Including the identity Hyūga Ming had taken over—Mu Yu—Kusamori technically commanded ten subordinates.
Eight of them were assigned to monitor the city's four entrances.
The remaining two were responsible for compiling intelligence.
Mu Yu had originally been one of the entry-point watchers, but now—thanks to Hyūga Ming's "complete memory loss"—he had been reassigned to intelligence compilation instead.
Unfortunately, his new partner, Shi Shui, was clearly unhappy.
"So… you're really just going to sit there?"
Shi Shui stared at Hyūga Ming, who was lounging in a chair, calmly wiping a knife that had come from who-knows-where.
The blade was bronze in color—a rare sight.
Hyūga Ming glanced at him with a half-smile.
"What else would I do? I've lost my memory."
Right now, he was a fully certified amnesiac—
with a side diagnosis of violent mental instability.
Snap.
Shi Shui slammed the documents onto the desk.
"Mu Yu, don't push your luck."
He stood up.
Shi Shui looked to be around twenty, much taller and broader than Hyūga Ming's disguised form.
He looked down at him with open contempt.
"Don't think pretending to have amnesia lets you climb over my head."
Just as he was about to teach Hyūga Ming a lesson—
The person in front of him vanished.
A voice whispered into his ear.
"Besides memory loss… I also tend to go berserk."
Niko Style · Flame Heaven Form · Shadow Step.
A sharp pain exploded in Shi Shui's chest.
He looked down in disbelief.
A bronze blade had pierced straight through his heart—from behind.
"I really like bad workplace relationships."
Hyūga Ming appeared behind him and pulled the blade free.
Shi Shui staggered two steps, turning with disbelief frozen on his face.
"How… dare you—"
He never finished the sentence.
Darkness swallowed him.
[Experience +124]
Hyūga Ming activated the Byakugan, swept the surroundings, then immediately took out the Konoha summoning scroll and unrolled it on the floor.
His hands formed seals rapidly.
Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram.
Bang!
Smoke burst out.
Shi Shui's corpse vanished.
Hyūga Ming calmly rolled up the scroll and placed it into his inventory.
Then he checked the drops.
[Low-Grade Mana Potion]
"Well, that's actually a decent drop."
He put it away.
Then he sat down in Shi Shui's chair and casually took over his work.
Back at the Konoha camp, Hiruko, who had finally regained command authority, felt thoroughly refreshed.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had all left.
Now the camp belonged to him again—even if only temporarily.
Sitting in the commander's tent, he was organizing intelligence.
It was his only real job.
Then—
Bang!
A body appeared on the summoning scroll beside him.
Hiruko stared at the corpse.
Rain Village forehead protector.
Silence.
"…What the hell did that kid do this time?"
This summoning scroll was not meant for corpse disposal!
And wasn't this way too blatant!?
Wasn't he worried about exposure at all!?
Absolutely shameless.
Back in the tower—
"Where's Shi Shui?"
Kusamori returned and found only Hyūga Ming inside.
Hyūga Ming looked at him with a smile that carried no meaning at all.
"He was too noisy."
The implication was obvious.
Kusamori fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally said:
"You'd better control yourself. Don't kill comrades without authorization again."
Mu Yu was officially classified as mentally unstable.
There wasn't much he could do.
Besides—Rain Village shinobi killing each other wasn't exactly rare.
With Shōzō and Hanzo locked in opposition, internal bloodshed was practically routine.
Until a clear victor emerged, such incidents were considered minor issues.
"It's too boring here," Hyūga Ming said, madness flickering in his eyes.
"If things stay like this, I can't guarantee how long I'll hold back."
With Brain Endorphins, no one could tell he was acting.
Every expression was genuine.
Kusamori, however, nodded approvingly.
"You really are suited to serve Lord Hanzo."
After hesitating for a moment, he pulled out two scrolls—one mission scroll, one jutsu scroll.
"This is a task personally issued by Lord Hanzo. Complete it, and you'll earn the honor of meeting him."
"The jutsu scroll—I applied for it for you."
Originally, Kusamori had intended to observe Mu Yu longer, in case he was a spy planted by Shōzō.
But Shōzō's people wouldn't kill their own comrades.
That doubt was gone.
He tossed both scrolls to Hyūga Ming.
Hyūga Ming opened the jutsu scroll first.
"Water Release · Turbulent Wave…"
"A Water Release technique, huh."
Disappointing.
Water wasn't what he wanted—and he didn't even have the Water chakra nature.
His affinities were Fire, Lightning, and Wind.
If this were a game skill, he could learn it instantly.
But a real ninjutsu scroll?
Without Water affinity, he couldn't use it.
Hyūga Ming showed no reaction and quietly put the scroll away.
Then he opened the mission scroll.
"Assassinate Kojima Kōji."
Kojima Kōji was the city lord—a noble.
"…Just a civilian?" Hyūga Ming frowned.
Kusamori shook his head.
"He's one of Shōzō's supporters. Much of Rain Village's funding comes from him."
"He'll definitely have shinobi guards."
Hyūga Ming frowned deeper.
"If there's a jōnin—or even a special jōnin—I'm not doing it."
Kusamori looked surprised.
Did fragments of combat judgment remain despite the amnesia?
Still, Hyūga Ming hadn't even mentioned chūnin.
Did he think he could kill one?
Impossible.
Probably arrogance caused by memory loss.
Kusamori replied calmly:
"Kojima Kōji only has one chūnin and several genin protecting him."
"Special jōnin and jōnin don't waste time guarding someone like him."
In other words—
Kojima Kōji was just one of Shōzō's many backers.
Not valuable enough to warrant elite protection.
Hyūga Ming nodded.
"Then it's worth trying."
One chūnin meant over a thousand experience.
If he also killed Kusamori someday—
That'd be over two thousand.
Another fifteen hundred, and he'd level up again.
He was level 15 now.
Three more levels to class advancement.
Being labeled insane really is convenient.
The mission scroll in his hand suddenly ignited.
It burned to ash.
"This operation must remain secret," Kusamori said coldly.
"When and where?" Hyūga Ming asked.
"I'll notify you."
Kusamori glanced at the files on the desk.
"For now, you're free. Someone else will handle the paperwork."
Looking at Hyūga Ming, there was no way he'd actually read documents.
"Got it."
Hyūga Ming waved lazily and headed for the stairs.
Konoha wanted intel on Iwa and Suna, not on Konoha itself.
These files were useless to him.
Only Kusamori remained behind, staring silently at Hyūga Ming's departing figure—
His eyes dark with thought.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
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