Eve

Eve

"Old Xue, we haven’t received any mission."

Amid the long transport convoy, an old man with a face full of stubble spoke to the middle-aged man in a headscarf.

"No mission is fine. If we hadn’t taken this employment opportunity to escape, we might have been implicated by them too. Sigh, a team can vanish just like that. You can never be too careful in the Reincarnation Space."

The middle-aged man in the headscarf did not seem to mind. If anything, he looked somewhat relieved.

"As long as we earn enough silver and wages, our rating will go up. Going to the Land of Fire this time also gives us a chance to change locations and keep taking missions. I hear the Land of Fire is the most peaceful and prosperous place."

"But there are large teams over there, aren’t there?"

"Actually, large teams don’t think much of the little gains we have on hand…"

"…"

Xu Yue did not need to waste much breath on the labor group. They behaved honestly and properly along the way, and given his current status, once he spoke up, Sunagakure was willing to do him this favor. After all, the situation at the time had been obvious: these people had all been dragged into it.

Comparatively speaking, prying some intelligence out of the Fifth Lady took more effort.

He had to keep extracting it without arousing her suspicions, while maintaining the image he had successfully built. Often, he would chat for half a day just for the sake of one sentence.

Xu Yue had only seen several teams happily farming other bloodline-limit missions and wondered whether he might have a chance to get Mei Terumi’s other bloodline limit from her.

But evidently, the intelligence others had piled up with their lives was not something he could obtain in such a short time.

What surprised him, though, was that Mei Terumi, who had initially been somewhat unfriendly toward him, had gained ten points of favorability toward him during this period. Even Xu Yue found it baffling…

As for Mei Terumi, after ruling out Xu Yue as a suspect, she gradually discovered through their interactions that although this merchant reeking of money had all sorts of flaws—especially his stinginess, which was truly contemptible—

he genuinely knew a little about everything under the heavens. Some of his words sounded crude and vulgar, yet upon careful reflection, they contained plenty of sense.

Her original impression of him had changed quite a bit.

That contrast with her initial impression instead made her identify with him a little more.

Of course, even if she somewhat identified with him, he was still a miser…

"Konoha seems to be under tight security lately. I wonder whether they’ll allow me to enter."

Having just entered the Land of Fire, Mei Terumi seemed somewhat hesitant.

The Sunagakure escorts were allied with Konoha, so their entry would not be a problem. But the Land of Water had always pursued an isolationist policy; they had not even exchanged prisoners.

Under normal circumstances, Konoha would naturally accept ordinary escort missions and conduct the handover. Yet recently, Konoha’s atmosphere seemed rather strange.

"Relax. Konoha is different from your Hidden Mist; it’s much more open-minded. As long as you don’t cause trouble yourself, you’ll definitely be fine as my guard. Oh, take off that mask. That’s some kind of Anbu mask, isn’t it? It stands out too much."

Xu Yue reassured her with a smile, then reached out and removed Mei Terumi’s mask, revealing the lovely face beneath.

She could not help shooting Xu Yue a glare with her beautiful eyes, but she did not object.

As long as the procedures were proper and the reason legitimate, Konoha was indeed quite lenient toward outsiders.

The one in power now was the Third Hokage.

Moreover, the Third Ninja War had been over for so long. This was a time of peace.

The reason security was tighter was probably that the Uchiha Clan matter was about to happen.

Along the way, he had received information delivered by the summoning snake from his Wood Clone. Judging by the timing, it should be just about right, so there was no need to rush the journey…

At the same time, in Konoha,

a group of Reincarnators assigned to an "external unit" had gathered together.

"Did those Konoha Anbu take the wrong medicine? Why are they watching us so closely?"

"The higher-ups who hold positions in the Anbu said they were powerless. They’re even trying to distance themselves from us. What rotten luck."

"Damn Space. The identity arrangement for our first entry was so terrible."

"Don’t complain if you don’t have Comprehensive Reputation."

"But this also confirms that the timing should be about right. Those people from Japan wouldn’t dare deceive us about this."

"Still, I feel like they have some other objective. Could they be using us as pawns?"

"Who is using whom as pawns is still uncertain! As long as we keep a close eye on them, even if they truly have some target, we can snatch it away midway! No important figures from their side came here. That’s their inherent disadvantage!"

Inside another wooden house in Konoha,

several Asian figures had gathered together.

"Those white pigs probably suspect something too."

"So what if they do? The bait ahead is so big that they can only obediently swallow it."

"But we still can’t completely confirm whether our intelligence is true. Was the Four-Tomoe Sharingan really born that night?"

"It must be true. Otherwise, there’s no explanation for Itachi’s reason to massacre the clan. He definitely obtained the Four-Tomoe Sharingan after the massacre. And to deal with the entire Uchiha Clan, he would certainly be exhausted afterward. That will be our best opportunity."

"A super skill that could knock Lord Xue down in a single move and leave her unconscious for an entire mission in that Mission Space is worth any price."

While undercurrents surged among the Reincarnators hidden in Konoha,

Xu Yue’s Wood Clone stationed in Konoha had remained quite idle. He went to the Uchiha Clan and used Fugaku’s favorability to exchange for some Fire Release scrolls, making up for the lack of mid-level techniques so that he would not have nothing but basic attacks and ultimate moves.

Aside from that, he had also learned some Illusion Technique skills from Shisui…

Sitting at home and looking at Shisui before him, whose Anbu mask hung askew, Xu Yue still wore that gentle expression.

"Your Wood Clone is truly impressive. Even the Sharingan has a hard time seeing through it."

Shisui drank tea, but his gaze was somewhat unfocused, as though he were contemplating something.

"So? Haven’t you already made your decision?"

Xu Yue continued brewing tea, the expression on his face unchanged.

"No matter what, I have to try. If it really doesn’t work… sigh, you actually should have had a chance to stop all this. Why are you running away from it?"

Shisui looked at Xu Yue, his face full of conflicted emotions. The burden had fallen on him and Itachi. He truly could not bear it much longer. He was so tired…

"Running away? Perhaps. You two make the decision, and I’ll carry it out with you. Though I’m only a Wood Clone, I still have some ability."

Xu Yue’s Wood Clone maintained the same smile.

"I truly hope there won’t be a moment when you need to act. All right, I’m leaving."

After putting his mask back on and covering his face, Uchiha Shisui vanished from his seat the next moment.

"Worthy of Body Flicker Shisui."

Watching the direction Shisui had left in, a strange glint appeared in Xu Yue’s Wood Clone’s eyes. He then summoned a small snake and stuffed a scroll into its mouth.

It was far too dangerous for Kotoamatsukami to fall into Danzo’s hands.

After obtaining it, Danzo would probably use it on him first.

Although Xu Yue did not know Kotoamatsukami’s limits, or whether he, with the Rinnegan and C World enhancements, could withstand it, he had no intention of taking even the slightest risk.

Even if he truly could resist it, Danzo causing trouble for others would still be quite troublesome…

Two updates done. Not short at all…