There's an Inside Man

"I've already found you!"

"Kid, please don't disturb me while I'm doing business." Spiral White Zetsu, disguised as a human, looked at the three children before him.

Of course, what he cared about wasn't the red-haired kid or the blue-haired little girl beside him.

Or rather—

This wasn't the time to care about the Rinnegan.

What mattered more right now was the orange-haired kid in front of him, staring at him with blazing eyes.

As if he were saying...

There was only one truth!

Had he been discovered?

He'd obviously been so careful!

He'd specifically kept it from Lord Madara and snuck out to take a look at this human festival.

He'd only been born a few years ago. Unlike the other White Zetsu, he'd been looking after Lord Madara all this time and rarely came outside.

So he'd planned to take a good look at how the human festival differed from what the other White Zetsu had described in the spores they sent back.

And he discovered...

It was pretty lively!

There were lots of people!

There were lots of things!

But he had no money!

Even if he wanted to buy something, he didn't have any money~

So, after thinking it over... to avoid exposing himself, and since he couldn't steal, he could only make money with his own abilities.

By drawing!

But then—

Had he been discovered?

Spiral White Zetsu picked up his precious drawing board, ready to run the instant things went wrong.

Then—

He looked at the three kids with a slightly aggrieved expression. "I'm just an artist!"

However—

"Stop trying to fool me!" Yahiko sneered and pointed at the drawing beside him. "Those soft lines, that terrible coloring!"

He paused slightly.

"I recognized you at a glance—the Ghost Student Who Draws Poop!"

As soon as he said that—

"..."

The scene instantly fell silent.

Yahiko's sudden shout drew curious looks from everyone around them.

Nagato and Konan exchanged a glance, then both expressionlessly took a step back.

This was too embarrassing!

Yahiko!

At that moment—

Spiral White Zetsu froze as well.

Sure enough.

He'd been discovered... Huh? No, what kind of title was that?

Ghost Student Who Draws Poop?

It sounded... kind of nice?

"Hehe! Just as I thought! You can't hide from the leader of the Akatsuki Organization—Boss Yahiko—and also..."

Yahiko put his hands on his hips and was about to boast when he looked beside him.

"Huh? Where are Nagato and Konan? Nagato! Konan! Nagato..."

When he saw Nagato hunched over and trying to slip away, he immediately dragged him back in dissatisfaction. "What are you doing? Look! I finally found him!"

Then he looked at the black-haired young stall owner before him, raised his chin, and said, "This is the number two of the Akatsuki Organization! The academy's Top Student! The first Top Student! Nagato Uzumaki!"

"..."

Nagato fell silent, his eyelid twitching.

As everyone around him stared at him, his toes curled tightly against the ground!

Mom, I want to go home... No, I want to go back to the Land of Rain.

"It's not me! I didn't do anything! He's talking nonsense!"

Meanwhile, Spiral White Zetsu... blinked.

It seemed he hadn't been discovered... No, perhaps he'd been discovered, but not completely?

What should he do now?

After thinking for a moment, Spiral White Zetsu forced himself to say, "H-how can you insult an innocent person for no reason?"

"Still trying to argue? Let me show you how powerful the Akatsuki Organization is!"

Yahiko snorted. Just as he was about to show this guy how powerful the leader of the Akatsuki Organization was—

"No! Maybe he's just an imitator!" Nagato, who only wanted to run away as soon as possible, could only say stiffly. "After all, the Ghost Student Who Draws Poop caused such a huge commotion that everyone knows about him. And if he were an ordinary person who secretly snuck into the academy, do you think the teachers wouldn't have caught him?"

"Huh, that's true! But..." Yahiko shook his head and stared seriously at Spiral White Zetsu. "My instincts tell me... my guess is right! Even if this guy isn't the Ghost Student Who Draws Poop, he must be connected to him somehow." He rolled up his sleeves. "Let me investigate first..."

Before he could finish—

Nagato seemed to spot something and quickly pointed ahead, shouting, "Huh? Yahiko, isn't that your dad? What's he doing sneaking around? Let's go take a look!"

As he spoke, he directly dragged Yahiko outside. When Yahiko heard that it was his dad, he grew curious as well and didn't resist.

After the two ran off, only Spiral White Zetsu remained... staring silently.

"So... I'm fine now?"

He blinked at the two kids already disappearing into the distance, then looked at the people in front of him and sighed inwardly.

Forget it. He should pack up his stall!

He'd been here for so long and had only gotten one customer... That kid's shouting had nearly exposed him too.

Time to run.

Though Lord Madara would probably scold him when he got back.

After all, he'd snuck out.

He hadn't told Lord Madara.

At that moment—

"Dango! Dango! Dango! Sweet dango! Taste before you buy! Buy it if it's good!"

Hearing the stall owner calling from nearby, Spiral White Zetsu froze briefly, then weighed the ten coins in his hand. "Maybe... I should bring Lord Madara a skewer of dango?"

At that thought—

His eyes lit up. Smiling, he skipped toward the stall. "Boss, one skewer of dango!"

Hehe, if he brought Lord Madara a gift, Lord Madara probably wouldn't be angry, right?

Elsewhere—

Yahiko, who had been dragged away by Nagato, saw his father as well.

However—

His father wasn't wearing his usual cheerful smile. Instead, he looked furtive, wrapping himself tightly in a wide, thick coat as though he were hiding something in his arms, constantly looking around.

What was his dad doing?

Sensing that something was wrong, the two kids exchanged a glance.

Then—

They quickly hunched over. Rather than calling out to Father Mujitsu, they hid and secretly followed him.

As for Konan... she had turned into a pile of paper and flown away earlier. Who knew where she had gone now?

The two kids followed from a distance the whole way... If not for Nagato's powerful sensory abilities allowing them to keep close behind, they would either have lost him by now or been discovered.

But—

"Why did Father Mujitsu come here?" Yahiko frowned, staring solemnly at this secluded alley. "Sneaking around like this... He can't be going to some place adults go to, can he? But this isn't that kind of place!"

As soon as he said that—

"???"

Nagato looked at Yahiko in confusion.

How did he know it wasn't?

But this wasn't the time to care about that!

This wasn't that sort of place, yet Father Mujitsu had sneaked into a secluded alley while hiding something in his arms?!

The two seemed to realize something.

Selling Land of Grass intelligence?!

"No! Dad isn't that kind of person!" Yahiko's eyes immediately turned red. He shook his head and glared angrily at Nagato. "He respects Teacher Amang very much! Teacher Amang thinks highly of him too! How could Dad do something like that?!"

"I know. Maybe we just guessed wrong!" Seeing Yahiko's anger, Nagato hurriedly comforted him. "We should report this to the authorities right away, or... find a teacher!"

However—

"No! Dad isn't that kind of person!" Yahiko stood up directly and shouted. "Absolutely not! I'll prove it to you! If he is... if he is, I'll personally arrest him!"

As he spoke—

He turned and ran into the alley.

"Yahiko!"

He completely ignored Nagato's anxious calls behind him.

Seeing this, Nagato finally gritted his teeth and followed.

Meanwhile—

Inside the alley—

"You came?"

"I came!"

"The thing I asked for?"

"And what about mine?" Father Mujitsu stared seriously at the white-haired, spiky-haired young man before him. "Let me see it first. You have to understand, this is a signed—"

Before he could finish—

Just as the white-haired, spiky-haired young man hesitated and was about to pull something from his clothes—

"Father Mujitsu!"

An angry roar came from the alley entrance.

Father Mujitsu froze. Then, seeming to guess who it was, his expression changed. "There's an inside man! Abort the transaction!"

"???"

They were just two kids. Why were you so scared?

It wasn't like they were doing anything bad!

Before the person opposite him could react—

Father Mujitsu stepped out. When he saw the two kids before him, his face immediately filled with complicated emotions. "Why are you two here?"

"Dad, you..." Yahiko looked at Father Wu Wei, whose expression had suddenly changed. How could he not understand that his father was doing something shameful?

Especially since that person beside him... both he and Nagato knew him. They had seen him in the Land of Rain.

A Konoha ninja!

Yahiko immediately roared, "How could you do something like this?!"

As soon as he said that—

Wu Wei blinked, then looked at the two kids before him—one glaring at him furiously, the other watching him warily. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "You found out?"

"Dad, you..." Having received Father Wu Wei's admission, Yahiko immediately fell into despair. Yet he still looked at Father Wu Wei hopefully and pleaded, "Come with me to see the leader. Nagato and I will beg the leader to forgive you!"

"See the leader? What leader?"

Weren't a thousand times already enough?

Wu Wei's mouth twitched, but in the eyes of the two little ones, that expression meant... refusal. He said helplessly, "Forget it! To keep from being discovered and making me have to... You two should just take a nap! When you wake up, you probably won't remember anything!"

As soon as he said that—

Just as he was about to reach out toward the two kids—

Suddenly—

"Don't move! You're surrounded!"

A roar came from all around the alley.

Wu Wei and Jiraiya froze and looked up at the ninjas standing or crouching above them, their scarlet eyes fixed on the two of them.

Jiraiya: You sold me out? No, what's going on?

Wu Wei's eyes were bewildered: I don't know either!

"Someone reported you for suspected treason, Lord Wu Wei. Please do not make any sudden movements!"

"Treason?!" x2

The two froze again, then exchanged a glance.

Buying (selling) a book was against the law now?

Father Mujitsu scratched his head, stepped forward, and said, "Is there some kind of misunderstanding? I was only..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Don't move!"

Mujie was pinned down completely!

"The evidence is conclusive, Lord Mujie." Oyakamon emerged with Konan, who winked at the two little Nagatos, then looked at Mujie with complicated emotions and sighed. "I never thought you'd do something like this. I've already sent someone to notify the leader. Now..." He glanced at the still-bewildered Jiraiya. "Hand over your things..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Perhaps because his movements had been too forceful, something suddenly fell from Mujie's robes.

Everyone looked.

A book.

A colorful cover.

"Hiss~"

Countless people at the scene sucked in a breath and hurriedly covered the children's eyes.

"Lord Mujie, you..."

"I just came here to trade for a book!" Mujie said through tears. "How the hell did that become treason?"

"..."