An Encounter with Spies

On the way back, Naruto thought, Sigh, poor Rock Lee. I hope that in this life, he can achieve his dream. If he can open more than six of the Eight Gates, he can become quite a powerful ninja.

But you took over my training spot. I'll definitely settle this score with you someday. I'll let you off for now, you poor kid.

"Let's see what good stuff Rock Lee brought me." Naruto entered the system and checked his reward.

"Congratulations, Host. You have completed the mission and won your battle against Rock Lee."

"Congratulations, Host. You have received the Konoha Basic Taijutsu Compendium!"

"Hey, hey, hey, System, did you get something wrong? I have so much chakra now, and my body is so strong. You should be giving me some ninjutsu to learn. I barely know any powerful ninjutsu right now. What a waste of all this chakra!"

The Konoha Basic Taijutsu Compendium was useful, yet also not particularly useful.

They were: Leaf Whirlwind, a consecutive taijutsu technique that combined a high kick and a low kick.

Leaf Strong Whirlwind, a spinning back kick delivered with astonishing speed and power.

Leaf Gale, a spinning low kick.

Leaf Great Whirlwind, a high-speed consecutive taijutsu technique that began with a low kick, switched to a high kick during rapid rotation, and finished with a heel strike.

Leaf Rising Wind, which kicked the opponent into the air before delivering a spinning kick. Lion Combo was similar to it.

And most importantly, the ultimate secret technique of Konoha taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!

Basic taijutsu techniques flooded into Naruto's mind.

Naruto had originally fought purely through his physical strength. He did not actually know any so-called taijutsu, yet he could still easily crush Rock Lee.

Now that Naruto had learned taijutsu, Rock Lee might not even be able to get close to him!

"These taijutsu techniques are still somewhat useful! Better than nothing!"

Naruto had originally planned to head toward the other side of the small forest and train somewhere far away from Rock Lee.

After all, his method of training with shadow clones was far too shocking. If Konoha's ninja discovered it, they would definitely keep an eye on him and report it to Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He did not want to be surrounded and attacked by a bunch of Hidden Leaf ninja. If his identity were exposed, that would be troublesome!

As he walked, Naruto suddenly noticed what sounded like a conversation coming from the other side of the forest.

So late at night, in such a remote place—something was definitely wrong!

Naruto hid in a patch of grass and rapidly formed hand seals.

Kagura's Mind's Eye, activate!

With Kagura's Mind's Eye, he could clearly sense two middle-aged men talking.

Kagura's Mind's Eye could also see the amount of chakra inside their bodies. Judging by their chakra reserves, the two men should be at chunin level!

"What's going on? Why did you make me wait so long? Why did it take so long for you to contact me about this intelligence?" one of the middle-aged men asked.

"Come on, you know what Konoha's like. Their ninja patrol all the time. Gathering intelligence is already difficult enough, and getting it out safely is even more troublesome!"

"Konoha is crawling with ninja. There's ANBU, Root, and even ninja from many great clans walking the streets. At night, the Uchiha Clan's Konoha Police Force patrols too. One slip, and they'll discover that I have chakra!"

"Alright, alright, I know it hasn't been easy for you. You didn't bring any tails with you, did you?" The other middle-aged man interrupted his complaints and asked cautiously.

"Don't worry. I may not be great at everything, but back in the village, my countertracking skills were top-notch!"

"Of course I trust your abilities. Good. Hand over this intelligence quickly. The village sent word that Konoha's security has tightened recently. The next exchange will be a month from now, at the same time. Remember it. If you miss the agreed time, I'll wait another month."

"If no message arrives after two months, the village will assume that you've been captured."

"Alright, alright. The intelligence is all here. Stop cursing me. I know all that already. Take it and get out of here. The longer we stay, the more likely something will go wrong."

One of the middle-aged men took a scroll from his clothes and was about to hand it to the other.

Naruto had overheard their entire conversation and naturally understood that they were spies sent by another ninja village to gather intelligence in Konoha. The question was, should he make a move?

If he pretended not to see anything, it did not seem like it would affect him at all.

The one losing out from selling Konoha's intelligence was Hiruzen Sarutobi. What did that have to do with Naruto Uzumaki?

He would still receive his allowance, still eat his ramen, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would still obediently pay for it!

With that thought, Naruto prepared to slip away quietly. Less trouble was better.

"Ding. System mission issued. Host, kill the two spies and recover the intelligence scroll!"

Naruto had just begun to move when the System suddenly popped up to make its presence known.

"Fine, looks like I have no choice but to act this time!"

Since the System had issued a mission, Naruto could only do as it said for the reward.

As Naruto's first battle since coming to this world, he naturally had to make it a good one!

He first used the Transformation Jutsu, taking on the appearance of a passerby he had seen by the roadside.

He quietly created a shadow clone, then had it use the Transformation Jutsu to turn into a small rabbit. It hopped into the nearby woods and made a faint sound.

"Who's there?!" The two highly tense men instantly turned toward the sound in unison.

At the same time, they each drew a kunai from their tool pouches.

The two exchanged glances, and one of them slowly threw out a kunai.

The rabbit transformed from Naruto's shadow clone sprang from the grass and fled to the side in a series of hops.

"That scared the life out of me. I thought we'd been discovered!"

"Yeah, we scared ourselves for nothing!" The tension in both men's nerves instantly eased.

Under the Transformation Jutsu, Naruto's shadow clone had become a lifelike little rabbit, its movements light and swift.

It successfully drew the two spies' attention. After a brief moment of tension, their nerves relaxed, unaware that this was part of Naruto's plan.

The instant they were distracted, Naruto's real body shot toward them like an arrow loosed from a bow, approaching without a sound.

His body nearly blended into the darkness around him. With the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, the Uchiha Clan's bloodline, and the Senju Clan's bloodline fully fused together, Naruto was incredibly fast!

Though the two spies had lowered their guard, Naruto's movement still made a faint sound.

Years of experience made them react the instant they sensed something unusual.

They quickly turned around, their kunai already poised to fly.

However, Naruto was faster.

His body exploded with astonishing power in an instant as he unleashed a Leaf Whirlwind at one of them.

The force behind that kick was immense, and its speed was too fast to react to.

The spy only had time to raise an arm to block, but Naruto's kick sent him flying, smashing him heavily into a large tree.

Seeing this, the other spy immediately realized how serious the situation was.

There was no time to check on his companion. In this situation, he could only prioritize protecting himself. If he could not defeat Naruto, then he would have to find a way to escape with the scroll.

That was how ninja were—they judged everything by whether the mission was completed!

He quickly retreated, pulling out several shuriken from his tool pouch as he prepared to counterattack.

But the one he faced was Naruto, a ninja with powerful chakra and taijutsu.

Naruto gave him no chance. His body suddenly vanished amid high-speed movement, and in the next instant, he was already behind the spy.

A Leaf Strong Whirlwind sliced through the air and slammed viciously into the back of the man's neck.

The spy did not even have time to make a sound before collapsing limply to the ground.

Naruto stood between the two spies, who had lost their ability to fight, and carefully checked their condition.

It seemed his strength had been too great. He had knocked both of them unconscious.

He quickly searched them and found the scroll containing the intelligence.

He put the scroll into the System, intending to see what intelligence was inside when he returned.

As for handing it over to Konoha? He had seized it with his own abilities, so why should he return it? It was intelligence from his own home anyway. What was wrong with taking a look?

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly sensed a powerful chakra fluctuation.

Could there be another expert?

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