<h4>Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Intelligence!</h4>


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    After entering the Land of Rivers, following Konoha''s intelligence, Shūichi Hoshita and his team found a cave on a mountain. It seemed to have been inhabited in the past.


    "Judging by the traces, it''s been at least a month since someone was here," Shisui Uchiha observed.


    Shūichi scanned the cave and then volunteered, "Minato-sensei, I''ll go check outside."


    Minato Namikaze nodded, "Sanyō, go with Shūichi."


    Sanyō Kurama quickly nodded, "Yes, Minato-sensei."


    The two of them left the cave to investigate the surrounding area.


    Before long, Shūichi reached the top of the mountain and gazed southward.


    He raised an eyebrow and then took a monocr from his backpack to look down at the valley. "There''s a vige down there..."


    "There are a lot of people, but the fields seem somewhat neglected."


    Shūichi frowned slightly. He noticed women and elderly people working in the fields but didn''t see any young, able-bodied men.


    Looking closer at the vige, there were children ying around, and asionally, he could spot a few young men.


    "Are they justzy?"


    Shūichi put away the monocr, met up with Sanyō Kurama, and then rejoined Minato to report what he had discovered.


    Minato asked, "Shūichi, do you suspect there''s something unusual about that vige?"


    Shūichi nodded, "The information leading us to this hideout wasn''t baseless. This ce was likely a hideout for rogue ninjas, but it''s now abandoned."


    "And conveniently, there''s a vige just below. In fact, this would be an ideal location for a hideout."


    Sanyō added, "Judging by the traces around here, someone did live here for a long time."


    It''s impossible for all signs of life to vanish within just a few months unless someone meticulously cleaned up, but it''s clear that wasn''t the case.


    Everyone understood Shūichi''s point. If this hideout belonged to rogue ninjas or bandits, then the vige below might have been under their control in the past, possibly paying them tribute.


    This vige could be a valuable source of information.


    "Indeed, the vige is a good ce to gather intel," Minato concluded, making a quick decision. "We''ll start our investigation with the vige."


    Sanyō suggested, "The simplest method would be to bring someone back here and use genjutsu to interrogate them."


    Both he and Shisui had the skills to do so—direct and straightforward!


    However, Shūichi offered an alternative, "Perhaps we could gather information in a more discreet manner."


    Minato and Shisui understood Shūichi''s underlying concern—that the vige might be moreplicated than it seemed, possibly with ties to external forces.


    After all, they had previously spected that Sunagakure might be involved.


    Shisui added, "If we want to collect information covertly, it would be best to wait until nighttime."


    Entering during the day, even with a transformation jutsu, could easily raise suspicion.


    After all, gathering intel discreetly requires subtlety.


    Directly questioning the vigers would be too risky. A stranger entering the vige would immediately arouse suspicion.


    Sneaking in at night, using genjutsu when everyone is asleep, would leave minimal traces, most of which the vigers would likely dismiss as a dream.


    Minato immediately decided, "Then we''ll wait until nightfall to infiltrate the vige."


    Shūichi then suggested, "Minato-sensei, maybe we could first familiarize ourselves with the vige in a simpler way."


    Minato, Shisui, and Sanyō all turned to Shūichi.


    Shūichi smiled, and in the next moment, he transformed into a ck cat.


    Minato Namikaze immediately recognized the ck cat—it was the same stray cat from their first mission a few days ago.


    Shisui Uchiha''s eyes lit up as he smiled, "Shūichi''s idea is indeed clever. A stray cat in this area shouldn''t raise any suspicions."


    Minato nodded with a smile, "That''s true."


    Meanwhile, Shūichi Hoshita felt a bit strange inside because he had just triggered a new tag.


    <strong>Tag: Transformation Master</strong>


    <strong>Condition to Obtain:</strong> Achieve 100 different forms of transformations, meeting the required standards.


    <strong>Effect:</strong> Able to change into countless forms; transform into a bird to fly, a fish to swim.


    The effect was impressive, but the difficulty was also daunting. Humans count as one form, and cats as another.


    He had already met the requirements for the human form, but not for the cat. While his cat form had no visible ws, hisck of knowledge about feline behavior could easily expose him.


    But in reality, just achieving 100 different transformations forms was already an extraordinary feat.


    Releasing the Transformation Jutsu, Shūichi turned to Shisui with a smile, "Shisui, you probably know cats better than I do."


    Minato also looked at Shisui, "Shisui, I''ll leave this task to you."


    "Understood!" Shisui nodded.


    Minato then turned to Sanyō Kurama, "Sanyō, you''ll be responsible for supporting Shisui."


    Sanyō quickly responded, "Yes, Minato-sensei."


    Shisui and Sanyō immediately set off.


    However, instead of entering the vige right away, Shisui transformed into a stray cat and moved through the forest, quickly finding a group of roons.


    Shisui then transformed into a roon and mingled with the group, allowing himself to pick up the scent of the wild roons.


    The drawbacks of the ordinary Transformation Jutsu are numerous—not only in chakra but also in scent, which is difficult to alter. Shisuipensated for this by using alternative methods.


    Shūichi observed this and couldn''t help but silently give Shisui a thumbs up. He had learned something valuable.


    If he wanted to unlock the [Transformation Master] tag, mastering animal transformations would be a significant advantage.


    ---


    Back in the cave, Shūichi practiced using senbon needles, and before he knew it, it was already noon.


    Shisui and Sanyō returned together.


    "Minato-sensei, Shūichi''s earlier spection waspletely correct," Shisui reported, clearly astonished, and then ryed the gathered information.


    Although it was just bits of overheard conversation, they had confirmed that the vige below housed two rogue ninjas who also led the bandits.


    Almost all the able-bodied men in the vige were their subordinates.


    Moreover, the two rogue ninjas indeed had a source of intelligence. They were scheduled to meet their contact tonight, with ns to act the following day.


    After Shisui finished his report, the cave fell into silence.


    The vige was a bandit stronghold, responsible for significant harm to the Land of Fire. Revenge seemed inevitable.


    But it was still a vige.


    Would they target only those who had raided the Land of Fire, or would they root out the problem entirely?


    "What a messed-up world..."


    Shūichi sighed inwardly.


    He had heard of simr situations in his previous life, but now, faced with the reality—if he were to seek revenge in the vige, would he kill everyone or just the able-bodied men? Would he carry that burden in his heart?


    Minato''s gaze swept over the three of them before he said, "For now, we won''t concern ourselves with the vige. We''ll split into two teams to keep an eye on those rogue ninjas."


    "Yes, Minato-sensei!" The three of them quicklyposed themselves and responded in unison.


    Shūichi and Minato formed one team, while Shisui and Sanyō formed the other, and they began closely monitoring the vige.


    It was a long process.


    Byte night, the two rogue ninjas finally left the vige and headed west.


    Shūichi and the others immediately followed, keeping a safe distance behind.


    (End of Chapter)


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