Curse Mark: Brain Insertion Technique

"Zhu Kangping, what do you need him for?"

Shinda smiled ingratiatingly at those words.

"Lord Hanzō, I think this child is exceptionally clever and quick-witted. He'd be an excellent choice for infiltration.

If we assign him to the Land of Earth's Iwagakure, the village that poses the greatest threat to us, he'll definitely be able to establish an intelligence network quickly."

What he was really thinking was that sending Rinto far away would mean no one could compete with him for favor. And getting rid of Rinto would serve multiple purposes.

If Rinto did the job well, then he could keep doing it, as long as he stayed out of Lord Hanzō's sight.

If Rinto was exposed and captured, then Iwagakure could be used to kill that annoying little brat.

Even if he escaped after being exposed and returned to Amegakure, he would be disliked, rejected, or even loathed by Lord Hanzō for failing his mission.

At that moment, Hanzo of the Salamander, overwhelmed by his troubles, did not notice Shinda's scheming at all. After considering it briefly, he realized that Rinto truly had the makings of a spy. Besides, the boy had little talent for cultivation, so having him contribute something to the village could be considered making use of waste.

With that thought, Hanzo of the Salamander nodded slightly and ordered, "Bring Zhu Kangping and Mizuguma to me!"

After quite some time, Mizuguma and Rinto, who had only recently parted ways, gathered in Hanzo's office and stared wide-eyed at each other.

There was no trace of drunkenness left in Mizuguma. He stared expressionlessly at his feet, having returned to his usual grave and proper demeanor.

Rinto stared at Mizuguma, who was pretending to be proper, and clicked his tongue in amazement. It was hard to imagine that not long ago, this guy had been cutting loose at the Amei Free Information Office, shouting about celebrating his little sister's birthday.

Perhaps Rinto's burning stare made him uncomfortable all over. Mizuguma slowly raised his head and gave Rinto an awkward smile uglier than crying. His eyes signaled, This is Lord Hanzō's office. Stop staring at me! If you keep staring, I'll break out in a rash!

Rinto understood Mizuguma's meaning and blinked to indicate that he got it, then stopped looking him over.

Hanzo sat behind his broad desk, watching the two living treasures exchange looks, and was rendered utterly speechless.

Once upon a time, Mizuguma had been such a serious and sensible person. Who would have thought that after hanging around Rinto for less than half a month, he had already learned to make faces right in front of him?

Thinking of that, Hanzo became even more determined to send this little rascal far, far away!

With a light cough, Rinto and Mizuguma immediately stood ramrod straight.

"Here's the situation. The village has decided to send a group of clever and agile children to the Five Great Nations as undercover agents. Zhu Kangping, as my disciple, you are the natural choice for this dangerous mission.

Let's settle it, then. Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, the village that threatens us the most, will be yours."

Hanzo of the Salamander waved a hand and decided Rinto's destination.

Huh?

Rinto froze.

You want me to be an informant? A traitor?! A turncoat?!

And in that godforsaken Land of Earth?

Rinto instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he saw the killing intent hidden in Hanzo of the Salamander's gaze, the words reached his lips, took a turn, and slipped back down.

"Um, Lord Hanzō." Rinto hunched his neck and spoke tentatively. Seeing that Hanzo of the Salamander did not stop him, he gathered his courage and continued.

"I fully accept the organization's arrangements. It's just... could I make one small request?"

"Speak!"

"Um, could I go to Konoha instead? I... I rather... um... hate Konoha!"

He had originally wanted to say he liked Konoha, but then he reconsidered. He was representing Amegakure as a traitor—how could he possibly like Konoha?

Mizuguma, apparently thinking of something, hurriedly raised his head and wanted to speak, only to be immediately forced back by Shinda's threatening glare from behind Hanzo.

"Fine!" Hanzo of the Salamander declared decisively.

At those words, both Rinto and Shinda rejoiced inwardly.

Rinto was happy because he could finally go on an official business trip to the legendary Konoha.

Shinda, meanwhile, thought of Konoha's Yamanaka Clan.

For undercover agents, neither Wood Release, the Sharingan, nor the Byakugan posed a greater danger than the Yamanaka Clan. This clan handled Konoha's counterintelligence work.

Simply put, every member of the Yamanaka Clan was a natural member of the anti-traitor alliance. This also meant that being a traitor in Konoha was far harder than in other villages, especially if one wanted to rise into the upper ranks. That was practically impossible.

But to Shinda, that was good news. If he had not been worried that Lord Hanzō would suspect him, he would have arranged for Rinto to go to the most dangerous place of all—Konoha—long ago.

"Zhu Kangping, good luck. The village will remember your contributions!"

After saying that, Hanzo waved his hand.

Rinto nodded, then turned and left.

Once Rinto was dealt with, Hanzo of the Salamander turned his gaze toward Mizuguma.

"Mizuguma!"

"Yes, Lord Hanzō!"

"I have a mission for you. Over the next week, you will be responsible for training twelve children, including Zhu Kangping. The training will cover infiltration as undercover agents."

"Yes!" Mizuguma nodded solemnly, standing perfectly straight.

Seeing that Mizuguma still looked dependable, Hanzo nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand to signal for Mizuguma to leave.

Yet Mizuguma remained where he was without moving.

"What is it? Is there something else?" Seeing that Mizuguma had not left, Hanzo's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as he asked.

Mizuguma looked at Hanzo of the Salamander with a complicated expression, seeming to want to speak but holding back.

"Lord Hanzō, you said we should protect the village, protect the children in the village..." Mizuguma stopped halfway through, then changed his wording and continued.

"My lord, I don't think children have the ability to carry out missions. Setting aside the fact that their values are immature and they can easily be turned, the most important ability for undercover agents is an extremely strong capacity to endure psychological pressure. Most adults can't even manage that, let alone immature children!"

After saying that, his expression abruptly changed from one of righteous resolve to timid hesitation.

It was not really his fault. He had been a child rescued by Hanzo of the Salamander, and he instinctively feared this benefactor.

The fact that he could withstand such enormous pressure and say so much today already counted as firm conviction and exceptional performance.

Hanzo of the Salamander stared blankly at the child he had pulled from among piles of corpses. He had never expected the child who had once feared him so deeply to suddenly become so bold.

But in the blink of an eye, that little brat from back then had grown so much!

For a moment, Hanzo of the Salamander actually lost himself in thought.

But he was, after all, the leader of a village and a Kage-level powerhouse. He recovered in an instant, and all softness vanished from his face as he returned to an expressionless state.

"Look at this."

As he spoke, he tossed out a bundle of scrolls.

Mizuguma stepped forward, picked up the scrolls, and began reading through them at a glance.

The more he read, the more obvious the anger on his face became.

"Those damned attackers! They actually dared to openly invade the Intelligence Department and brazenly sell information about our village! We should capture them, tie them to rocks, and throw them into a lake to drown!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Hanzo of the Salamander watched Mizuguma bristle with rage and nodded inwardly in satisfaction.

"If it were you, and all the undercover agents had been sacrificed, what would you do?"

"Um..." Faced with Hanzo's question, Mizuguma fell silent at once, his expression becoming incomparably complicated.

"My lord, I... I don't know."

At that answer, which was hardly an answer at all, disappointment flashed through Hanzo of the Salamander's eyes. He took back the scrolls and waved his hand.

Mizuguma understood. With hesitant steps, he turned and left.

Meanwhile, Shinda led Rinto into a hidden chamber.

The chamber was not large, but it looked similar to the laboratory in the Jashin Cult's underground base.

At its center stood a stone platform the size of a single bed, while researchers hurried back and forth around it.

Chains covered in dark red rust hung around the stone platform.

It seemed these people had done plenty of inhumane experiments in secret.

After all, those chains were most likely not for locking up pigs, but people.

On the stone platform lay a boy with his eyes tightly shut and his mouth forcibly pried open. Two men dressed as shinobi were working on the boy's tongue.

"Do you know what that is?" Shinda's teasing voice sounded from behind him.

Rinto shook his head with an innocent expression.

Seeing Rinto's foolish look, Shinda curled his lips into a cruel smile. He hooked an arm around Rinto's shoulders and led him over to the stone platform.

"This is a Cursed Seal, and one of the strongest Cursed Seals in our village!"

Rinto said nothing. Instead, he watched the two operators' movements with great interest. He was in no hurry anyway; Shinda had brought him here to scare him and satisfy his strange pleasure.

To be honest, Rinto had known from the beginning that this guy named Shinda held hostility toward him.

As for why Shinda was hostile, Rinto could not figure it out. But it did not matter. He had long since sentenced this guy to death in his heart. Once his divine art was complete, Shinda would be the first person he kicked to death!

When Shinda saw that Rinto was neither afraid nor anxious, but instead looked like a curious child, he immediately felt as if his punch had landed on empty air.

"Hmph, brat, enjoy yourself while you can. When it's your turn later, you'll have plenty to cry about!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the strange raindrop symbol on the boy's tongue and explained viciously.

"This is called the Curse Mark: Brain Insertion Technique! Its purpose is to make sure little brats like you keep your mouths shut!

The moment your mind is controlled, or you reveal any intelligence about Amegakure, the Cursed Seal will activate.

And then!"

At that point, Shinda paused, then suddenly spread his hand wide in an explosive gesture.

"Boom!"

"The Cursed Seal will instantly scramble your brain, turning all your brains into mush!"

Secretly, Rinto rolled his eyes. Then he clutched his chest and forced an expression of terror onto his face.

"Damn brat, it scrambles your brain, not your heart."

"Huh?" Rinto froze, immediately lowered the hand covering his chest, and covered his head instead.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just used to clutching my chest."

Seeing the perfunctory expression on Rinto's face, Shinda only felt that this child was utterly unbearable!

Soon, the boy on the stone platform was carried away, and the two operators moved to restrain Rinto and begin the procedure.

Just then, Rinto hurriedly raised a hand to stop them, then turned to Shinda.

"Lord Shinda, can I make a small request?"

At those words, Shinda recalled the request Rinto had made in Lord Hanzō's office and readily agreed.

"Bring me a bucket of water and a cup of water."

Hearing this strange request, the operators looked at Shinda in embarrassment. Shinda also wanted to know what trick Rinto was playing, so he gave them a look and told them to do as asked.

Before long, a bucket of water and a cup of water were brought over. Rinto pointed at the water in the bucket and ordered, "You two. Yes, you two. Go wash your hands."

The moment the words fell, Shinda and the two operators looked at one another, their faces instantly turning black as the bottom of a pot.

But the water had already been brought over. What else could they do? They had to wash.

After washing their hands, one operator pulled out a thick syringe and prepared to inject Rinto with anesthetic.

"Don't!" Rinto immediately jumped up and hurriedly spoke up to refuse.

What a joke. With his physique, let alone anesthetic, even powerful poison could not knock him out. Wouldn't that expose him like dumplings tossed into cold water?

"Don't, don't give me anesthetic. I'm willingly making sacrifices for the village. Can it still be called voluntary if I get anesthetic?"

As he spoke, he snatched the anesthetic from the operator and casually jabbed it into Shinda's leg, where Shinda was watching the show.

"You little—"

Before Shinda could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Looking at Shinda collapsed on the ground, Rinto covered his mouth in horror and muttered softly, "This stuff is really strong!"

Soon, without Shinda's interference, the Cursed Seal implantation was completed.

After sticking out his tongue for so long, Rinto's first reaction was not to inspect it. Instead, he picked up the cup of water beside him, gargled loudly, then casually spat the mouthwash onto Shinda, who was lying nearby.

Looking at the two operators with faces black as charcoal, Rinto timidly scratched his head.

"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't saying you two are dirty.

I meant everyone here is dirty!"