Undercover Mission!

In the Land of Water, within Kirigakure, a ninja dressed as a chunin wound his way through several turns before entering a house. The interior looked no different from any ordinary home. The man walked over to a wardrobe and twisted one of its ornaments. Suddenly, the wardrobe flipped, revealing a hole. The man entered the opening, and the wardrobe rotated back into place, leaving the room as if nothing had ever happened.

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

The man was unaware that he had already been targeted!

"Captain, I sense this Yukimura Gōzan moving through a secret passage toward a house one hundred meters to the north!" one Kirigakure Anbu said.

"Hmph! He certainly hides deep. Leave three men to stake out this place, and the rest of you, follow me!" the lead Kirigakure Anbu ordered.

For a ninja, a distance of one hundred meters takes only a few breaths!

The group laid an ambush around the house. From the outside, this building looked like nothing more than an unremarkable, ordinary residence in Kirigakure.

"Captain, Yukimura Gōzan is here!" the sensory Anbu ninja reported.

"Get ready!" the lead Kirigakure Anbu commanded.

The others nodded in acknowledgment.

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

Suddenly, the Kirigakure Anbu smashed through the doors and windows!

Yukimura Gōzan thought to himself, Damn it! I've been exposed!

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

Seeing this, the Kirigakure Anbu were terrified and scrambled to retreat!

BOOM! With a deafening blast, Yukimura Gōzan blew himself up. The entire house was reduced to rubble!

"Damn it! For Yukimura Gōzan to be so decisive in committing suicide, it shows how deeply his identity was hidden—he couldn't afford to be exposed! We pulled out one nail but couldn't dig out the rest of the string. How disappointing!" the lead Kirigakure Anbu said.

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

"Send it to the Anbu Base immediately for decryption! I hope we can still salvage some useful information," the lead Kirigakure Anbu said.

Soon, the Anbu's decryption results came back. Most of the intelligence was damaged, and the decipherable portion was limited. It contained classified information regarding Kirigakure, and the destination for the report was Konohagakure!

"So it was a spy from Konohagakure! Tch! What a waste!" The lead Kirigakure Anbu reported the results to the Third Mizukage.

With that, the case of the spy elimination in Kirigakure came to an end.

A week later, the Konohagakure Intelligence Division learned that Yukimura Gōzan had been eliminated while infiltrating Kirigakure and reported the matter to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed on his pipe while listening to the report from the Intelligence Division. He sighed, "Kirigakure is inherently xenophobic and very closed off. Every operative we manage to infiltrate is precious. It will be extremely difficult to send someone else in."

"You may withdraw. I will arrange for a new spy," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

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

A subtle ripple stirred in a hidden corner of the Hokage's Office; an Anbu guard had already departed for Root.

"Let Root handle the dispatching of spies," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought, taking 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 clandestine operations. Because it had only been active for a short time, most of its members were recruited directly from ninja clans, with a very small number of commoner ninja. It had not yet reached the point of preying on orphanages—that was something Danzo would only resort to after the Second Great Ninja War, once Root had suffered heavy losses.

"However, with the establishment of Root, that guy Danzo's power has grown significantly. Much of the intelligence passes through him first, and he holds a lot of first-hand information. This..." As Hiruzen Sarutobi was deep in thought, Danzo pushed the door open 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, his mind made up.

In the evening, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Jiogan.

"Lord Hokage, Ame is standing by!" Jiogan said, kneeling on one knee.

"Ame, there is a top-secret mission that requires your completion," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Jiogan was startled upon hearing this; it was the first time he had seen Hiruzen Sarutobi so serious. "Lord Hokage, please give your orders!"

"Konoha's spies in Kirigakure have been discovered, and the losses are significant. We need new spies to infiltrate and provide intelligence once again. I have already arranged for Root to rebuild the spy network in Kirigakure," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Then, by seeing me, do you mean for me to monitor Root's movements?" Jiogan asked.

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

Upon hearing this, Jiogan realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi did not trust Root. Had the seeds of suspicion been sown as early as the establishment of Root?

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Jiogan had no other choice. It wouldn't be bad to go play in another village, and besides, it was Kirigakure—there were many precious Water Style techniques hidden there!

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

"That's right, I don't!" Summoning Beasts were of little use to Jiogan, so he had never bothered to look for one.

"This is the summoning scroll of my Sarutobi Clan. My clan has held a contract with the Monkey Clan for over a hundred years. I am making an exception to grant you temporary summoning privileges! Go ahead and sign your name," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, pulling out a scroll—though it was clearly not a summoning scroll.

Is this a sub-scroll? Whatever, I don't have any interest in the Monkey Clan anyway, Jiogan thought.

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

"This contract is used for transmitting intelligence. Use the Summoning Technique to hand the intelligence to a monkey, then dispel the technique. The intelligence will be transmitted 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 will be your sole mission! I will reward you based on the importance of the intelligence you send back," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"To the public, I will announce that you are executing a long-term mission in the Land of Wind! This Kirigakure undercover mission is known only to you, me, and Hatake Sakumo. Go back and prepare! Depart tomorrow!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

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

Anbu Locker Room, Damn it, a long-term mission? It's like they're exiling me! Even though I did want to leave the village for a bit, this is way too long! I'm going to miss Feiyun so much! Jiogan thought.

Yet, he understood that among the direct Anbu squads, he was the only one with enough strength and the necessary Water Release skills and sensory abilities to pull off an undercover mission in Kirigakure.

That night, Jiogan invited Kurama Feiyun to his home for a date. Not knowing how long it would be before he returned, he told her he was heading out on a classified mission that would keep him away for a long time. The two embraced for a long while, unable to bear the thought of parting.

Jiogan's inability to hold back and Kurama Feiyun's lack of restraint led them to the brink of crossing the line, but at the very last moment, they managed to regain control.