Hidden Identity

On the road, Nakada Shun's caravan was hurrying toward its destination.

Shisui and Naraku sat cross-legged atop the cargo crates, scanning their surroundings with vigilance, prepared for any unexpected incidents at a moment's notice.

Naraku, in particular, did not dare to slack off in the slightest, as this was his first mission.

Although he had grown rapidly in strength by relying on the bloodlines of the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, Naraku understood that these only raised his starting point; as for his upper limit, that would depend more on his own efforts.

Take the Uzumaki clan, for example: despite possessing constitutions far superior to ordinary people, their entire clan had been easily wiped out, leaving only a handful of survivors in the shinobi world.

The Uchiha clan was even more obvious; there were at least eight hundred Uchiha currently alive, with several hundred having awakened the Sharingan, yet how many of them had actually reached the strength of a Jonin?

Therefore, while bloodline was important, one could not judge a person's strength solely by it.

Just like now, accumulating mission experience was also a part of increasing one's strength.

Naraku was on high alert, refusing to let any opportunity for growth slip by.

Even now, while his gaze appeared to be drifting aimlessly, his perception was actually covering the entire caravan.

Every so often, he would release a portion of his chakra to sense the surroundings. Although this caused some chakra loss, Naraku did not mind.

It was only chakra, after all—the one thing he was never short of.

Of course, he did not use the Kagura Mind Eye. Unless absolutely necessary, Naraku would not actively activate it, as he did not want to develop a dependency on it.

Furthermore, releasing chakra to sense the surroundings was an excellent way to train his chakra control.

Chakra volume was one thing, but chakra control was another; whether it was casting ninjutsu, sealing techniques, forbidden techniques, or medical ninjutsu, all required strict control over one's chakra.

Beside him, Shisui noticed Naraku's actions and couldn't help but nod inwardly.

At the front of the caravan, Nakada Shun seemed to sense something, casting a glance toward Naraku's direction. "As expected of Konoha, the head of the Five Great Shinobi Villages; the geniuses truly are endless."

Although he had never practiced sensory ninjutsu, his strength had reached the Jonin level, so he could still detect the fluctuations of chakra in the air.

The caravan continued its journey, and soon a day passed. Fortunately, they had not encountered any accidents.

Except for Nakada Shun, the others in the caravan breathed a sigh of relief. They did not possess the strength of a Jonin like Nakada; most were just ordinary people with decent skills. If they had truly encountered any trouble, they would have been no different from lambs waiting for the slaughter.

"Alright, everyone, rest here. We'll continue once the sun rises," Nakada Shun announced loudly.

The group then began to settle in for the night.

After setting up a sensory barrier around the perimeter, Naraku took turns resting with Shisui.

The night passed without incident. Soon, the horizon turned a pale white, and the sun slowly rose from the east.

After a brief reorganization, the caravan set off once more.

Another day passed, and the group arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.

"Keep your spirits up, everyone. Once we pass through the forest ahead, we'll be very close to the Land of Wind."

Nakada Shun's loud voice helped the group regain their focus.

"Ninja-sama, our previous shipments were hijacked in that very forest. It's possible the Stone Ninja Village has already set an ambush there," Nakada Shun said, walking up to Shisui and Naraku with a grave expression.

Shisui frowned slightly at these words and began to ponder.

Like Naraku, he saw the irregularities in this mission, especially regarding Nakada Shun's words—it was hard to tell how much of it was true.

However, they had already accepted the mission, and giving up now was impossible. Besides, his main goal this time was to bring Naraku out for some practical experience; if they quit now, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Moreover, after spending these few days together, he had a decent impression of Nakada Shun. Although he was a ninja, he was very kind to the ordinary people in the caravan, which was evident from how they treated him.

After a moment of contemplation, Shisui spoke, "Mr. Nakada, please rest assured. If the Stone Ninja Village really is there as you say, we will not sit idly by."

"However," Shisui's expression shifted, his sharp gaze landing on Nakada Shun once more.

"If I discover that you have any ulterior motives, we may abandon the mission at any time."

Shisui's tone was stern and warning.

"Please rest assured, Ninja-sama. We are truly just merchants transporting goods," Nakada Shun replied, bowing his head respectfully.

"Very well. In that case, let's continue."

Having received the answer he wanted, Nakada Shun turned and walked to the front of the caravan. A flash of sorrow crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of ruthlessness.

The caravan moved on.

On the cargo crate, Shisui quietly removed his forehead protector.

As for Naraku, finding it troublesome, he had long since stored his Konoha forehead protector inside a scroll.

Naraku understood Shisui's actions. After all, the Third Shinobi World War had only recently ended, and with the death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the departures of Tsunade and Jiraiya, Konoha was currently weaker than ever before.

Therefore, Konoha's greatest desire now was to maintain peace. Even though the Stone Ninja Village was only a small village, they were close to the Land of Wind. To avoid unnecessary trouble, hiding their identities was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

"There may be an accident ahead. Be sure to protect yourself," Shisui whispered to Naraku.

Naraku nodded and stopped releasing his chakra.

Releasing chakra to sense the surroundings also made it easy to expose one's own position, which could alert the enemy prematurely.

Sitting cross-legged, Naraku adjusted his state and mindset. To be honest, he was still a bit nervous, as this was his first mission.

But beyond the nervousness, there was a sense of excitement. It was just like the scenes he had seen in anime in his past life—it was hard not to feel a surge of adrenaline.

The caravan slowly entered the forest, where towering trees stood on all sides.

The ground within the forest was uneven. Although the caravan had slowed its pace, the cargo still jolted, though this had no effect on Shisui or Naraku.

Suddenly, the forest fell into an absolute silence.