Back in her room, Aburame Neri lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling, her thoughts drifting further and further away.
"Entrusting one's back, being worthy of trust... how ridiculous," she muttered to herself. Yet, Naruto's gentle smile and magnetic voice involuntarily surfaced in her mind. 'If it were him, perhaps?' No. A ninja should be emotionless. Completing the mission is all that matters. Aburame Neri's eyes regained their cold indifference.
Neri involuntarily recalled a former teammate. At that time, that teammate had also been valued by Danzo and was thus added to their squad. Like Rock Lee, that teammate harbored similar theories about companionship. Once, while carrying out a commission, they were ambushed and fell into dire straits. In the end, Neri and that teammate managed to escape by a fluke. But foolishly, the teammate insisted on re-entering the danger zone to save their other comrades. Persuasion failed, so Neri left alone and returned to Konoha. Ultimately, that teammate died. A miserable death, directly devoured by the enemy's summoned beast. The body they dragged back was even incomplete. Since then, Neri had become very wary of non-Root-native members. She didn't want to find herself in a perilous situation someday because of a teammate.
However, this commission was a good one: suppressing a rogue ninja organization. There would definitely be jonin among them. Although Naruto's squad was being tailed by Root jonin in the shadows, they wouldn't intervene unless it was a critical situation. So, if things went as expected, Naruto would get injured. Then she could obtain his tissue samples—precious materials for experimental research! Thinking of this possibility, Aburame Neri couldn't help but smile.
In the courtyard outside, Naruto was still grilling and eating fish with Rock Lee. He was silently contemplating. 'A rogue Chunin organization... if all goes well, there should be jonin present. This is my first battle after joining Root; I must complete this commission perfectly. If I'm lucky, perhaps I can collect some human subjects for experimental material. Of course, it would be best if I could obtain Aburame Neri's cell tissue. I'm very interested in a body that can nurture insects. I really want to find an opportunity to savor it thoroughly.'
Inside and outside the room, Naruto and Aburame Neri were both engrossed in their own thoughts. The distant rogue ninja organization was completely unaware that their nightmare would soon arrive.
The next day, Naruto's squad, fully prepared, set off towards the mission location. They were all dressed in attire suitable for their forged identities: Naruto was a merchant, Rock Lee his subordinate, and Aburame Neri a maid. The trio moved with the flawless performance of award-winning actors.
"According to intel, there's recent turmoil in the Land of Snow. Rogue ninja from the Land of Snow within the organization will definitely provide intelligence to other ninja villages. Yukigakure's strength is decent, and various villages will want to bite off a piece of that meat. What we need to do is find that specific rogue ninja and use them to pinpoint the organization's location," Naruto said, a hint of chill in his voice. "First, we need to enter a hidden underground tavern where many rogue ninja share intelligence and complete transactions."
Following this plan, they arrived in an adjacent small town. The streets were still desolate, the few pedestrians hurrying along with anxious expressions. These intelligence taverns were extremely cautious; every ninja who entered had their own codename. Moreover, these taverns didn't admit newcomers unless they were recommended by someone else or possessed a pass. The so-called passes could be taken from other ninja. Naturally, Naruto's squad targeted the ninja wandering within this town. Such a method was cruel, but it aligned perfectly with Root's worldview: achieve mission success by any means necessary. Since they couldn't be sure which ninja carried a pass, multiple hunts would be required.
Rock Lee was strongly opposed to this method. In his words, "The mission is important, but we can't just indiscriminately kill innocents! I'm sure there must be another way."
To this, Aburame Neri retorted sarcastically, "Then why don't you think of a way? In my opinion, this method is the most efficient and simplest."
"But doing it this way is too cruel," Rock Lee sighed, his thinking still rooted in the naivety of a fresh graduate.
Naruto smiled faintly at this and said gently, "Kindness is indeed a fine quality. However, these rogue ninja organizations are inherently cruel. In their eyes, there is only profit. They will leak all known intelligence to other ninja villages, which will lead to war and slaughter."
"If we abandon the current plan because of kindness, we will undoubtedly need to spend more time formulating a new one. This will prolong the time it takes to complete our mission. During that period, they will likely transmit new intelligence, leading to continuous warfare and devastating civilian suffering."
"Sage, kindness is precious, but don't let kindness become laughable mercy. What we are doing is for future peace. For this goal, what does it matter if a few ninja are sacrificed?"
"I understand, Naruto!!" Rock Lee looked at Naruto, his eyes filled with trust. 'So that's it! All along, everything Naruto has done has been for peace! For peace, he is willing to do such cruel things. He is a man who truly thinks for the sake of peace! As his most capable subordinate, I must follow his steps closely!'
Naruto's words made Aburame Neri look at him in a new light. She hadn't expected Naruto to possess such resolve. His aspirations were so grand. 'For peace...' Neri tried to consider her own aspirations, only to realize with a shock that she had no dreams, no ambitions. She was only really interested in Kekkei Genkai. Compared to Naruto, she felt like... a puppet that only knew how to complete missions.
"Let's go. I'll do it." Under the sunlight, Naruto revealed a gentle smile, yet deep within his eyes lingered the pain and helplessness of striking down innocents. For a moment, Aburame Neri found herself somewhat captivated.
Soon, Naruto found a target: a ninja completely cloaked in a brown overcoat, their face obscured. Waiting until the ninja walked into an deserted area, Naruto approached, easily slitting their throat with a kunai. His hands deftly searched the body, quickly finding a pass. He then hid the corpse and looked towards Rock Lee and Aburame Neri.
Neri's expression was blank, but countless insects crawled out from her body, down to the ground, and disappeared into the dark underground pipes. Not long after, the insects returned in a vast swarm, bringing back a pass. For Aburame Neri, killing and looting was merely routine.
Finally, all the pressure was on Rock Lee. With Naruto's help, he identified his target, walked up, and with a dazzling Leaf Whirlwind, kicked the person's neck until it snapped. Under Naruto's exasperated gaze, he retrieved a pass and fled like a thief.
Aburame Neri's eyelids drooped. She thought to herself, 'Completely clueless about stealth, and his killing has absolutely no aesthetic. He will be the shame of Root.'