"This is the teammate who will be joining you on this mission, Kurenai Yuhi."
It really was Kurenai Yuhi!
Excitement instantly flared in Gentō's heart.
As one of the most popular female ninja in Naruto, Kurenai Yuhi would definitely meet the system's criteria.
In the original story, Kurenai Yuhi would eventually become Sarutobi Asuma's wife.
But as for now...
Gentō certainly wasn't going to let things follow the original plot.
As for what Asuma would do after Gentō stole Kurenai Yuhi's heart...
All Gentō could say was, Sorry, old buddy Asuma!
Kurenai Yuhi came to a stop and met Gentō's gaze, a faint smile curving her lips.
Gentō politely stepped forward to shake her hand.
"Hello, I'm Uchiha Gentō."
"I've heard a lot about you. I'm Kurenai Yuhi."
Gentō felt how cool and soft Kurenai Yuhi's small hand was.
Up close, he could also smell a lovely floral fragrance.
"The village is short on manpower. Most of our ninja have been sent to the battlefield, so for now, I can only assign you one teammate."
Hiruzen explained.
"However, Kurenai has been a Chunin for many years, and she specializes in Genjutsu. She should be able to work well with your Sharingan."
"In any case, this is urgent. Once you've gotten acquainted, please set out as soon as possible."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The two accepted their orders and left.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Gentō briefly explained the mission to Kurenai:
"Our mission is to investigate unusual movements by Sunagakure ninja around Kikyo Mountain. Kikyo Mountain lies in the northwest of the Land of Fire. It's a strategic border location and a route Sunagakure must pass through to invade. The journey will take roughly two to three days. We have an hour to prepare, then we'll meet at the village gate and set out."
Kurenai Yuhi listened carefully, then nodded in acknowledgment:
"Understood."
An hour later, the two met outside the village with their preparations complete, then hurried toward Kikyo Mountain.
Kurenai Yuhi didn't say much along the way.
Wanting to grow closer to her, Gentō took the initiative to start a conversation:
"While we're traveling, let's learn a little about each other's abilities."
He introduced himself first:
"I have the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and a solid foundation in Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and observation during combat. As for Ninjutsu, aside from the basic techniques, I specialize in Fire Release and Lightning Release. I've also mastered Medical Ninjutsu and can provide emergency treatment."
Kurenai Yuhi was a little surprised by Gentō's introduction.
She hadn't expected her Uchiha captain to be not only handsome, but so well-rounded in his abilities.
His proficiency in Medical Ninjutsu was especially noteworthy.
After all, injuries were inevitable during missions, and many ninja died because their wounds weren't treated in time.
That made having a medical ninja on the team extremely important.
However, training medical ninja was very difficult, so not every ninja squad could have one.
Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help feeling a little more favorably toward Gentō.
She began introducing herself as well.
"My specialty is Genjutsu."
Realizing how brief her introduction was, Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help blushing slightly.
Gentō keenly noticed Kurenai's feelings and immediately reassured her:
"This mission is primarily about gathering intelligence anyway. Your Genjutsu will be just what we need."
Gentō's words weren't entirely flattery.
In fact, setting aside kekkei genkai, Kurenai's talent for Genjutsu was already top-tier.
After all, in the original story, Kurenai had been able to exchange blows with Uchiha Itachi using Genjutsu!
Of course, it was best not to ask how many blows she had managed.
Even if Kurenai was still young and might not possess the peak strength she had in the original story, she should be more than capable of helping him gather intelligence.
And so, the two continued toward Kikyo Mountain while chatting.
With him guiding the conversation, they gradually grew more familiar with each other and began talking much more.
Three days later, they finally reached the Kikyo Mountain area.
"Stop."
Gentō lowered his voice and signaled for Kurenai to conceal herself.
"Kikyo Mountain is just ahead. We shouldn't investigate openly as Konoha ninja."
"Why not?"
Kurenai asked, looking puzzled.
"If Sunagakure realizes Konoha has grown suspicious, it could put them on edge. Even if they aren't fully prepared, they might launch their attack ahead of schedule."
"Konoha isn't ready yet, so we need to avoid that as much as possible."
Gentō took out the Iwagakure forehead protectors and clothing he had prepared in advance.
"Put these on. Even if we're exposed, we can pretend to be Iwagakure ninja passing through and avoid a direct confrontation."
As he spoke, Gentō took out a set of Iwagakure ninja clothing and a forehead protector he had prepared beforehand and handed them to Kurenai.
Kurenai thought his reasoning made sense, so she took the clothes and slipped behind a tree to change.
Gentō also took out the Iwagakure ninja clothing he had prepared for himself.
Once they had changed, the two followed Gentō's plan, first circling around to the north to pose as Iwagakure ninja arriving from the Land of Earth before beginning a thorough reconnaissance of the surrounding area.
The Kikyo Mountain stronghold was a cluster of abandoned castles, first built during the Second Hokage's time and gradually deserted after the Second Ninja World War.
They carefully searched inside and outside the castles but found no obvious traces.
Over the next few days, they gradually expanded their search.
Finally, on the third day, Gentō's Sharingan picked out something unusual at the edge of a wooded area.
A patch of soil showed faint signs of having been disturbed.
He signaled for Kurenai to keep watch and carefully dug through the surface with a kunai. Beneath it lay a layer of completely cooled plant ash.
"Three to five people lit a fire here around ten days ago."
Kurenai reached that conclusion after examining the various details.
Gentō nodded, then restored the site to its original state.
Ninja usually relied on Soldier Pills to replenish their energy during missions. They were only likely to light fires during long-term assignments.
This trace alone told them a great deal.
Over the next two days, they discovered three more similar sites.
The traces varied in scale, with the smallest indicating a three-person squad and the largest close to ten people.
All of this pointed to one thing: a group of unidentified ninja was carrying out a mysterious, long-term mission along the Land of Fire's border!
As the clues accumulated, Gentō had roughly determined the area in which the enemy ninja were operating.
A plan quickly took shape in his mind.
That night, three figures dressed as Sunagakure ninja quietly appeared among the dense trees.
Leading them was a tough-looking middle-aged ninja.
As he advanced cautiously, he complained to his companions behind him in a low voice:
"Once I get the bounty for this mission, I'm definitely going to spend a few days having fun at the Red Sand Tavern!"
"Fūshin, I heard you're still a virgin? I'll take you to the tavern this time and show you a good time. The girls there are really enthusiastic. I guarantee you won't want to leave!"
But no one behind him answered.
He abruptly turned around, only to discover that there was no one behind him anymore.
The instincts of a seasoned Chunin made his hair stand on end.
His right hand darted toward the signal launcher at his waist.
But before his fingertips could reach it, a gentle female voice softly rang out:
"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique~"
Damn it, Genjutsu!
Alarm flashed through his mind as he struggled against the Genjutsu's effects and reached toward his waist.
But the sensation beneath his hand made him freeze.
Instead of the cold, hard touch he expected, he felt something warm and soft.
He looked down and discovered, to his shock, a scantily clad woman lying in front of him.
"Oh, stop it~ Lord Iwasaki Shige, just where do you think you're touching~"
Despite her coquettish protest, the woman didn't pull away. Instead, she deliberately rubbed herself lightly against his hand and let out a suggestive gasp.
Iwasaki Shige looked around and discovered that he was actually in a familiar private room at the Red Sand Tavern!
And he was surrounded by warm, soft bodies, with four lightly dressed women nestled beside him.
At that moment, the four women were striking all sorts of seductive poses for him, making his blood surge after so long without a woman!
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