You Are the Best Spy

Before leaving camp, the members of Seigetsu Senju's squad each went to prepare.

Kawadera Uchiha went to the supply depot to replenish his kunai and shuriken. In the distance, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Ishiya Uchiha.

That wasn't a chance encounter. Ishiya was deliberately trying to get Kawadera to find him.

After circling around to the back of an empty tent, Kawadera Uchiha whispered:

"Senior Ishiya, did you see what happened in the crowd just now?

I picked up a fragment of Ken Senju's armor, and I moved Seiei Senju and his sister Seigetsu to tears.

My clan asked me to gather information about the Senju Clan, and I've done a pretty good job. Seigetsu Senju is taking me to the battlefield in the Land of Grass.

The Senju Clan seems to be planning something big over there. Senior Ishiya, who should I contact when I get to the Land of Grass?"

Ishiya Uchiha nodded repeatedly. "I saw you pull out that shoulder-armor fragment.

You haven't let the clan down. That little girl Seigetsu Senju only just came of age, and she never noticed your careful scheming.

Keep up the good work in the Land of Grass. You can leave a coded sign somewhere out of sight. I'll teach you how to draw it, and someone will contact you when the time comes.

You're a genius. You actually thought of picking up a fragment of Ken Senju's armor on the battlefield. You're sure to become the best Spy in the Uchiha Clan!"

"I wouldn't dare call myself a genius. It's all thanks to your guidance and leadership, Senior Ishiya!" Kawadera Uchiha said.

"Senior Ishiya, will the clan's handler in the Land of Grass trust me as much as you do?

Being a Spy is hard. If I do a poor job, the village might discover me. But if I do a good job, I'm afraid the handler over there will suspect me of getting too close to Seigetsu Senju."

"Don't worry. The code I'm giving you is one of the clan's highest-level secret codes. It marks you as an important Spy I recruited. You have the Uchiha name and the Sharingan, so he'll trust you."

Kawadera Uchiha quickly memorized the shape of the code.

He had to get in touch with the Uchiha Clan's leader. Perhaps the ones who wanted to kill Nawaki Senju were the evil Uchiha.

Seigetsu Senju's squad traveled through the forest for several hours.

"Why is he so slow?"

Ken Aburame stared at the dark forest behind them.

They were supposed to be a squad, but Kawadera Uchiha insisted that the other three go ahead while he stayed behind alone to cover their rear.

Covering the rear—that one time he'd done so had completely changed Seigetsu Senju's opinion of Kawadera Uchiha.

Running into Cloud Ninjas was one thing, but now they were simply traveling. Why was he lagging so far behind?

"Is there really that much of a rear to cover?"

Seigetsu Senju frowned slightly, unsure what Kawadera Uchiha was doing.

Half a minute later, Kawadera Uchiha dropped down in front of them.

A moment later, sweat poured off him too.

It fell like rain, splattering onto the ground.

Kawadera Uchiha bent over with his hands on his knees. When he looked up, sweat ran from his eyelashes into his eyes, stinging so badly that he shut them again.

"Captain, I can't go on. Let's take a break."

"You!"

Ken Aburame was about to vent his frustration when Seigetsu Senju agreed.

"Fine. Let's take a break."

Seigetsu Senju watched a leaf fall from above Kawadera's head and understood what he was doing.

The Leaf Flicker Technique was a classic advanced Body Flicker Technique. Many members of the Senju Clan had trained in it.

The technique required great skill. Without years of practice, it was impossible to control it freely.

Even Seigetsu Senju hadn't mastered it. Her Body Flicker Technique relied purely on brute force. With a strong enough body, sheer power could work wonders; technique wasn't all that important.

Kawadera Uchiha leaned against a tree trunk, took out his canteen, and drank, breathing slightly hard.

"Kawadera!"

The light filtering through the canopy was blocked. Kawadera Uchiha looked up and saw Seigetsu Senju.

Her slender calves and shapely thighs.

Her figure curved beneath her one-piece skirt, and the glint on her shoulders made Kawadera Uchiha, who had watched countless videos in his previous life, feel his heart stir.

"Kawadera, before we left, did my brother say anything unusual to you?"

"Nothing too unusual. Your brother just warned me not to get any ideas about you. He said he wouldn't let me get away with it."

Seigetsu Senju's face flushed faintly, then she pursed her lips and said, "There's no way my brother would say something so trivial during wartime. There must have been something else."

"He definitely didn't have any schemes or bad intentions. He just told me to think of a way to slow down the squad's journey to the battlefield in the Land of Grass."

"Why? Why would my brother say that to you?"

"Maybe he doesn't want you taking part in battle too often," Kawadera Uchiha said.

"Your brother wants you to survive, even if it's not exactly in keeping with the Will of Fire."

"Impossible! My brother would never be that kind of person!"

Kawadera Uchiha made no comment.

He thought Seiei Senju's selfishness made him seem like a normal person.

Unlike the other members of the Senju Clan, who looked as if they were saying, "Just let me die for Konoha."

"Captain, I want to train my Body Flicker Technique along the way. A journey that would normally take five days might take us seven or eight. That won't delay us by much."

Kawadera Uchiha still had to complete the S-rank mission to protect Nawaki. Once he made progress with the Leaf Flicker Technique, he would pick up the pace.

Since it was her brother's request, Seigetsu Senju didn't press the matter.

As they traveled after that, Seigetsu Senju carefully watched Kawadera Uchiha train.

At their second break, Seigetsu Senju went over to Kawadera Uchiha, who was leaning against a tree root and gasping for breath, and said:

"Your Body Flicker Technique feels strange to me.

Your basic physique is poor, and you're weak, but your Leaf Flicker Technique is highly refined.

I've trained in the Leaf Flicker Technique too. Your technique is better than mine. You crouch as the leaves drift down, then push off the ground without making them scatter. It's practically perfect.

You must have spent a long time honing your technique, but I think basic Taijutsu is more useful."

Kawadera Uchiha gave a wry smile. He wished he had a physique as perfect as the Senju Clan's too.

They could train casually and develop Strength of a Hundred, or throw a punch with the force of a large-scale Earth Release technique.

However, the Uchiha weren't known for their physical prowess.

The Sharingan granted unmatched insight, but if the body couldn't react in time, seeing everything clearly was useless.

Seigetsu Senju said, "I think you should do more basic Taijutsu training.

Run, punch, kick, train with weights. Once you improve your fundamentals, your polished Leaf Flicker Technique will take your Body Flicker Technique to the next level."

Kawadera Uchiha said, "Basic Taijutsu takes years of practice to build up. In the short term, all I can improve is my technique."

Seigetsu Senju nodded and said, "Taijutsu is the foundation of a ninja's abilities.

Our Senju ancestors figured out long ago that Taijutsu combines offense, defense, and evasion. It's the most fundamental, practical, and energy-efficient skill.

Making your Great Fireball a little bigger would have almost no effect on the battle.

But making your Taijutsu a little faster could produce immediate results."

Kawadera Uchiha raised his hand. Seeing that his arm wasn't even as muscular as it had been in his previous life, he felt even more pressed for time.

[Strength] was only 3.9. His foundation was terrible.

His lack of strength weakened his push-off when using the Body Flicker Technique, which in turn limited his speed and left him vulnerable.

There were a few good ways to improve his Taijutsu.

The Senju Clan's Strength of a Hundred and the Forbidden Technique, the Eight Inner Gates—he needed to plan carefully and get his hands on both from Tobirama Senju as soon as possible.