Wandering Miko?

But at least Sunagakure was already ahead of every other major ninja village except Konoha in this regard.

Chiyo's Medical Ninjutsu was currently second only to Tsunade's in the ninja world. Although Sunagakure's foundation in Medical Ninjutsu lagged behind Konoha's, they could at least put together a framework and make do with it for now.

Once Konoha established its medical system in the future, they could slowly imitate it and fill in the gaps.

Still, at a time when Medical Ninja had yet to emerge on a large scale and a medical system had not yet been established, it was fine for Shimizu to rely on Miyuki's help to get started in Medical Ninjutsu. But if he wanted to attain a certain level of mastery in the field, finding someone who could teach him would not be easy.

"By the way, Miyuki, who was this Senior Reina you mentioned earlier? How come I've never heard that the village had a senior so skilled in Medical Ninjutsu?"

Shimizu placed the date cookies he had brought as a gift on the table and asked curiously.

"Big Sister Reina? She's really amazing!"

At the mention of Reina, a gentle smile appeared at the corners of Miyuki's lips.

"She's about twenty this year, I think. Although she's only a Chunin, she came from a family of doctors and possesses extensive medical knowledge. Her progress in the medical training class quickly surpassed all of ours. Whenever Elder Chiyo isn't around, she's the one who guides us in her place!"

"I see."

Shimizu nodded. After chatting with Miyuki for a while longer, he left the classroom with the book list.

"Senior Reina!"

"Big Sister Reina!"

Just as Shimizu and the Miyuki who was seeing him off reached the entrance, a woman dressed in Sunagakure's traditional white robes walked through the gate. Quite a few people around them greeted her.

It was clear that she possessed a certain personal charm and was widely respected. Her appearance was approachable as well.

Smooth golden hair, a gentle smile, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses that made her look utterly harmless once she put them on.

Shimizu's movements paused almost imperceptibly.

"Big Sister Reina, whenever I use the Mystical Palm Technique to repair a lizard's spinal connection, I can never properly reconnect the nerves. Please teach me how to do it!"

Miyuki jogged over and hugged Reina, rubbing her cheek against Reina's arm.

"You must not be sensing precisely enough. Given your background in the Puppet Force, your Chakra control definitely isn't the problem. What you need to pay attention to is..."

Reina reached out and flicked Miyuki's nose, then began explaining patiently with an indulgent expression.

"Then I'll be off first, Miyuki."

Shimizu waved to Miyuki, signaling his departure.

Miyuki nodded to show that she understood.

"That was...?"

Reina studied Shimizu for a few moments before asking Miyuki.

"Ah, that was Shimizu, my teammate from the Puppet Force."

"I see. To enter the Puppet Force at such a young age, he must be a genius."

"He's only a tiny bit better than me."

Miyuki bragged shamelessly.

Naturally, Shimizu, who had already walked out through the gates, did not know that Reina was probing Miyuki for information about him. But vigilance had already risen in his heart.

"Her background seems clean and ordinary, yet she rose through reasonable means to become an important figure in the newly established Medical Squad. She has good relationships with everyone, and she possesses exceptional Medical Ninjutsu... Could she be the Wandering Miko?"

Shimizu could not be certain, but he felt that Reina was worth suspecting.

Mainly because her appearance was simply too similar to the Yakushi Nonō he remembered!

As Root's ace intelligence agent, details such as Yakushi Nonō's height and appearance were absolutely secrets known only to Konoha High Command.

Those who knew Yakushi Nonō would not know her identity as a spy, while those who knew the title Wandering Miko would definitely not know her real name or appearance.

Except for Shimizu, a transmigrator.

"This woman is now an important figure in the Medical Squad and can even help Chiyo teach. She has most likely gained Elder Chiyo's trust already. An ordinary person cannot touch her. I'll have to investigate her in secret."

Shimizu pondered as he walked down the road.

A minute later, Shimizu turned a corner and arrived at the Puppet Force base next door.

He could not neglect his daily Puppet Technique training. There were free training facilities here, and there was no reason not to use them. Besides, Sasori would sometimes feel like challenging Shimizu on a whim, which meant another chance to borrow Chiyo's books.

Meanwhile, at the Kazekage's Office Building, in the Kazekage's Office.

The room was very spacious. An additional large desk had been set up beside the Third Kazekage's own desk, piled high with all sorts of documents and scrolls.

"So, these three youngsters have been performing quite well. Still, they shouldn't take missions too frequently. Balancing work and rest is one consideration, and they also need time to train and digest what they gain from their missions. Especially a Puppeteer like Shimizu—if he keeps running missions, he won't have time to improve or make puppets."

Ebizo flipped through the mission scrolls submitted by Kazakami Senran and spoke.

"I understand, Lord Ebizo. That was what I had in mind as well. The three of them are already stronger than most Chunin, and their foundations are solid enough. Over the next few years, they only need to make up for their weaknesses through regular training. They should all become qualified Jonin within three years. Even now, if the three of them fight together, they would be fully capable of holding off a standard Jonin."

Kazakami Senran replied calmly.

"Then it depends on how this war develops. If the war can end soon, we will naturally have several years to recuperate and allow this new generation to grow. But you and I both know that isn't very realistic."

Ebizo closed the document and sighed.

Sunagakure had been poor from the start. Its local logistical resources alone were insufficient, and it had only endured until now by sustaining itself through war, expanding outward and plundering.

The prerequisite for sustaining war through war was to keep winning, so they could continually obtain enough spoils to serve as supplies.

Once they suffered a crushing defeat, Sunagakure would face inadequate logistics. They would either collapse or preserve their main forces and retreat as early as possible.

"No one expected Hanzo to show mercy to the Third Hokage's three disciples, or even turn around and cooperate with Konoha. Otherwise, according to our original plan of setting the wolf against the tiger, once Hanzo killed those three from Konoha, Konoha's High-Level Combat Power would have been diminished. They would no longer have had the strength to fight two major ninja villages at once. What a pity..."

The Kazekage's Office fell into a long silence.

What happened afterward was that Hanzo chose to form an alliance with Konoha, intending to rely on the power of the strongest Konoha to drive Iwagakure and Sunagakure out of the Land of Rain.