Because of the intelligence Dalsi had sent back, Isshiki did not take the Light Shinobi Village too lightly either. He had Nagi personally go to the Light Shinobi Village to investigate the situation, while also checking whether Dalsi, who was currently undercover, had betrayed them.
"Spending more than a year wasting time in a small shinobi village, even if he doesn't have any ulterior motives, he's still completely useless." Nagi moved between the forests at an extremely fast speed, heading toward the Light Shinobi Village.
Nagi felt that Dalsi's ability to handle matters was truly inadequate. Wasn't it just a small shinobi village? Even if its leader was powerful, at most he would only be at the level of the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. How strong could he be? Could he possibly be stronger than their Lord Jigen?
There were differences even among the cadres. Dalsi was truly the disgrace of the cadres.
The Land of Frost and the Land of Fields were not very far apart. In addition, Nagi had traveled through the night, so he soon entered the Land of Fields and arrived at the Light Shinobi Village.
Nagi carried out the same operation as he had previously done in the Hidden Sand Village, sneaking into the Light Shinobi Village at night.
Nagi observed the forehead protectors and clothing of the Light Shinobi Village shinobi. He used the Transformation Technique to transform into the appearance of a Light Shinobi Village shinobi, then openly began observing the Light Shinobi Village.
'This Light Shinobi Village doesn't seem any different from the other small shinobi villages.' Nagi walked along the streets of the Light Shinobi Village, observing everything around him from the corner of his eye.
Soon, Nagi took back his previous thought. He saw a tall Light Shinobi walking toward him.
Compared to the shinobi's tall stature, what attracted more attention were his feet. They were not feet that a human should possess. They were covered in dense, long black hair and were extremely thick.
A normal human upper body combined with the lower body of a beast. A drop of cold sweat trickled down Nagi's forehead. Could it be that the Light Shinobi Village was actually a shinobi village that openly conducted biological experiments?
Because he discovered that the people nearby showed no surprise at the black-legged strongman at all. Their expressions were completely normal. Instead, he looked like an ignorant bumpkin.
Nagi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and continued walking as though nothing had happened.
The farther Nagi walked, the more shocked he became. There were not only strongmen with lower bodies resembling beasts, but also people whose arms had been transformed into the claws of beasts. There were even people with huge wings like those of giant birds growing from their backs.
Nagi felt that he had probably underestimated the Light Shinobi Village. Just this biological modification technology alone was already extraordinary.
Transplanting the body parts of Summoning Beasts was not as simple as chopping off one's own limbs and attaching those of a Summoning Beast.
When passing by a tavern, Nagi stopped because he noticed two flushed-faced, swaying Light Shinobi arguing near the tavern. One of them had even replaced both arms with beast limbs.
Nagi felt that this was an opportunity to observe the strength of the Light Shinobi Village shinobi.
The Light Shinobi with beast-like sharp claws attacked first. He raised his clawed palm, which emitted a cold, sinister light, and struck toward the other Light Shinobi with such force that it produced a whistling sound.
The other Light Shinobi simply raised his arm horizontally and blocked it in front of himself.
'The combat awareness of the Light Shinobi Village shinobi is far too poor. Blocking with his arm like this, his blood vessels are going to be torn open by those claws.' Nagi shook his head, as if he could already foresee the scene of that Light Shinobi's blood splattering everywhere.
Sizzle!
The scene of blood splattering everywhere that Nagi had anticipated did not happen. The sharp claws only left several scratches on that Light Shinobi's arm.
Nagi froze. He could be certain that the Light Shinobi just now had not even used Chakra. He had directly endured the attack with his bare arm.
On the surface, shinobi had bodies of flesh and blood, so it seemed impossible for them to block powerful Ninjutsu or sharp weapons. But that was not actually the case. If that were true, then even a Genin would have a chance of killing a Kage. Yet in reality, a thousand Genin would still be slaughtered like pigs in front of a Kage. If those Genin were not Konoha Genin, the reason lay in the use of Chakra.
Yet that Light Shinobi had directly endured the attack with his arm, without even leaving a trace of blood. This surprised Nagi. Was his body really that tough?
The next second, he understood what was going on.
The Light Shinobi whom Nagi had thought had an extremely tough body burst into laughter. "Hahaha, this arm of mine cost a fortune to install. One of them is worth four million Ryo. How could it be torn open by the arm of an ordinary Summoning Beast like yours?"
Immediately afterward, the Light Shinobi began to counterattack. He suddenly threw a punch. Nagi thought he was going to use Taijutsu, but then the two sides of the Light Shinobi's arm suddenly opened, and a large number of weapons emerged from inside the arm, instantly knocking the clawed Light Shinobi to the ground.
"The power behind this punch is worth four million Ryo. Can you withstand it?" the Light Shinobi said with a smug laugh.
Nagi: ...
He had originally thought that those people who installed Summoning Beast parts were already strange enough. But what the hell was this? This arm had already completely left the realm of biology, hadn't it?
"What, you want to pick a fight too?" The victorious Light Shinobi sensed Nagi's gaze and looked at Nagi fiercely as he spoke.
Nagi withdrew his gaze, turned around, and continued walking forward.
Although he could instantly kill this provoking Light Shinobi, Nagi would not easily make a move and expose himself when he had just arrived.
"Have the shinobi of the Land of Fields always been this wild?" After touring the Light Shinobi Village, Nagi was somewhat questioning his life choices.
He had originally looked down on the Light Shinobi Village, only to discover that the Light Shinobi Village really knew how to play. Instead, he was the one who looked like an ignorant bumpkin.
Nagi shook his head and began using a Secret Technique to contact Dalsi.
After contacting Dalsi, the two agreed to meet at a hidden location.
"Why did you enter the Light Shinobi Village directly! You should have informed me beforehand." Dalsi frowned as he spoke.
Dalsi taking the offensive first was something Nagi had not expected. He had not even questioned Dalsi yet, and Dalsi actually dared to speak to him like this.
"Kid, although we are both cadres, there are differences among cadres. I advise you to show some respect to your senior." Nagi said with a gloomy expression.
Isshiki gave them a great deal of freedom in carrying out their missions. As long as they completed the mission in the end, that was enough. For example, when testing the Kazekage's strength, Isshiki's requirement was simply to find out the Kazekage's strength. As for how to test it, that was for Nagi to arrange himself.
This time was no exception. Isshiki only wanted the final results: intelligence on the Light Shinobi Village and whether Dalsi was still loyal.
Nagi felt that since this was a test, informing Dalsi beforehand would be meaningless. A surprise inspection was more appropriate.
"Show respect to your senior? What qualifications do you have to make me respect you? You entered the shinobi village where I'm undercover without discussing it with me." Dalsi retorted without backing down at all, completely unafraid of Nagi's threat.
Nagi felt that Dalsi was young, inexperienced, and lacking in strength. But Dalsi felt that he was young and had greater potential than Nagi and the others, so he did not back down in the slightest.
"You little…" Nagi's eyes flickered as he clenched his fists, seemingly ready to attack at any moment.
"What? You still want to make a move? If you want to die, then go ahead. A battle between you and me will definitely bring Yahiko here. You have no idea how strong that guy is." Dalsi said.
"How strong?" Nagi asked.
He truly did not know how strong the Light Shinobi Village leader Yahiko was.
Isshiki had only told him part of the information, saying that Light Shinobi Village leader Yahiko was quite powerful and that he should not easily expose his identity.
"Strong enough to kill me instantly." Dalsi said.
Nagi was speechless, and the atmosphere fell into silence for a moment.
Although Nagi felt that he was stronger than Dalsi, he did not think he was powerful enough to kill Dalsi instantly.
There were differences among cadres, but the gap could not possibly be that exaggerated.
"When I first entered the Light Shinobi Village, I fought Yahiko. He defeated me with just one move. He is truly unfathomable." Dalsi said.
"Not only is the Light Shinobi Village leader powerful, but the other two higher-ups of the Light Shinobi Village are not ordinary shinobi either. I'm not confident that I can definitely defeat them."
"That is why I have always emphasized to Lord Jigen that the plan must be carried out cautiously and steadily. A mere Light Shinobi Village already possesses such strength. One can imagine how terrifying the Five Great Shinobi Villages are." Dalsi earnestly advised.
"Actually, a year ago, I was also sent by Lord Jigen to test a shinobi village. It was the Hidden Sand Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. My mission was to attack the Kazekage." After remaining silent for a while, Nagi spoke.
"You actually managed to come back alive. Was it because the Hidden Sand Village is the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages?" Dalsi felt that Nagi was incredibly lucky. If he had been sent to attack Yahiko, he would certainly have had no chance of survival.
"No. I nearly beat the Fourth Kazekage to death, then left easily." Nagi stared into Dalsi's eyes and spoke in a low voice.
Dalsi: ???
Dalsi was dumbfounded. He seriously looked at Nagi, and after confirming that Nagi was not lying, he thought that Nagi could not have traveled all this way just to deceive him. When he reported the intelligence later, he could simply ask Lord Jigen and verify it.
"How did you do it?" Dalsi could not help but ask.
"I infiltrated the village, collected the Kazekage's route, then launched a surprise attack at night." Nagi answered.
"That was it?" Dalsi looked at Nagi suspiciously.
"Otherwise?" Nagi asked in return.
"Did your strength make a major breakthrough after I left?" Dalsi asked again.
"A small improvement. It can't be called a major breakthrough." Nagi said.
"That shouldn't be possible. No matter what, it's one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. How could it be this weak?" Dalsi muttered, feeling that it was somewhat unrealistic.
Nagi was stronger than him, but only by a limited amount. Let alone killing him instantly, Nagi could not defeat him within fifty moves.
Therefore, Nagi was not Yahiko's opponent either. Perhaps he could last a few more moves than Dalsi, but winning was impossible.
Yet Nagi said that he had nearly beaten the Kazekage to death, which left Dalsi somewhat confused.
Wasn't it said that the Five Great Shinobi Villages were far stronger than the small shinobi villages? Why did the Hidden Sand Village fall so far short?
"Is it possible that the strength of the Light Shinobi Village is abnormal, far beyond what its status as a small shinobi village would suggest?" Nagi said.
Dalsi's expression stiffened. If that were really the case, then he was too unlucky. There were so many small shinobi villages in the shinobi world, yet the first one he was assigned to was this problematic small shinobi village.
"It is also possible that there is something wrong with the Hidden Sand Village. Has Lord Jigen never tested any of the other Great Shinobi Villages? One Hidden Sand Village can't prove anything." Dalsi thought for a moment before speaking.
What Dalsi did not expect was that Nagi did not argue with him this time. Instead, he nodded and said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out. Kinoshita Tsukasa disappeared while carrying out the mission to test Konoha. Later, he even caused Konoha to send a large number of shinobi to search the Land of Rivers for traces of the organization."
Because Konoha conducted a large-scale search in the Land of Rivers, Isshiki realized that those natives were not fools either. Therefore, he later carried out a cautious plan and stopped sending people to test the Great Shinobi Villages.
"Did that old guy die?" Dalsi asked in surprise.
If the three cadres were to be ranked, there was no doubt that Dalsi would be at the bottom, while Kinoshita Tsukasa was indisputably at the top. He was the strongest cadre.
"He died a year ago." Nagi said indifferently.
Dalsi did not know what to say for a moment.
Although he had been undercover here and would contact Isshiki, those were all one-sided reports from him. Isshiki would not report intelligence to him, so Dalsi did not know about the changes within the organization over the years. He did not even know that one of the cadres had died.
"You've been in the Light Shinobi Village for a year already. What have you gained?" Nagi asked.
"As far as the infiltration mission is concerned, I have already accomplished Lord Jigen's objective. I am now one of the three highest-ranking members of the Light Shinobi Village." Dalsi proudly puffed out his chest and raised his head.
After all, Isshiki's original purpose in sending him here was to take control of the Light Shinobi Village and find suitable bodies for Isshiki to conduct experiments on. Although he had not become the leader, that was because Yahiko was too strong. There was simply no way to defeat him.
"Oh? Then why haven't I heard that you've provided Lord Jigen with many qualified test subjects?" Nagi raised an eyebrow.
Dalsi opened his mouth, then finally sighed and said, "I don't know why. Although I've already become one of the higher-ups of the Light Shinobi Village, that Yahiko still seems to distrust me. I can often feel his gaze on me. Perhaps because I'm not from the Land of Fields, he still hasn't completely trusted me."
After talking for a while, Nagi could basically confirm that Dalsi should not have betrayed them, although he had not accomplished anything in more than a year.
He was not a traitor. He was genuinely just incompetent.
But cautious as ever, Nagi still observed Dalsi for several days while investigating the Light Shinobi Village. After confirming that there was no problem, he prepared to leave.
After organizing the information he had collected, Nagi discovered that the Light Shinobi Village was much more outrageous than the Frost Shinobi Village. It was like an upgraded version of the Frost Shinobi Village, completely unlike an ordinary small shinobi village.
Nagi concluded that there must be some connection between these two small shinobi villages because they were too similar. The current situation of the Frost Shinobi Village was practically like a branch village of the Light Shinobi Village.
But just as Nagi was traveling back to the Frost Shinobi Village, he discovered a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and orange hair standing in the middle of the road ahead.
Nagi narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly recognized that this was the Light Shinobi Village leader Yahiko, whom Dalsi had described as incredibly powerful.
Nagi decisively turned around and changed directions. He had not yet reported his intelligence.
But how could Nagato let Nagi leave so easily? Nagato slowly extended his hand.
"Basho Tenin!"