Infiltrating Kirigakure

Shintaro sailed north to Dalang Island in the Land of Water. The Tanaka house was located by the shore.

He moored his boat at the beach and tied it to a wooden post to prevent it from drifting away with the waves.

Then, he walked towards the Tanaka house, which was a shabby hut with a small farm plot in a walled yard where some vegetables were planted.

Arable land was as scarce as clean water on this small island. Therefore, Kenji could only cultivate the small plot in the yard.

Shintaro approached the door, and a woman emerged from inside.

The woman had a healthy wheat-colored complexion, dressed simply, and her hair was tied back. She looked gentle and had a simple, rustic beauty.

This was Ogura Ai, Tanaka Kenji wife.

"Hubby, you're back!"

Fishing was quite a dangerous activity, so Ogura Ai would worry and pray for her husband.

Shintaro saw that Ogura Ai didn't seem to notice anything unusual, so he felt relieved.

"I'm back, I had a good haul this time!"

Spending several days at sea while fishing was normal, so Ogura Ai believed him after hearing the explanation.

According to the intel, Kenji would always hug Ogura Ai whenever he returned home.

Shintaro thought to himself, 'Sorry, I'll just act it out.'

Then he stepped forward and hugged Ogura Ai. The scent of a mature woman wafted into Shintaro's nose.

However, to Shintaro's surprise, Ogura Ai suddenly pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" Shintaro asked.

Ogura Ai replied cautiously, "You... You're not Hubby..."

Shintaro was slightly taken aback and planned to continue pretending, "What are you talking about? Ai, it's me, Kenji."

He pondered what might have gone wrong. There shouldn't be any issues with his appearance and voice, and his behavior matched the intel.

Ogura Ai asked, "What happened to him?!"

Seeing her so sure, Shintaro dropped his disguise and curiously asked, "How did you know?"

Ogura Ai said, "At first, I didn't notice, but something felt off... You didn't even glance at the vegetable garden when you walked in... So, you're not him."

Shintaro shook his head and smiled, not expecting to be exposed by such a detail.

Kenji himself didn't realize he would always glance at the vegetable garden when entering the door, so it wasn't in the intel.

Shintaro stopped pretending, released [Henge no Jutsu], and revealed his true appearance.

"A kid? You're... a ninja!"

Ogura Ai was initially shocked to discover that Shintaro was just a thirteen-year-old boy and then exclaimed upon seeing the Konoha forehead protector on Shintaro's forehead.

The Land of Water was a small country without a ninja village, and common tasks were entrusted to Kirigakure in the neighboring Land of Water.

Ogura Ai had little interaction with ninjas, so she hesitated upon seeing the forehead protector before reacting.

She covered her mouth and said tearfully, "Has Hubby..."

Seeing that Ogura Ai was overthinking, Shintaro explained, "Don't misunderstand, your husband is alive and will return."

Ogura Ai wanted to ask more, but Shintaro didn't want to waste much time here.

With his Sharingan, a genjutsu took effect.

The impact made her ignore Shintaro's presence and forget what had just happened.

The condition for release was reuniting with her husband.

By the time Kenji was released by Konoha, Shintaro would have completed his mission, so it wouldn't matter if the genjutsu was released then.

After applying the genjutsu, Shintaro entered the house as if nothing had happened and found the customs documents.

Taking the documents and passing by Ogura Ai, who was carrying water to irrigate the vegetables in the yard, he waved his fingers in front of her to confirm the genjutsu's effectiveness.

"If this genjutsu fell into the hands of someone with malicious intent, it could be disastrous."

Seeing his genjutsu so effective, Shintaro could only sigh.

After ensuring Ogura Ai was ignoring him, Shintaro returned to the boat with the documents and sailed to the Land of Water.

At sea, he used [Henge no Jutsu] again to transform back into Kenji.

This time, he headed straight for the customs port in the southern part of the Land of Water.

The Land of Water's port was busier than the Land of Fire's port. After all, the Land of Water was a maritime country, and all foreign trade was conducted by sea.

"Hey! Dock over there, dock over there! Hand over your documents."

A portly customs officer came over arrogantly. After Shintaro docked, he went ashore with the documents and handed them to the officer quietly.

The customs officer took the documents, flipped through them, and then looked at Shintaro.

"Anything else?"

Shintaro knowingly took out a few banknotes and placed them on the documents.

The customs officer smiled and said, "You're quite sensible."

The customs officer pocketed the banknotes and looked back.

Several Kirigakure ninjas were stationed behind them.

Shintaro had long observed with his Six Eyes that their strength was only that of mid-level Genin.

The customs officers and Kirigakure ninjas belonged to two different systems. The customs officers were officials of the Land of Water, while the ninjas were from Kirigakure.

Therefore, the Kirigakure ninjas ignored the customs officers' corruption.

Shintaro then got the clearance, rented a cart at the port, and drove the fish cart to Kirigakure.

That afternoon, Shintaro arrived at Kirigakure.

Unlike Konoha, Kirigakure was shrouded in white mist all year round, hence the name Kirigakure.

Most buildings in the village were made of hard limestone, protecting them from decay and erosion in the humid environment.

Shintaro successfully entered Kirigakure and pulled the cart towards the seafood market.

Fish was the most commonly consumed meat by Kirigakure residents. After all, other meats were more expensive than fish in Kirigakure.

So the seafood market was very large. Shintaro pulled the cart in, and as long as he posted a sign that said "freshly caught from the Land of Water." it quickly sold out.

There were also some other merchants who came to him for wholesale.

He didn't want to stay long at the seafood market, so he sold all the fish in the cart without bargaining.

He then hid in a toilet, created a shadow clone, and had the shadow clone continue pretending to be Kenji.

He escaped through the window and left the seafood market.

Shintaro used [Henge no Jutsu] to transform into an ordinary middle-aged man, took his collar, and sniffed it.

"Hmm, it smells like fish."

He then decided to take a bath to get rid of the smell.

He had just turned off [Infinity] to avoid exposure, so he was stained by the fishy smell.

Shintaro comfortably bathed and then saw the sign of a pub on the street.

Pubs always seemed to be a good source of information.

Entering the pub, he ordered a glass of beer and sat as if nothing had happened, not taking a sip.

After all, he hated drinking. Of course, to avoid attracting attention, he sat in the darkest corner and eavesdropped on the conversation at the table of Kirigakure ninjas.

This table of Kirigakure ninjas was the most valuable target in the pub.

"It's better to be back in the village and feel comfortable. Finally, we don't have to fight with Sunagakure. Those people are just madmen among madmen."

"But these good days won't last long. I think we'll be sent to fight Konoha again."

Shintaro lifted his glass and pretended to drink, but actually poured the wine onto the ground through a false-bottomed layer, listening intently to the conversation of the three Kirigakure ninjas.