Intelligence

Lin Qing scooped up a handful of bathwater, infused it with Ripple power, and flung it upward.

Sizzle—sizzle—

"Overdrive Ripple Hot Spring!"

Tiny golden sparks, like electricity, suddenly flickered across the warm water. The stream instantly became sharper than metal and hotter than magma, like countless blades stabbing toward the eavesdropper on the roof.

Whoosh!

The roof was ripped away. Backlit by the lights inside the house, the other man wore no Forehead Protector, but Lin Qing had seen that cold look in his eyes many times before.

A Root operative!

"He sure got here fast."

Sato Takizo leaped into the air, dodging the stream of water.

Intelligence on Lin Qing was no secret by now:

He possessed terrifying close-quarters dominance, excellent combat instincts, and sound judgment. His weakness was a lack of mid- and long-range options. As long as you kept your distance, you could get away safely.

Following the intelligence report, Sato channeled chakra into his eyes, wary that Lin Qing might summon the Evil Spirit Giant. He leaped rapidly through the air, preparing to retreat.

Just then, he heard a buzzing sound approaching from afar. He looked up—

"A bird?"

Ratatatatat.

The two machine guns on Aero Smith flashed, their dense barrage cutting off Sato's escape.

Bang!

Sato vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shadow Clone Technique.

That was part of the intelligence, too.

Lin Qing's frontal combat strength was so terrifying that there was almost no room for error. To survive, you had to probe him with clones as much as possible.

In the shadows more than ten meters away, a pair of eyes slowly opened.

Sato glanced at the sky, still shaken.

"Was that a ninja beast?"

Whether it was a ninja beast or a ninjutsu, it only proved that Lin Qing had grown stronger in the short span of two months—more dangerous than ever.

"I have to report this to Lord Danzo."

Sato retreated quietly through the shadows, chakra still flowing into his eyes as he remained on high alert.

Under cover of night, he walked for nearly half an hour before finally reaching his local safe house. Once he shut the door, he let out a faint sigh.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It was nothing. It was my—"

Halfway through his reply, Sato suddenly realized something was wrong. He spun around and drew a Kunai.

Click.

A desk lamp switched on.

Lin Qing sat on the sofa, watching him calmly.

Sasuke stood beside him with his arms crossed, like a loyal bodyguard.

"You... how is this possible?!"

Sato had always been confident in his concealment skills.

Even in Root, where backstabbers were everywhere, his stealth and escape skills ranked among the best.

Now, like some foolish rookie, he had actually "led" the enemy tailing him right back to his safe house.

Sato accepted that he couldn't beat Lin Qing.

But to have his skills dismissed in the very field where he was most competent left him bewildered—and made him fear Lin Qing.

What kind of monster was this man...?

"Mind having a chat?" Lin Qing asked.

"About what?" Sato was a man of few words.

Lin Qing tossed a stack of documents onto the table.

He had found them in Sato's safe house. They were written in a special code used within Root.

Lin Qing couldn't read them, but they came with several photographs. The man in them carried all sorts of strangely shaped blades and looked like a dangerous character.

Given Sato's identity, these were reconnaissance reports.

Lin Qing had already swept the surrounding areas clean of fugitives and rogue ninja.

He needed a new target.

"Help me translate these," Lin Qing said.

Sato gripped his Kunai. "Why should I tell you? If I do, will you let me go?"

"Sure."

Lin Qing's straightforward answer left Sato dumbfounded and momentarily speechless.

From Lin Qing's perspective, killing a Root operative was pointless. It wouldn't yield much Soul Essence. He might as well trade him for information.

Lin Qing gestured for him to go ahead.

"If I tell you, you'll let me leave?" Sato asked.

It wasn't that he was afraid to die.

Sato's mission in the Land of Water wasn't just to track down Lin Qing. In fact, Lin Qing wasn't important enough to warrant sending a jōnin specializing in intelligence and reconnaissance.

The Land of Water, and Kirigakure in particular, had made one baffling blunder after another since the Third Shinobi World War. Some people even claimed that the Fourth Mizukage—Karatachi Yagura, a grown man only 1.4 meters tall—had lost his mind.

For years, Danzo had been gathering intelligence on the situation within the Land of Water and... accelerating the chaos.

The more the other nations fell into disarray, the more stable the Land of Fire would be by comparison.

The previous Mizukage had taken a cautious approach during his tenure. He had refused to join the Second Shinobi World War and established the Ninja Academy, spending decades building up the frail Kirigakure.

That had given Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura the resources to squander.

From Danzo's perspective, he would have loved for every great nation's Kage to be as incompetent as Karatachi Yagura.

Sato's mission in the Land of Water was to investigate Karatachi Yagura's actions, both in public and behind the scenes.

If possible, he was also to fan the flames and make the Land of Water's burning, tottering wreck of a ship blaze even brighter.

None of this was particularly secret.

The great nations were all infiltrating one another, reaching into each other's pants and groping around. Everyone had dirty hands.

Sato had to bring back the intelligence he had uncovered about the Fourth Mizukage alive.

That mattered far more than his own life.

"If you tell me, I'll let you go. I swear it on my soul," Lin Qing said.

Sato stared at Lin Qing, seeming to search for any sign of deceit.

After a moment, Sato put away his Kunai.

He was an expert who had infiltrated enemy territory alone to steal intelligence. In Lin Qing's previous life, he would have been the equivalent of James Bond or Jason Bourne. He had guts.

Sato pulled over a chair, sat down, and spread the intelligence across the table.

"There are a lot of details I can't reveal."

He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

As he channeled chakra, row upon row of black markings appeared at the base of his tongue.

The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

It was standard for Root operatives. Danzo personally placed it on them to keep them from leaking information.

Lin Qing nodded. "Just tell me what you can."

Sato laid it out in the most concise terms possible.

As mentioned, the Fourth Mizukage had made a series of baffling moves. And change meant shifting interests, which involved money.

"...When it comes to war, there are only two things that matter: money and manpower."

Sato said, "I found out that the Fourth Mizukage has been amassing wealth through various means, and the money he collects is secretly being funneled somewhere unknown.

"I'm still investigating where it's going and who's receiving it, but I did uncover one lead: the Fourth Mizukage was seen meeting with a Masked Man."

A Masked Man?

Lin Qing and Sasuke exchanged a glance, thinking of the Masked Man who had been with Itachi Uchiha on the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Could it be the same person?

Or was it a coincidence?

Sato continued, "The information still needs to be verified. And this..."

He pointed at the documents on the table.

"...is one of the ways the Fourth Mizukage is raising money. Three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are in charge of it."

The wielder of the Executioner's Blade, Biwa Juzo.

The wielder of Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki.

And the wielder of the Lightning Blade, Tusk: Raiga Kurosuki.

Lin Qing had often heard the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's name during his time in the Land of Water. To him, they were local heavy hitters, like the Avengers or the Seven Lucky Gods.

"That's all the information I can give you."

He quietly waited for Lin Qing's response.

The next second—

"Ora!"

Star Platinum slammed a fist into Sato's forehead.

"You bastard..."

Sato's vision went black.

Lin Qing hoisted him over one shoulder.

"When I said I'd let you go, I didn't mean right now."

After hearing the intelligence, Lin Qing was obviously going to investigate. If he let Sato go now, he'd just be giving Danzo time to set up an ambush for them.

Lin Qing planned to leave Sato with Kamihara for a while. Once things were over, he'd "ship" him back to Konoha. That way, Lin Qing wouldn't be breaking his promise.

"Are we leaving?" Excitement flashed in Sasuke's eyes.

Picking on nobodies all the time was no fun. Star Platinum had ended every fight with a single punch.

Sasuke had made some progress in Ripple Breathing Method lately and wanted to hone his skills in battle.

"Not yet. We need to find someone first."

"Who?"