Just as Kazuma was taken aback by his own deductions, the Uchiha Tora Squad was already at Budaigami, witnessing the entire "hunt" unfold. They saw three solo visitors, one by one, being knocked unconscious by handkerchiefs after finishing their baths, dragged away, bound, and discreetly delivered to Ito Butchers, hidden under the meat delivery truck.

As dawn approached, three ox-drawn carts carrying fresh meat for the embassy set off.

The Uchiha Tora Squad followed closely behind, tracking the carts all the way to the embassy. Arasaka Rokuro emerged, guiding the carts into the gates and into the kitchen, where the meat was offloaded by the kitchen staff. Two men, clearly not from the butcher's, carried the bound "goods" in sacks, following Rokuro out of the kitchen down a different path.

They crossed several small bridges, walking along a winding corridor until they reached a courtyard entrance, where Arasaka Rokuro turned and said, "Wait here. I'll go inform the emissary."

"Yes, Lord Rokuro," they replied.

This wasn't their first time, so they were familiar with the routine.

Rokuro entered the courtyard, approached the door, and knocked lightly. "My lord, the goods have arrived."

"Take them to the usual place."

"Yes, my lord."

"Oh, Rokuro, I heard some police officials came looking for you yesterday. What was that about?" asked Taira Norinaga casually from inside as Rokuro was about to leave.

"It was an old friend from childhood. He seems to have crossed some out-of-town thugs recently, and I'd hoped using the police force's influence might scare them off. I didn't expect to trouble you, my lord. That was a lapse on my part," Rokuro replied, maintaining his composed and respectful demeanor.

"Oh, I see! Ha! If the police aren't up to the task, feel free to invoke the embassy's name. Now, go take care of that delivery." Norinaga dismissed it, unfazed by the trivial matter. After all, as Ogawa Uemon had mentioned the night before, there was no way Konoha would risk a confrontation over a few nobodies.

The real nuisance was that pesky Kazuma.

After nodding his thanks, Rokuro carefully retreated, leading the two men at the door to the "usual place"—a tearoom in the embassy. Truthfully, Rokuro didn't know what Taira Norinaga and Ogawa Uemon were up to; his role was merely to deliver the hunted "goods" to the tearoom, where Norinaga's loyal aide would handle them.

The tearoom was only about a five-minute walk from Norinaga's residence.

They arrived at the tearoom door without incident.

However, before he could knock—

A voice bellowed from within, "Who's there?"

Rokuro froze, his face showing a hint of confusion, taken aback by the abrupt outburst. The two men behind him shared the same bewilderment, glancing around nervously.

Suddenly, a flash of blade sliced upward, tearing through the roof, sending a rain of tiles crashing down. Rokuro and his companions scrambled to cover their heads.

"Konoha's ninjas? What's your purpose, sneaking into the embassy?" Ogawa Uemon's face contorted with anger and surprise.

Uchiha Torajiro, barely holding back Uemon's powerful attack, scowled and leaped back, positioning himself at the rooftop's edge, maintaining a tense standoff through the hole in the roof. This guy was formidable!

Despite shadowing Rokuro cautiously, Torajiro was fully alert, bracing for any sudden assault.

And yet, even so, he'd almost buckled under Uemon's probing strike.

"What am I doing here? I'm investigating the recent disappearances. I'd advise you to surrender and spare yourself unnecessary suffering," said Torajiro, feigning confidence. But internally, he knew he was in deep trouble.

At the mention of "disappearances," Uemon's brow twitched, sensing something ominous. Konoha had the nerve to take action within the embassy? Were they not concerned about inciting tension with the Daimyo's court?

At this point, though, it was too late to worry. The intruders had followed Rokuro's careless trail to the door, and there was no easy way out.

"Surrender? Apologies, Shinobi, I don't understand. This is the private territory of the embassy. If you have questions, use the proper channels to contact the emissary. Now, please leave, or…" Ogawa Uemon spoke slowly, each word dripping with hostility. "I will defend this embassy from assassins."

Ogawa shifted his stance, preparing to attack.

Torajiro frowned, realizing this brawny man was sharper than expected. His response was well-crafted… A weaker-willed individual might actually retreat to pursue "proper channels."

Unfortunately for Uemon,

He was up against an Uchiha.

Torajiro had no intention of retreating, not until he uncovered the truth behind the disappearances. If he backed down now, by the time he returned through "proper channels," any evidence would likely be wiped clean. He'd seen that happen too many times before.

"I won't give you the chance to destroy evidence," Torajiro stated firmly.

"Then die!" A murderous glint flashed in Uemon's eyes.

He'd initially planned to let Norinaga handle the issue; killing Torajiro would only invite trouble. However, the Uchiha's persistence had forced his hand. He'd accumulated enough wealth over the past year to leave Norinaga's service if things went south.

With that resolve, he struck.

The blade flashed again.

"Iai Slash."

A technique mastered by only a select few Samurai in the Land of Iron, this draw-slash technique struck before an opponent could act. Samurai relied on this blinding speed to neutralize ninjas before they could even complete their hand signs.

This formidable skill was why the Samurai as a group hadn't been entirely erased from history, managing to retain neutral territory among the Five Great Nations.

As that brilliant flash crossed Torajiro's vision, his mind blanked, realizing in an instant that he'd severely underestimated his opponent. He thought he could withstand a few strikes, but this—

This was a real tiger!

Such a deadly move—

Not even many Uchiha Jonin could perform a strike so swift and fierce!

"Wait… something isn't right! Can I still think after being cut down? And why isn't there any pain?" Perplexed, Uchiha Tora-jiro gathered his wits. He'd been certain he was done for but, now that his attention refocused, he noticed a small figure standing in front of him.

"…Itachi?"

That build, that look, those tear troughs, and an expression eerily similar to Elder Fugaku's—serious, intense. It was the clan's latest prodigy, Uchiha Itachi.

"Tora-jiro-senpai, watch out, I can't hold on much longer!"

The words had barely left Itachi's mouth before he was sent flying back like a broken kite, crashing straight into Tora-jiro's chest. The impact knocked the wind out of him and forced him back several steps, his feet shattering the glazed roof tiles beneath him as he managed to stop himself and catch Itachi.

"*Cough, cough!*"

Itachi coughed twice, flexing his numb arm.

"Sorry, Tora-jiro-senpai. That guy's blade is not only fast but his strength is unbelievable. I couldn't hold my ground just now, but it was unavoidable. I won't let it happen again."

"So… you're the backup the captain sent to help us out in case things went south?" Tora-jiro responded quickly.

He immediately realized Itachi's presence at the embassy couldn't be a coincidence.

"Right. Kimimaro and I have been tailing you since yesterday."

"You've been following since yesterday? And Kimimaro's here too… huh?"

Tora-jiro saw Kimimaro with spikes of bone protruding from his body like a white porcupine, engaged in a fierce battle with Ogasawara Uemon. His question turned into a statement mid-sentence.

"Tora-jiro-senpai, go help your men! There are still some tough enemies down below, and you have a mission to complete. Don't forget that if we can't obtain concrete evidence, we'll be accused of attacking the envoy ourselves… Leave this guy to Kimimaro and me!"

Itachi spoke quickly, leaving Tora-jiro no chance to argue.

Without further delay, he dashed toward Ogasawara Uemon, weaving seals with one hand mid-run.

The second he opened his mouth, a Phoenix Flower Jutsu emerged, scattering small fireballs that forced Uemon to halt his pursuit of Kimimaro. It must be said that Ogasawara Uemon, a former samurai from the Land of Iron, was indeed formidable. His swordsmanship was lightning-fast, his strikes brutally forceful, and his attacks exceptionally aggressive.

Earlier, Kimimaro had been at a disadvantage in their clash. Due to his young age and still-developing body, he couldn't quite match Uemon in strength, resulting in his being knocked back.

Yet—

This only ignited Kimimaro's resolve.

"Itachi, don't use genjutsu. This guy's a worthy opponent! Let me take him on! I may not find another taijutsu specialist of his caliber anytime soon." Swordsmanship, as the ninja classified it, could fall under taijutsu, where Kimimaro excelled—though he preferred weaponry over hand-to-hand techniques.

Uniquely, however, his "weapon" wasn't a standard blade or staff—it was his bones.

He could control his bones in real-time to adjust them as needed, transforming them into swords, staves, whips, and other weaponry. Thus, he studied various sword, staff, spear, and whip techniques from the Uchiha archives, merging these methods through actual combat to form his own style.

"Don't underestimate him!" Itachi's crimson Sharingan eyes calmed as he refrained from ending the fight with a quick genjutsu. Since Kimimaro was intent on honing his skills against this opponent, he'd let him be, so long as the fight remained under control. From his observations, he'd concluded that their adversary's threat level was manageable.

While Uemon's swift draw-slash technique was indeed formidable—

It could take out most elite jonin before they even had a chance to cast jutsu. But swordsmanship alone was unlikely to surpass Kimimaro, an expert in taijutsu, who could likely meet Uemon head-to-head or even gain the upper hand. After all, genjutsu was often the Achilles' heel of taijutsu experts, and the Uchiha clan's genjutsu was the nightmare of all nightmares—a veritable emperor among nightmares.

Most ninja lacked the skill to counter Uchiha illusions. Soloing one in battle was generally avoided; taking them on two-to-one was considered standard.

"Don't worry! His technique isn't that much better than mine."

Kimimaro spoke with unwavering confidence.

This clearly riled Uemon. Despite fleeing from the Land of Iron, his dedication to swordsmanship was genuine. Otherwise, he wouldn't have mastered the draw-slash technique that only 95% of the Land of Iron's samurai could ever hope to achieve. Hearing the little brat insult his swordsmanship—and the other kid disregarding him entirely—brought a rare surge of fury to his heart.

"You brats are too cocky!"

With a roar, his massive blade sliced through the air.

With a clang, the blade struck the bone Kimimaro wielded. Already knowing his strength was no match, Kimimaro skillfully avoided a full-force clash, instead utilizing a counter-force technique he'd learned from the Uchiha library to deflect much of Uemon's strike.

Deflecting Uemon's blow, Kimimaro sprang into a counterattack, driving his knee up toward Uemon's thigh. A sharp white bone jutted from his knee, piercing his pants like a spear and pricking Uemon's leg.

At the last moment, Uemon used a step-shift technique derived from the ninja body flicker, narrowly avoiding Kimimaro's lethal strike. He was left with only a minor graze, hardly bleeding at all.