The black-market chamber hummed with low whispers and the soft jingle of ryō exchanging hands. Most eyes had drifted away from us after the initial shock of recognition, but every shinobi in the room kept a sliver of their senses pointed in my direction. Fear and greed made for sharp attention.
Still, the broker was quick to get me what I wanted: all the information about my target. With that secured, I gave the man a small nod and dragged Kanna over to a corner table that looked like the cleanest of them all.
"Move. This table is mine now," I told the people sitting there. My tone made it clear that it wasn't a request.
The three men—big, bulky, and battle-scarred—looked angry, as if they wanted to argue. But in the end, after a short moment of staring at my blindfolded face, they slowly got up and left, causing a brief shattering of chatter around the room. In the end, none dared do more than whisper a little.
"Come, sit," I told Kanna as I brought out a sealing scroll from my wide sleeve.
"Excuse me, Kaguya-hime… but how can you read with a blindfold on? That seems… beyond what most can do, right?" Kanna couldn't help but ask.
"I imagine you have been wondering this for a while, right? Am I blind? Why do I wear a blindfold? How can I see with it on?" I said without looking up as I unsealed maps and documents from my scroll.
"Yes," she said, nodding her head.
I couldn't help but smile. Thanks to my Byakugan, I could see the entire room. Sure, it looked like I had my back to them, but no—I was watching their every move. So I also saw their reaction to Kanna's question.
Everyone was paying attention, because everyone had the same question, but they had no right or place to ask it.
Now, the real reason I wore it was to hide my Byakugan, but that was a secret, so I wouldn't tell them that. Instead, I just smirked.
"Because it makes me mysterious, and a mystery is dangerous. No one knows what I am hiding, how I am seeing… and that means they can't be sure if I am able to see their every move or not. And information is important in this job."
Kanna blinked, clearly expecting a serious answer.
Instead, she got the truth—the version that mattered in this place.
"A mystery," she whispered, almost tasting the word.
"Yes." I smiled faintly. "A blindfold suggests disadvantage. But when a blind person walks into a room with confidence…" I tapped the table once. "Everyone wonders what they're not seeing."
Kanna looked around reflexively—immediately realizing her mistake when half the room flinched and pretended not to have been staring at us.
I continued matter-of-factly, "Fear of the unknown always makes people act more cautiously… or emboldens the foolish. Either way, it is to my advantage."
The broker, standing a few meters away, gave a soft, knowing grunt. "Quite effective, I would say."
I didn't respond.
Instead, I pulled the dossier toward me. Heavy parchment. Stiff binding. The weight of multiple deaths held between its covers.
Kanna sat beside me, clutching Karin, trying her best not to attract attention.
She failed.
Because the entire hall was watching anyway.
The moment I opened the folder, hushed whispers rippled through the chamber.
"She's taking a big one."
"Red Wyrm?"
"That bounty's cursed."
"Good. Maybe she'll die."
"Idiot. Don't you know what she's done?"
All spoken quietly.
All heard by me.
Kanna stiffened beside me. "They… they're staring."
"Yes."
"Aren't you bothered by that?"
"No."
She swallowed thickly, as if unsure whether my answer made her feel safer or much more afraid.
I laid out the first page between us.
A charcoal likeness of a man stared back at me—sharp cheekbones, stormy eyes, hair tied in the harsh style of an officer.
A name was etched above him.
Takeda Shōsa.
"Is he… dangerous?" Kanna whispered.
"All men with a bounty are," I said. "But danger varies. Some are dangerous because they are strong. Others because they are stupid." I tapped the image. "This one is neither stupid nor weak."
Kanna looked like she regretted asking.
I flipped to the next sheet.
His history was laid out in meticulous black ink—from birth to academy, to his commission as a Flame Fortress officer, all the way to the moment he deserted. Everything the underworld considered useful.
And in this line of work, 'useful' covered far more than simple skills.
Kanna leaned closer but said nothing, her eyes flicking across the pages with growing unease.
"Here," I said, sliding the papers between us. "Take note. This is what a proper dossier looks like."
-----
Takeda Shōsa — Strengths & Weaknesses (Combat)
Strengths:
• Elite Fire Release user; specializes in combustion amplification
• Highly intelligent; battlefield-trained and strategic
• Skilled in underground warfare and chokepoint control
• Physically durable; trained under extreme heat conditions
• High chakra reserves for his rank
• Former commander — used to giving and interpreting complex orders
Weaknesses:
• Fire Release dependence; minimal water defense
• Known to fight in confined spaces where others suffocate
• Possible lung damage from mineral dust exposure
• Reckless once provoked
• Overconfident in his own "invincibility"
-----
I tapped the bottom of the page.
"These are the predictable categories. What every bounty hunter expects to see."
Kanna tilted her head. "There are… other categories?"
A slow smile tugged at my lips.
"Oh yes. The more interesting ones."
I flipped to the next sheet—an unassuming page covered in handwritten notes from previous hunters, underworld informants, and spies.
The kind of intelligence the official bingo book never included.
The kind only a certain type of shinobi relied on.
-----
Takeda Shōsa — Social and Psychological Profile
Personality Notes:
• Proud, theatrical, enjoys attention
• Reacts strongly to flattery
• Easily angered by disrespect
• Treats combat like performance
• Thrill-seeker who prefers dramatic kills
Behavioral Triggers:
• Cannot resist challenges to his technique
• Becomes reckless if someone insults his title
• Takes sadistic pleasure in fear
• Obsessed with proving superiority
-----
Kanna swallowed.
"He sounds… unpleasant."
"Most criminals are," I said.
Then I turned the page again.
Kanna didn't expect what was next.
Her eyes widened. "What is… all that?"
Another list.
Different tone.
Different purpose.
Used by only one category of shinobi.
Kunoichi.
-----
Takeda Shōsa — Seduction, Leverage, and Manipulation Risks
Seduction Susceptibility:
• Moderate. Prefers fiery, assertive women.
• Known to keep lovers temporarily before discarding them.
• Responds to boldness, aggression, and confidence.
• Weak to physical proximity during arguments.
Warning:
Target is known to be a sadistic lover. He strongly prefers kunoichi partners due to their enhanced ability to take punishment.
He is violent and rough as a lover, and the damage caused during sex will surely dispel any genjutsu, so it is highly advised not to attempt this method.
Due to his superiority complex, he can be easily lured into proving himself, though it is highly dangerous, as no one has gotten far with this method; all attempts have ended in failure and death.
Should one wish to attempt this despite the risks, below are listed the known characteristics of his sex life from before his defection:
Missionary position: Target is known to like this, as it allows him access to his partner's front. He will likely abuse his partner during intercourse; he has been known to hit them repeatedly in the face and chest and choke them, including choking them to death.
Doggy-style position: Target is known to like this as it lets him dominate his partners. He is still rough, known to cause a large amount of deep bruising to the backside of his partner. It is advised to ensure he has nothing he could wrap around his partner's neck, as that might make him likely to choke or garrotte them. Still, it is considered safer than missionary.
Target doesn't like being passive during sex, which means most positions used by kunoichi work are unlikely to work.
Due to his aggressive nature and superiority complex, he also likes women serving him orally, though this has again been known to be dangerous as he can be rough, causing choking and damage to the face and throat.
In the event that someone wishes to use seduction on the target, it is advised to stroke his ego through submission and even worship. This is likely to be the quickest way to lower his guard, but also dangerous, as he could use that submission to deal with the threat.
Following that was an almost tailor-made list of things to do and say to earn his approval: how to address him in different situations, how to properly show submission. It included feet-licking, ass-rimming, and much more.
I was half suspecting that he himself had made this list as a wish list for kunoichi coming to try and claim his head. How else could it be that detailed?
Poor Kanna seemed absolutely mortified at what she was reading. And I had to agree; it almost did read like pure smut toward the end.
Kanna's face drained of all color.
By the time she reached the last few lines, she was trembling so hard Karin wriggled in discomfort. Her fingers tightened around the child, her breath shaky and shallow.
She whispered, voice cracking, "K-Kaguya-hime… this is… this is—"
"Normal," I cut in.
Her head snapped toward me as if I had just announced the sky was green.
I tapped the page lightly with a single finger.
"This is what kunoichi are trained for, Kanna. Not all of them, but many. Seduction, infiltration, manipulation. Shinobi work is not honorable. It is not fair. It is not clean."
A few nearby bounty hunters shifted uncomfortably at the blunt truth. Others nodded grimly.
I continued, tone matter-of-fact:
"You think a battlefield is the only place people die? No. Shinobi kill in bed, in baths, in silken sheets. With poison on their lips, needles in their hair, or lies on their tongues. Strength is not always measured in muscle or jutsu. Sometimes it is measured in how convincingly one can act."
Kanna pressed a hand to her mouth, horrified.
"And this…" she whispered, staring at the graphic details of Takeda's sexual violence, "…this is expected? This is part of a mission?"
"Expected?" I raised a brow. "No. But it is possible. And if something is possible in this world, it must be prepared for."
Her eyes widened further. "But—this—this is not shinobi work—this is—"
"This is exactly shinobi work," I corrected coldly. "This is the profession you fear—one ruled by deception, cruelty, and death. Pretty lies. Ugly truths. And if a kunoichi stands before a man like him, smiling softly, pretending to be charmed…"
I slid the page away with a flick of my hand.
"…then she is more dangerous than any blade."
Kanna looked like she wanted to collapse.
I leaned back slightly, folding my hands over the table.
"Understand something, Kanna: shinobi do not fight fair. Shinobi use whatever will kill most efficiently. That includes seduction, humiliation, manipulation… and sometimes, simply being willing to degrade oneself so the mission succeeds."
Her breath hitched.
"That is why kunoichi training is far harsher than you imagine. Most civilians think kunoichi are just shinobi with longer hair and lighter steps. They are wrong."
Kanna stared at me, eyes wide and trembling, her voice barely a whisper.
"Would you… ever use this method?"
I gave her a flat look.
"No. I do not need to. I have no interest in lowering myself to stroke the ego of a man. My strength is enough."
Relief washed visibly across her features—followed quickly by embarrassment, as if she feared she had asked something insulting.
"But," I added, closing the dossier, "you needed to see this."
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because you must understand the world you now travel through. Because you must understand what a 'mission' truly means. Because if you raise Karin in ignorance, she will die."
Kanna flinched as if struck.
Silence followed—thick, heavy, full of understanding she did not want but desperately needed.
Around us, the crowd had drifted into a quieter, more respectful hush. Even hardened killers were uncomfortable with the reality laid out in such blunt detail.
I swept the remaining papers into a neat pile.
"Takeda Shōsa is not someone I will approach with seduction," I said finally. "But you needed to know how others might—and why they fail."
I tapped the top sheet of the dossier.
"And this—" I said softly, "—is why."
Kanna stared down at the horrific list once more, then closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to purge the images from her mind.
"…Shinobi work is… terrifying," she whispered.
"Correct," I said. "And now you understand it a little better."
I rose, gathering the maps and notes.
"Come. We have what we need."
Kanna stood shakily, Karin held tight against her chest.
Her voice was barely audible, but I heard it clearly:
"…thank you for telling me."
I gave a faint, unreadable smile beneath the blindfold.
"Good. Then you will not be surprised when the world grows uglier from here."
I slipped the dossier into my sleeve.
"Now let us begin hunting a wyrm."
(End of chapter)
Support me at patreon.com/unknownfate - for the opportunity to read up to 30 chapters ahead.