Early the next morning, after spending a peaceful first night in Kumogakure, Yamanaka Shinno strolled into the mission center with the face of an older man, looking completely at ease.
After submitting the C-rank mission that the original owner of this face had completed, he stopped by a flower shop and bought a few calla lilies—flowers meant to honor the dead. With them in hand, he made his way to Kumogakure's cemetery.
Ninjas, who constantly walk the line between life and death, tend to avoid graveyards unless it's for the memorial days of important figures. Outside of those occasions, few would willingly visit such a place.
Shinno placed a calla lily in front of the agreed-upon tombstone. Then, sifting through the memories of this face's original owner, he found a name—a close friend who had already fallen in battle. Taking his time, he walked over to that person's grave as well.
According to the plan outlined in the scroll, once he placed the calla lily down, signaling the mission's completion, he should have left immediately.
From there, he was supposed to wait for the next meeting details to be sent his way before obtaining information on his next assassination target.
But, seriously, wasn't that too much of a hassle?
Instead of wasting time on all this back-and-forth, wouldn't it be much better to spend time with little lo—
Cough, cough.
Wouldn't it be much better to spend time with like-minded kids and enjoy the simple joys of childhood?
After standing in silence before his 'friend's' grave for over half an hour, a figure finally approached—slowly, as if deliberately delaying her arrival. It was Yakushi Nonō, wearing black-rimmed glasses and holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums.
Seeing the single calla lily left at the designated tombstone, a faint sense of relief washed over her.
Last night, when she learned that Reidby had been assassinated by a shinobi who could use the Hydrification Technique, she briefly suspected that Kirigakure had actually been behind it.
If that were the case, the plan she had drafted in advance would have faced significant complications.
However, upon seeing the flower, she was reassured that things had gone as expected—
…
???
Yakushi Nonō blinked, questioning her own eyes.
There, standing before the tombstone in quiet mourning, was a man.
Greasy, unkempt, shifty-looking, and—
Alright, fine. She hadn't made a mistake.
"Good morning~"
A sudden voice echoed in her mind, catching her completely off guard.
Startled, she reflexively glanced around, scanning her surroundings before quickly realizing that this voice could only belong to one person—the Yamanaka clan member.
Mind Transmission Technique?
Oddly enough, his voice sounded unexpectedly young.
"I'm not even twenty yet—of course I sound young."
His voice rang out in her head once again.
This time, Nonō was prepared. Without so much as a change in expression, she stepped forward, placed her bouquet before her 'friend's' tombstone, and remained still for a few seconds before responding in her mind.
"What do you want?"
"Not bad—you were able to compose yourself this fast and avoid thinking out loud. As expected of the Wandering Miko."
"Get to the point."
"Just hand over all the mission details in one go. This back-and-forth is too much of a pain."
"…I'll think about it."
Yakushi Nonō fell silent, carefully weighing the pros and cons.
Handing over a full list of assassination targets at once was a privilege reserved for elite Root squad leaders. It wasn't protocol.
On top of that, carrying out assassinations one by one created continuous psychological pressure, forcing Kumogakure's higher-ups to act under the looming threat of death. That pressure made them more likely to redirect their hostility toward Konoha elsewhere.
Moreover, delivering information in stages was a safety measure—if one assassin failed or was captured, the rest of the mission details wouldn't be compromised.
But naturally, every strategy had its drawbacks.
Kirigakure's assassins—born and raised in the Blood Mist—were known for their brutal efficiency. If they were responsible for the kills, the attacks wouldn't be spaced just a few days apart.
If Kumogakure kept experiencing assassinations every few days, they would likely launch a large-scale investigation for spies, increasing the risk of exposure.
Last night, Shinno's attack had been a complete success, pinning the blame squarely on Kirigakure. No matter how much Kumogakure's higher-ups denied it, the perception wouldn't change.
However, that success also meant Kumogakure's leadership was now on high alert. They understood how Kirigakure operated—if they struck too soon, the assassination missions would become exponentially more dangerous.
If Shinno were to be captured…
If he couldn't withstand interrogation…
"I see you're worried that the missions will become more dangerous. That's touching, really—but everything after that? Yeah, I don't like that train of thought."
"…How are you still hearing me?"
Yakushi Nonō frowned.
As a spy, controlling stray thoughts, concealing emotions, and resisting genjutsu were all fundamental skills.
She had made sure to suppress her thoughts just now, and the standard Mind Transmission Technique didn't have memory-reading capabilities. So how was he still hearing her inner voice?
"Call it telepathy—fine, fine. You already guessed it earlier. To make communication with summoning animals easier, I've modified my Mind Transmission Technique to include a bit of memory-reading."
Seeing that Nonō was about to turn and leave, Shinno quickly stopped his teasing.
"Lance. Thirty-four years old. Jōnin. Specializes in Lightning Release and Taijutsu. Every afternoon, he trains under the Twenty-Two Rock Pillars…"
Nonō rattled off the details of nine high-ranking and mid-level Kumogakure officials.
Some, like Reidby, were to be eliminated cleanly. Others required staged assassination failures. Some had to be taken down using Fire or Wind Release rather than Water Release.
Once she had finished, she immediately began recalling random, useless memories to muddle her thoughts, then swiftly turned and left the cemetery—her hurried steps almost resembling someone fleeing from filth.
"Whoa—does Kumogakure actually have people chasing you? Damn—a dark-skinned Taijutsu specia… pfft, wait, no—a dark-skinned Taijutsu ninja and a pale-skinned Genjutsu specialist? What's that nonsense about Genjutsu specialists always being sneaky little weasels? What kind of logic is that?"
Shinno marveled to himself as he watched Nonō flee.
As she disappeared from sight, he let out a casual farewell before disengaging his Mind Transmission Technique.
Truth be told, he hadn't originally meant to pry into her thoughts.
After traveling all the way to the Land of Lightning, he had simply gotten into the habit of chatting with his hawk summoning, Pidgeot. Since Pidgeot could only screech, Shinno had unconsciously used a bit of memory-reading to make communication easier.
After all, if someone had to deal with a creature that only went scree scree scree all day, they would probably try to find a workaround too.
Unexpectedly, the same technique worked surprisingly well on people.
Even a seasoned spy like Yakushi Nonō had been caught off guard the first time. The only way she could resist was by recalling a flood of meaningless memories.
And that was with him openly telling her about the technique's effects.
If he hadn't?
If he had pushed just a little further with his questioning…
He probably could have figured out the color of her underwear this week.
"Flawless technique~!"
Shinno lingered in the cemetery for another half-hour, planning out the assassination methods, timing, and order.
By the time he finally left, it was nearing ten in the morning.
Back at his residence, he found a small figure squatting near a rock pillar, hugging her knees—Nii Yugito.
He stepped forward.
"Juice or milk? Have you had breakfast?"
"J-Juice… not yet…"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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