Chương 37: The Bait is set

As they left the town hall, Genma looked at Shunsui with visible fear in his eyes. He asked in a shaky voice, "Why did you have to threaten her? She was just doing the job… And could you really do all that you told her? That was some scary stuff." Shunsui looked at his naive teammate and let out a small sigh. He sometimes forgot that they were still kids trying to become shinobi. Thankfully Guy was not with them at that moment, or he would have been terrified at seeing the other side of his friend.

Shunsui's calm and lazy personality usually hid a much colder and more practical side that came out when needed.

"That woman was not innocent," Shunsui explained patiently.

"She took the bribe easily from us without any questions. She has probably taken a lot more bribes before. As for why I did that, you yourself know that a Konoha shinobi cannot interfere with the other towns and cities of the Land of Fire freely. Bribing an individual is a criminal offense. We cannot let others know about it or we might get punished. The nobles and the Daimyo himself might come after us for breaking his laws. I needed to make sure she kept her mouth shut completely."

Genma nodded slowly, but he still asked with a little fear in his voice, "Could you really do it… though?"

"Of course not," Shunsui said innocently, a small lazy smile appearing on his face.

"I don't even know my chakra nature yet, let alone a water style jutsu. I just said all that stuff to keep her quiet. It worked, didn't it?" Genma inwardly thought, 'He is so terrifying. Thankfully he is our teammate.' Shunsui adjusted his straw hat and continued walking.

"Time for the next part of the plan to draw out our summoner."

"And what is that plan?" Genma asked, still a bit shaken.

"It is time to drink alcohol, my friend," Shunsui said with a grin. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Genma muttered in shock, "Al… co… hol?"

Shunsui, Guy, and Genma reached the hotel inn where they were staying for the mission. Choza was somewhere nearby keeping an eye on them, but they did not know exactly where he was. Shunsui stopped for a moment outside the inn to put on his game face. His usual lazy expression disappeared. He scrunched up his face and shoulders in annoyance, looking like a tired and angry young shinobi who had been given a pointless mission.

"Just follow my lead," he told the other two quietly. He threw open the door and marched inside with heavy steps. The common room was busy with lumberjacks, travelers, and local townspeople eating and drinking after a long day. Shunsui strode across the room and parked himself angrily on a barstool.

"Drink," he demanded of the barman in a grumpy voice.

"Best you have, and same for food, after." The bartender, a middle-aged man with a thick mustache, looked at the three young boys in surprise.

"Are you even of legal age?" Shunsui tapped the Konoha headband tied to his arm.

"Do you see this headband? If we are old enough to kill, we are old enough to drink. So bring out your good stuff." The other two kids looked extremely awkward as all the grown men in the bar stared at them. Guy tried to look tough but ended up smiling nervously. Genma kept his eyes on the floor, wishing he could disappear. Shunsui, however, maintained his annoyed expression perfectly, as if he had done this many times before. The barman reached for a bottle of amber spirits behind the bar.

"Not that bitter crap," Shunsui said sharply.

"Do you have any Norwich Blue?"

"Uh, yes sir, we use it to make blue juice jumpers."

"Blue juice jumpers?"

"It is a mixed drink, sir, but…" The barman leaned in close.

"…usually, we serve it to our female patrons." Shunsui turned and took in the busy common room at a glance. No one was willing to meet his gaze.

"If someone has a problem with what I am drinking, then I will be happy to clean them off my sword." He was with his swords at his hip and his headband clearly visible. The bar fell silent for a moment. Then everyone quickly went back to their own conversations. Shunsui turned back to the bar.

"That is what I thought." The barman quickly prepared the drink.

"If I may ask, sir," he said as he worked, "are you a shinobi?"

"That is what the headband says," Shunsui grumbled.

"Some bloody mission they have sent us on though. Do you know how many teams they sent out before me after this imaginary frigging monster? Four! I am the fifth, and we will be the last, one way or another. You can believe that. If this monster is not out here this time, I will personally see to it that the prick sending out these notices gets black-marked. A chakra bear that does not kill anyone or break anything? What a load of crap."

"That would be the Kazari-san's Lumber Mill you will be heading out to, then?" the barman asked carefully. Shunsui just nodded. He grumbled through what turned out to be a delicious drink and a quite excellent dinner, but he did it anyway, resisting his normal urge to enjoy the food openly. Guy and Genma were trying their best not to vomit after sipping their own drinks. Guy's face turned green after one sip. Genma simply pushed his glass away and stuck to water, looking pale.

Shunsui retired angrily to his room, followed by the other two. Guy was already swaying on his feet after just one drink. He kept bumping into tables and apologizing loudly to chairs.

"Sorry, Mr. Table! My youth got a little dizzy!" Genma had to support him. Shunsui maintained his annoyed act until they reached the hallway, then let out a long sigh of relief. As they reached their room, Shunsui closed the door behind them and dropped the grumpy act completely. A small smirk appeared on his face.

"Now the bait is set."