Chapter 22: Bandits
After traveling for a while with the old man, he told me a bit about himself, he was a farmer that worked far from Kumogakure. He lived in a secluded place because the land of Lightning wasn't flat land, which made it hard to farm on.
So the only place to farm, was over on the eastern side where the land was a little flatter. He grew potatoes and other vegetables and planned to sell them in Kumogakure.
I also told him my made-up story about coming from a small town, and that I was traveling to explore the world. I didn't reveal the fact that I was a shinobi, as I was planning to use this guy as my ticket into Kumogakure.
If I revealed that I was a shinobi, they might want to do a background check to make sure I'm not a spy or a threat to the village, and that could be annoying.
"So what are you doing out here if you aren't a shinobi then," I asked the old cart owner.
"Ha well I have just come to deliver food to sell into the village, I also don't worry about my safety because I have protection from some of the higher-ups of the village, so I'm sure nobody would be stupid enough to come after me or my goods" he replied with a small chuckle.
'I can't see any protection around him' Izuna thought, "how come I can't see any people protecting you".
"Oh they wouldn't send ninja to protect me, they don't need to, ha if anyone attacks me the village would find out and track them down, so this is why nobody would bother to go after a farmer being protected by the village" he sounded absolutely confident "besides I've been doing this for years and I haven't had a problem".
Then he proceeded to show me a scroll "this scroll is proof of my protection of the higher-ups, once activated it would send a distress signal to them, and they would send people to help".
"I see" I talked with the old farmer and tried to find out any information regarding Kumogakure, after all, I didn't want to walk into any trouble.
He lived in a secluded area to farm his crops so he didn't know much of what was going on in the world, besides he only came to the village once a year, to deliver his crops so he didn't get much news. He wasn't too much help, but I was still grateful for the old man giving me a ride into the village, this way I could save at least a day traveling.
We traveled on for two days, making stops along some of the smaller towns along the way to eat and sleep. On the third day we set off again, we only had two more days until we reached Kumogakure, but then something unexpected happened.
I was lying on the top of a sack of potatoes which was surprisingly a comfy bed, I was currently bathing in the sun enjoying the peace. Until I sensed five people laying in wait, a little further down the road.
Four of them we ordinary people, and one had self-taught himself to use chakra to strengthen his body. They weren't a threat, probably just weak bandits.
I didn't say anything as I didn't want to expose myself, because then it would be harder to enter Kumogakure if the old man realized I was a shinobi. So I didn't show any signs that I knew they were there.
As we approached them, they all jumped out of the forest from where they were hiding and stopped the cart. The old man was confused as to why the cart stopped, sat up, and looked towards the five bandits.
"Hey, what are you doing, get off the road," the old man said with an irritated voice, "do you not understand what your doing".
One of the bigger guys from the group stepped up, "ha of course we do, so why don't you do us a favor and let us kill you," he said.
I jumped down from the cart and stood beside the old man.
The old many then said "ha well you obviously don't know who you're messing with" he opened up the scroll and showed it to them from afar, "this is the proof that I have protection from the higher-ups from Kumogakure".
They looked at it and laughed "Ahah, do you think they even have the time to deal with some nobody farmer like you, especially now, aha".
"Huh what do you mean," the old man asked.
"What you haven't heard, we will be going to join the war soon, heh so why would they care about some backwater farmer," the group leader said with a smirk.
"Wait what, war, what do you mean" the old man started to panic.
'Oh a war, this is some unexpected news judging from his reaction. I might have to find out more' I thought.
"Ha well there's no point in telling two dead men, it would be just a waste of time" he obviously had no intention of talking.
'Hmm so he's not going to talk, well I can't let him kill my ticket into Kumogakure, so I guess I have no choice but to interfere, I just won't reveal myself' I activated my Sharingan but hid it under a Genjutsu so if they looked at me they would just see my normal black eyes.
I planned to create a Genjutsu and control them into leaving, I planned to get more information out of them later. I didn't need to look them in the eyes to create my Genjutsu, but I used my voice.
"I don't think you guys understand, if you target the supplies that are going to the shinobi on the front lines, then they would definitely come after you to make sure that it doesn't happen again" as I said this, I used my voice as the medium to control their chakra flow.
"H-hey boss he's r-right you know," one of them said as he was being controlled by me.
I had to make it believable that they retreated by themselves otherwise the old man might suspect something. So I made them argue for a bit.
"Tch, damn you two, let's go we can't afford to offend the higher-ups," the leader said, before running back into the forest.
The old man let out a sigh, how could he not, he was sure they might've actually attacked him if not for me intervening.
"Thanks, if you didn't come up with that quick lie, then I'm sure they would've attacked," he said to me with a genuine smile.
"Oh don't worry old man, I didn't want to die either," I replied with a smile, I had to play the part of being a weak, ordinary man.
After that, we carried on with our journey and stopped in a small town for the night.
"Hey old man I'm just going to wander around the town, don't worry I won't get lost or stay out too long," I said with a smile before turning and walking away from the parked cart.
"Heh, I miss being younger and having the same excitement in exploring new places," he said with a small chuckle.
I walked into the small town, took a left down a small alley, and made sure nobody saw me. 'Romanji: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu' I said in my mind and created a clone of myself. I then used Shunshin, to exit the town and reach a secluded place, while my clone proceeded to wander the town.
Then after a few minutes, the leader of the bandit group came to me. I didn't control the rest as the leader would be the one with all the information. Also because the other four wouldn't be able to keep up with the cart as they weren't shinobi.
I then dispelled the Genjutsu, he was shocked and confused but I activated my Mangekyou Sharingan and took him into my Tsukuyomi. I could control what he did and said with my Genjutsu but I wouldn't be able to get him to talk about things he knew if he wasn't in control of his body.
*In the Tsukuyomi*
"Ahhh, where am I, what's going on" the man yelled as he was roped to a wooden cross.
"Don't bother asking such pointless questions" I replied behind him.
"W-who are you, show yourself" the man was starting to panic because he knew that the odds weren't in his favor.
"I'm the one asking questions, now let's begin, tell me all that you know about the war happening at the moment," I asked stabbing a katana into him.
"AHHHHhhhhh…
*Back in the real world*
I dispelled the Tsukuyomi, the man in front of me slumped to the floor, his eyes were white with small red veins running upwards, and he had foam around his mouth.
I touched my eyes and thought 'the more I use them the better they become and the less strain I have on my body. The first time I used it on Jigen I could only hold him there for about three days, but now I can probably make it last for five days max before my chakra is depleted'.
I didn't actually get to test my full capability because the dead man in front of me only lasted about five hours, and that was with me holding back and asking questions.
That was to be expected though, as he wasn't a proper shinobi. The only trick he could do was activate his genin level chakra to strengthen his body, even the army of Kumogakure wouldn't want him.
That's probably why he made a living off robbing weak travelers that are heading into the village. His self-taught skills could never match a proper shinobi.
Anyways, even though he was weak, I still got some of the information I needed, I didn't get everything because he was a nobody and wasn't told too much about the war. I guess that all he had heard was rumors about the war from other people. So I still had to verify this information.
After I removed all trace of me and him being here I returned to the town and swapped places with my clone, then dispelling him.
I went back to the old man and set made my bed beside the cart. We didn't rent a room in a hotel because we both didn't have the money to. The only reason why we took detours to these small towns every night, is for protection.
We could have slept out on the main road to the village, but it wouldn't be safe, as people might sneak up on us and either steal from the old man or even worse. Obviously, I would be able to sense and stop them, but I didn't want to reveal myself.
After clearing my head from my thoughts, I went to sleep.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone