charge."

At the sa ti, he thought to himself: This Kazuyama is exactly as described—greedy for money, lustful, and now I can add alcohol to the list.

Drinking before even reaching adulthood… he's bound to be a walking barrel of sake in the future.

"However, the mission cos first. The Land of Water has been unusually active lately, and the Daimyō's safety is our top priority."

"As long as he gets through this period safely, the rewards won't just be substantial—they'll increase significantly."

Yanagimura directed this last statent at Kazuyama, watching his face closely.

For just a brief mont, Kazuyama's expression flickered with excitent before he masked it, but Yanagimura caught it.

Satisfied, he thought, The greedier he is, the easier this will be.

"Then, I'll leave the guard duty to you."

Having gathered the information he wanted, Yanagimura left.

The mont he was gone, Kazuyama's playful expression vanished, along with the scent of alcohol.

As a Jinchūriki, a little alcohol could be flushed from his system with minimal chakra. If he wasn't acting with that old man, would he even bother drinking?

"Kazuyama-sensei, that old man's intentions aren't pure," Kakashi remarked.

He had been watching closely and sensed that Yanagimura wasn't as simple as he seed.

Kazuyama nodded, his gaze filled with approval.

"Not bad. That old man clearly has his own plans."

"Kakashi, stay on guard. Just because we're in the Daimyō's Manor doesn't an we can relax."

"Besides the threat from Kirigakure, sotis the greatest danger cos from within."

He then glanced at the confused Obito and the thoughtful Rin, offering them a small smile.

"Obito, if you don't get it, don't overthink it."

"Rin, sa for you."

"You two rest. Kakashi, you're coming with for a patrol outside the city."

The mission still needed to be completed, and there was no telling when Kirigakure's forces would make their move.

Based on what Kazuyama knew about them, they would send their elite. After all, the Village of the Bloody Mist didn't earn its na for nothing—it was built on the survival of the strongest.

Once they reached the outer periter, Kazuyama inspected the security asures Kakashi and the others had set up and imdiately got to work refining them.

As an expert in concealnt, he adjusted every flaw in their setup.

Kakashi silently observed as his sensei corrected their work, much like a teacher grading howork.

It had to be said—Kazuyama was incredibly skilled at this. He caught every single flaw they had overlooked.

"Kakashi, what do you think Yanagimura was up to?"

"Huh?"

"It's fine, there's no one around. Just say it."

Kakashi had already suspected that Kazuyama had called him out to discuss this, but his observations had been sowhat limited. Still, since he was asked, he decided to be direct.

"First, the Daimyō's attitude—it was overly enthusiastic and agitated. Then, there's Yanagimura's sudden concern."

"This makes feel like they're scheming sothing, but not necessarily with bad intentions."

Kakashi had been thinking about it for a while, and his conclusion was solid. It was no wonder he had been breaking records since childhood—his intelligence was exceptional.

"Not bad. Anything else?"

"Nothing."

Kazuyama smiled. The fact that Kakashi had deduced this much already exceeded his expectations.

"Do you rember the red circle on our mission scroll?"

Rather than continuing where Kakashi left off, he shifted the topic.

Kakashi thought for a mont before nodding. That massive red circle had been so eye-catching, he couldn't possibly forget it.

"This proves that the relationship between the village and the Daimyō isn't as stable as it appears."

"Lord Hokage's aning is clear—he wants us to figure out what the Daimyō's Manor is planning."

There was one more detail Kazuyama didn't ntion—his personal mission.

To create trouble at the Daimyō's Manor.

"After seeing how the Daimyō and Yanagimura acted today, I'm even more convinced."

"If I'm not wrong, the Daimyō's Manor is trying to form its own ninja army to suppress the village."

His words weren't dramatic, but they stunned Kakashi.

"Impossible. Isn't the village the military force of the Land of Fire?"

"Why would they need to cultivate a separate ninja army?"

Kazuyama chuckled and shook his head.

"You're still young. You'll understand when you're older."

"That's enough for now. Head back—you might actually get so sleep tonight."

"And don't tell Obito and Rin about this. It's enough that you know."

Kakashi was speechless. Why is it enough that I know?

I didn't ask for this! I'm still a kid! Why do you have to dump this kind of burden on ?

Just as Kazuyama was about to leave, he suddenly felt sothing unusual in the distance.

"Chōi, Hive Mind."

With Hive Mind activated, his gaze sharpened as he focused on the distant shadows.

A few sneaky figures appeared in his vision.

"Well, well… looks like soone's already here to scout the place."

"Kakashi, looks like I have to take back what I said earlier—tonight's going to be a long one."

Kakashi barely had ti to react before Kazuyama grabbed him by the collar.

The next second, they were gone, rushing toward the intruders.

...

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