Facing the two clueless men, Karura glanced subtly at Rinjin, then smiled at Yashamaru.
"Yashamaru, you rarely get a day off. Go have fun with your friend—I've got things to do, so I'll head off first."
With that, the beautiful woman in her Sunagakure jōnin vest nodded politely and walked into the distance.
Watching Karura's departing figure, Yashamaru beside Rinjin sighed softly and patted Rinjin's shoulder.
"Sigh~ Laki, maybe it's better that you don't remember my sister.
At least you won't be sad."
"What do you mean?" Rinjin asked, returning to his blank expression.
"Uh..." Yashamaru hesitated for a moment, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the tall square building behind them.
Not knowing how to explain, he gave an awkward smile.
"Laki, are you tired from walking? How about I treat you to lunch!"
Hearing this, Rinjin sneered inwardly but shook his head expressionlessly.
"Not hungry, but my head's a bit dizzy. I want to go home and lie down."
"I'll walk you back!"
Faced with Yashamaru's eagerness tinged with anxiety, Rinjin shook his head again in refusal.
"No need, I know the way home."
With that, Rinjin slowly raised his hand, intending to pat Yashamaru's shoulder in farewell, but stopped halfway.
Seeing this, the gentle Yashamaru quickly grabbed Rinjin's hand and pressed it to his own shoulder, his face showing a warm smile.
"Thank you, Yashamaru!"
A hint of a smile appeared in Rinjin's eyes. He nodded and walked toward home.
Turning around, hidden by his headscarf, the smile in Rinjin's eyes instantly vanished as he sneered coldly to himself.
Heh~ This kid says I'm not worthy of his sister!
Well whatever
This trip to Sunagakure is just reconnaissance anyway. If I really want to pull off a substitution, it'll require long-term planning.
Besides, this current identity is too low-level.
While he personally didn't care, from an undercover perspective, a civilian genin had extremely limited potential.
Even if he put in tremendous effort, it would be difficult for this identity to reach Sunagakure's upper echelons.
Simply put, even if Rinjin climbed to the top, it wouldn't seem natural to others. It was disgusting, but that was reality.
On the other side, Yashamaru watched Rinjin's figure disappear around the street corner, then quickly strode off in the direction Karura had gone.
Just as Yashamaru left, Rinjin leaned against a deserted alley wall, his narrowed eyes fixed on the direction Yashamaru had disappeared.
Thinking quietly, the hidden information in that sister-brother conversation was overwhelming.
First, Sunagakure also had someone named Rinjin who had disappeared.
And when he first arrived in this world, he was in Rain Country, right next to the Land of Wind.
Could his previous self have been from the Land of Wind?
Second, what exactly was this "clan" they kept mentioning?
And what about the "branch family"?
Who was this Uncle Suiken?
If his previous self was indeed from the Land of Wind, then this Uncle Suiken's identity was very intriguing!
Another point—
From Yashamaru's various behaviors and mannerisms, he could tell this guy probably worked in intelligence-related positions.
This guy's speech patterns habitually carried a certain leading quality, and he always maintained conversational control.
People who habitually spoke this way were either psychologists with occupational hazards, players, or worked in investigative professions...
Based on Yashamaru's ninja uniform, he wasn't a psychologist.
As for being a player...
Uh... can't rule out that this kid likes men.
Creating a shadow clone to return home and sleep along the original route, Rinjin quickly changed his disguise, transforming into an utterly unremarkable middle-aged man.
Following the direction indicated by his Flying Thunder God formula, Rinjin weaved through the crowd, quickly catching up to Yashamaru's pace.
After traveling for quite a while, Rinjin arrived at a tall tower.
The tower was about fifty meters high, cylindrical in shape, with each floor densely packed with rows of small windows.
At that moment, Yashamaru was carefully climbing up the outside of the tower.
Seeing this, Rinjin's eyes flickered slightly as his hands hidden beneath his robes quickly formed seals.
Ox-Goat-Snake.
Secret Art: Nurarihyon Technique.
Instantly, misty gray fog shrouded Rinjin's form.
Rinjin slowly stepped forward, holding down Newton's coffin lid as he followed Yashamaru up the tower's exterior wall step by step.
Soon, Rinjin and Yashamaru peeked their heads over the tower's edge one after the other.
On the other side of the rooftop, a young man and woman stood with their backs to them, chatting intermittently.
Looking at the completely oblivious Yashamaru beside him, Rinjin casually turned his attention to the pair.
Normally, a sleeper agent would never do something so blatant and easily exposed.
The Nurarihyon Technique wasn't omnipotent—
in the eyes of certain sensory ninja, Rinjin wrapped in gray mist was as obvious as lice on a bald head.
However, Rinjin didn't care.
Whether this identity was exposed or not didn't matter much.
Pricking up his ears, Rinjin carefully listened to the couple's conversation.
"Karura, what are your thoughts on the family's decision?"
"Thoughts?" The woman's voice responded.
"My thoughts don't really matter. I was promised to that person from the moment I was born.
Since I can remember, people around me have told me, 'You are the pride of the Sand Clan and will marry the Fourth Kazekage.'
Later that person disappeared, and Uncle Third searched the world for ten years without finding him.
I was taught from childhood how to be a virtuous wife and gentle mother.
Obviously, I learned very well.
But I'm already tired of all those so-called marriage talks filling my ears.
Still, it doesn't matter—I can accept it all."
"..."
On the other side, the man remained silent, his narrowed eyes studying the woman beside him.
Rasa actually didn't care who his wife was.
He was young and vigorous now, at his most energetic, with plenty of ambitions he wanted to realize.
But the prerequisite for these ambitions and political ideals was becoming the Fourth Kazekage.
However, if his wife was such a woman who'd undergone bridal training since childhood, that would be quite suitable.
On the other side, Rinjin tilted his head watching the pair, feeling something was off.
The person they keep mentioning—they're not talking about me, are they?
Could my previous self have been the Third Kazekage's son?
Damn~ I remember using Tobi's name to swagger around his office, threatening him in every way possible~
Then... wouldn't Sasori, who killed the Third Kazekage, be my... uh... previous self's enemy???
Just as Rinjin was getting increasingly speechless, Karura used the cover of brushing her bangs to casually glance back.
After quite a while longer, the two chatted about more meaningless topics before Rasa bid Karura farewell and left the rooftop.
In the wind, Karura turned around somewhat helplessly, looking toward Rinjin and Yashamaru's direction with exasperation:
"You've heard everything—why are you still hiding? Come out!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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