Intelligence Work

"Xuanhui! Long time no see! You've grown a little taller again!"

The six-foot-three Jiraiya had to bend down slightly to reach Xuanhui's head as he stood before him.

Tsunade also happily came over, still holding the books Xuanhui had lent her.

"Xuanhui! Thank you for lending me those books! The content in them was so rich! Honestly, they helped me a great deal!"

"Hahaha! I'm glad they could help, Sister Tsunade!"

The books Xuanhui took back were instantly teleported to their original places, mildly surprising all three of them.

"Since you're here, Xuanhui, I have an S-rank mission to assign you."

Orochimaru's voice came from behind them, and Jiraiya and Tsunade immediately turned to look at him.

"Orochimaru? Don't tell me..."

"Exactly what you're thinking."

"No! It's too dangerous! Xuanhui has only just..."

"It's fine. He'll only be gathering intelligence, not fighting. He has a way to escape, and Hanzo doesn't know him. It's entirely worth trying."

Tsunade was so anxious she wanted to slam her hand on a table, but there was no table beside her. She could only step forward and seize Orochimaru by the collar.

"You want Xuanhui to infiltrate the enemy army as a spy? He's just a child with no strength to speak of. How could Hanzo possibly trust him?

And if he reveals that he's a ninja, it'll be even more impossible!"

"Calm down, Tsunade. I never said I was sending him in as a spy."

"Then what are you planning?"

Orochimaru tried to press Tsunade's arm down, but no matter how hard he pushed, it would not budge.

"You want to obtain Hanzo's poison, right? So we can develop an antidote ahead of time!"

Worthy of being Orochimaru's disciple, Xuanhui immediately guessed what he was thinking.

There was another reason as well. He remembered the battle between Chiyo and Hanzo in the original story. Chiyo had developed an antidote to Hanzo's poison, allowing her side to turn the tables and launch a counteroffensive.

Only three months had passed since the war began, while the Second Shinobi War lasted three or four years in total. Chiyo's side probably had not developed the antidote yet. In that case, Hidden Rain's retreat had to be a conspiracy!

"Worthy of being my disciple."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at Xuanhui and waited for Tsunade and Jiraiya's opinions.

"This is far too risky! Orochimaru, if you went with Xuanhui..."

"I can't leave. The Hidden Rain ninjas will come harass us again soon. As the three captains, we can't be away for too long no matter what."

Seeing the two of them about to argue for several more rounds, Xuanhui hurriedly raised his hand and voiced his own opinion.

"I can lure the snake from its hole! I'll cause a huge disturbance in the Hidden Rain Village and draw Hanzo out!"

"Huh? Xuanhui, do you even know what you're saying?"

Tsunade was so angry she laughed. She walked up to Xuanhui and looked down at the little brat.

"Hidden Rain Village may not have many jonin, but if they appear at once, even we would have trouble getting away!

And if Hanzo shows up too, do you think you'll still have a chance to run?"

"I know. That's why I won't fight them! I only need to get Hanzo's poison!"

"Is that so, kid? Then tell us, how exactly do you plan to do it?"

"Of course I have a plan, but there's no need to say it out loud. Sister Tsunade, just trust me this once."

Xuanhui's stubborn expression reminded her of her younger brother Nawaki.

But Tsunade still would not agree to anything too dangerous. Instead, she made a concession.

As the strongest forces on the front lines, the three of them were destined to fight Hanzo. Therefore, Hanzo would soon lead a team to Konoha's camp.

Xuanhui possessed the bloodline of the Yamanaka Clan, and his sensory range was nearly on par with the three of them.

He would take charge of covert nighttime reconnaissance at the front, lurking around the outskirts of the enemy camp and sensing their movements.

Once he detected Hanzo's arrival, he could carry out his own plan.

This arrangement was a considerable improvement over the previous one.

First, Konoha's reinforcements could arrive more quickly, preventing Xuanhui from being surrounded because he had ventured too deeply into enemy territory.

Second, he could shoulder part of the intelligence work. With the bloodlines of four clans, Xuanhui had far more room for error in such missions than other intelligence operatives.

The only drawback was that even if the mission succeeded, time would still be limited. Konoha might not be able to develop an antidote before Hanzo arrived.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Xuanhui agreed.

After all, he had no cheat ability. His trump cards could only be used to escape, and he had no standing to defy military orders.

Besides, Hanzo had only just withdrawn from the Hidden Sand Village battlefield. There was still time.

He might as well accumulate more combat experience and, when he had time, work more on developing his bloodline limit.

"Come on, Xuanhui! Time for you to show what you can do!"

Jiraiya laughed and slapped Xuanhui on the back, leading him over to the sand table.

"See those areas marked with black flags?"

Jiraiya pointed at several of the black flags.

"Those are enemy camps?"

"That's right. It just so happens to be nighttime already. Come on, I'll take you to familiarize yourself with the area."

Jiraiya and Xuanhui looked up at Tsunade and Orochimaru. Seeing that neither of them objected, they left the tent together.

Only after they had exited the camp did Jiraiya poke Xuanhui in the back.

Xuanhui looked at Jiraiya, unsure what he wanted.

"Hey, kid, do you know the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique?"

Confusion filled Xuanhui's eyes, but he still formed hand seals and aimed them at Jiraiya.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!"

Jiraiya's vision instantly went black, and a powerful spiritual force seized control of his body.

He inwardly praised the technique, then began frantically fighting to regain control of his body.

Jiraiya had trained in sage arts, mastered natural energy, and was an adult ninja after all.

It took him only three seconds to regain control.

When clarity returned to Jiraiya's eyes, he looked at Xuanhui with utter delight.

"Not bad, kid! Your Mind Body Switch Technique is really powerful!

Against an ordinary jonin, you could probably control them for ten to fifteen seconds!

With this jutsu, your intelligence work will go much more smoothly!"

As he spoke, Jiraiya suddenly shuddered, as though a cold breeze had slipped into his clothes.

"That's strange. Why is it so cold today..."

He subconsciously tugged at his collar, only to grab empty air.

Looking down, he saw that his upper body was completely bare, while his shirt lay on the ground.

!!!

"You brat! You stripped off my shirt in just three seconds!

Why are you so practiced at this?"

Jiraiya instantly flushed red. He quickly picked up his shirt and covered his chest, pointing at Xuanhui as he demanded an explanation.

"Lord Jiraiya, do you want to learn? Or would you like to pay me to do it..."

Xuanhui raised an eyebrow at him, rubbing his fingers together with an expression that said, you know what I mean.

"Hehehe!"

Jiraiya's eyes spun as a big fox and a little fox exchanged glances and grinned.