Preparation

Since the beginning of winter, the wars had gradually subsided, and the many clans within the Land of Fire had refrained from making any rash moves.

This calm did not last long; no sooner had spring passed than the Uzumaki Clan was once again embroiled in conflict.

To be honest, Bai Sui found the wars between these numerous clans quite baffling. They seemed to harbor no deep-seated hatred, nor did they have any necessary conflicts of interest. What, then, was the root of these clashes?

In particular, regarding this current mobilization, Bai Sui knew that just days before the Uzumaki joined the war, they had been continuously transporting supplies into their clan lands. Where did these supplies come from?

Furthermore, the people transporting these goods wore a symbol of three flames on their clothing. This emblem looked very familiar to Bai Sui, yet he could not place it for the moment.

When he reviewed the Naruto series that night, he discovered that same pattern on the wall behind the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. With this discovery, he dug deeper into the memories of this body and found that he had seen the emblem of the Land of Water in his childhood: a large water droplet in the center, flanked by two smaller ones.

Could this mean that it was these world nobles—the actual rulers of each nation—who were inciting the wars between the various clans?

The Uzumaki Clan was the only ninja clan to have established a nation, and they were also the only ones to be inexplicably wiped out. During their destruction, their most loyal allies, the Senju Clan, made no practical move to assist. Bai Sui could not believe that the Land of Fire had no hand in this.

Not only that, but the Senju Clan itself later vanished without a trace. To be frank, based on the fragmented clues in Naruto, many things remained unexplained. Without evidence, Bai Sui could only let the matter rest.

This spectator-like detachment did not last long for Bai Sui, as the higher-ups had sent someone to arrange his mission.

Just like the previous time, the specific timing was unknown; he was simply told to wait at home and be ready to be taken away whenever the need arose.

Although Bai Sui had looked forward to such an opportunity for a long time, now that it had truly arrived, he felt extremely nervous. He forced himself to calm his heart through meditation, then reviewed his plans within his inner vision.

Indeed, Bai Sui had formulated a plan. Although it was quite crude due to a lack of intelligence, it was the best he could do.

First was the preparation of his personal effects. During this time, under the guise of helping the children mend their clothes, Bai Sui had requested quite a bit of needle and thread, his target being the needles themselves.

Although these sewing needles were relatively thick, they were still much finer than the Nine Needles of the Yellow Emperor, as the current level of metal smelting was significantly better than in his past life's ancient era.

As for weapons, Bai Sui had prepared none. After all, he was only there as an auxiliary for the ninja mission and would not participate in combat himself. While it was inevitable that he might be caught in the crossfire, a commoner carrying weapons was simply not permitted.

Moreover, Bai Sui had no confidence that he could evade the detection of ninjas, especially the Uzumaki Clan with their Kagura Shingan, as their perception of good and evil was incredibly sharp.

As the saying goes, "He who carries a sharp weapon will soon harbor a murderous heart." If he carried a weapon, he might inevitably experience emotional fluctuations due to some sudden situation. Should he come into conflict with an Uzumaki ninja, that would be the last thing Bai Sui wanted to see.

After all, although Bai Sui had cultivated three Qi swords within his heart, those were his only three. They were his final life-saving talismans in this dangerous world, and it was better not to use them if he could avoid it.

Furthermore, Bai Sui did not know if the clans in this world possessed other ninjutsu beyond their own secret techniques, such as the Three Basic Techniques known as the foundation of all ninjas.

The Body Replacement Technique, in particular, was a god-tier escape skill. If the ninjas of this era also possessed such techniques, Bai Sui would only have one chance to strike by surprise; after that, they would likely use some method to evade him.

The final and most important point was that Bai Sui always remembered the care the Uzumaki Clan had shown him. Regardless of their underlying motives for doing so, he was the ultimate beneficiary, which made him unwilling to treat the Uzumaki as enemies.

Given this premise, Bai Sui was even less willing to actively harm the Uzumaki Clan for his own selfish desires; after all, one must have a bottom line in life.

No matter how conflicted Bai Sui felt, what was meant to come would come.

That night, a member of the Uzumaki Clan headed straight for Bai Sui's house. This action roused Bai Sui from his immersion in the radiance of his primordial spirit, and he immediately feigned sleep.

"Bai Sui, get up quickly, put on your clothes, and prepare to leave." The Uzumaki clansman did not enter the house, but stood outside and spoke inward.

Hearing this voice, Bai Sui felt a jolt of alarm, but he quickly responded, "Understood, my lord, I am dressing now."

Commoner clothing was designed for the convenience of labor, so it was naturally very simple to put on. In moments, he had dressed and slipped into his open-toed sandals.

Bai Sui truly felt uncomfortable about this; for some reason, open-toed footwear was the fashion in this world. Whether they were ninjas, samurai, commoners, or nobles, everyone wore shoes that exposed their toes, differing only in material, style, and how much was exposed.

For someone like Bai Sui, it was truly awkward. From childhood, he had felt a strange sensation whenever any part of his body other than his head and forearms was exposed.

In his past life, even when swimming in the ocean, he had to wear clothes, otherwise, he felt as if he were running naked. This psychological barrier had not vanished even now.

Thus, Bai Sui always felt awkward putting on shoes. In his past life, aside from wearing sandals barefoot as a small child, he had worn socks with them ever since. In this world, there were no short socks at all, only various types of stockings and fishnets. He had no idea what kind of developmental curve could have led to such a result.

He thought of many things, but Bai Sui's movements never ceased. He hurriedly finished dressing, rushed out of the house, and bowed to the person waiting.

In truth, Bai Sui wanted to know how the other party knew he wasn't asleep—had they seen or sensed him meditating earlier?

But if that were the case, things shouldn't be this calm right now. However, the other party had no obligation to explain, and Bai Sui was not so tactless as to ask.

"Follow me, we are ready to depart." Seeing Bai Sui emerge, the man said nothing more and led him toward the perimeter.

Bai Sui followed closely behind, briefly calming his mind and restraining his gaze and intent, observing the person in front of him with vacant eyes.