Chapter 206: Top-Secret Intelligence
On the way to the Anbu headquarters, Ishiro asked Mei, "Senior Mei, how is the research progress on the Byakugan?"
Speaking of this, Mei was rather pleased. She smiled and said, "Although the Byakugan shows rejection towards ninjas, the intensity of this rejection is far less than that of the Sharingan. Many of the preparations we made were not needed."
"Currently, all the various data indicators for the Byakugan have been listed, and they are very detailed."
"However, research on how to counter the Byakugan has made no progress. Although the Byakugan's abilities in combat are not as domineering as the Sharingan's, its penetrative vision is too difficult to counter; any concealed movement cannot escape the Byakugan."
Speaking here, Mei sighed, lamenting why Iwagakure didn't have such families with inherited, outstanding bloodlines.
This was also within Ishiro's expectations. If the Byakugan were so easily countered, it wouldn't deserve to be in Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's eye sockets.
Ishiro even suspected that the Byakugan had other hidden abilities that had not yet been discovered. This hidden ability might not even require an evolution in the eye's appearance.
Otherwise, why did Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's eyes always maintain the Byakugan state, not transforming into the Tenseigan?
However, these were not things Ishiro needed to dwell on now. Currently, Ishiro's goal was to use the Byakugan as bait.
When Ishiro followed Mei to the Anbu headquarters, the Byakugan was still in the eye socket of an Anbu member. This Anbu member was actually practicing the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist.
Ishiro used his "Mind's Eye" to sense the surroundings and found that this secret room was guarded by 16 Anbu members, meaning four full Anbu squads.
Furthermore, as Ishiro sensed them, one of them actually reacted. Ishiro quickly said, "I am Ishiro."
Hearing Ishiro's words, the ninja who had sensed being probed emerged from the shadows, bowed to Ishiro, and then retreated back into the darkness.
Ishiro nodded; this level of security was sufficient.
Mei glanced in this direction, then stepped forward and gave a few instructions. Immediately, a medical ninja came forward, removed the Byakugan from that Anbu member's eye socket, and placed it into a bottle filled with nutrient solution.
Ishiro took the bottle from Mei's hand, examined the Byakugan in the bottle; it was no different from when he had first obtained it.
Seeing Ishiro take the Byakugan, Mei asked again if he wanted these Anbu members to cooperate with him.
Ishiro thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll take all four of these Anbu squads."
...
Two days later, an inn in Iwagakure welcomed a merchant caravan. Such caravans had been a common sight in Iwagakure in recent years. The innkeeper didn't pay much mind and warmly received them.
Intending to cultivate repeat customers, after the caravan had settled in, the innkeeper enthusiastically approached them, wanting to establish some rapport.
However, the caravan leader seemed rather indifferent to the innkeeper's displayed enthusiasm, merely offering a few curt replies.
Conversely, a young man beside the caravan leader responded quite appropriately to the innkeeper's enthusiasm, and even seemed like he wanted to proactively start a conversation.
This made the innkeeper feel a sense of abnormality.
The innkeeper was no ordinary person; his other identity was that of a Kumogakure spy. The innkeeper's daily work was to collect the idle chatter of passing guests, organize and analyze what he heard, and extract the intelligence he wanted from it.
Therefore, the innkeeper took mental note of the unusual behavior displayed by that young man.
In the subsequent chat, the innkeeper discovered another discrepancy. The relationship between the young man and the caravan leader didn't seem to be one of superior and subordinate.
Their casual speech with each other seemed more like that of partners.
The innkeeper was no stranger to such situations; it was not uncommon for two or three merchant caravans to partner up for business.
However, this young man seemed to have no companions, as if he were alone, while the others appeared to be subordinates of the caravan leader.
Could this person be a rogue ninja? The current Land of Earth was cracking down hard on rogue ninjas; they were rarely seen within the Land of Earth, and in Iwagakure, one might not encounter one for years.
So the innkeeper hadn't initially thought in this direction. Now, however, the more he looked, the more it seemed like it. The innkeeper himself was a former ninja. Although this young man appeared no different from an ordinary person on the surface, to a professional intelligence operative like the innkeeper, some flaws were still discernible.
A rogue ninja venturing into Iwagakure probably had some scheme. Perhaps there was intelligence useful to his village within it. Should he make contact? The innkeeper hesitated.
Finally, the innkeeper decided to wait a bit longer. The young man's composure didn't seem too deep; he had been quite proactive in approaching him earlier. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to hold back.
Sure enough, that night, after everyone else had rested, the young man found the innkeeper. He first asked for a bottle of wine, then, pretending to drink while chatting, struck up a conversation with the innkeeper.
The innkeeper chuckled inwardly. While feigning casual chat, he secretly analyzed the young man's conversation content.
As they chatted, the young man seemingly naturally steered the topic towards ninjas. Then he asked if the innkeeper had any channels to trade with Iwagakure.
At this point, the innkeeper basically confirmed the young man's purpose. This person definitely had something he wanted to sell to Iwagakure.
However, the owner didn't know what exactly the young man wanted to sell. But no matter what it was, the owner didn't want Iwagakure to get the benefit. So, half-jokingly, half-warningly, he said, "Young man, trading with Iwagakure in Iwagakure is very simple. Just go to their Contribution Office; you can trade anything there."
"As long as the goods come from legitimate sources, the price won't be unfair to us. As for other things..." The innkeeper shook his head, deliberately not finishing.
The item the young man wanted to trade was definitely illicit. Hearing the innkeeper say this, he became somewhat anxious and subconsciously asked, "Then where can one trade other things?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the young man realized he had been too hasty and was about to explain. The innkeeper spoke before him, "Young man, your curiosity is quite something. You just don't know how dangerous ninjas are, that's why you want to know about ninja matters."
Hearing the innkeeper's words, the young man breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, "Boss, you are widely experienced. Tell me about it." Saying this, the young man ordered another bottle of wine and some snacks.
The innkeeper found it amusing inwardly and said with a feigned cheerful expression, "Speaking of secret trades with ninjas, I do know a few things, but most of them don't end well."
"This is Iwagakure's territory, after all. If the traded item is illicit, Iwagakure can openly seize it, and no one can say anything against Iwagakure," the innkeeper shook his head.
Seeing the young man's disappointment, the innkeeper added, "If you ask me, if you really have something you want to trade, it's better to find ninjas from other villages within Iwagakure. For example, Sunagakure or Kumogakure. Both these villages have good relations with Iwagakure and have ninjas stationed in Iwagakure."
"If there's something good, ninjas from these two villages, fearing Iwagakure's intervention and not wanting to escalate matters, will often conduct fair trades."
The innkeeper, afraid of exposing himself, deliberately included Sunagakure.
The young man quickly said, "Then does Boss have contacts in this area?"
The innkeeper knew the fish had taken the bait. So he deliberately sized up the young man for a few moments and asked tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to have something to trade, would you?"
The young man looked somewhat embarrassed, unsure whether he should continue to conceal it.
While the young man was still hesitating, the innkeeper spoke again, "Young man, ninjas have high standards. They don't care for ordinary things."
At this point, the young man seemed to know he couldn't hide it anymore and said, "Boss, rest assured, the item is definitely good. I'm just afraid the buyer can't afford the price. To be honest with you, Boss, I am also a ninja. I know the item is definitely good. If not for the fear of attracting trouble when using it, our boss wouldn't want to sell it."
The innkeeper said, "I do know a few ninjas, but our relationship is average. If you want me to connect you, you'll have to let me see the item first."
The young man hesitated, not speaking for a long time.
Then the innkeeper persuaded him a few more times, and finally, the young man agreed.
The item wasn't in Iwagakure. The next day, the young man took the innkeeper out of Iwagakure to meet their boss.
The process had some twists and turns, but in the end, the innkeeper saw the actual item. At that moment, the innkeeper's heart stopped.
"Byakugan! It's actually a Byakugan! Why is it a Byakugan? Where did this group of people get a Byakugan?" The innkeeper wanted to ask but forcefully held back.
After returning to the village, the innkeeper immediately transmitted this top-secret intelligence back to Kumogakure.
That young man was naturally Ishiro in disguise, with a slight transformation jutsu. The people outside the village pretending to be Ishiro's boss and companions were precisely those Anbu members protecting the Byakugan.
After the fish took the bait, Ishiro returned to the inn to wait for news from the owner.
Three days later, Ishiro received news: Kumogakure had decided to participate in the joint Chūnin Exams hosted by Iwagakure.
Ōnoki was initially surprised. The start of the Chūnin Exams was very near, and many ninja villages that were farther away had already dispatched their participating personnel. Why did Kumogakure suddenly decide to participate at this time?
Only after listening to Ishiro and Mei's explanation did Ōnoki understand that it was Ishiro scheming again.
Then, Saka proposed to make the waters even murkier: before Kumogakure arrived, let the innkeeper know that Ishiro had traded the Byakugan to Sunagakure.
Ishiro was delighted upon hearing this; this method was devious enough.
Two days later, Kumogakure's Storm Release Kekkei Genkai user, Tanimoto Naoto, arrived in Iwagakure with five Genin squads.
However, when Tanimoto Naoto met the innkeeper, he was told he was too late; the Sunagakure Jōnin leading their Chūnin Exam participants had beaten him to it and traded for the Byakugan from Ishiro's group.
Tanimoto Naoto frowned deeply. He felt something was amiss about this matter, but the innkeeper explicitly stated that he had seen the Byakugan with his own eyes. Helpless, Tanimoto Naoto could only instruct his spies in Iwagakure to pay close attention to Sunagakure's movements.
After returning to the Kumogakure lodgings, Tanimoto Naoto's deputy quickly came up to inquire about the situation. Tanimoto Naoto shook his head and said, "Sunagakure got there first."
The deputy frowned; he also felt something was wrong. Then he asked, "Then what should we do? Return or continue to participate in the joint Chūnin Exams?"
Tanimoto Naoto thought for a moment and said, "Although our participation in the joint Chūnin Exams is a pretext, since it has already been made public, we must complete these exams."
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We've hit 200 Power Stones goal As promised This week, here's the bonus chapter. Thank you for your support—please keep it coming!