Ichiro Ginkai was dumbfounded.
He'd traveled many lands and seen shameless people.
But never this shameless.
Calling Ebara a bandit was an insult to bandits.
"Not talking? Guess I'll keep searching," Ebara said, squinting at Ichiro.
"Go ahead. You took all my money already," Ichiro said, giving up. "What else do I have?"
He'd learned his lesson.
No matter how shameless he was, Ebara was worse.
"You said it, not me. No forcing here," Ebara said, rummaging through Ichiro's clothes.
He checked everywhere—underwear, shoe soles, everything.
Nothing but junk.
"Pauper!" Ebara scoffed.
Pauper, my ass! Ichiro screamed internally. I'm broke because you took my money!
He was livid but helpless.
Letting Ichiro go just like that? Ebara wasn't satisfied.
A sly thief like him had to have more stashed somewhere.
Then Ebara's eyes landed on the camera slung over his shoulder, borrowed from a photo studio.
His face lit up.
"You like taking photos?" Ebara asked with a friendly smile.
That smile sent a chill down Ichiro's spine.
He knew that grin meant trouble.
"Nope," Ichiro said, shaking his head like a rattle.
Ebara's smile turned sleazy. "Doesn't matter. I do…"
"You're in for a rough time today…"
Heh heh heh…
That "harmless" grin made Ichiro feel a cold dread from his tailbone to his skull.
"What are you gonna do to me?" Ichiro asked, terrified, scooting back on his elbows.
"Don't worry…" Ebara said, pinning Ichiro's leg with his foot. "I won't go too far…"
He leaned down, reaching for Ichiro's clothes.
Seeing this, Ichiro's heart raced.
Having traveled many lands, he'd heard of some unsavory scenarios.
"I'll trade my secrets for a deal!" he shouted.
At this point, he didn't care about professional ethics.
His chastity was worth more.
"Spill it first," Ebara said, pausing.
"Promise you won't hurt me after we trade," Ichiro said.
"Then I'll just keep hurting you," Ebara replied, moving again.
Ichiro, sweating buckets, blurted, "I was hired to steal your wallet!"
Ebara's brow furrowed.
Hired? Shimura Mahaya?
No, if it was Mahaya, he'd want Ebara's life, not his wallet.
"Who?" Ebara demanded.
"Promise to let me go first."
"Guess you haven't tasted real torture. Time to show you true skill…"
"No, no, I'll talk! It was a kid, sounded all squeaky. I don't know who, but probably from your class!"
"Don't slander my kids' innocence…"
Ichiro, desperate, spilled everything. "I'm a ninja, but I'm weak. No one hires me for real missions. By chance, I helped some kids, and they paid me. I saw a money-making gig, so I started taking kids' jobs. Today's wallet theft, the gross code translations from two days ago—all from kids."
Ebara was stunned.
He hadn't expected this.
"That true?" he asked.
"I wouldn't dare lie!" Ichiro said. "Kill me, I'm telling the truth!"
"Proof?"
"My teacher Ebara, dashing, talented, and handsome… Having such a great teacher is our luck!" Ichiro recited the code translation Haiichi was punished with, word for word.
Now Ebara had to believe him.
Only his class knew that code.
"Didn't expect Haiichi to slack off," Ebara muttered. "Clever kid."
He was already planning how to mess with Yamanaka Haiichi.
"Who hired you today? What were they planning with my wallet?" Ebara asked.
"I don't know, but it was a kid with sunglasses. Told me to smear something on your wallet and give it back," Ichiro said.
Sunglasses? Shino Aburame?
The stuff was probably a bug-attracting liquid to humiliate Ebara.
"Nice. My students are out for revenge," Ebara said, his grin turning wicked. "Not bad."
He also realized why Ichiro had so much cash.
Doing jobs for rich clan kids? No wonder he was loaded.
"Can I go, big bro?" Ichiro asked cautiously.
"Not yet. Tell me how you get these kids' jobs," Ebara said, smiling.
"I stay at the same inn every time I'm in Konoha. They find me there," Ichiro said, broken.
As long as he kept his chastity, he'd spill everything.
He'd just avoid Konoha kids' jobs and move to another village.
"Let's go check it out," Ebara said.
Ichiro's eyes widened in panic at the mention of the inn.
Scared stiff.
"Relax, I won't do anything to you," Ebara said. "We're making a deal."
Ichiro calmed down, though he really didn't want to take Ebara there.
No choice.
The inn was small and out-of-the-way, probably picked to stay under the radar.
It was filled with trinkets, especially souvenirs from other lands.
Even some novels.
"Hmm, this candy…" Ebara noticed a familiar piece.
Identical to one Uchiha Mikoto gave him yesterday.
"That's a Water Country specialty. A kid loves it," Ichiro explained.
That kid's probably Uchiha Fugaku.
Knock knock knock!
A knock at the door.
Ebara stayed still, signaling Ichiro to open it.
"Is this Mr. Ichiro?" a young girl's voice asked.
Ebara's face lit up with surprise.
It was none other than Uchiha Mikoto.
"It's me. What's up?" Ichiro asked.
"How many explosive tags do you have?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm hiring you for a job."
"What job?"
"To blow up the Ninja Academy!"