Chance Encounter with Spies

On his way back, Naruto thought, Sigh, poor Rock Lee. I hope that in this life, he can fulfill his dream. If he can open more than six of the Eight Inner Gates, he can become quite a powerful ninja.

But you took over my training spot. I'll definitely settle this score with you someday. For now, I'll let you off, you poor kid.

Let's see what good stuff Rock Lee brought me. Naruto entered the system to check his rewards.

"Congratulations, Host. You have completed the task and achieved victory in your battle against Rock Lee."

"Congratulations, Host. You have received the Konoha Basic Taijutsu Compendium!"

"Hey, hey, hey, System, did you mess up? I have so much Chakra now, and my body is so strong. You should be giving me some ninjutsu to learn. I barely know any powerful ninjutsu right now. What a waste of all this Chakra!"

The Konoha Basic Taijutsu Compendium was useful, yet not particularly useful.

It included Konoha Whirlwind: a continuous taijutsu attack combining a high kick and a low kick.

Konoha Strong Whirlwind: a spinning back kick delivered with astonishing speed and power.

Konoha Gale: a spinning low kick.

Konoha Great Whirlwind: a high-speed continuous taijutsu attack that began with a low kick, switched to a high kick during rapid rotation, and finished with a heel strike.

Konoha Rising Wind: kicking the opponent into the air before performing a spinning kick in midair. The Lion Combo was similar to it.

And most importantly, Konoha's ultimate taijutsu secret technique, the Thousand Years of Death!

A number of basic taijutsu techniques flooded into Naruto's mind.

Naruto had originally relied purely on his physical strength in battle. He did not actually know any proper taijutsu, yet he could still easily crush Rock Lee.

Now that Naruto had learned taijutsu, Rock Lee might not even be able to get close to him!

"These taijutsu techniques are still somewhat useful! Better than nothing!"

Naruto had originally planned to head toward the other side of the Small Forest and train somewhere far away from Rock Lee.

After all, his method of training with Shadow Clones was too shocking. If Konoha's ninjas discovered it, they would definitely keep an eye on him and report it to Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He did not want to be surrounded and attacked by a bunch of Konoha ninjas. If his identity were exposed, that would be troublesome!

As he walked, Naruto suddenly noticed voices conversing on the other side of the forest.

It was so late, and this place was so remote. Something had to be wrong!

Naruto hid in a small patch of grass and rapidly formed Hand Seals.

Mind's Eye of the Kagura, activate!

With the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he could clearly sense two Middle-aged Men talking.

The Mind's Eye of the Kagura could also see the amount of Chakra inside someone's body. Judging from their Chakra reserves, these two should be around chunin level!

"What's going on? Why did you make me wait so long? Why did it take so long to contact me about this intelligence?" one Middle-aged Man asked.

"Come on, it's not like you don't know. Konoha's ninjas patrol all the time. Gathering intelligence is already difficult enough, and sending it out safely is even more troublesome!"

"Konoha is crawling with ninjas. There's the Anbu, the Root division, and even ninjas from many major clans wandering the streets. At night, the Uchiha Clan's Konoha Military Police Force patrols too. One careless mistake, and they'll discover that we have Chakra!"

"Alright, alright, I know it hasn't been easy for you. You didn't bring a tail with you, did you?" the other Middle-aged Man interrupted his complaints and asked cautiously.

"Don't worry. Putting aside everything else, my countertracking skills were top-notch back in the village!"

"Of course I trust your abilities. Good. Hand over this intelligence quickly. The village sent word that Konoha's security has tightened recently. The next exchange will be in a month, at the same time. Remember it well. If you miss the agreed time, I'll wait another month."

"If no message arrives after two months, the village will assume that you've been captured."

"Alright, alright, the intelligence is all here. Stop cursing me already. I know all this. Take the intelligence and get out of here. The longer we stay, the more likely something will go wrong."

One of the Middle-aged Men pulled a scroll from his clothes and was about to hand it to the other.

Naruto had overheard their entire conversation and naturally understood that they were spies sent by another hidden village to gather intelligence in Konoha. But should he make a move?

If he pretended not to see anything, it did not seem like it would affect him at all.

The one losing out from Konoha's intelligence being sold was Hiruzen Sarutobi. What did it have to do with Uzumaki Naruto?

He would still receive his allowance, still eat his ramen, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would still have to obediently pay for it!

With that thought, Naruto prepared to quietly leave. Less trouble was better.

"Ding. System Quest issued. Host, kill the two spies and recover the Intelligence Scroll!"

Naruto had just begun to move when the System suddenly popped up to make its presence known.

"Fine. Looks like I have no choice but to make a move this time!"

Since the System had issued a quest, Naruto could only do as it said for the reward.

As Naruto's first battle since arriving in this world, he naturally had to make it spectacular!

He first used the Transformation Jutsu, taking on the appearance of a passerby he had seen by the roadside.

He quietly created a Shadow Clone, then had it use the Transformation Jutsu to become a small rabbit. It hopped into the nearby Small Forest, making a faint noise.

"Who's there?!" The two highly tense men immediately turned toward the sound in unison.

At the same time, they each drew a kunai from their Ninja Tool Pouches.

They exchanged a glance, and one of them slowly threw out a kunai.

The rabbit transformed from Naruto's Shadow Clone darted out from the grass, hopping away to the side.

"That scared me to death. I thought we'd been discovered!"

"Exactly. We scared ourselves!" The tension in their nerves instantly eased.

With the Transformation Jutsu, Naruto's Shadow Clone had become a lifelike little rabbit, its movements light and swift.

It successfully drew the two spies' attention. After that brief moment of tension, their nerves relaxed, unaware that this was part of Naruto's plan.

The moment the two were distracted, Naruto's real body shot toward them like an arrow released from a bow, approaching without a sound.

His body almost blended into the surroundings beneath the night sky. With the Uzumaki Clan bloodline, Uchiha Clan bloodline, and Senju Clan bloodline fully fused together, Naruto's speed was exceptionally fast!

Although the two spies had lowered their guard, Naruto's movements still made a faint sound.

Years of experience made them react the instant they sensed something unusual.

They spun around, the kunai in their hands ready to be thrown.

However, Naruto was faster.

His body erupted with astonishing power in an instant as he unleashed a Konoha Whirlwind directly at one of them.

The kick contained tremendous power and moved so fast that it was difficult to react.

That spy only had time to raise his arm to block, but Naruto's kick sent him flying into a large tree with a heavy crash.

Seeing this, the other spy immediately realized the severity of the situation.

There was no time to check on his companion. In this situation, he could only prioritize saving himself. If he could not defeat Naruto, he would have to find a way to escape with the scroll.

That was how ninjas were—they measured everything by whether the mission was completed!

He quickly retreated while pulling out several Shuriken from his Ninja Tool Pouch, preparing to counterattack.

But the one he faced was Naruto, a ninja with powerful Chakra and taijutsu.

Naruto gave him no opportunity. His body suddenly vanished during his high-speed movement, and in the next moment, he was already behind the spy.

A Konoha Strong Whirlwind tore through the air and viciously struck the back of the man's neck.

The spy did not even have time to make a sound before collapsing limply to the ground.

Naruto stood between the two spies who had lost their ability to fight and carefully examined their condition.

It seemed his strength had been too great. He had knocked both of them unconscious.

He quickly searched their bodies and found the scroll containing the intelligence.

He placed the scroll into the system, intending to examine its contents after he returned.

As for handing it over to Konoha? He had snatched it through his own ability, so why should he return it? It was all their own intelligence anyway. What was wrong with taking a look?

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly sensed a powerful Chakra fluctuation.

Could there be another expert?

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