Two People Who Couldn't Stand Each Other

"This mission requires us to proceed along the route marked by the Intelligence Department and search for any potential Uchiha ninja."

As a ninja in the Intelligence Department, Saint Simon was tasked with guiding Kazashiro.

He took out a neatly folded map from his jacket pocket, spread it out on the ground, and the several red lines marked on it were clearly the markings given by the Intelligence Department.

"Our team's mission is to start from the south of Konoha, head all the way to the southern coast of the Land of Fire, then take a boat from there, and finally arrive here."

Saint Simon placed his finger on an isolated island off the coast of the ocean on the map, which was marked with a circular vortex.

"So that's how it is, the Uzushio Village that has been reduced to ruins."

With his hands in his pockets, Fugutake Tonbo bent over. Although the upper half of his face was tightly wrapped in bandages, it did not seem to affect his vision.

I always felt this guy had a weird, cool vibe about him.

Kazashiro tried to imitate the strange standing posture of the Fugutake Tonbo, but eventually gave up.

"The footprints are deep, the texture is rough, and the gait is irregular; there shouldn't be any ninjas in the opposing team."

Saint Simon lay prone on the ground, his face almost touching the earth, just to observe the footprints in front of him.

"This does not match the information reported by the analysis team."

After determining that the footprints in front of him were not of much value, Saint Simon got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and then looked at the Fugutake Tonbo not far away.

"Don't look at me. I'm just a regular member of the analysis team, only responsible for memory retrieval."

With his hands in his pockets, Fugutake Tonbo shrugged, signaling the other party not to take their anger out on him.

The mountain range before us was one of the enemy's strongholds that the Intelligence Department believed might be occupied, but judging from the footprints, the other side should just be a group of idle mountain bandits.

"Furthermore, the determination that there were obvious traces of ninjutsu on the body was made by the coroner's team. You should go and have a talk with them."

When examining the footprints, Fugutake Tonbo didn't lie flat on the ground like Saint Simon. Instead, he squatted down and reached out to touch the texture of the footprints.

"Indeed, these are just footprints left by ordinary people, but the gait is not disordered; it is the unique walking posture of a ronin."

Fugutake Tonbo's words startled Saint Simon for a moment.

"Our analysis team frequently participates in overseas missions, and our combat experience far surpasses that of your Intelligence Department headquarters members."

Without looking at Saint Simon's expression, or rather, without needing to look at Saint Simon's expression, Fugutake Tonbo returned to the spot where he had just been standing after saying those words.

"Haha, no matter what, the Analysis Class is under the management of the Intelligence Department. We're all from the same department. Come on, have some snacks." Sensing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Akimichi Shidou immediately stepped in to smooth things over and offered his own snacks.

Even though Akimichi Shidou, Special Jonin forward to try and ease the tension, Saint Simon and Fugutake Tonbo showed no intention of agreeing. Neither of them even glanced at Akimichi Shidou, continuing to do their own thing.

"By the way, where's Captain Kazashiro?"

Seeing that neither of them had taken the snacks, Akimichi Shidou wasn't embarrassed and put one in his mouth, while remembering that his captain hadn't returned yet.

"Have no idea."

This time, the Fugutake Tonbo did give a reply, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Honestly, are all the young people in the village this temperamental these days?

Having received a reply, Akimichi Shidou didn't know what to say and could only sit there, waiting for Kazashiro to return on his own.

At this point, Kazashiro had reached the middle of the mountain range and found a wooden fence there.

"Indeed, no amount of intelligence gathering can compare to asking people directly."

After glancing at the lazy bandits inside the enclosure, Kazashiro Body Flicker Technique appeared in front of them.

"Excuse me, who is your boss?"

The sudden question instantly woke the drowsy bandit. He was about to angrily curse who had ruined his sweet dream when he saw the Konoha Forehead Protector hanging around the other person's neck.

"Holy crap?!"

In desperation, the bandits swore.

The other party's answer was also beyond Kazashiro's expectations. He didn't expect that his polite inquiry would be met with such rudeness, and his face fell instantly.

He immediately pulled out an Exploding Tag from his waist, stuck it on the other person, and then kicked him away.

The loud explosion quickly reached Saint Simon and the others' ears. Before the two could react, Akimichi Shidou stood up first and deftly blocked their way.

"Dragonfly, begin sensing immediately! Saint Simon, prepare for flank defense!"

Akimichi Shidou's nimble movements demonstrated what it means to be an agile fat man. In just a breath, this Special Jonin had already made all the arrangements and set up the team's defenses.

"It's Captain Kazashiro's Chakra."

Without wasting any words, Fugutake Tonbo immediately followed Akimichi Shidou's instructions to sense the familiar Chakra.

"Lead the way immediately!"

The group began a standard ninja run, and guided by the Fugutake Tonbo, they arrived at Kazashiro's location at an extremely fast speed.

"Hmm? You've come at the right time. I've captured a prisoner; let's see if we can get any information out of him."

Sensing the arrival of the group, Kazashiro did not turn around. Instead, he grabbed a man by the hair and forcibly dragged him to an open space.

"That's really brutal."

Watching Kazashiro, who was only 1.6 meters tall, forcibly drag the 1.8-meter-tall prisoner, Fugutake Tonbo, who was used to seeing big scenes, felt a chill for some reason.

However, Fugutake Tonbo felt that she had seen this man with a blood-stained face somewhere before.

"I have already marked him with Curse Mark, so he cannot gather Chakra at the moment. I can read his memories at will."

Kazashiro thoughtfully explained the situation to the Fugutake Tonbo.

Is this even necessary?

Akimichi Shidou glanced at the prisoner who was desperately turning his head to beg for mercy, and felt that at this moment, no matter how private the question was, he and his group would get the real answer.

But he knew his place in the team, so he wisely kept quiet.

With Saint Simon's assistance, Fugutake Tonbo placed his hand on the prisoner's head and began reading his memories.

Half an hour later, Fugutake Tonbo and Saint Simon left the half-dead man and reported the current situation.

"Hiyama Daisuke, Konoha, was presumed to have gone missing during the Third Shinobi World War. He has been hiding in this mountain range for years, supporting himself with a group of bandits."

Why not go back to the village?

Upon hearing this name, Akimichi Shidou licked his lips, somewhat curious about the reason for the other party's defection.

"What's the point of going back to the village? To continue being used as cannon fodder by you Ninja Clan? I've had enough of that vague and unrealistic Will of Fire. Because of that damned Sarutobi Clan ninja's command, our entire squad is dead, all of them are dead!"

Perhaps sensing that he was going to die, Hiyama Daisuke suddenly began to let loose, waving his arms even though his joints were pierced by Senbon needles.