Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Intelligence!
Bonus Chapter For 500 PS ✅✨
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After entering the Land of Rivers, following Konoha's intelligence, Shūichi Hoshita and his team found a cave on a mountain. It seemed to have been inhabited in the past.
"Judging by the traces, it's been at least a month since someone was here," Shisui Uchiha observed.
Shūichi scanned the cave and then volunteered, "Minato-sensei, I'll go check outside."
Minato Namikaze nodded, "Sanyō, go with Shūichi."
Sanyō Kurama quickly nodded, "Yes, Minato-sensei."
The two of them left the cave to investigate the surrounding area.
Before long, Shūichi reached the top of the mountain and gazed southward.
He raised an eyebrow and then took a monocular from his backpack to look down at the valley. "There's a village down there…"
"There are a lot of people, but the fields seem somewhat neglected."
Shūichi frowned slightly. He noticed women and elderly people working in the fields but didn't see any young, able-bodied men.
Looking closer at the village, there were children playing around, and occasionally, he could spot a few young men.
"Are they just lazy?"
Shūichi put away the monocular, met up with Sanyō Kurama, and then rejoined Minato to report what he had discovered.
Minato asked, "Shūichi, do you suspect there's something unusual about that village?"
Shūichi nodded, "The information leading us to this hideout wasn't baseless. This place was likely a hideout for rogue ninjas, but it's now abandoned."
"And conveniently, there's a village just below. In fact, this would be an ideal location for a hideout."
Sanyō added, "Judging by the traces around here, someone did live here for a long time."
It's impossible for all signs of life to vanish within just a few months unless someone meticulously cleaned up, but it's clear that wasn't the case.
Everyone understood Shūichi's point. If this hideout belonged to rogue ninjas or bandits, then the village below might have been under their control in the past, possibly paying them tribute.
This village could be a valuable source of information.
"Indeed, the village is a good place to gather intel," Minato concluded, making a quick decision. "We'll start our investigation with the village."
Sanyō suggested, "The simplest method would be to bring someone back here and use genjutsu to interrogate them."
Both he and Shisui had the skills to do so—direct and straightforward!
However, Shūichi offered an alternative, "Perhaps we could gather information in a more discreet manner."
Minato and Shisui understood Shūichi's underlying concern—that the village might be more complicated than it seemed, possibly with ties to external forces.
After all, they had previously speculated that Sunagakure might be involved.
Shisui added, "If we want to collect information covertly, it would be best to wait until nighttime."
Entering during the day, even with a transformation jutsu, could easily raise suspicion.
After all, gathering intel discreetly requires subtlety.
Directly questioning the villagers would be too risky. A stranger entering the village would immediately arouse suspicion.
Sneaking in at night, using genjutsu when everyone is asleep, would leave minimal traces, most of which the villagers would likely dismiss as a dream.
Minato immediately decided, "Then we'll wait until nightfall to infiltrate the village."
Shūichi then suggested, "Minato-sensei, maybe we could first familiarize ourselves with the village in a simpler way."
Minato, Shisui, and Sanyō all turned to Shūichi.
Shūichi smiled, and in the next moment, he transformed into a black cat.
Minato Namikaze immediately recognized the black cat—it was the same stray cat from their first mission a few days ago.
Shisui Uchiha's eyes lit up as he smiled, "Shūichi's idea is indeed clever. A stray cat in this area shouldn't raise any suspicions."
Minato nodded with a smile, "That's true."
Meanwhile, Shūichi Hoshita felt a bit strange inside because he had just triggered a new tag.
Tag: Transformation Master
Condition to Obtain: Achieve 100 different forms of transformations, meeting the required standards.
Effect: Able to change into countless forms; transform into a bird to fly, a fish to swim.
The effect was impressive, but the difficulty was also daunting. Humans count as one form, and cats as another.
He had already met the requirements for the human form, but not for the cat. While his cat form had no visible flaws, his lack of knowledge about feline behavior could easily expose him.
But in reality, just achieving 100 different transformations forms was already an extraordinary feat.
Releasing the Transformation Jutsu, Shūichi turned to Shisui with a smile, "Shisui, you probably know cats better than I do."
Minato also looked at Shisui, "Shisui, I'll leave this task to you."
"Understood!" Shisui nodded.
Minato then turned to Sanyō Kurama, "Sanyō, you'll be responsible for supporting Shisui."
Sanyō quickly responded, "Yes, Minato-sensei."
Shisui and Sanyō immediately set off.
However, instead of entering the village right away, Shisui transformed into a stray cat and moved through the forest, quickly finding a group of raccoons.
Shisui then transformed into a raccoon and mingled with the group, allowing himself to pick up the scent of the wild raccoons.
The drawbacks of the ordinary Transformation Jutsu are numerous—not only in chakra but also in scent, which is difficult to alter. Shisui compensated for this by using alternative methods.
Shūichi observed this and couldn't help but silently give Shisui a thumbs up. He had learned something valuable.
If he wanted to unlock the [Transformation Master] tag, mastering animal transformations would be a significant advantage.
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Back in the cave, Shūichi practiced using senbon needles, and before he knew it, it was already noon.
Shisui and Sanyō returned together.
"Minato-sensei, Shūichi's earlier speculation was completely correct," Shisui reported, clearly astonished, and then relayed the gathered information.
Although it was just bits of overheard conversation, they had confirmed that the village below housed two rogue ninjas who also led the bandits.
Almost all the able-bodied men in the village were their subordinates.
Moreover, the two rogue ninjas indeed had a source of intelligence. They were scheduled to meet their contact tonight, with plans to act the following day.
After Shisui finished his report, the cave fell into silence.
The village was a bandit stronghold, responsible for significant harm to the Land of Fire. Revenge seemed inevitable.
But it was still a village.
Would they target only those who had raided the Land of Fire, or would they root out the problem entirely?
"What a messed-up world..."
Shūichi sighed inwardly.
He had heard of similar situations in his previous life, but now, faced with the reality—if he were to seek revenge in the village, would he kill everyone or just the able-bodied men? Would he carry that burden in his heart?
Minato's gaze swept over the three of them before he said, "For now, we won't concern ourselves with the village. We'll split into two teams to keep an eye on those rogue ninjas."
"Yes, Minato-sensei!" The three of them quickly composed themselves and responded in unison.
Shūichi and Minato formed one team, while Shisui and Sanyō formed the other, and they began closely monitoring the village.
It was a long process.
By late night, the two rogue ninjas finally left the village and headed west.
Shūichi and the others immediately followed, keeping a safe distance behind.
(End of Chapter)
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