Undercover Mission!

Land of Water, Kirigakure. A ninja dressed as a Chunin took several winding turns before entering a house. Inside, it looked no different from an ordinary home. The man walked over to a wardrobe and twisted one of its hanging ornaments. The wardrobe immediately rotated, revealing an opening. He entered it, and the wardrobe turned back into place, restoring the room to normal as though nothing had happened.

However, the man did not know that just as he entered the secret room, a squad of masked ninja appeared outside the house. Their masks identified them as Kirigakure Anbu Ninja!

The man had no idea he was already under surveillance!

"Captain, I sensed Yukimura Gōzan moving through a hidden passage toward a house one hundred meters due north!" one Kirigakure Anbu Ninja said.

"Hmph! He hid himself well. Leave three men here to keep watch. The rest, follow me!" the leading Kirigakure Anbu Ninja said.

A distance of one hundred meters took ninja only a few breaths to cross!

The group lay in ambush around the house. From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than an inconspicuous ordinary residence in Kirigakure!

"Captain, Yukimura Gōzan is here!" the sensory Anbu Ninja said.

"Get ready!" the leading Kirigakure Anbu Ninja ordered.

Everyone nodded in acknowledgment!

Yukimura Gōzan entered the room through the hidden passage and placed a scroll into a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards. Without lingering, he prepared to return through the passage!

Suddenly, Kirigakure Anbu Ninja burst in through the doors and windows!

Damn it! I've been exposed! Yukimura Gōzan thought.

Knowing he had no way out, Yukimura Gōzan did not hesitate. He directly triggered the Explosive Tags on his body!

The Kirigakure Anbu Ninja were terrified and swiftly retreated!

Boom! With a deafening blast, Yukimura Gōzan blew himself up! The entire house was blasted into fragments as well!

"Damn it! Yukimura Gōzan detonated himself so decisively. That shows just how deeply his identity was concealed—he could not allow it to be exposed! We pulled out only one nail but couldn't trace the whole chain! What a disappointment!" the leading Kirigakure Anbu Ninja said.

"Captain, we found a damaged scroll in the ruins!" an Anbu Ninja searching the area said.

"Send it to the Anbu Base immediately and decipher it as quickly as possible! Hopefully, we can still get some useful information from it!" the leading Kirigakure Anbu Ninja said.

Soon, the Anbu's decryption results came in. Most of the intelligence had been damaged, and only a limited portion could be deciphered. It concerned some confidential Kirigakure information, and its destination was Konoha!

"A Konoha spy? Tch! What a waste!" The leading Kirigakure Anbu Ninja reported the results to the Third Mizukage.

And so, a case involving the elimination of a spy in Kirigakure came to an end!

A week later, Konoha's Intelligence Department learned that Yukimura Gōzan had been eliminated while infiltrating Kirigakure and reported it to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he listened to the Intelligence Department's report, then sighed. "Kirigakure is already xenophobic and highly closed off. Every infiltrator we send in is precious. Sending someone in again will be extremely difficult!"

"You may leave first! I will arrange a new spy!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

After the head of the Intelligence Department left the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Go to Root and summon Elder Danzo!"

A subtle ripple passed through a hidden corner of the Hokage's Office, and an Anbu guard had already headed for Root.

Let Root handle the deployment of spies, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought as he took two more puffs from his pipe.

Root had been successfully established over the past two years and had already taken on most of Konoha's unsavory missions. Since it had only been formed recently, most of its members had been directly recruited from Ninja Clans, along with a very small number of civilian ninja. Danzo had not yet turned his attention to orphanages—that was something he would only do after the Second Shinobi World War, when Root suffered severe losses!

But with Root's establishment, Danzo's power has grown immensely. Much of the intelligence passes through him first, and he holds plenty of firsthand information. This... Hiruzen Sarutobi was deep in thought when Danzo pushed open the door and entered the Hokage's Office.

"Monkey, what do you want with me? Root is very busy!" Danzo said.

An hour later, Danzo walked out of the Hokage's Office.

"Danzo, don't blame me." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, having made up his mind.

That evening, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Jiogan.

"Lord Hokage, Ame awaits your orders!" Jiogan said, dropping to one knee.

"Ame, there is a top-secret mission that I need you to complete!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Jiogan was startled after hearing this. It was his first time seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi so serious. "Lord Hokage, please give your orders!"

"Konoha's spy in Kirigakure was discovered, and we suffered considerable losses. We need new spies to infiltrate and resume providing intelligence. I have already arranged for Root to rebuild its spy network in Kirigakure!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Then you summoned me to monitor Root's actions?" Jiogan asked.

"No! I want you to infiltrate Kirigakure alone! As an Anbu spy, you will provide intelligence for Konoha!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

After hearing this, Jiogan understood. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not trust Root after all. Had the seeds of suspicion been planted as early as Root's founding?

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Jiogan had no choice. It would be nice to visit another village, and Kirigakure at that—there were plenty of Water Release treasures there!

"Ame, you don't have a Summoning Beast yet, do you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"No, not yet!" A Summoning Beast was not of much use to Jiogan, so he had never sought one out.

"This is the summoning scroll of my Sarutobi Clan. The Sarutobi Clan has had a contract with the Monkey Clan for more than a hundred years. I will make an exception and grant you temporary summoning privileges! Write your name on it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, taking out a scroll, though it was clearly not a summoning scroll.

Is this a sub-scroll? Whatever. I'm not particularly interested in the Monkey Clan anyway, Jiogan thought.

But outwardly, he said, "Thank you, Lord Hokage!" With that, he signed his name.

"This contract is for transmitting intelligence. Use the Summoning Technique to hand the intelligence to a monkey, then release the Summoning Technique. The intelligence will be sent back to the Monkey Clan's territory, and I will retrieve it then!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"There is no time limit for this undercover mission. Until I recall you, this mission will be your only assignment! I will record your merits according to the importance of the intelligence you send back!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Publicly, I will announce that you have gone to the Land of Wind on a long-term mission! Only you, Hatake Sakumo, and I know about this Kirigakure undercover mission! Go back and prepare. You will depart tomorrow!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Jiogan vanished in a flash.

Anbu Locker Room,

Damn, a long-term mission? This is practically exile! I did want to leave the village and have some fun, but this is way too long! I can't bear to leave my Feiyun! Jiogan thought.

But he also understood that among the Anbu's direct forces, he was the only one suited for an undercover mission in Kirigakure who was also strong enough—someone skilled in Water Release and possessing sensory abilities.

That night, Jiogan arranged a date with Kurama Feiyun at his home. He did not know how long it would be before he returned, so he told Kurama Feiyun that he was leaving on a secret mission that would take a long time. The two held each other for a long while, reluctant to part.

Jiogan's inability to restrain himself and Kurama Feiyun's uncontrollable feelings nearly caused the two to truly cross the line, but they managed to stop themselves at the very last moment!