Shinra Tensei!

In the main hall of the third tallest building in Kusagakure, two Konoha Ninja, led by the village head, met the person who had commissioned the mission.

However, this person was not a high-ranking official in command of the war. It was Kusagakure Shinjo Jonin Kusagakure, who came forward to communicate with the Konoha Squad in order to entertain the elites of the Number One Ninja Village.

"Um... you two, I remember the request we issued was for a full-strength team led by Jonin, right?"

Shinjo's expression was rather grim. They had been embroiled in constant skirmishes with Takigakure on the border recently, repeatedly vying for a large, resource-rich territory, leaving their frontline forces severely strained.

Hiring top-tier ninja from a powerful village was already a painful expense, but now the other side only sent two people, which seemed like a perfunctory gesture.

Shuichi was dressed in standard Konoha Ninja attire, with a dark undershirt and a green vest, and a lifelike fake Human Skin Mask on his face, making him look like a fair-skinned, slightly arrogant young man.

Hong's clothes were exactly the same as his, except she didn't choose to conceal her face; after all, she wasn't a renowned expert yet.

Influenced by Shuichi, the bandage outfit he wore when he first appeared in the original work will probably never be seen again.

"What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"

"We're both Jonin, we could easily defeat even the top shinobi from other villages. At the price you're offering, hiring us is a steal, isn't it?"

"You..."

Swish!

Shinjo was furious. Just as he was about to say something more, he felt a gust of wind blow past him, followed by a cold, stinging sensation on his neck.

"What! How could it be so fast?"

He was drenched in cold sweat, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sharp Kunai held against him. The arrogant Konoha Ninja in front of him had disappeared, and this guy was the one who had done it.

"So, what are your plans now?" Shuichi chuckled as he put away his Kunai. "Are you going to assign us the tasks as originally planned, or are you going to Konoha to complain and request a replacement?"

Since he was using a new identity, he had to fit the new persona. This was his secret to practicing acting skills, and his ability to analyze the details of a ninja was also a form of training.

Shinjo trembled slightly, wiped the fine sweat from his brow, and said cautiously, "We are very satisfied with your strength and need experts like you to come and support us."

I will arrange for the personnel who are about to go into battle to coordinate with you. Please rest and wait in the reception room in my village.

Shinjo became obedient after just one move, and those last words were truly from the bottom of his heart.

The person before him possessed an absurdly fast Body Flicker Technique. He hadn't let his guard down at all. This meant that the opponent could kill a Jonin like him Jonin ease; on the battlefield, he would undoubtedly be a death-reaping machine.

There's also a female ninja whose strength is unknown as she hasn't made a move yet, but since she's teammates with top-tier experts, her abilities must be roughly equal. The Kusagakure was indeed quite lucky with this hiring.

Considering the other party's somewhat irritable temper or arrogant personality, Shinjo decided to choose an honest and easy-going person as his battlefield guide.

At that moment, a short, stocky man with a big nose instantly appeared in my mind—that's him!

"Notify Tomoyoshi and tell him to come over immediately."

"Yes!"

Shuichi waited utterly bored until a Kusanagi Ninja came through the passage. His appearance suddenly made him tremble. "Is it you? Preta Path?"

The Preta Path... oh no, the short, stocky man Tomoyoshi was still a living, breathing person. After receiving his superior's order, he turned around and showed a friendly smile:

"You two distinguished guests from Konoha, please follow me. Because battles have broken out simultaneously in multiple locations at the front lines, there's no need to depart immediately. New intelligence will arrive in the next couple of days."

Tomoyoshi led Shuichi and Hong to a private lounge, and they chatted happily along the way.

When faced with experts from Konoha, his honest face would occasionally reveal a fawning expression, and he would respond enthusiastically to all kinds of questions, truly adept at satisfying other people's vanity.

Click!

Once Konoha and the other person entered their room to rest, his expression instantly returned to normal, though his eyes narrowed slightly, making him look somewhat fierce.

This is how he usually is, yet after struggling for most of his life, the world remains incredibly difficult.

As someone whose talent is not particularly outstanding, the only way to survive in a dangerous environment is to wear the mask of a good person, with a belly full of complaints that cannot be vented.

Upon returning to their residence, they carefully checked the room to see if anyone had searched it.

After confirming that everything was alright, Tomoyoshi opened the hidden compartment, took out a piece of paper, quickly wrote a few words, and then used his skillful sketching technique to draw the appearances of Shuichi and Hong.

Having completed all this, he folded the paper according to his memory, steadily formed several hand seals, and then injected a large amount of chakra into the paper.

The paper looked unremarkable, but as chakra surged into it, it swelled up and transformed into a small paper crane, flying out the window...

On the border of Grass-Rain Border, in a valley shrouded in a light mist,

Many corpses lay scattered on the ground. Judging from the Forehead Protector they wore, they came from both Kusagakure and Takigakure villages, and there were even many unidentified ninjas.

Strangely, the remaining ninjas, who appeared to be enemies, now seemed like a group, looking at the black-and-red duo they had surrounded with terrified expressions.

"Why? Didn't you accept the commission from our Takigakure? Why are you attacking us?" a Waterfall Ninja shouted.

"That happened before. The money you provided doesn't give me the right to continue commanding me," the Orange-haired Man said expressionlessly in a deep voice.

"Of course, the fundamental reason is that Takigakure currently has a clear advantage, and we need a relatively balanced situation in terms of combat strength so that mercenary missions will continue to appear."

"These are all tactics the Five Great Nations use against small countries like ours, so my actions are not surprising. Besides, as long as none of you tell anyone, who will know what's happening here?"

"A protracted war brings continuous pain; savor that pain before you die..."

Banshō Ten'in!

The Orange-haired Man's eyes emitted an invisible energy, and all the ninjas from all directions instantly felt a powerful suction force, their bodies uncontrollably flying towards him.

"Waaaaah..."

The black-robed youth raised his hands, ignoring the ninja tools thrown from the air by the struggling figure before him, and unleashed a powerful burst of energy from within his body, "Shinra... Tensei!"

Boom--

"Ugh!"

The faces and upper bodies of many ninjas were deformed by the immense impact, yet no cracking sound was heard; the area within a radius of tens of meters was instantly cleared by the repulsive force.

The ninjas, along with their ninja tools, flew extremely far away, like a blower hitting a dusty ground.

Another blue-haired woman slowly walked out, waved to the few lucky survivors who were seriously injured but not dead, and easily stabbed the paper into their throats with a folded knife. For a moment, there were no other survivors besides the two women.

"Um?"

The blue-haired woman Konan, had just finished dealing with the initial and final matters when she immediately sensed a wisp of chakra fluctuation on the horizon.

After waiting quietly for a few breaths, the paper crane began to fly towards her location, landing on her finger like a bird returning to its nest.

"What news?"

The Orange-haired Man, Deva Path Pain, walked over and asked.

"The latest intelligence from an outer ally; I remember the order was to detect the arrival of Konoha Ninja."

Konan calmly unfolded the paper, but upon seeing Yūhi Kurenai's portrait, her expression immediately changed. "This is..."