Under the hazy night sky of Great Wave Village.
Inside a dimly lit, firelit cottage.
Haruto Saito lay on a wooden bed, severely injured, his face filled with resentment as he glared sideways at Tsunade, who was treating his wounds. He deeply regretted trusting Tsunade's words. Could a woman's words ever be trusted?
Yes, he had been beaten up by Tsunade! And not just a light beating—it was brutal. It wasn't just spitting blood; it was much worse.
If he hadn't believed Tsunade's words and hadn't gotten close to her, he might have been able to escape. But he had trusted her, and she had grabbed his hand…
"You little brat, let's see if you dare mess around again!" Tsunade said fiercely as she continued to heal Haruto.
"You're going to lose your baby like this…" Haruto muttered weakly.
"Baby my foot!"
Tsunade dispersed the glowing light in her hands and slapped Haruto on the forehead. She then crossed her arms and tilted her chin up, saying, "Alright, you're healed. Get up! Stop pretending to be dead!"
"Crazy woman," Haruto mumbled, sitting up with a crooked smile. Suddenly, he sensed someone approaching and looked toward the window.
Tsunade also sensed it and quickly walked to the door, pushing it open.
Soon, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer entered the room. After Haruto had been beaten, Jiraiya and Orochimaru had gone to find someone—this man. As soon as he entered, he bowed to Tsunade and said respectfully, "Greetings, Lady Tsunade!"
Haruto had already changed his appearance before the man entered, putting on a mask.
**Name**: Oshima Koji.
**Identity**: A wandering samurai of the Land of Whirlpools and an informant for the Leaf's infiltration unit in the Land of Whirlpools.
**Reputation**: 7,890 points.
**Relationship**: Neutral.
**Trait**: Skilled at gathering intelligence under disguise.
He was an informant, not a Leaf ninja, but a wandering samurai with extraordinary strength. It was impressive that the Leaf's infiltration unit had managed to recruit someone of his caliber as an informant. Of course, this also had to do with the Leaf's wealth.
The work of an informant was similar to a hired mission—providing important intelligence in exchange for money from the Leaf.
An informant who could directly interact with Tsunade and the others must have already gained the complete trust of the infiltration unit. He had likely been serving the Leaf for several years. If he were a ninja, he might have already been absorbed into the Leaf Village as an official ninja. But since he was a samurai, the Leaf wouldn't actively recruit him.
"This is the intelligence you requested. This part was collected by me personally, and this part was sent by a friend of mine from the east," Oshima Koji said as he walked to the table, pulling out a scroll from his robe and unrolling it to point at the contents.
Tsunade and the other two gathered around the table.
Haruto also leaned over to take a look. The scroll contained information about the Hidden Mist's infiltration unit.
Were Tsunade and the others here to take out the Hidden Mist's infiltration unit?
Haruto frowned and glanced at Tsunade.
Infiltration units were notoriously hard to find. They blended into the mundane world, appearing no different from ordinary people. Just as the Leaf had an infiltration unit in the Land of Whirlpools, so did the Hidden Mist. Infiltration units were extremely secretive, often operating on a need-to-know basis. Even Tsunade and the others, who had come to the Land of Whirlpools, probably only had contact with a few members of the infiltration unit.
In the Leaf, aside from the Hokage, perhaps only the ANBU captain, White Fang, would have access to the detailed list of the infiltration unit.
That said, while infiltration units were mysterious, their overall combat strength wasn't high. After all, they weren't meant to engage in battles—their role was to gather intelligence and develop informants.
So why were Tsunade and the others assigned this mission?
Wasn't it a waste?
Finding the Hidden Mist's infiltration unit would take a lot of time, and the enemy wasn't particularly strong. Using Tsunade and the others for this mission felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
"Do you really need to take care of the Hidden Mist's infiltration unit yourselves?" Haruto couldn't help but ask.
Tsunade glanced at Haruto but remained expressionless and silent.
"According to intelligence, there's a high-ranking figure from the Hidden Mist Village hiding within the infiltration unit in the Land of Whirlpools," Jiraiya casually replied. "He's our target! Moreover, it's said that this high-ranking figure personally led the infiltration unit's operations, and the sudden invasion of the Land of Whirlpools by the Hidden Mist's vanguard force is also related to something within the Land of Whirlpools…"
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade suddenly interrupted him.
Jiraiya immediately fell silent.
"You talk too much," Tsunade said, giving Jiraiya a look.
Haruto looked at Tsunade and muttered something under his breath, likely a curse.
"This has nothing to do with you. Don't ask unnecessary questions!" Tsunade said to Haruto, glaring at him.
Oshima Koji took note of Haruto's height, build, and his unique heterochromatic eyes. He could guess that Haruto was likely a young ANBU ninja.
After Tsunade and the others finished reviewing the intelligence, Oshima Koji was about to leave.
"Wait a moment, Mr. Oshima," Tsunade called out to him. "I have a task to entrust to you."
"Lady Tsunade, please go ahead," Oshima Koji said immediately.
"Him! His ANBU codename is Akaito," Tsunade pointed at Haruto. "He's injured. I need you to escort him to the western border and take him to the Leaf military camp. Any problems?"
Oshima Koji glanced at Haruto and nodded. "No problem!"
"The payment will be settled with the infiltration unit," Tsunade added.
"Hey, hey, hey! What injury? I can walk on my own, okay? Do you really need to do this? Are you having someone babysit me?" Haruto protested.
"You're not injured?" Tsunade glanced at Haruto, her hand on the table forming a fist.
"I am! I'm injured!" Haruto nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
He couldn't say he wasn't injured, or Tsunade would make sure he was!
"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted lightly, gathered the intelligence scroll from the table, and tossed it to Jiraiya. She tapped the table and said, "Let's go!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The three figures vanished from the room in an instant. Tsunade didn't have time to deal with Haruto, or she would have personally escorted him out of the Land of Whirlpools.
"Akaito-san, let's go to my place first. We'll set off in the morning," Oshima Koji said to Haruto.
"Yeah, sure," Haruto replied indifferently.
He would play along for now, but he definitely planned to sneak away. He hadn't dug up the treasure in the Land of Whirlpools yet! But escaping wasn't urgent. He had originally planned to rest in Great Wave Village anyway.
******
The night was silent.
More than two hours had passed since Tsunade and the others had left. Haruto had moved to a new resting place with Oshima Koji.
East of Great Wave Village, in the forest.
A ferocious ninja hound led seven figures as they charged forward. In the distance, Great Wave Village was just coming into view.
"The target is in the village!" the ninja hound, Kuro, said in a low voice as they ran. "We're getting close!"
"Prepare for battle!" Momochi Akahara roared, pulling the Executioner's Blade from his back. His eyes gleamed with brutality. "We can't let him escape!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kuro and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist didn't bother to conceal their presence. They charged straight into Great Wave Village, leaping across rooftops as they rapidly approached a mansion deep within the village.