Reiji carefully tucked the money away, then roughly tore open the envelope. He unfolded the letter and began reading it casually.
It wasn't long, but its contents were solid enough to make the corner of his eye twitch.
It opened with a brief praise for his actions, saying he'd successfully infiltrated Konoha and should keep it up. Then, in an offhand tone, it laid out several tasks.
First: gather intel on Konoha's leadership.
Whether or not he could pull it off was one thing—but the danger involved wasn't small. Even if his identity wasn't exposed, this sort of mission was extremely risky. Yet Hanzō of the Salamander's tone was so casual, it felt like he didn't care whether Reiji lived or died.
Second: stir up enmity between the two major Kekkei Genkai clans in Konoha—the Hyūga and the Uchiha.
At this point, Reiji nearly laughed. Not only did this guy not care about his life, he also seemed downright naive. How was a seven- or eight-year-old kid supposed to ignite a feud between two powerful clans? What was going on in this guy's head?
Third: follow Amegawa's commands in all things and assist him in securing a foothold in Konoha.
What Hanzō didn't expect was that the four idiots he sent hadn't even made it past the front gates. Glancing at the four people in front of him, Reiji sighed silently.
This! If Hanzō of the Salamander had been a woman, Reiji might've complimented her with, "So stupid it's cute."
It was obvious this guy didn't take him seriously at all.
Still, at the end of the letter, Hanzō threw him a small bone of reassurance:
"Mizukuma Sakuhō is doing well. He's currently teaching ninjutsu to the son of the Land of Rain's daimyō."
Reading through the whole thing, Reiji felt both amused and annoyed.
All these tasks, and he only got 5,000 ryō? Was this pocket change supposed to buy his loyalty?
With that thought, Reiji put the letter down, an odd expression on his face.
Noticing he was done reading, Amegawa stood up, walked over, and looked down at him.
"Since you've read Hanzō-sama's letter, it's time to begin the mission."
He pulled out a scroll about the size of a palm, spread it out on the ground, and shot Reiji a sideways glance.
"Shuku Kohei, I order you to draw a map of Konoha's defenses."
Reiji shook his head.
"I don't know. I'm not a ninja—how would I have the chance to observe the defenses?"
At those words, Hiruzen, hidden in the shadows, finally relaxed his clenched fists.
He was certain Reiji had already figured out the defense layout—but the kid had no intention of giving it up. That alone earned Hiruzen's respect.
"What about intelligence on the village's leadership?" Amegawa pressed.
"Heh, what do you think I am, Superman? Why don't you just ask me to unify the ninja world while you're at it?"
"Watch your mouth, Shuku Kohei!" a sharp rebuke rang out.
"Useless brat! You've been in Konoha all this time and all you've done is eat?
You've disgraced Hanzō-sama. How did Amegakure end up with garbage like you?!"
Reiji raised an eyebrow, staring at Amegawa with mild curiosity.
"Alright then, since you're that dumb, we'll just go with my plan." Amegawa frowned and rolled up the scroll.
"From now on, I'm your uncle—a traveling merchant. These three are my assistants.
Your job is to get us into Konoha and arrange a place to stay! Got that?!"
Amid Amegawa's shouting, Reiji casually nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, got it."
Amegawa's temper flared at Reiji's careless attitude.
"And I heard you're living with some merchant right now?"
Reiji nodded again.
"Idiot!"
"How could Amegakure produce such a disgrace? Who trained you? Must be an idiot too!
Poison them! Frame them! Kill the household and take over their property—that's how you get ahead! What kind of training did you even get?
If someone like you is the result, your teacher must've been a moron!"
Furious, Amegawa turned to his companions and grumbled with disgust.
"Kids these days… each generation's worse than the last."
Hidden in the shadows, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and stared at Amegawa, struggling to suppress his killing intent.
He'd changed his mind.
The agent sent by Amegakure was not just dumb—he was ruthless and had no limits. He'd actually suggested Reiji kill the Katō family, the ones who had taken him in.
A fool with no conscience was too dangerous to let into the village.
With that thought, Hiruzen made up his mind—no matter what Reiji said, he would never allow these four to enter Konoha.
Amegawa kept complaining to his companions, occasionally shooting Reiji a disdainful look.
Reiji remained unmoved. He let out a quiet sigh, slowly sat down, reached for his ankle, and muttered under his breath.
"I need to take off the weights—if they get damaged, it'll be a pain to deal with."
Reiji unfastened the ankle weights and carefully set them down by the cave wall.
"The sleeves are torn, but I can patch them up. Think I can get reimbursed for this?"
Muttering to himself, he took off his black short-sleeved shirt, folded it neatly, and placed it beside the weights.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Amegawa suddenly roared when he saw Reiji bare-chested.
Caught in the act, Reiji paused mid-motion as he was about to pull down his pants.
He slowly pulled them back up, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk. Tilting his head, he asked with mock curiosity,
"What am I doing?"
"Getting ready to lead the way, obviously!"
The ninja who had earlier pressed a kunai to Reiji's neck let out a sneer and jeered,
"Leading the way half-naked? Where are we going, the red light district?"
The four of them burst into laughter, and even Amegawa shook his head with a mocking chuckle.
Reiji, however, shook his head seriously.
"Not the red light district. The River of Forgetfulness. We'll be swimming."
The laughter stopped cold.
They all knew what the River of Forgetfulness was. Of course they did.
This brat… was he planning to get them killed!?
Their expressions darkened as they turned to stare at Reiji, hostility rising in their eyes.
Amegawa had already made up his mind. He remembered Hanzō-sama's instructions before they left—if Reiji disobeyed or showed any sign of disloyalty to Amegakure, he could be killed on the spot.
"Shuku Kohei, you'd better take that back—or I'll show you what it means to beg for death."
In the face of Amegawa's threat, Reiji stretched out his right hand and curled his fingers in a taunting beckon.
"Then come at me~"
Just as it looked like Reiji was about to make his move, deep in the cave...
Hiruzen furrowed his brows, doubt creeping into his mind.
Something was off. Why was Reiji suddenly acting so reckless? Didn't he realize he was up against one Jōnin and three Genin?
With his intelligence and cunning, he should've been able to endure a bit of humiliation like this.
So why now? Why provoke them with words? Why alert the enemy?
Hiruzen's mind swirled with questions.
Still, one thing was clear—saving Reiji took priority.
With that resolve, Hiruzen quietly drew his shuriken, ready to strike.