Naruto: The Blind Swordsman

Chapter 146: Leaf, Information Guild and Requests

_________ POV Narration _________

Ken whistled cheerfully as he walked through the streets of Konoha without any issues.

Getting inside undetected was not as difficult as one would think, especially with the reverse summoning scroll he had left behind there.

That coupled with the fact that Ken was now familiar with the Fuinjutsu formations that the village used for defense helped the Blind assassin easily infiltrate and blend into the crowds.

He took off his mask, let down his bangs to cover his lack of eyes, and cut off some of his hair, making it slightly shorter, only reaching up to his upper back. 

Instead of his usual clothes he also opted for a more casual pair of loose black trousers and sandals, coupled with a tight-fitting white t-shirt which hugged his muscles very closely. 

His mission in Konoha was not quite official, and he didn't really wish for his presence there to be known by the Hokage or anyone else for that matter.

He only had one target in mind. A man of great importance.

More explicitly, he wanted to meet that man, and finally get acquainted with him. The leader of the world's greatest information guild, the originators of the universal bingo book.

The information guild was by no means a regular organization with a leader. They were more of a coalition of groups coming together with one goal in mind... Absolute monopoly over the flow of information in the world.

And they were successful for the most part. To the point where even the information networks built by the hidden villages had to bend to their will to exist.

Their venture was very successful, and their main source of income was selling the latest information about a specific faction to the highest bidder. 

Their way of business went unobstructed for a very good reason...

They had money.

The information guild was comprised of businesses and business owners all over the world, together they amassed a lot of influence, to the point where there was no one nation willing or capable enough to take them down. 

At the end of the day, money was a resource that all Hidden villages needed to survive, and the only resource that made even nobility bend the knee.

In short, by the time anyone thought to do anything about them, they were already far too big to fail. 

'In this world, money speaks, it sets the rules, and it ultimately moves the world.

The universal currency is already well established within the Elemental Nations, so even if one side won't accept your money for some reason, another sure as hell will.

In the end, the one refusing would be the one losing, as they would also lose future business with the guild...'

To Ken, it was all a balancing act, he had managed to achieve a high level of political and physical power already, but what he wanted now was to achieve the last missing piece, or rather pieces, of the puzzle.

Information and Money. Well, it was mostly about the information, as the Brotherhood was quite profitable overall. 

And Ken knew that the man he was about to meet could provide him with both under the right circumstances. 

The Information Guild didn't have a leader per se, but they did have a figurehead. Someone who pulled the strings and acted as a mediator between all of the factions. 

It was one man that could be called a technical leader, though he wasn't one in name. 

The building he resided in was simple. A place mostly made out of wood and paper, the name of the establishment was written down on flaps of fabric at the front of the shop, in an ink so thick that even Ken could feel and read it. 

'Ramen Ichiraku'. A very unassuming place, a small ramen shop, quick and delicious, and rather well-known to locals. 

Ken had spent plenty of years trying to track the man inside down. But he had never gotten far.

Only recently was he able to finally find a crack in the Information Guild's network, and extract more information about their inner workings.

It still cost him quite a sum of money, as he needed to grease the right hands, but it would all be worth it if he were to succeed.

As the information he had received dictated, Ken proceeded to walk into the Ramen Shop whilst whistling a very particular tune.

As soon as he sat down at the stool that was only two inches taller than the rest, he turned his head towards the middle-aged man who was dressed in a regular cook's garb. 

"What'll it be sir?" The man, the owner of the establishment asked with a welcoming smile. 

 His features were still quite young, his eyes seemed to be closed most of the time.

It was a bit ironic that the man whose 'eyes' saw the most in the world, mostly kept his actual eyes closed. 

Ken didn't lament on that for too long, however, as he had a few more steps and instructions to follow.

"Well, I'm still not quite sure, I am quite new to this place. What would you recommend, boss?" 

The Blind Assassin gave the owner a warm smile as he tapped a very specific tune on the wooden table in front of him. 

"Oh, a newcomer? I would recommend starting with the very basics, how about a regular bowl of ramen and some sake to start you off?

Also, you can call me Teuchi, no need for the honorifics, haha!" 

The owner didn't react outwardly at all to Ken's signals and seemed to just continue the conversation normally.

"That does sound delicious boss! Say, do you have any eastern spices on hand?" Ken also seemed to continue the conversation normally, he continued tapping onto the wooden table, this time changing the tune accordingly. 

"Oh, I think I do... But they're downstairs and quite hard to look through. You look like a strong lad, care to give me a hand?" Teuchi gestured at Ken to come around the counter and follow him.

"Sure thing boss! As long as I get a good-tasting meal from it!" Ken laughed a bit, to an outsider, it sounded as genuine as could be, just a simple positive interaction between a ramen shop owner and a client. 

The shop owner nodded, then turned and smiled towards a teenage girl. He told her to keep up shop for a few minutes while he took care of things. 

 After that, Ken followed the owner wordlessly, as the two of them entered a side room and started walking down a long flight of stairs towards the basement.

As he passed through, Teuchi pulled onto some of the torches, he did so in a sequence that Ken found hard to understand. It was a code of sorts, and it worked alongside a mechanism. 

He knew what the torches did, or rather, he felt what they did... He could feel a slight shift, as the mechanical contraption slid open a hidden compartment somewhere at the bottom of the stairs.

Teuchi was eerily silent throughout the walk, and the two of them eventually descended the stairs and continued to walk forward.

Ken felt as he passed through the passage that had opened up, and he felt it close behind him, turning into a wall as two people behind him transformed into both him and Teuchi and went back upstairs. 

Ken and the owner eventually reached a room with a table and two chairs, the room was filled with cabinets and scrolls, all likely filled with information from all around the world. 

The owner sat down in the chair facing the door, and Ken was prompted to sit down on the other, which he did.

"Now then... Who are you exactly?" Teuchi's eyes seemed to slide open for a brief moment, his gaze very much studying the man in front of him.

"I am... A friend, or rather someone that wishes to become a friend of yours, sir Teuchi..." Ken slowly interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them. 

"Hmph, plenty of people want to be my friend. But they at least have the decency to introduce themselves..." Teuchi scowled a bit as his eyes closed, seemingly lamenting what to do with the strange man who somehow knew the code to get in contact with him. 

"I must admit, I very much dread introducing myself so early, as it will definitely shift the tone of our conversation... But I guess it can't be helped, I don't want you trying to get rid of me just yet..." 

Ken sighed, he felt the mercenaries and rogue shinobi hiding among the shadows in the room. He felt them squirm slightly at his words, and without even wanting he had applied a bit of pressure on all of them. 

The Blind Assassin then slowly tapped a seal on his wrist, and a small cloud of smoke puffed out around his hand.

He could once again feel the mercenaries squirm, prepared to jump at his throat at any second. But Teuchi was still very much calm.

But he was unable to keep his calm as Ken placed an object on the table. Something so recognizable that it made every mercenary in the room shiver.

Teuchi's eyes widened as he looked at the symbol that had appeared more and more as of late in their information... An eyeless white mask with a large red dot in the middle. 

"I see... It's an honour really, I've heard a lot about you." Teuchi shook his head as he regained his composure. Despite sitting in front of the strongest assassin in the world, he didn't feel threatened.

After all, Ken had a very particular reputation... The people he targeted very rarely even knew they were a target before their heads flew off.

This made Teuchi realize that Ken was not there with any bad intentions, so he signalled his men to leave the room immediately. 

They were useless anyway to someone like Ken. Teuchi was not the type of man to require fake comfort in front of great dangers. 

Ken nodded as he felt the mercenaries leave the room.

"See? The tone shifted quite a bit. Though I am glad that you had the best reaction possible to this reveal. This makes everything so much easier." 

The Blind monster couldn't help but smile at the way things had turned out. He was thankful that Teuchi was a very calm and collected individual.

"Uhm... But, if I may ask... Why exactly have you sought me out right now? I doubt it's just to get acquainted." Teuchi seemed to be friendly enough, but also very much wanting to get straight to business.

"Well, I specifically want to form an alliance with you directly... 

I am willing to provide you with any support you may need, within the power of the Three Corners Alliance, in exchange for you supporting us both financially and with information..." 

Ken immediately put his offer on the table, deciding to follow Teuchi and get straight to business. 

"Oh? So you have the authority to speak for the entire alliance?" Teuchi's eyes opened once more, studying the Red Dot with great interest.

"I am the one that founded it, the one that set the stage and made it possible. I also happen to be in good relations with most of the founding members, which gives me plenty of leeway." 

Teuchi's eyes narrowed for a moment at Ken's words, he seemed visibly conflicted.

'To think a 13... No, he should be 14 now... Still, to think that a teenager is capable of this much. It's better to keep him close in this case.

Still, there are still some details to iron out."

"And what exactly would the support that the Dark Brotherhood requires entail?" Teuchi's tone didn't at all give off his thoughts, it was as neutral as could be. 

"Financially, we don't require much. We are rather self-sufficient in that sense thankfully. In case of emergencies, we may reach out to you, but it's highly unlikely." 

Ken's tone seemed quite straightforward, one of the few times he could speak honestly.

"Very well, I can take your word for that for now... And I'm assuming you would want information about anyone looking into you, or you'd want to be informed if and when anyone is scheming against you, right?" 

"Yep~ You assume right. I do have a task for you, but other than that, the support we require is rather minimal for now, as the dust has barely settled down after the last conflict, but it's good to have assurance."

Teuchi nodded when hearing the Red Dot's words, it all seemed quite reasonable. 

"And what may that task be?"

"Oh, I simply want you to send me information about every clan you have available, nothing major just basic information about them that's already public... I would also appreciate some DNA samples if possible for each of them." 

"... That's not exactly a small task. I'll see what I can do, bodies are still rotting on the battlefield, so we can scavenge and scour through those..." 

Teuchi rubbed his chin as he considered the request quite seriously.

The information part was simple enough, they had clean records of every clan that existed. But the DNA part of the request was the most difficult by far.

Teuchi was still confident that he'd be able to get it done, however. And that was mainly thanks to the fact that Ken hadn't specified any timeframe at all.

The Ramen Shop Owner was a firm believer in the fact that every problem could be resolved as long as enough money was thrown at it and enough time was invested into it. 

"Well then... Are you willing to form this small alliance?" Ken smiled as he felt Teuchi already musing over the request he had given him. His question was more of a formality at that point by the look of it. 

"Of course I do... But I also have a small request of my own for you." Teuchi smiled as he reached under the table, he seemed to pull a string, and immediately a specific scroll was shot out from the shelves nearby and onto the table.

Ken couldn't read it, due to his blindness, but Teuchi was more than glad to explain the contents.

"In front of you is the profile and description of a noble that has been quite nosy lately... He is a man who currently rules over a section of the Land of Fire. I ask that you get rid of him." 

Teuchi slowly unveiled the scroll and started listing some basic details of the target, information crucial for a quiet assassination. 

The information given was very detailed, extending as far as to mention the shifts and locations of the guards within the estate. 

The assassination would still be a complex one and had a high rate of probable failure if done by any regular assassin, which was why Teuchi was now reaching out to the best of the best. 

"Hmmm... It doesn't sound too difficult. I can sneak in without much issue. Should I make it look like a suicide?" 

"No, a suicide sounds a bit inconspicuous... This is a man that's currently in the best position possible leading a very 'fulfilling' life..." 

Teuchi scowled a bit at the last part. He seemed to somewhat disapprove of the Noble's way of life. 

Ken just shrugged, it was the usual pig that used his money and position to do whatever he wanted to those weaker than him. 

Still, the Blind Assassin felt the need to continue with his idea. 

"Well, a man that has achieved everything, and is in the best position, often doesn't have anything to look forward to in life... But fine. I will make it look like an accident. Any other requests?" 

He still relented to Teuchi's specifications, as the Ramen Shop Owner was the client in this case. If he didn't want it to look like a suicide, then it wouldn't.

"Well... I only have one more request... I want the man that leaked information on how to reach me dead." Teuchi's voice became a few degrees colder as he spoke that last request.

Ken just nodded, already expecting something of that nature.

"That is only natural... I actually anticipated that you'd want to tie up loose ends, so I can assure you that he is already dead and buried."

Ken smiled as he answered the last request. He had paid a large sum for the information, but he had only really paid the family of the informant for them to be able to continue with their lives worry-free.

The informal himself was dead and decomposing as soon as Ken got the information he needed. 

In the first place, the Information Guild would have tracked him down and killed him anyway, as they didn't appreciate any leaks, especially ones of such magnitude. 

"Very well." Teuchi smiled once more before sighing and continuing. "I appreciate your cooperation... I will wait for the good news in regards to my other request here."

Teuchi nodded as he watched Ken slowly get up and turn to leave. 

"Good, I'll be seeing you in a few days." Ken nodded and immediately turned into a blur, leaving the village the same way he came in, using reverse summoning. 

Teuchi watched his back disappear with a conflicted gaze. The only thought in his mind being how exactly could a blind man see him at all...

_________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

Yea, I wanted to finish and upload this yesterday, but I went for a short nap... Well, that short nap was a trap apparently, my alarm didn't wake me up at all, I felt as if I was waking up from a coma in the morning tbh. anyhow, I managed to upload today at least

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