A Bath in the River of Forgetfulness

Rinto carefully tucked away the banknotes, then roughly tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and began reading it casually.

The letter was short, but its contents were substantial enough to make Rinto's eye twitch.

At the beginning, it briefly praised Rinto's actions, saying that he had successfully infiltrated Konoha and should keep up the good work.

Then, in an extremely casual tone, it assigned Rinto several tasks.

The first was to gather intelligence on the Konoha High Council.

Never mind whether he could do it—the danger alone was extraordinary.

Even if Rinto's identity had not been exposed, this would still be an extremely difficult and dangerous task. Yet Hanzo of the Salamander's casual tone in the letter made it seem as though he did not care whether Rinto lived or died.

The second task was for Hanzo of the Salamander to have Rinto stir up hatred between Konoha's two major bloodline clans, the Hyuga and the Uchiha.

When he read that, he nearly laughed out loud. This salamander not only did not care about his life, but also seemed a little naive.

A seven- or eight-year-old child was supposed to provoke hatred between two great clans? He really did not know how this guy's brain worked.

The third task was for Rinto to obey Rain Frog's arrangements in all things and help him gain a foothold in Konoha.

What Hanzo of the Salamander had not expected was that the four idiots he had sent had not even made it through Konoha's gates. Reading this, Rinto swept his gaze over the four people before him and sighed helplessly.

Well! Hanzo of the Salamander was a man, or Rinto would definitely have praised her with the phrase, "Stupid enough to be adorable."

It was obvious that this guy had never considered him worth a damn.

Still, at the end of the letter, Hanzo gave Rinto a reassuring line.

'Sakuta Mizuguma is doing well. He is currently serving as the ninjutsu teacher for the son of the Daimyo of the Land of Rain.'

Looking over the entire letter, Rinto was both amused and angry.

That guy had assigned him so many tasks, yet only gave him five thousand ryo? Was he treating him like a beggar?

With that thought, Rinto set down the letter with an odd expression.

When Rain Frog saw that Rinto had finished reading, he stood up, walked over, and looked down at him.

"Since you have finished Lord Hanzō's handwritten letter, start carrying out your mission."

As he spoke, Rain Frog took out a palm-sized scroll, spread it across the ground, and eyed Rinto sideways.

"Zhu Kangping, I now order you to draw Konoha's Defense Map."

Hearing this, Rinto shook his head.

"I don't know. I'm not a ninja—how would I have had the chance to observe their defenses?"

At those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi, hidden in the shadows, finally loosened his tightly clenched fists.

He was certain that Rinto could see through Konoha's defenses, but Rinto had no intention of revealing them. That greatly relieved Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Then what about intelligence on the village higher-ups?" Rain Frog asked without giving up.

"Heh, do you think I'm Superman? Why don't you ask me to unify the Shinobi World while you're at it?"

"Watch your attitude, Zhu Kangping!" A harsh rebuke rang out.

"What a useless piece of trash! You've infiltrated Konoha for so long, and all you know how to do is eat?

You've completely disgraced Lord Hanzō! How did Amegakure produce garbage like you?"

Rinto's brows lifted slightly as he looked at Rain Frog with interest.

"Fine. Since you're so stupid, we'll follow my plan." Rain Frog frowned deeply and rolled up the scroll from the ground.

"From now on, I'm your Uncle. My identity is that of a merchant, and those three are my assistants.

Your job is to bring us into Konoha and arrange a place for us to stay!

Did you hear me?!"

Under the barrage of shouting, Rinto nodded indifferently.

"Alright, alright. Got it."

Seeing Rinto's flippant attitude, a nameless fire immediately rose in Rain Frog's heart.

"And I heard you're currently living with a merchant's family!"

Rinto nodded again.

"Idiot!"

"How could Amegakure have produced someone as worthless as you? Who was your Dark Child instructor? He must have been stupid beyond belief!

Poison them, frame them, set them up, kill the family you're staying with, and seize their property—that's how you develop faster! What the hell did your teacher teach you?

If he trained such a 'thing' as you, he must be an idiot too!"

Rain Frog roared furiously. When he finished, he complained to his companions behind him with a look of disdain.

"Kids these days are truly hopeless. Every generation is worse than the last."

In the shadows, Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Rain Frog, doing his best to restrain his killing intent.

He had changed his mind!

Although the Dark Children sent by Amegakure were foolish, they were cruel and utterly without limits. They had actually told Rinto to kill the Kato family who had taken him in.

Such a dangerous person, even if his brain did not work properly, was not suitable to be allowed into the village.

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi made up his mind. Even if Rinto asked to bring these four into the village, he would never agree.

Rain Frog pursed his lips and kept complaining to his companions, occasionally casting Rinto a disdainful glance.

Rinto was completely unmoved. He sighed expressionlessly, slowly sat down, reached toward his ankles with both hands, and muttered quietly.

"The Weighted Gear needs to come off. It'll be troublesome if it gets damaged." As he spoke, he untied the two weights strapped to his ankles and carefully set them against the cave wall.

"The cuffs are damaged, but they can still be patched up and worn. By the way, will I be reimbursed for this?"

Muttering, Rinto took off his black short-sleeved shirt, folded it neatly, and placed it by the wall as well.

"Bastard! What are you doing?" Suddenly seeing Rinto bare-chested, Rain Frog roared again.

Realizing he had drawn attention, Rinto paused with his hand on his pants.

Slowly pulling his pants back up, Rinto curled his lips and tilted his head as he asked curiously.

"What am I doing?"

"Leading you, of course?!"

The ninja who had earlier held a Kunai to Rinto's neck snickered and mocked him.

"You're going to lead the way naked? Where to, Kabuki District?"

The four of them burst into laughter. Even Rain Frog sneered and shook his head.

Hearing that, Rinto shook his head with a serious expression.

"Not Kabuki District. The River of Forgetfulness. We're going swimming."

At those words, the four men's laughter abruptly stopped.

How could they not know what kind of place the River of Forgetfulness was?

This brat was trying to lead them to their deaths!?

With that thought, the four looked at Rinto with hostile eyes.

That statement alone made Rain Frog want to kill him. He could not help recalling Lord Hanzō's instructions before they departed.

If Rinto disobeyed, or showed any sign of disloyalty to Amegakure, he could be killed immediately.

"Zhu Kangping, you'd better take back what you said. Otherwise, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead!"

Facing Rain Frog's threat, Rinto extended his right hand and crooked a finger. "Then come on~"

Just as Rinto was about to make his move, deep within the cave—

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, doubt rising in his heart.

This shouldn't be happening! Why had Rinto suddenly become stupid? Didn't he know he was facing one Jonin and three Genin?

With his intelligence and composure, he should have been able to endure this small humiliation.

Why was he acting now? Why did he warn them with his words? Why make his opponents wary?

For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was filled with doubt.

But no matter what, saving Rinto was the most important thing.

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out a Shuriken and prepared to strike.