Investigation

Shimizu was only using this to make up for his own shortcomings; he did not rely on it for a living. A sword technique like this was enough.

"I never knew you were studying swordsmanship. Add in the Medical Ninjutsu from before, and if you spread yourself too thin, I'll surpass you in Puppet Technique sooner or later."

At the training ground, Sasori leaned against Ibuse and spoke as he watched Shimizu practice basic swings against a wooden dummy.

"Whether it's Medical Ninjutsu or swordsmanship, they're only meant to improve my ability to stay alive."

Shimizu set down his wooden sword and answered Sasori.

"You have a point."

Sasori wiped off a stone by the edge of the training ground and sat down.

"But can that alone keep someone from dying? Is there no way to let someone live forever, to exist forever?"

Shimizu paused as he wiped away his sweat with a cloth.

Could this be why he turned himself into a puppet in the original timeline?

And after becoming a puppet, the way his mind functioned would certainly differ from that of a normal human. At the very least, without a brain or hormonal regulation in his body, the emotions that belonged to humanity would only grow increasingly faint.

"Maybe there is, but there's one condition."

Pretending nothing was wrong, Shimizu propped his wooden sword against the dummy and spoke.

"What is it?"

Sasori tilted his head and asked.

"You have to become very strong—strong enough that no one can kill you. Otherwise, even if you have an infinite lifespan, someone stronger than you can still kill you."

At that, Shimizu suddenly thought of Orochimaru.

That guy was very strong, but he definitely was not stronger than everyone else. Yet his ability to survive was absolutely the strongest in the Naruto World.

Sasori fell silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Only after some time did he speak again.

"I heard you and Grandma are heading to the front lines in two days?"

"Yeah. But Teacher Chiyo assigned me to the reserve forces, and one of the village's top Jonin will be leading us. Unless the entire force is wiped out, I'll probably survive. Of course, to prevent any accidents, I'm doing my best to improve my ability to stay alive."

Sasori's eyes flickered. His usually calm and indifferent expression was unusually complicated at that moment.

"Mm. Then try to come back alive. Don't make me wait forever."

Why did that not sound like a good thing to say?

"Fine. I'll do my best."

Shimizu knew that for Sasori, being able to say something like that was already no easy thing.

What Sasori hated most was waiting for people, because he had never once waited successfully for his "traveling" parents to return home.

It was clear that Sasori truly regarded Shimizu as a friend now.

At the very least, he saw him as someone different from everyone else, someone worth waiting for.

"If I say too much, I'm afraid I'll raise a flag I shouldn't. Anyway, the main reason I came today was to say goodbye to you. Also..."

Shimizu turned and walked toward the Ninja Tool Bag hanging from the railing, then pulled out a photograph.

"I want you to investigate this woman for me."

Shimizu handed the photo to Sasori. The woman in it was Reina from the Medical Squad.

"This woman looks pretty decent, and she seems gentle enough. What, are you planning to pursue her? Though isn't the age gap a little too big?"

Looking at the blond woman in the photograph, wearing glasses and smiling softly, Sasori asked Shimizu curiously.

Perhaps because he had lost both his parents at a young age, his first impression of this woman in the photo—whose smile radiated maternal warmth—was fairly good.

"No. I think there's something wrong with her."

Shimizu shook his head.

"You suspect she's a spy sent by another village? Then why not just tell Grandma and have her investigate? Or... I get it. She's already won Grandma's trust and holds a certain position in the village, so it wouldn't be easy to investigate her openly?"

A look of realization appeared on Sasori's face.

"You're not going to ask why I suspect her?"

"I trust you, because you're the only person our age who doesn't seem too stupid to me."

Sasori answered with a serious expression.

"Well, thanks for the compliment."

Shimizu was speechless.

"You're welcome."

Shimizu: ...

"Let me explain anyway. While it isn't convenient to investigate openly, I secretly looked into her a little during this time. This woman's parents both moved from the border region of the Land of Wind to Sunagakure during the Second Kazekage's era. Neither was a ninja. Her father was a doctor, and both of them died a year ago."

"Until a year ago, she was merely an unremarkable Genin. Only after accumulating enough military achievements a year ago did she learn high-level ninjutsu and become a Chunin. During this Medical Squad training, she displayed a learning ability far beyond that of the other Medical Ninja. Maybe she truly was mediocrely talented in other forms of ninjutsu, but exceptionally gifted in Medical Ninjutsu."

"But I suspect she learned Medical Ninjutsu in another hidden village."

Sasori spoke.

"You mean Konoha?"

Shimizu nodded and continued.

"That's right. Looks like you guessed it too. Only Konoha and Sunagakure have the Medical Ninjutsu foundation to train a Medical Ninja like her. But the village only began putting Medical Ninja training on the agenda after Princess Tsunade turned the situation around on the Land of Rain battlefield last year. It was not until this year that the Medical Squad training program was fully prepared."

"Konoha established its medical system earlier than Sunagakure. And to establish a complete system, they needed enough specialized talent. Before that, although Konoha had not yet established a medical system, given Princess Tsunade's status and prestige in Konoha, it would not have been difficult for her to experiment with training an initial group of personnel. They were fully capable of cultivating an outstanding Medical Ninja."

Sasori lowered his head slightly and asked.

"You think... Konoha would be crazy enough to send out an outstanding and rare Medical Ninja as a spy?"

You'll have to ask Danzo and the Third Hokage, those two idiots.

"Precisely because no one would believe it, she has the opportunity, doesn't she? And I'm sure you understand the benefits of doing this. If a Konoha Ninja truly infiltrated the upper ranks of the Medical Squad, they could quietly assassinate the village's ninja under excuses like 'treatment failure,' while also passing along all kinds of intelligence. Isn't that worth being wary of?"

Sasori pressed his lips together.

"I understand. You're about to leave for the front lines and can't stay in the village to continue investigating, so you need someone capable enough to help you keep looking into this and expose this woman's true identity?"

"So I'm counting on you, Sasori."

Shimizu patted Sasori on the shoulder and cautioned him.

Even if Sasori's covert investigation was discovered, it would not have much impact on him.

After all, he was Elder Chiyo's grandson.