Don't Underestimate My Intelligence Network

After tying up the two Iwagakure Chunin's hands and feet and making sure they couldn't kill themselves, Qingye went over and slapped them twice, waking them up.

The young Iwagakure ninja jolted awake. He tried to struggle, then realized he was bound tight. His two teammates were beside him, one dead and one alive.

"...Captain!"

Damn it!

Was he still trapped in a Genjutsu?

Qingye slapped the young Iwagakure ninja on the forehead, smiling broadly. "Wake up. Your captain really is dead. Want to crawl over and check?"

"...Just kill me."

The young Iwagakure ninja looked utterly miserable.

"You're not a damsel in distress. Don't pull that kind of act."

"?"

What was this guy talking about?

"Capturing us won't do you any good. Don't expect to get any information out of us," the middle-aged Iwagakure ninja said, his expression resolute.

"Good, good. Just as expected of an Iwagakure ninja who believes in the Will of Stone."

Qingye nodded approvingly, then kicked the middle-aged ninja twice, breaking both his legs. Ignoring his groan of pain, Qingye gestured to Yūhi Kurenai. "Kurenai, he's yours. Take him aside and interrogate him with Genjutsu."

Kurenai was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something and asked, puzzled, "Can't you use Sharingan Genjutsu to interrogate them, Qingye?"

That should be much more efficient than her own methods.

The accursed Sharingan was practically the strictest father any Genjutsu ninja could have.

Ever since she was little, Kurenai had often heard her father disparage the Uchiha Clan at home.

"You handle the interrogation, Kurenai. I have a lot to do, and I need to save my energy for battle," Qingye said, casually offering an excuse.

He was still paying off his Chakra Loan!

His daily usable Chakra was capped at one unit—not a lot, but not nothing, either. Best to conserve it.

"Think about it. If another enemy squad is heading this way, shouldn't I save my strength as much as possible?"

Kurenai suddenly understood. "You really do think of everything, Qingye."

Watching Kurenai drag the middle-aged Iwagakure ninja some distance away and begin interrogating him, Hyuga Himon finally spoke up in a low voice.

"I'm guessing you deliberately wanted to give Kurenai a chance to prove herself, right, Qingye?"

"?"

Where had that come from?

"Come on, you don't have to pretend." Hyuga Himon looked as if he'd seen right through him. "My main role in our squad is reconnaissance, and that role is irreplaceable."

As for his Gentle Fist in close combat, compared with Qingye's strength, it was basically negligible.

Yūhi Kurenai's role, on the other hand, was an awkward one!

Her specialty was her family's Genjutsu, which happened to be one of the things Qingye, an Uchiha, excelled at too.

That left Kurenai's role in the squad unclear. Given enough time, she might start doubting herself, which could affect the teamwork between squad members.

After laying out his reasoning, Hyuga Himon said confidently, "You must have noticed that, Qingye. That's why you deliberately gave Kurenai a chance to prove herself."

"..."

"Well? Am I right?"

Qingye couldn't help patting Hyuga Himon on the shoulder. "Himon, you're a genius!"

All he'd wanted was to slack off a little and save some Chakra.

Who knew there was another way to explain it?

"Don't worry. I won't tell Kurenai."

Hyuga Himon added this.

Qingye had meant well, but if Kurenai found out she'd been given special treatment, who knew how she'd feel?

Qingye had no answer. He could only pat Himon's shoulder, his face full of emotion.

Before long, Kurenai finished the interrogation.

She brought the middle-aged Iwagakure ninja back, then took the young one aside for questioning. As Qingye had suggested, that way they could check each other's stories.

"They both said the same thing."

Kurenai summarized the information she'd just gathered, her expression grave.

According to the two men, there were already more than 1,500 Iwagakure ninja in the Land of Grass, and reinforcements might still arrive.

The supreme commander was the son of Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki of Both Scales: Kitsuchi.

As she spoke, Kurenai unfolded the map in her hands. "I marked the ninja outposts and supply depots they told us about."

On the map of the Land of Grass, a great river flowed in from the Land of the Waterfall in the northeast, crossed the entire country, then ran south into the Land of Rain.

Kannabi Bridge lay across this river, less than a hundred miles from the border of the Land of Grass.

For ninja, covering that distance would take just over half an hour. But with Iwagakure outposts along the way—and possibly ninja from Kusagakure as well—they couldn't simply hurry there at full speed.

When exactly would the Battle of Kannabi Bridge take place?

"Can we really win this?" Kurenai couldn't help feeling pessimistic.

Hyuga Himon felt the same way. "More than half a year ago, the village had to make a huge effort to drive Sunagakure out of the heart of the Land of Fire during the Battle of Kikyo Mountain. But the war with Sunagakure still hasn't ended."

The Third Shinobi World War had entered its third year, and there was no sign of it coming to an end.

Could Konoha really win the war?

"We definitely can't do it with just the forces here. No matter how much of a genius Shikaku Nara is, he can't drive back the Iwagakure army with so few people," Qingye said, shaking his head.

"Then what do we do? Wait, are you saying we'll get reinforcements?" Kurenai's eyes suddenly lit up.

Hyuga Himon asked, "But does the village have any ninja left to send to the front?"

For years, students at the Ninja Academy had graduated at nine and gone straight to the battlefield.

"That depends on which front reaches a conclusion first."

Qingye pointed at the map. "The war against Sunagakure is going very well. We've already pushed the front line back into the Land of Rivers, so that front should be the first to reach a conclusion. Sunagakure is also fighting Iwagakure in the Land of Rain, which works in our favor too."

"Also, on the Land of Lightning front, the Yellow Flash has recently repelled two attacks led by the Kumogakure AB Combo. Kumogakure will probably have a hard time keeping up its offensive."

Hearing the renowned title of Yellow Flash, Hyuga Himon felt more confident. "If Jōnin Minato comes here, the situation will definitely turn around!"

Minato Namikaze was arguably the name that had inspired Konoha the most since the Third Shinobi World War began!

Kurenai tilted her head, puzzled. "By the way, where did you get such detailed information, Qingye?"

The situation on the Sunagakure and Kumogakure fronts—even the details about the Yellow Flash—where had he learned all that?

The three of them were together so much that you could practically say they were inseparable during the day, only sleeping apart at night.

She hadn't seen Qingye go anywhere by himself, either.

"Heh, don't underestimate my intelligence network," Qingye said with a laugh.

If he didn't understand the overall state of the war in the Shinobi World, how would he have dared to be so reckless these past two and a half years?

Minato Namikaze had only just left the Kumogakure front. He'd probably be coming to the Iwagakure front next to blow up the bridge, so Qingye had to keep a close eye on him!