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"You said it would be three years, but it's been three years, then another three years, and another three years!"
"It's almost ten years, Yagura Karatachi!"
On the rooftop, the young man in a gray Konoha combat uniform rested his hands on the railing, his brows furrowed as he spoke, his voice uncontrollably loud and his movements unconsciously larger due to his agitation.
Standing beside him was a half-grown boy, a head shorter than him, who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, with a deep surgical scar on his face. He also looked displeased:
"Can you be nicer to me?"
"Right now, I'm the only one in Hidden Mist who knows your identity. If I go back and burn your files, you can be a Konoha Ninja for the rest of your life, and I won't have to worry!"
"So what do you want me to do?" He slapped the railing, pointed to his forehead protector, and suddenly raised his voice, "Remind myself every day, 'I am a Hidden Mist Ninja!', and even in my dreams, I must follow the Will of Water?"
He pointed at Yagura Karatachi in front of him, spreading five fingers: "Five years old! A five-year-old child! Just that small, and you sent me to Konoha as an undercover agent. I haven't even spent as much time in Hidden Mist as I have undercover. I've almost forgotten what my own parents look like. What kind of attitude do you want from me?"
Yagura Karatachi seemed to want to explain something: "That's also because you were precocious and emotionally stable. At that time, there was a Village-wide selection—"
"If you failed the selection, you died. Do you think I was emotionally stable?"
"..."
Yagura Karatachi was immediately speechless.
The Village of the Bloody Mist was not built in a day; even before that, there had been many mysterious operations that could be called 'human star-like'—selecting child spies was not even the most significant, and even the smallest, most client-specific 'swallows' had appeared.
However, Yagura Karatachi was a Jonin of the Village and the superior of the man opposite him. Although he also resented the Village's demands, he could not show it here in the slightest.
Thus, the two, not wanting to continue staring at each other, simultaneously turned their heads and looked towards the distant Konoha streetscape.
Another silence ensued.
'Ten years.'
Yagura Karatachi took a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth, silently chewing on the number, his thoughts inexplicably heavy.
Yagura Karatachi, who had become the top Jonin of Hidden Mist's new generation at the age of twenty, was the third direct liaison superior of this deep Hidden Mist spy.
Unfortunately, the previous two had not survived this somewhat legendary deep operative, dying at the hands of the Konoha Anbu and the Uchiha Police Force, which is why it was his turn, as a Hidden Mist new elite, to take over their mission.
Similarly, it wasn't until he took office that Yagura Karatachi learned through the Mizukage's direct confidential files that the Village actually had such a spy hidden in the heart of Konoha.
Deep Sea Code: 004
Current Name: Sawara Kiri
Age: Fifteen
Abilities: Proficient in Taijutsu and Water Release
Position: Konoha Chunin, Intelligence Acting Officer of the Jonin Class, Level Two Councillor
Incubation Period: Ten years.
In this world where Ninja are the primary military group, infiltration, espionage, swallows, torture... these are all fundamental methods.
It is not surprising for a spy to be young; a Kunai shot from a four-year-old Ninja is just as lethal as one shot from a fourteen-year-old Ninja.
In fact, it's even more lethal.
However, even in this world where these underhanded methods are dazzling, deep operatives like Sawara Kiri, who have been steadily and continuously undercover since childhood, are extremely rare.
After all, personal abilities can be forcibly instilled into a child's brain, and loyalty to the Village can be achieved through continuous brainwashing, Sealing Technique, and training. However, precocious minds and stable values cannot be mass-produced.
In most cases, 'child laborers' like Sawara Kiri are disposable tools, with only a very small number having the opportunity to escape from the enemy Village after completing their mission—which, for children of that age, is an extraordinary feat.
However, what this man in front of him had done was even more bizarre.
Not only did he successfully complete his mission after infiltrating Konoha, but he also managed to evade the first wave of Konoha's search operations through unknown means, and exploited his age advantage to establish Roots in this Village, enroll in the Ninja Academy, and become a 'genuine' Konoha Ninja.
Over these ten years, he continuously sent back various intelligence to Hidden Mist.
From that day on, Sawara Kiri's personal file was classified as top secret, included in the Mizukage's direct confidential archives, and at the same time, he could only directly contact one high-level Hidden Mist representative.
A sharp blade like him, poised at the heart of Konoha, is extremely rare even in the entire Ninja World.
Especially now, as the Second Shinobi World War enters its third year.
The spring of Konoha's thirty-ninth year remained turbulent.
This war, initiated by Sunagakure and continuously escalated by the Five Great Nations and the Hidden Rain Village, gradually dragged the entire Ninja World into a bloody vortex.
Even Hidden Mist, isolated overseas, had to simultaneously face the threat of war fronts from both Konoha and Kumogakure at sea.
For the unstable Lord Third Mizukage and the constantly feuding Hidden Mist higher-ups, this was undoubtedly an extremely heavy burden.
They had to find a way to further weaken Konoha.
"Crack."
The hard candy shattered with a crisp sound.
Yagura Karatachi finally ended the meaningless silence, lowered his head, and helplessly called out the man's real name, requesting:
"Lotus."
"No matter what, some things only you can accomplish."
Sawara Kiri then turned to look at him.
Although it seemed insignificant from an outsider's perspective, for him, who needed to continue surviving in the cracks, Yagura Karatachi's concession represented a lot.
He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, the excitement from before had completely vanished from his voice, replaced by a sudden, almost cold tone:
"Due to the overly aggressive nature of the previous missions, Konoha Anbu's internal review has become increasingly strict recently, and Root has also begun external operations. At least two search teams are specifically looking for my traces.
"Therefore, the Village's missions must be reduced to at least once every six months.
"And minimize contact with me.
"Also, your predecessor died before he could settle my last mission's remuneration. Please don't forget that."
"..."
Yagura Karatachi stared at him without speaking, and Sawara Kiri was not in a hurry, simply meeting his gaze quietly.
After a long while, Yagura was seen taking a scroll from his Pregnant and handing it to him:
"I will report your words to the Mizukage."
"After you complete this mission, no one will come looking for you for at least three months."
"After that, the mission remuneration will also be delivered to you as soon as possible."
Sawara Kiri then took the new mission scroll from his hand.
The conditions he proposed were already pushing the limits of what the higher-ups would accept; it wouldn't be surprising whether they were met or not.
Compared to the request itself, expressing his stance and fighting for benefits was actually the main point of this meeting.
Anyway, until the war ended, the higher-ups wouldn't easily make a move against him.
As for what happens after that, it probably wouldn't be up to them to decide.
Opening the scroll, Sawara Kiri quickly scanned it, memorizing all its contents, and then handed the scroll back.
Then, with a 'bang', Sawara Kiri's figure immediately vanished from the rooftop.
Yagura Karatachi stood rooted to the spot, looking at where Sawara Kiri had been, subconsciously replaying every expression and movement he had just shown, his gaze somewhat complex.
Actually, before he left the Village, Master Yuan had given him another mission—to investigate the specific reasons for the exposure of the previous two direct liaisons.
Clearly.
At least in the minds of the Village's higher-ups, Sawara Kiri's 'use time' had entered a countdown.
Ninja do not need evidence.
Untrustworthiness is the direct cause of someone's death.
After the war ends, they should move against him, right?
He was clearly the one who brought countless intelligence to the Village...
'Hero'?
Unconsciously, Yagura Karatachi suddenly felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness and weariness towards this hopeless world.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"My apologies."
Hokage Building, third floor.
Jonin Class Office.
Sawara Kiri, who was hunched over his desk proofreading the logistics material distribution list, suddenly jolted as if he had accidentally sat on a hemorrhoid, and the pen strokes on the paper paused.
He slightly adjusted his posture.
Memories from his Shadow Clone flooded into his mind.
Another change, huh.
Unfortunately, this time it was a difficult one to deal with.
Fourth Mizukage
Sawara Kiri mused, his paused pen strokes becoming fluid again as he multitasked, considering the potential implications of Yagura Karatachi's appearance.
As he said, Sawara Kiri was chosen as the deepest spy embedded in Konoha because of his maturity beyond his years.
But this was not a talent; it was because he was a transmigrator with decades more life experience than others.
Initially, upon realizing he had transmigrated to Hidden Mist, a place barely touched upon in the original work, Sawara Kiri wanted to use this advantage to enter the Hidden Mist higher-ups' radar, hoping to survive until the beginning of the plot. However, he accidentally overdid it.
Did he catch their eye?
He certainly did, and quite intensely.
It's just that the way he caught their eye wasn't exactly proper.
Who in their right mind plays Infernal Affairs in the Ninja World?
Leaving Ninja aside, did anyone in Infernal Affairs have a good ending?
No!
They all died terrible deaths!
So, this kind of life wouldn't last long.
Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows; a person needs a retreat.
Precisely for this reason, Sawara Kiri's greatest wish right now is to immediately escape this arduous life of constantly battling wits with Tenten and the Konoha Anbu, and quickly return to Hidden Mist as a hero.
Then, with his abundant merits, he would retire at light speed and wash his hands of the Ninja World before the Bloody Mist era began, living a peaceful life as a wealthy, health-conscious man with many wives and concubines in the Land of Water, waiting for the two saviors designated by the Six Paths Sage to turn the tide.
After all, in the Ninja World, as long as one doesn't get involved in the domestic drama of Kaguya's family, it's perfectly possible to live a good life!
However, judging by Yagura Karatachi's attitude today, Hidden Mist would likely add many more twists and turns to his path.
Sawara Kiri had not considered resisting, defecting, or even simply joining Konoha.
But he had at least three Sealing Techniques on his body that he knew of—on his brain, heart, and tongue—and countless other Sealing Technique formulas applied when he was five years old.
Just as he could easily manipulate Hidden Mist's high-ranking officials during wartime due to his identity, Hidden Mist also had countless ways to manipulate him if they truly set their minds to it.
Furthermore, the Five Great Nations were still in a state of barbaric conflict; there were no prisoner-of-war treaties whatsoever, and they used every conceivable method against captured spies.
Being mercifully slain with a single Kunai during an escape was considered fortunate; otherwise, there were forced brain searches, thirty-six types of whips, seventy-two kinds of torture, and one hundred and eight interrogation methods, until their last shred of value was squeezed out, after which they would be thrown into laboratories as human material, physically consumed.
Under such circumstances, could Sawara Kiri take that risk?
Clearly, no!
The only thing to be thankful for was that after transmigrating to this world, he wasn't without a reliance.
'Today, it should be able to activate, right?'
Sawara Kiri thought, and the speed at which he proofread documents increased.
After finishing the last stack of files, he immediately slammed down his pen, hoisted his small bag, and darted out the window.
"Hey! Sawara-kun—!"
His pineapple-haired superior, sitting opposite him, suddenly widened his dark-rimmed eyes, grabbed another stack of freshly delivered files, and shouted towards the window.
This brat skipped work?!
And right in front of him!
Damn it, I haven't had a day off in three months either!
You're just going off to rest by yourself, how is that any different from NTRing me in person?
"Lord Shikagoe, I'm taking the night off! I'll make it up tomorrow—!"
From the distant end of the street, Sawara Kiri's somewhat distorted voice could be faintly heard.
Nara Shikagoe in the office watched the receding figure outside the window, then slumped onto his office chair, looking as if he was about to collapse.
Looking at the half-person-high stack of files on his desk, he felt like dying.
Damn it!
Tomorrow, I'll definitely make this kid work overtime like crazy! Drown him in work until he's a puff pastry!
Nara Shikagoe grabbed his pen, furiously copying data while thinking resentfully.
"I'm home!"
Sawara Kiri pushed open the door and strode into the living room.
"Eh?"
The half-grown girl, busy in the kitchen, was startled and turned to look at him, a look of unconscious surprise on her face.
"Onii-san! You're back!"
The bean-sprout-like girl, wearing a home apron, quickly approached him: "You're really early today, are you tired from work?"
"Do you want to eat first, take a bath first, or eat…"
"Thud."
His knuckles tapped on the girl's fair forehead, making a crisp sound.
Sawara Kiri feigned annoyance: "An adult striking a child will be arrested by the Uchiha Police Force. Are you trying to frame your dear older brother, Miss Yuki!"
"Hehehe." Sawara Yuki wasn't angry; she took the small bag from his hand and followed him closely, "Onii-san came back so early today."
"Could it be that you already knew I snatched the limited edition beef at the market!"
"Or even that we're having sukiyaki tonight…"
"Eh? It's that lavish?"
"What a pity, today's a bit inconvenient." Sawara Kiri clasped his hands, a bitter expression on his face, interrupting, "Yuki, you just eat by yourself. Onii-san has a new Ninjutsu to try out."
Though not obvious, there was still an unintentional sense of distance.
"I see."
Before Sawara Yuki could ask anything further, Sawara Kiri had already quickly ascended to his room on the second floor.
Clearly, this was his 'biological sister'.
Sawara Yuki, twelve years old, a regular Genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy a year ago.
Although the Second Shinobi World War had dragged on for a long time, unlike the next great war a decade later, Konoha's accumulated wealth from the Second Hokage's era was still abundant enough. Genin like her, who had just graduated, were still rapidly familiarizing themselves with Ninja duties under the guidance of skilled Chunin instructors, and the day they would go to the front lines was still far off.
Sawara Kiri, despite being a spy, kept a small burden by his side for a simple reason.
For outsiders to fully integrate into Konoha required extremely complicated procedures and processes.
If children wanted to enter the Ninja Academy, it required strict vetting and multiple mental examinations.
However, if he could directly become the eldest son of a family that had settled in Konoha twenty years ago, with both parents deceased and only himself and a young sister remaining, mastering such a rich and real network of social connections would instantly reduce the difficulty of becoming a 'Konoha native' to zero, while also drastically lowering the possibility of being suspected.
Conversely, any atomized individual lacking family ties, such as widowers, widows, or orphans, were primary suspects in the Village's first round of apprehension operations, with many orphans even being targeted by Root due to the ambiguity of their identities.
People without weaknesses are very dangerous.
This holds true for any political regime.
Fortunately, the year Sawara Kiri infiltrated Konoha, he was very lucky to find such a suitable family.
Parents died on the vast battlefield, and the young elder brother was affected by Ninjutsu during a battle in the Village, buried and crushed to death under a wall, leaving only a young sister crying uncontrollably, trapped by her baby carriage.
A perfect identity.
From that day on, he became Sawara Kiri.
Naturally, this sister, three years his junior, was also raised by him from infancy.
However, Sawara Kiri did not, for this reason, become naive enough to trust her or try to confide anything in her.
He would eventually leave here.
Sawara Kiri unconsciously thought this.
He did not notice the fleeting disappointment in Sawara Yuki's eyes as he turned away.
Returning to his room, he first routinely checked all the mechanisms, ensuring that the room had not been disturbed by anyone, and that there were no Sealing Techniques or surveillance devices. Only then did Sawara Kiri sit cross-legged on the bed again, trying to suppress the faintly surging excitement in his heart.
He closed his eyes and silently chanted:
"Panel."
Almost the instant this thought flashed, a countdown appeared on the empty panel.
"Kid-Friendly Mode Deactivation Time"
"00:00:09"
Yes.
The humorous Kid-Friendly Mode.
No matter how many times he saw this panel prompt, Sawara Kiri could hardly suppress the urge to curse.
Even though he had been training, killing, lurking, and being brainwashed since very early on.
But, because our cheat is a national standard 15+, children can't activate it casually!
It makes no sense!
He was already a standard greasy middle-aged man before transmigrating; who knows who this age limit is meant to protect?
Thankfully, the time was finally approaching.
Just as Sawara Kiri was thinking these random thoughts, the countdown in the prompt box had reached its end.
Nine
Eight
Seven
…
Three, two, one!
System, activate!!!
At that moment, Sawara Kiri's entire vision was covered by a vast white prompt box.
Almost simultaneously, a gentle female voice, softly humming, entered his mind—faint and distant, like the sound of wind in the trees and water in a spring, soothing his heart.
"Are you my Master?"
"Yes."
Sawara Kiri's spirit unconsciously delved deeper, his ears instinctively straining to listen.
The next moment, he heard her begin with a standard poetic recitation in an aria, uttering the first non-human words.
"Oh~ Subarashii!"
"Just having transmigrated, you've already awakened the world's number one amazing [Sawara's Book of Friends] system. Now, what do you have to fear? What do you have to fear!!!"
"Punching Hashirama, kicking Madara, making Ōtsutsuki Kaguya stand up and stomp-stomp-clap-clap."
"I will, by my own strength, turn the entire damn world into puff pastry—!"
"Sawara Kiri, when will you be the Number One Ninja in the Ninja World? (Monotone)"
"Today! (Immediate answer)"
Like a great bell, or a thunderous cauldron, powerful and resounding.
At that moment, Sawara Kiri's eyes abruptly changed from sparkling to vacant, his complexion from rosy to ashen, and he quietly listened to this opening monologue in a state of extreme brokenness and pallor.
The silence in the room was deafening.
"…?"
He had a bad feeling.
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