He Should Be Thanking Us!

After leaving the Sealed Archive, Sahara Mizu recalled the figure he had just seen and could not help feeling a little sentimental.

Like countless classmates who had gone their separate ways after graduation, although Sahara Mizu and Namikaze Minato had been classmates in the same ninja academy class, they had barely kept in touch since graduating.

Or perhaps they should never have had any contact to begin with.

Unlike Sahara Mizu, who had kept his grades merely average even during his academy years in order to conceal his identity,

Namikaze Minato had displayed talent far beyond the ordinary from a very young age.

Before even graduating from the ninja academy, he had been taken under the wing of Jiraiya, the Hokage's direct disciple. Uzumaki Kushina, whose extraordinary status was obvious to anyone with eyes, had also somehow become very close friends with him. At barely over ten years old, he had already possessed the formidable strength to take down two Cloud Village spies head-on.

If the Ninja World had web novels, plenty of people would probably cry out, "Terrifying!" and "Main character material!"

Even Sahara Mizu had once considered clinging to the Child of the Era's golden thigh. At the very least, he could have become the sort of supporting character used to set up the plot, perhaps even forged connections with Konoha's highest ranks.

But unfortunately.

Like the background character he had played, he had never been qualified to enter the geniuses' club.

Among the people Namikaze Minato often associated with, the youngest were two or three years older than him, while the oldest were seven or eight years older. Every one of them was an up-and-coming powerhouse renowned throughout Konoha's younger generation for their strength and talent.

Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, Uchiha Fugaku.

Clearly, Namikaze Minato had consciously begun laying the groundwork for his path to becoming Hokage from a very young age.

This was the path Namikaze Minato had chosen for himself.

Then, what path should I take?

After leaving the Sealed Archive, Sahara Mizu had been considering that question.

Up to this point, survival remained the first hurdle he had to face. Naturally, obtaining Heart Points had become his top priority.

Yet from that morning until now, whether it was colleagues he knew well, neighbors he had known for years, or the busty older sister at the breakfast shop he had eyed for years,

everyone's head had been completely blank.

The phenomenon involuntarily reminded him of the particular line he had seen on the panel last night.

"Bond Level increased."

Sahara Mizu lightly rubbed his chin, his brows drawing together.

"So, I need people who have a more 'intimate' relationship with me?"

"Looks like I'll have to drag things out with Mist Village for a while longer."

"But that's fine."

Sahara Mizu muttered as a slip of paper silently appeared between his fingers.

It was the intelligence he had prepared to send to Mist Village.

It contained detailed records of the S-Rank Mission Tsunade's Team was carrying out this time.

"Assassinate the Third Raikage."

It also recorded several key supply points where they would stop along the way.

Although Konoha's Sealing Jutsu was more than secure enough for most people, under these Six Eyes, capable of deciphering chakra flow and composition, the intelligence hidden within the sealed cabinet still had nowhere to hide.

This would at least extend his growth period by another three months.

Just as he was thinking that, someone ahead suddenly waved in his direction.

"Hey—!"

"Sahara-kun! Come help me carry the boxed lunches for your Intelligence Division!"

"The delivery cart's wheel broke."

"Coming!"

The paper in Sahara Mizu's hand abruptly vanished, and he turned slightly to answer.

However, when he turned back and saw the man's face, his steps paused almost imperceptibly.

The immense processing power brought by the External Brain made him immediately recall the man's face, but his brows could not help furrowing.

If he remembered correctly, this should be Mr. Kojima from the logistics office on the first floor?

But that guy seemed to be somewhat of a clean freak.

Observing strangers' behavioral traits was an elective for ninja, but a required course for spies.

Seeing the faint mud stains on the edge of the other's pant leg and the heavy dirt clinging to the soles of his shoes, then comparing them to the image in his memory, Sahara Mizu instinctively grew suspicious.

At the slightest negligible suspicion, he opened the Six Eyes without hesitation and turned to look at the other man.

Under that vision, every flow of chakra was laid bare before his eyes.

Fortunately.

Beneath the chakra-constructed shell was a body completely mismatched with its build—this was the sign of a special Transformation Jutsu.

So he was a colleague?

I thought the Anbu had come to test me again.

Seeing this, Sahara Mizu finally relaxed slightly, and even his smile became far more genuine.

"Sahara-kun?"

Mr. Kojima seemed to notice that he had stopped and asked in apparent confusion, while his knuckles naturally pressed against the other side of his pant leg.

"Yes, may I ask who you are...?"

Sahara Mizu looked at him in confusion.

"I'm Kojima, Kojima Kenta!" He grumbled as if dissatisfied, but the hand pressed against his trouser leg relaxed slightly. "I've been delivering lunch to your office all week. Don't tell me you don't remember me at all?"

"Eh? Is that so? Sorry, sorry." Sahara Mizu scratched his head bashfully like an ordinary young man, smiling with obvious embarrassment.

"There's been too much overtime lately. My head's a little foggy. Logistics probably hasn't been as busy as us, right?"

"Don't even mention it! We left later than you did last night—"

Perhaps to ease the earlier awkwardness, Sahara Mizu instead took the initiative to start a conversation with Mr. Kojima. They chatted about trivial office matters as each carried boxed lunches toward the end of the corridor.

Meanwhile, he considered the other's purpose.

Was he trying to pry information out of me? Or trying to infiltrate the Intelligence Division with me? Or perhaps...

His years of undercover work had cultivated habits of suspicion and distrust, making him instinctively wary of every abnormal movement from the people around him.

But that was only natural.

After all, he was an undercover agent too.

Just as he was still considering it, an earth-shaking explosion suddenly erupted from the wall behind them.

"Boom—!"

The solid exterior wall of the Hokage Building was blown apart by special Explosive Ninjutsu, exposing a massive gap five or six meters wide. The hot wind from the blast swept fragments of stone through the air, where they struck the corridor with crackling sounds.

At the same time, several Suicide Squad members charged fearlessly through the breach, launching a desperate assault toward somewhere on the third floor without hesitation.

Yet shortly after those people rushed into the building, more than a dozen fully uniformed Anbu and Konoha Ninja in combat gear emerged from all directions, surrounding and intercepting them.

The instant he noticed this, Sahara Mizu turned to look at his colleague beside him and immediately understood their objective.

—Once he had seen through the other man's identity as a spy, it was easy to infer that he intended to use the chaos to infiltrate certain key departments.

It seemed Mist Village was not the only one seeking the intelligence in his possession.

Sahara Mizu's gaze deepened.

In that case...

"Sahara-kun!"

Sure enough, before he could speak, Mr. Kojima beside him had already tossed aside the lunchboxes and urged him urgently, rushing forward without regard for his own safety. "Quick! Let's go stop those bastards too!"

Yet unexpectedly, Sahara Mizu protected the boxed lunches, stretched out an arm to stop him, and said calmly,

"Don't worry."

"There's only the Confidential Storage Room over there, and Lord Hokage is guarding it too. They can't get in!"

As he spoke, Sahara Mizu gave him an incomparably confident smile.

(ω＜)☆

"Hmm?!"

That single sentence immediately nailed Mr. Kojima's poised feet to the ground. Even the kunai he had intended to use to seize him remained motionless in his waist pouch.

Upstairs... was the weak point?

At that moment, as he watched Sahara Mizu's back, a gleam lit up in his eyes.