The next day.
Menma lazily reclined on a lounge chair in the courtyard outside the newly built council hall of the Land of Stars, flipping through a scroll containing information about Yakushi Kabuto, or rather, 'Kumamoto Kabuto', with a playful smile on his lips.
Kabuto's fabricated background was practically flawless.
Kumamoto City was the second-largest city in the Land of Stars, with a population of over 80,000, including more than a hundred orphans. Before Menma took control of the Land of Stars, most of these orphans had formed gangs, roaming the streets and surviving through begging and theft.
When the officials of the Land of Stars gathered these orphans, they only conducted simple investigations, asking about their birthplaces and whether they had any memories of their parents.
Most of the orphans knew nothing, so they could only answer truthfully. Because of this, implanting an orphan's identity was surprisingly easy.
After all, in the Land of Stars a year ago, children like this were far too common.
And so, Kabuto, who is now eleven years old, had obtained a legitimate identity in the Land of Stars. Once the Ninja Academy opened, if he displayed some talent in Medical Ninjutsu, he would undoubtedly be noticed and groomed as a key asset, eventually entering the higher echelons of the Land of Stars' military. This would allow him to gather even more intelligence.
"Since Kabuto has appeared in the Land of Stars, there's no need to let him leave." Menma pondered how to recruit both Kabuto and Nono under his command.
The afternoon autumn sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows over him. The warmth did nothing to diminish his scheming mood.
"Oh? You know that kid?" Hikari walked into the courtyard, her blue coat slightly wrinkled and dust-covered.
Hikari was currently the Jonin Commander in the Land of Stars' military. Aside from overseeing the country's defense operations, her daily duties included training the handful of Jonin under her command… people like Natsuhi, Hotarubi, Kanon, and Gotta. Even Kimimaro and Haku were among her trainees.
As the strongest ninja under Menma's command, Hikari had vast combat experience and was a powerhouse at the Kage-level. Having her train these Jonin was a rare opportunity, and they all cherished it.
As for Kakuzu, he now served as the captain of the Land of Stars' Anbu and the chief jailer, handling dirty work and overseeing captured spies and Ninjas from other nations.
Moreover, Kakuzu's fighting style was too unorthodox, with a strong 'first-encounter kill' factor, so he wasn't keen on being a sparring partner. Or rather, he tended to lose control and go too hard during training.
"You could say he's a little companion of mine." Menma placed the scroll on the tea table and poured Hikari a glass of water.
"So, what do you plan to do?" Hikari sat on the lounge chair opposite him, her breathing gradually steadying as sweat glistened on her skin.
Menma hummed thoughtfully, lightly tapping the scroll with his fingers, "We can activate the Engraved Tsukuyomi implanted in Gari, the Explosion Release user from Iwagakure. Let's have him gather intel on Yakushi Nono's movements in Iwagakure."
"I'll try." Hikari's voice was as cool as ever. Her black pupils turned crimson as the pattern of her Mangekyo Sharingan emerged.
She closed her eyes, her spiritual energy stretching out like invisible tendrils, crossing vast distances to precisely lock onto Gari's Chakra Signature in Iwagakure, far beyond a thousand miles away.
A year ago, Gari had led a team to infiltrate the Land of Stars for reconnaissance, but they were captured by Hikari and Kanon.
Hikari implanted the Engraved Tsukuyomi in him before releasing him. Then, by manipulating the traitors of Hoshigakure to stage a pursuit, they ensured Gari passed Iwagakure's observation period smoothly upon his return.
Normally, whenever Gari fell asleep, his consciousness would be unconsciously controlled, leaving behind intelligence about Iwagakure in Hikari's Tsukuyomi Space, making him a crucial pawn for Menma within Iwagakure.
This pawn had been lying dormant for over half a year, and now, he was being activated for the first time.
The control of the Engraved Tsukuyomi was very close to that of the Infinite Tsukuyomi… it ignored distance and physical barriers, allowing remote manipulation of marked targets. Moreover, it could control multiple people simultaneously.
At this time, Gari, who was far away in Iwagakure, was instructing a new batch of Ninjas in the training grounds as usual.
His frame was somewhat lean, his face gaunt, with a spiky hairstyle. He wore the standard Iwagakure's Jonin uniform, his right sleeve missing, and the village's forehead protector tied around his arm.
At the moment Hikari activated the engraving, her Mangekyo's pattern appeared on the back of Gari's hand, and his body stiffened abruptly.
Gari's consciousness plunged into darkness, as if an icy flood had instantly shattered his mental defenses.
As an Elite Jonin of Iwagakure, Gari couldn't put up even the slightest resistance.
His pupils instantly dilated, losing focus, replaced by a hollow, vacant stare. His true consciousness had fallen into deep slumber.
Meanwhile, Hikari, far away in the Land of Stars, ignored the distance of thousands of miles. After issuing her command, Gari's body automatically 'revived'.
Like a precision puppet, he instantly returned to 'normal', continuing his previous actions… even instructing the three Genin before him as if nothing had happened.
None of the surrounding Iwagakure's Ninja noticed anything unusual.
From then on, Gari, now controlled by Hikari, began actively gathering information about Nono within Iwagakure.
Occasionally, he would share drinks with old friends at izakayas, casually bringing up village affairs as if making small talk. Other times, he would inquire with acquaintances in the Medical Division about treatments for 'rare conditions', all while secretly extracting intelligence.
Soon, he uncovered information about a Kunoichi who might be Nono under an alias.
Suzuhara Nanigashi… a Wandering Ninja who joined Iwagakure a year ago, skilled in Medical Ninjutsu. She had previously wandered across the Land of Earth before being recruited into Iwagakure.
Ninja Villages often recruited Wandering Ninja like her. Most were remnants of minor clans from the Warring States Period who, for various reasons, hadn't joined any Great Ninja Villages. Others were defectors from certain Ninja Villages or civilians who had somehow learned Chakra Manipulation.
Most were Genin-level, a few had Chunin-level skills, and only a rare handful reached Jonin-level.
Naturally, Ninja Villages prioritized recruiting such talents. After all, Ninja were mercenaries by nature… using their own Ninjas for missions required weighing losses, and injuries or exhaustion meant downtime. In contrast, recruited Wandering Ninja were far more expendable.
And many Wandering Ninja, seeking survival in this already turbulent world, actively sought to join Ninja Villages for protection… though doing so required paying a price to truly integrate.
"Hey, Yoshikawa, have you seen that woman, Suzuhara Nanigashi, lately? The medicine she prescribed me is almost out." In the izakaya, Gari took a sip of sake, feigning casualness as he asked a familiar face beside him.
"Oh, you mean that Chunin named Suzuhara Ai from the Medical Division?" The Ninja named Yoshikawa laughed, scratching his head. "I think she was dispatched to support the border near the Land of Rain. Recently, Ninjas from Amegakure have been acting crazy, stirring up trouble along the border. A lot of our guys got poisoned, so the Medical Division sent several teams."
"Tch, Tsuchikage-sama really knows how to use people, huh? Sending newcomers on such a shitty mission." Gari clicked his tongue twice.
Deep down, however, he had already relayed this information through the Engraved Tsukuyomi… transmitting it thousands of kilometers away to the Land of Stars.
Hikari quickly passed the intel to Menma.