Bubble Bath?

Land of Fire border.

"Captain Kagami, there's no sign of a battle in the south, either."

A male Ninja stood behind Kagami Uchiha. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"..."

With his back to the man, Kagami Uchiha was silent for a moment before replying hoarsely, "Thanks for your efforts. Go get some rest."

"...Yes."

The male Ninja raised his head and opened his mouth, but in the end, all that came out was a silent sigh. He answered quietly.

Among the Jonin, Hiruzen and Kagami treated their subordinates the best.

Now, seeing their captain wearing a gloomy expression day after day, they felt awful, too.

Over the past few days, under the patrol routes Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately assigned him, Kagami Uchiha had searched nearly the entire border.

Aside from encountering a few suspicious Cloud Village shinobi, he hadn't found so much as a trace of Uchiha Ao.

The news left Kagami Uchiha both somewhat relieved and worried.

Finding no trace meant Uchiha Ao hadn't been killed—at least, not anywhere near the border.

But he had ventured into the Land of Lightning to investigate, and without help from the Border Defense Force. Judging by past experience, his chances of survival were less than thirty percent.

"Thirty percent..."

Kagami Uchiha gazed wistfully toward the Land of Lightning.

"Even with my abilities, I wouldn't have a fifty percent chance of making it deep into the Land of Lightning..."

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind him and reported in a rush:

"Captain, there's a signal to the northeast!"

"Captain, there's a massive chakra surge to the northwest!" Another figure appeared moments later.

"Could it be..."

Kagami Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

"Come on. You're coming with me!"

"Yes... Which direction first?"

"Northeast!"

One day earlier, at Shimosaka Raiden Castle.

"Kinkaku and Ginkaku? It's really them?!"

Watching the two men enter the shop, Uchiha Ao's mouth twitched.

Those two would go on to kill two Kage. They'd done it by ambush, but with their abilities, his meager Transformation Jutsu wouldn't fool them for long. If he hung around in front of them, he'd be exposed on the spot.

But turning and walking away would look suspicious, too.

A quick idea came to him. He pretended to be looking for someone outside, then deliberately ducked into the shop next to the Ramen Shop.

In his haste, he hadn't even checked the shop's name before going in.

As soon as he stepped inside, an overpowering, cloying scent hit him. Behind the counter stood a blonde woman with a voluptuous figure and a bewitching face. Her eyes lit up when she saw Uchiha Ao.

"Welcome! Do you have a favorite dancer, sir?"

"..."

Uchiha Ao stared at the scene before him, frozen in place.

Where the hell had I ended up?

Dancers? Kabukicho? A Bubble Bath?

Gulp!

He swallowed, thoughts racing.

If he walked out now, Kinkaku and Ginkaku would very likely notice. With their abilities, even the slightest disturbance around them could put them on guard.

There was only one thing to do.

With a little help from his past-life experience, he smiled and pulled her close. "How about you?"

The Blonde Beauty gave him a coy look, her cheeks rosy.

"Sure. Just don't disappoint me, ah..."

She lightly slapped the hand he'd placed on her curvy backside and chided him playfully. "Behave yourself."

Uchiha Ao grinned and put his hand back.

"How much do you charge here?"

"Not much."

The Blonde Beauty covered her mouth and giggled. "Fifty thousand ryo."

"Fifty thousand?!"

Uchiha Ao's eyelid twitched.

And she called that not much?

After spending these past few days in this world, he'd gotten a decent sense of its prices.

One ryo had roughly the purchasing power of ten yen in his previous life. Fifty thousand ryo was about five hundred thousand yen, or more than twenty thousand yuan.

If the woman behind the counter hadn't been pretty and felt so nice to touch, he would've wanted to yell, Are all your girls here covered in diamonds?

The Blonde Beauty seemed to sense Uchiha Ao's displeasure. She said meaningfully,

"Please don't be upset yet, sir. There's a reason our prices are high. Come with me first."

For the sake of the two soft handfuls pressed against his arm, "Little Cangcang" put up with it and followed her into a secluded room.

As soon as he entered, he heard all kinds of noise coming from every direction: people talking, the bustle of the street, and shopkeepers hawking their wares.

"What is this...?"

He looked at the Blonde Beauty with a strange expression.

She smiled and explained, "This is our shop's latest specially designed room. Its clever construction lets it pick up all kinds of sounds from within a twenty-meter radius, giving you the feeling of being outdoors. But any sounds made inside the room won't carry to the other side.

"Of course, this service is only for customers who need it. If you don't, our regular rate is just ten thousand ryo. You'll get both me and another lovely dancer to serve you..."

As she spoke, she pressed closer to Uchiha Ao, nearly draping half her body over him.

"No need!"

Half a second later, Uchiha Ao raised his hand with a serious expression. "I want this service!"

As the most proper man in the entire Uchiha clan, he naturally wasn't interested in this kind of play. What he'd keenly picked up on was the crucial detail: all kinds of sounds within a twenty-meter radius.

From what he'd observed, the noodle shop next door couldn't be more than fifteen meters across, even counting the private rooms.

If he could use this device to overhear a few words from Kinkaku and Ginkaku, he might be able to complete his reconnaissance mission right then and there!

At once, he pulled several bills from his clothes. But before handing them over, he asked cautiously,

"If I choose this service, how many dancers will accompany me? Um... counting you, too.

"Five?

"Or six?"

It wasn't that he was lusting after women. He just had to play the part convincingly, or someone might get suspicious later.

"..."

The Blonde Beauty paused, then covered her mouth and giggled. "As long as you can keep up, the girls won't stop."

Smack!

Uchiha Ao slapped the bills onto the table, his expression solemn. "Let's do it!"

For the sake of this mission, he was all in!

Inside a private room at the noodle shop.

"Big brother, I heard the reconnaissance Ninja we sent to the Land of Fire have all returned these past few days. The information's a bit vague, but apparently Uzumaki Mito hasn't been seen in Konoha for months.

"I reckon the rumors that she's in poor health are probably true."

Ginkaku held a leg of lamb in one hand and drank rice wine with the other, speaking with his mouth full.

"This is a great opportunity. That guy Tobirama Senju alone can't stop our attack!"

"Tch. What good is that?"

Across from him, Kinkaku pursed his lips and took a sip of rice wine. "A refuses to make a decision. With just the Ninja under our command, we can't rally the whole village to start a war."

"Mm... He's really in the way. Why don't we just kill him?" Ginkaku tore off a chunk of lamb and chewed noisily.

"..."

Kinkaku considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "We can kill him, but not now. Since we've managed to secure command of the front line this time,

"we can keep wearing down the Ninja loyal to A. Once the balance of numbers shifts, starting a war will be as easy as the two of us saying the word.

"Once we take care of Konoha, the Nine-Tails inside that woman Uzumaki Mito will be ours!"

"Ha~"

Ginkaku wiped his mouth and took another drink of beer. "Big brother, you're so clever!"

As he spoke, he looked toward the wall behind Kinkaku, his gaze turning ominous.

"By the way, big brother, what should we do about the rat listening in by the corner?"

Kinkaku didn't seem surprised. The corner of his mouth curled into a vicious grin as he replied,

"Why, kill him, of course!"