The ninja looked to be in his twenties. His clothes were sloppy, and he was unkempt.
He was staggering down the street, reeking of alcohol. What was puzzling was that the patrol ninjas looked at him with fear and disgust.
They simply avoided him, as though steering clear of a pile of stinking dog shit.
Yusuke activated Sensory Ninjutsu. The man's chakra wasn't particularly strong—roughly at Chunin level.
This time, the advantage is mine!
The strange goings-on in the street gave Yusuke a deep sense of danger. He decided to take the initiative and follow the lone Amegakure ninja from a distance.
The Amegakure ninja ahead of him swayed as he walked. When he turned a corner and spotted a brothel, an obscene smile spread across his face.
Yusuke seized his chance and hurried after him.
As he reached the Chunin's side, he swiftly formed Hand Seals and reached out to pat the man on the shoulder. The genjutsu took effect without a sound.
The Chunin opened his bleary eyes and looked at the person beside him. He had already been hypnotized.
"Who's that?"
"Oh, it's you, Daisuke. Why aren't you out on patrol?" he asked drunkenly.
"Heh, I was getting a little bored and wanted to find some fun," Yusuke said, as the Chunin saw it.
The Chunin gave him the knowing smile of a man who understood. "I get it, I get it. Come on, let's go inside."
He pointed to the brothel in front of them.
But the Chunin's lecherous smile didn't seem to be in anticipation of the women inside. His gaze was actually fixed rather brazenly on Yusuke.
"No way. No freaking way. There's Sichuan opera here, too?"
Yusuke's mouth twitched, and a layer of goosebumps rose across his back.
Suppressing his disgust, the two of them entered the brothel.
The owner was a mature-looking young woman. She smoked a pipe as she swayed over to them.
"Well, if it isn't Lord Kuroiwa."
She glanced at the Chunin supported by Yusuke. His handsome, rugged features made her eyes brighten slightly.
Kuroiwa laughed. "The usual."
The owner moved closer, giggling as she leaned against Yusuke.
With a teasing pout, she complained, "Lord Kuroiwa, you really are something. Changing your—"
Yusuke immediately cut her off. "Get us a private room!"
He was afraid the owner might say something that would alert Kuroiwa and dispel the genjutsu.
The owner listlessly took a drag on her pipe and gave Yusuke a resentful look.
She pulled a wooden token from her waist and handed it to him, then breathed softly into his ear.
"If you need anything in the future, just come find me. I'll give it to you for free."
Damn it, I just got hit on by a woman.
But his life came first. He had a bad feeling about this, and no time to deal with the woman in front of him, so he grabbed the token and hurried upstairs.
Watching the two of them leave, the owner smiled knowingly.
"Ninjas sure know how to have fun. What a shame about that handsome young man, though."
Once they were in the room, Yusuke dropped the act and threw Kuroiwa to the floor.
Kuroiwa had clearly been hurt by the fall. He staggered to his feet in anger. "You bastard, Daisuke! How dare you?"
Yusuke was already disgusted enough. He stepped forward and slammed an elbow into Kuroiwa's neck.
Kuroiwa rolled his eyes and collapsed with a thud.
The sound carried downstairs. The owner took a puff on her pipe and smiled. "What a fierce battle."
Yusuke quickly searched the room and found some rope for tying people up.
Who knew why they had rope and whips here, too?
He tied Kuroiwa up like a parcel.
Once he'd finished, Yusuke put a hand on Kuroiwa's head. "Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique!"
Kuroiwa's memories flashed before him like scenes from a revolving lantern.
"So this guy's the nephew of one of Hanzo the Salamander's trusted men. No wonder he acts so brazenly."
Yusuke continued searching through his memories for important information.
Aside from that, the useless bastard's memories contained nothing but "alcohol," "women," "men," and things that would get this book banned if they were written out.
"Ugh, my eyes. I have to find Tsunade and wash them out when I get back."
Suppressing his disgust, Yusuke kept probing. At recent ninja meetings, this guy had even shown up half drunk. He was a hopeless drunk.
Still, Yusuke uncovered some important information. The words "Land of Iron" and "supplies" had come up repeatedly at the meetings.
Yusuke stroked his chin and thought it over.
According to his memories of his past life, Hanzo the Salamander couldn't stand the three nations waging war in the Land of Rain, so he had launched the Second Shinobi World War.
But what would the resource-starved Land of Rain need most if it wanted to declare war on so many great nations? Supplies, of course.
As a neutral country, the Land of Iron had long sold iron ore and accumulated considerable wealth.
It all made sense now!
He was at the very point when the Second Shinobi World War was about to begin!
And Amegakure's next major move would be to attack the Land of Iron.
"That's a huge piece of intel," Yusuke thought.
"Knock, knock, knock!" A hurried rapping suddenly came from outside.
"My lords, stop playing around. The patrol unit outside wants you both to come verify your identities."
The owner's voice snapped Yusuke out of his thoughts.
Yusuke's heart sank. "This is bad. If they find Kuroiwa unconscious and tied up like this, it goes without saying what will happen to me as a spy."
He didn't open the door. Instead, he went to the window and looked down.
Two more ninjas were guarding the entrance downstairs.
From what Yusuke had observed earlier, patrol squads usually had at least five members, led by a Chunin or a Jonin.
He wasn't strong enough to take on so many people, and he couldn't risk drawing the attention of the other patrols.
"Do I have to use Incursio and fight to the death?"
As Yusuke wrestled with the decision, the knocking at the door grew more urgent.
"My lords? Can you hear me?"
Yusuke took a deep breath and made up his mind.
He went to Kuroiwa and used chakra to destroy the nerves in his brain. That way, even if Yusuke escaped, his identity wouldn't be discovered.
Yusuke covered Kuroiwa with a blanket, then used the Transformation Technique to take on Kuroiwa's appearance.
Imitating Kuroiwa's manner, he flung open the door, cursing.
"Get the hell out! I'm in the middle of something!"
The owner peeked into the room. There was still a length of rope on the floor.
She gave an awkward laugh, then ingratiatingly linked her arm through Yusuke's and pressed it against her chest, holding it firmly in place.
"The patrol officers are still waiting. A lowly civilian like me wouldn't dare offend them."
"Don't worry. I'll make it up to you."
The owner smiled apologetically and gave Yusuke a seductive look.
Yusuke shut the door with an impatient air. With the owner clinging to his arm, the two of them staggered downstairs.
The patrol ninjas looked at Yusuke with contempt. "Kuroiwa, don't think you can do whatever you want just because your second uncle is backing you."
"Hanzo is the village's leader, not your second uncle."
The patrol ninja's tone was stern, but there was a hint of bluster in it.
Yusuke decided to take a gamble. He imitated the way Kuroiwa had acted during the interrogation.
"If you're so great, go find yourself an uncle like mine. You could work your whole life and still only make Chunin."
"What makes a useless piece of trash like you think you can talk back to me?"
The atmosphere between the two sides instantly turned icy, and tensions rose to the breaking point.
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