Upon seeing the Uchiha clan's fan-shaped crest on Uchiha Shinji's attire, the Hidden Leaf shinobi who had carried the injured girl to the hospital quickly recognized Shinji's identity.
Hearing that Shinji was interning with the medical team, the shinobi harbored no suspicions. While allowing Shinji to treat the injured girl, he briefly explained the situation.
It turned out that this Hidden Leaf shinobi was a member of the village's patrol team.
While patrolling near the village, they encountered this girl being pursued by a group of mysterious shinobi. They immediately intervened, attempting to ascertain the cause.
To their surprise, the mysterious shinobi attacking the girl, even after the patrol team identified themselves, turned their assault on the Hidden Leaf shinobi as well. Thus, the patrol team was forced to engage in combat, and he was assigned by the team leader to bring the injured girl back to the village first.
As Shinji listened to the shinobi's account, his hands remained busy, treating the injured girl.
"Hmm?"
After activating his medical ninjutsu, he paused slightly.
Within the body of this girl, who wore a Grass Village headband, there flowed an exceptionally pure Yang Release chakra. Naturally, it couldn't compare to Karin's, but compared to ordinary shinobi, it was far superior.
Curious, Shinji brushed aside the hair covering the girl's face and wiped the dirt from her cheeks. His gaze sharpened instantly. "So it's her!"
Previously, the girl's face was covered in grime, and her hair obscured her features, so Shinji hadn't recognized her at first.
Now, upon closer inspection, he identified her.
In the original timeline, this girl named Ryuzetsu had crossed paths with Naruto. In the end, she even used her unique Bloodline Limit, the "Dragon Life Reincarnation Technique," sacrificing her own life to save Naruto's in a life-for-life exchange.
"The Dragon Life Reincarnation Technique…"
Thinking of this technique, Shinji's interest was suddenly piqued.
After all, the shinobi world was filled with a myriad of ninjutsu, but techniques capable of truly reviving a person were exceedingly rare.
As far as Shinji knew, there were only the Rinnegan's "Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique," the Sand Village's Chiyo's "One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique," and the unique Bloodline Limit of Ryuzetsu's clan, the "Dragon Life Reincarnation Technique."
At this moment, the Hidden Leaf shinobi who had brought Ryuzetsu to the hospital spoke up. "She seemed to be heading toward our Hidden Leaf Village and had been traveling for quite a while!"
Shinji remained composed. Under the pretense of treating Ryuzetsu's wounds, he examined her ninja tool pouch at her waist and noticed a scroll marked with the word "Top Secret." "Could something have happened in Grass Village?" he wondered.
With a quick thought, Shinji discreetly slipped the top-secret scroll from Ryuzetsu's pouch into his own pocket. Then, he turned to the Hidden Leaf shinobi and said, "I've finished treating all her wounds. She'll be fine!"
With that, Shinji calmly left the treatment room.
Back in his laboratory, Shinji took out the top-secret scroll and casually dispelled the seal on it.
With his current mastery of sealing techniques, ordinary seals posed no challenge to him.
As he unrolled the top-secret scroll, Shinji, initially driven by mere curiosity, grew increasingly grave, his brows furrowing tightly!
"I was wondering why those ghosts had been so quiet these past few months. Turns out, they've secretly taken over Grass Village without anyone noticing…"
This top-secret scroll was, of course, a plea for help written by an elder of the "Flower of Grass" faction, addressed to Hidden Leaf Village.
Though the contents of the scroll appeared disjointed, filled with the elder's speculations and lacking solid evidence, to Shinji, it was a different story.
Details such as numerous people vanishing without reason and the higher-ups of the "Fruit of Grass" faction avoiding others during the day were practically ironclad proof of the ghosts' infiltration into Grass Village.
As for the scroll's mention of Karin, Shinji was utterly speechless.
He hadn't expected the "Flower of Grass" faction, in their desperation to gain Hidden Leaf's trust, to willingly leak such sensitive information.
After all, orchestrating an attack on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and attempting to steal the Nine-Tails was a grave crime in Hidden Leaf. Even if it was the "Fruit of Grass" faction's doing, the blame would still fall on Grass Village as a whole. For the elder of the "Flower of Grass" to act this way was nothing short of reckless desperation.
Shinji mulled it over.
Now that Ryuzetsu had arrived in Hidden Leaf Village, Grass Village's upheaval could no longer be concealed. Even if Ryuzetsu said nothing, Hidden Leaf would send someone to investigate.
Moreover, the top-secret scroll Ryuzetsu carried was perfectly sealed, and its contents were so sensitive that it was highly unlikely Ryuzetsu, who was merely the messenger, knew the specifics.
This gave Shinji room to maneuver.
After a moment of contemplation, he took out his tools and carefully cut out the paper from the scroll. Using the Sharingan's copying and insight abilities, he mimicked the handwriting of the "Flower of Grass" elder from the original and forged a new plea for help. He omitted the parts related to Karin and emphasized the possibility that Grass Village had been secretly controlled by the Akatsuki.
Once finished, Shinji reviewed it and mused, "I wonder what those ghosts are planning. Let the village probe the situation first!"
As the shinobi world's "Lampbearer," he was no longer the panicked rookie who lost his composure at the first sign of an invasion.
The invasion from the Demon Slayer world and the shadow of the Overlord were indeed blades hanging over his head, keeping him on edge at all times. Yet, his own strength and the forces under his command had grown stronger in this tension.
Particularly now, with his "Rinnegan Plan" and "Tenseigan Plan" progressing smoothly, he glimpsed the hope of reaching the "Six Paths Level." This gave him increasing confidence when facing the mysterious Lampbearer from the Demon Slayer world.
After forging the top-secret scroll, Shinji didn't return it to Ryuzetsu's ninja tool pouch. Instead, he took the scroll directly to Koharu Utatane and handed over his forged version.
Upon reading the contents of the top-secret scroll, Koharu's brows furrowed tightly. "This top-secret scroll was found on that Grass shinobi?"
"Yes," Shinji nodded lightly.
Koharu closed the scroll. "You did well!"
Any intelligence regarding the Akatsuki was of utmost value in Hidden Leaf. Securing the top-secret scroll from Grass Village first gave the Advisory Council a significant advantage.
After leaving Koharu's presence, Shinji immediately returned to the hospital.
He now needed to probe Ryuzetsu's intentions. Though he was certain that even the desperate "Flower of Grass" elder wouldn't have shared the sensitive information about Karin with Ryuzetsu, for Karin's safety, he wanted to confirm it himself.
At the Hidden Leaf Hospital…
Lying on the hospital bed, Ryuzetsu slowly opened her eyes, murmuring, "W-where… where am I?"
"You're in Hidden Leaf Village."
A calm voice reached her ears.
Startled, she ignored her injuries and sat up abruptly from the bed, warily eyeing the refined young man sitting beside her.
The young man smiled faintly. "Hello, my name is Uchiha Shinji!"