Sinister and Scheming

In the heart of the Land of Wind, Mingsha City.

Five days have passed since Taiichi went out on his mission again. During these five days, Taiichi attacked Sunagakure's logistics Resupply teams twice, causing the once relaxed vigilance within the Land of Wind to become tense again.

Correspondingly, the title of "White Reaper" was firmly established throughout Sunagakure. The two attacks, which had barely begun, had already given Taiichi huge headache with the cries of "White Reaper is coming."

If it weren't for the fact that he genuinely couldn't defeat so many ninjas, he would have truly wanted to silence all these Sunagakure Ninja who were shouting everywhere.

Now, Taiichi come to Shaming City once again. On the roof of a tall building, he sits against the wall, eating the local "delicacies" while using his Chakra Perception to search for information about the city.

This is the center of the entire city, and with his Chakra Perception covering a wide area, he can monitor most of the city.

If someone gets close enough to see Taiichi, they can see that his eyes glow with a faint blue light, as if a blue film covers his clear black and white eyeballs.

This is the result of Taiichi's research over the past few days— Soul Vision.

It involves further developing the application of Spirit Transformation Technique, enabling him to use the vision of a spirit without leaving his body.

After all, astral projection is too dangerous. For Taiichi, who is afraid of death, it is natural to minimize the risk. Thus, the Ninjutsu Soul Vision was born.

With the aid of his Soul Vision, Taiichi's judgment of his opponent's strength became more accurate, and he no longer needed to make vague estimates based on appearance and aura.

Taiichi's observations over this period revealed a significant difference in the spiritual level between chuunibyou, Genin, and Jonin.

The Soul Flame of Jonin are significantly stronger than those of a Chunin or Genin, both in quantity and quality. Jonin's Soul Flame can be as large as a soccer ball, and its brightness is like a light in the dark, making it particularly conspicuous.

For example, right now, in Taiichi, there are eighteen Jonin in this Shaming City Jonin. Most of them are distributed in various key locations in the city, and it is obvious that they are the guardians sent here by Sunagakure.

But there were also two, scattered on either side of the city, moving aimlessly through the city, one to the left and one to the right. What caught Taiichi's attention was the large patch of purple on their souls.

This demonstrates proficiency in Lightning Style.

If there was only one, Taiichi wouldn't care, but the appearance of two at the same time caught Taiichi's attention.

He vividly remembered how he had thoroughly thrashed the Cloud Village ninjas last time and even framed the Sunagakure Ninja. Now, with these two ninjas skilled in Lightning Style here, could it be a follow-up to that incident?

Taiichi stared at the nearest Lightning Style ninja, his Chakra Perception quietly converging on him. Gradually, the ninja's appearance became clearer in Taiichi's perception.

They didn't have the bronze skin common among Cloud Ninja; instead, they had a fair complexion, but they clearly lacked the rough skin of Sunagakure who were constantly exposed to wind and sand.

Taiichi immediately became interested and shifted his perception to the other side, only to get the same answer.

These two guys, are they using Transformation Technique?! They actually look more like ninjas from the Land of Fire.

Just as Taiichi was about to observe more closely, the Lightning Style ninja seemed to sense something, immediately stopped, and scanned his surroundings, especially in Taiichi's direction.

But as soon as he stopped, Taiichi had already flipped over and hid behind the wall, avoiding his sight.

Taiichi slowly reduced his Chakra Perception, maintaining only the minimum monitoring function, and even had the leisure to pick up the jerky next to him and throw it into his mouth.

"He has such keen senses. I only increased my strength a little bit, and he noticed. He really isn't here to do good!" Taiichi muttered to himself, complaining about others while completely ignoring the fact that he was also there to cause trouble.

That night, Taiichi did not return to the Konoha Camp as usual, but stayed in Shaming City to continue keeping an eye on the two Lightning Style ninjas. He had a feeling that he might be able to get some interesting information from them.

At night, when it reaches 8 o'clock, Shaming City, like all big cities, welcomes its nightlife.

Everywhere was a scene of dazzling lights and bustling activity, with roadside stalls filling the streets and alleys. Just as Taiichi was getting impatient with his surveillance, he sensed that the two Lightning Style ninjas had changed direction at the same time and were heading towards the city center.

Taiichi immediately perked up. Judging from their route, they were most likely heading to an izakaya (Japanese pub). He quickly jumped off the roof and entered the rather large izakaya before they arrived.

Taiichi casually ordered a few dishes and began to eat at a leisurely pace.

A few minutes later, the two people walked in one after the other. Taiichi had thought they would pretend not to know each other, but to his surprise, the two of them brazenly sat down together, saying something like, "Long time no see!"

You're here to do business too!

"Yes, yes, business is tough in the Land of Fire, so we've come to the Land of Wind to try our luck!"

Taiichi sat not far from them, watching the two chatting animatedly. He suddenly felt that life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills. If he hadn't confirmed that they were really ninjas, and even Jonin that, he would have believed their nonsense.

Chakra Perception quietly enveloped them, revealing the two Jonin's subtle movements. While they were talking, they were rhythmically tapping the table with one hand, using their arms as cover—clearly their code.

Good heavens, this is definitely a professional spy. Taiichi, a self-taught spy, is no match for him. He's even come up with a set of code words. It seems that ordinary reconnaissance won't get any useful information.

Taiichi quickly finished the food on the table, got up and left the izakaya. He wasn't going to waste any more time with the two of them. As long as he confirmed that they were in cahoots, he could find out the rest later.

As for the plan, he already had a preliminary idea in mind.

Inside the izakaya, the two appeared to be chatting animatedly, but if you translated the coded messages they were using by tapping on the table, it was a completely different story.

"We received a message from the village today that Lord Ai and his group have already set off, and the village wants us to be ready to meet them as soon as possible."

Do you know where they landed?

"There's no news yet; we'll probably only get notified closer to the appointed time."

"I feel like I'm being watched today, but I can't find who's watching me."

1

"Remember, if we are discovered, we are Konoha ninjas."

"Understood, everything is for the village."

The next morning, Taiichi woke up on the rooftop of a tall building. He dismissed the Shadow Clone that was on night duty beside him and found nothing noteworthy in his memories, Taiichi was relieved.

Flying Thunder God returned to the Konoha Camp Flying Thunder God Technique, then created three Shadow Clones to remain at the Medical Camp. Taiichi pausing, he returned to the small building where he had awakened. He had a lot to do today and couldn't waste any time.

Using his Chakra Perception, Taiichi wandered around Shaming City, focusing on the places where Sand Village Ninja frequently appeared. Perhaps it was too early, because it wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that he finally found a Sunagakure Ninja in front of a small inn.

Look at the sign on this little hotel, that eye-catching pink decoration, and then look at the Sunagakure Ninja's unsteady gait and bluish eyes; it's clear this guy had a wild night last night.

He just kept swaying along, unhurried and unperturbed, figuring that disappearing for a day wouldn't attract anyone's attention.

Having locked onto his target, Taiichi immediately Flying Thunder God Technique. He then created an underground space using Earth Style, created two Shadow Clones to keep watch, and used his main body to perform the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Taiichi's spirit quickly detached from his physical body. He glanced back at the Shadow Clone guarding his left and right, nodded to Taiichi, and then his figure slowly faded and disappeared from sight.

It only took Taiichi a few seconds to find the ninja again. When the man walked into an empty alley, Taiichi's spirit rushed straight into his body.

Instantly, a strong sense of repulsion filled Taiichi; this was the ninja's own soul's spontaneous resistance against Taiichi. However, the Spirit Transformation Technique was indeed specifically developed to possess the enemy's body.

Taiichi just a slight exertion, Chakra -encased spirit easily suppressed the body's original soul, squeezing it into the deepest part of the body. From beginning to end, this Sunagakure Ninja had no power to resist at all.

At this moment, Taiichi was also full of novelty. He raised his hands and stomped his feet, trying out his new body as if examining a new piece of clothing. It was truly a magical experience.

But soon, a strong sense of weakness entered his soul from his body. Compared to his own body, this body was far too weak. Not to mention that he was at most a Chunin, just looking at how he looked, drained by a woman, he knew that his body was severely damaged.

Taiichi clenched his fist and sensed the Chakra within his body.

As expected, the Chakra within his body was like a stagnant pool, completely ignoring Taiichi's will. But that makes sense, since Chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy.

Now that Taiichi has taken over this body, even the spiritual energy has changed, so where does the control come from?

It seems that he can only use Taijutsu for the rest of the operation. However, looking at this body, Taiichi shook his head, guessing that it would be useless after he used it in battle once.

After exploring the body, Taiichi controlled it to walk out of the city. Because of his official identity as a member of Sunagakure, he walked openly and legitimately. He left the city gate in a dignified manner Taiichi quickly arrived at the location where the physical body was hidden.

The spirit detached from the physical body and floated into its own body in the blink of an eye. The sense of power it once possessed returned, and the unparalleled sense of harmony was something that those who had not experienced it could not understand.

At this moment, Taiichi finally understood why Buddhist scriptures say that the physical body is a precious raft for crossing the world. A good body is truly the foundation of all power. Not to mention changing one's body, even the loss of one's own body is an absolutely fatal loss for someone who pursues the strongest power.

Orochimaru in the future is the best example. The Living Corpse Reincarnation causes significant damage to the soul every time he changes bodies, which is why he was later defeated by Itachi with a single Sharingan Genjutsu.

Otherwise, try letting Itachi take down Jiraiya; it would be strange if he didn't beat the crap out of him.

Returning to the topic, Taiichi, now inside his own body, instructed his Shadow Clone to keep an eye on the Sunagakure Ninja while he continued into the city to track the two Lightning Style ninjas.

Taiichi didn't need to monitor them for long; by noon, the two left Shaming City one after the other.

Taiichi was secretly delighted and exclaimed, "The opportunity has come!" He immediately used Flying Thunder God to return to his hiding place, changed into a new outfit, and ran at full speed towards the two Lightning Style ninjas.

Having calculated the distance, Taiichi swaggered over and headed towards Shaming City, which was also the direction of the Lightning Style ninjas.

They walked towards each other, and soon they came into each other's view.

The Lightning Style duo remained remarkably calm. So what if they encountered a Sand Village Ninja? He seemed to be just a Chunin, but they were legitimate individuals and weren't intimidated at all. Therefore, they continued on their way, chatting with Amaterasu, completely disregarding Taiichi.

On Taiichi's side, seeing that the distance was getting closer and closer, and that the two Lightning Style ninjas had not shown the slightest vigilance towards him, he was overjoyed. It was as if the heavens were helping him.

When the distance between the two sides was less than 5 meters, and it seemed that if they closed the gap any further, the other side would instinctively become alert, Taiichi suddenly roared, "You scoundrels from Cloud Village, I've finally caught you! Today, I'll take your lives!"

As he spoke, Taiichi Body Flicker closed in, ignoring the tearing pain in his feet, and mercilessly stabbed the Kunai in his hand into the chest of one of the ninjas.

The two Lightning Style fighters were completely dumbfounded. First, they were startled by the sudden revelation of their identities, and second, the attack came so unexpectedly, without any warning whatsoever.

However, both of them were Jonin, unlike Taiichi's half-crippled body. Even in such a tense situation, they were able to dodge, Kunai only grazed his arm, scratching it.

Taiichi had clearly anticipated this situation. Missing his first attack, he didn't hesitate at all, using his momentum to sweep past the two of them. Immediately afterwards, he took out the Sunagakure's distress signal from his Ninja Tool Pouch and pulled it down into the sky.

A scarlet Signal Flare rose into the sky with a sharp whistling sound.

This place is only about a kilometer away from Shaming City. In this desert, there is not even any cover. The Sunagakure Ninja stationed in Shaming City can definitely see this Signal Flare clearly.

"Damn it, we've been exposed! Kill him!"

The incident happened so suddenly that the two of them didn't have time to think much. All they knew was that this Sunagakure Ninja had revealed their true identities, and they didn't have time to consider how the other party had found out.

The first thing to do now is to eliminate the only Sand Sunagakure Ninja who knows the truth before the Sunagakure reinforcements arrive, so that their identities can be kept secret.

Thus, a relentless offensive was launched against Taiichi. It was Taiichi's soul that was in control of this body; if it were the original body, it would probably have Jonin to pieces by these two enraged Jonin long ago.

Even so, Taiichi continued to suffer numerous wounds, large and small, all over his body. After all, the difference in strength was too great, and it was already quite remarkable that he had managed to do this much.

"You beasts of Cloud Village! You attacked us before, and now you're attacking us again! I will definitely report your plot to the village! Sunagakure will not let you get away with this!"

Taiichi? He'd rather be stabbed twice more than not verbally provoke his opponent, as if he desperately wants the other party not to kill him.

The two Cloud Ninja furious. This Sunagakure Ninja was incredibly slippery, always managing to narrowly escape their attacks. Although his wounds kept multiplying, he just wouldn't die.

While the two groups were locked in combat, there was also movement in Shaming City. The four nearby squads immediately converged and, led by two Jonin, quickly ran towards the direction from which the Signal Flare had risen.

They had only run five or six hundred meters when the three people fighting ahead came into view. The situation was clear: two ninjas from other villages were besieging a Sand Village Ninja.

What else is there to say? Get them to the rescue immediately!