"That's what's so frustrating about Konoha," the squad captain complained. "They haven't even made a move yet, and we're already bending over backward preparing for the worst."
Aaron's expression turned slightly odd, but he nodded along.
"Yeah… Konoha ninja are the worst."
Inside, though, he had a very different thought.
Imagine if I suddenly pulled out a Konoha headband, tied it around my forehead, and said:
'I've realized something being a Grass ninja has its limits. So I quit.'
The look on that captain's face would probably be priceless.
Unfortunately, Aaron still hadn't secured the mission files he needed. Pulling a stunt like that right now would ruin everything.
As entertaining as chaos could be, this mission carried real significance. It wasn't the kind of assignment where he could risk blowing his cover just for a laugh.
After saying goodbye to the ANBU captain, who had just finished ranting about Konoha to a literal Konoha ninja Aaron returned to his office.
He locked the door behind him.
Then he walked toward the cabinet farthest from his desk.
The office had three file cabinets in total, one on the right wall and two on the left.
Since none of them looked particularly different, Aaron decided to check them one by one, starting from the farthest and working his way inward.
Somewhere in these files should be records related to the three Grass ninja involved in the intelligence interception.
Meanwhile, after leaving the tavern, Kakashi decided to visit the Grass Village hospital out of curiosity.
As he observed the place, something quickly felt off.
Compared to the hospital in Konohagakure, there were far fewer doctors and nurses moving around.
Instead, the halls were crowded with patients.
Kakashi pretended to be someone visiting a friend and quietly slipped into a ward.
What he saw inside made him frown.
A doctor in a white coat was holding the arm of a young red-haired woman and guiding it toward a Grass ninja lying on a hospital bed.
"Go ahead," the doctor said impatiently. "Take a bite. You'll be healed right away."
The injured ninja didn't hesitate.
He leaned forward and bit down hard on the woman's pale arm.
The red-haired woman gasped in pain.
The doctor frowned in annoyance.
"Keep it down. This is a hospital."
"It's just a bite on the arm. Stop making such a fuss and endure it."
The woman forced herself to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes and gave a strained smile.
"I understand, Doctor Inoue. I'll try to stay quiet next time."
The doctor snorted.
"Next time? Of course there'll be a next time."
"Don't forget, the village gave you shelter in this war-torn world. The least you can do is repay that kindness."
The woman nodded obediently.
"I understand… I'll come here every day if necessary."
Kakashi's fists clenched.
For a moment he seriously considered stepping forward.
But after a long breath, he forced himself to relax and quietly left the room.
Once outside the hospital, his expression hardened.
He had heard rumors about the Grass hospital's "special treatment method," but seeing it in person was something else entirely.
Instead of medical ninjutsu, they were literally using a person as a living healing resource.
If Kushina Uzumaki saw something like this…
Kakashi was fairly certain she would tear the entire village apart.
The red-haired woman was almost certainly one of the few surviving members of the Uzumaki clan from the destroyed Uzushiogakure.
Even though Kakashi desperately wanted to beat that doctor into the ground, this was still a mission.
They were deep inside enemy territory.
One wrong move would expose him and potentially start a battle in the middle of the village.
After gathering a little more information around town, Kakashi noticed the sun beginning to set.
Dusk was approaching.
Still bothered by what he had witnessed, he returned to the hospital one more time.
Just as he arrived, the red-haired woman was leaving.
After a moment of hesitation, Kakashi decided to quietly follow her.
Eventually he discovered that she lived in a rundown area on the eastern edge of the village, far from the main streets.
Coincidentally, it was very close to the rendezvous point their team had chosen.
Kakashi carefully memorized the location before leaving and heading toward the meeting place.
When he arrived, he found that Kenshi and Midori had already gotten there ahead of him.
Midori grinned proudly.
"Hey Kakashi! Looks like I beat you here."
Kakashi ignored her playful bragging and turned to Kenshi.
"Did you find anything about those three Grass ninja?"
Kenshi shook his head.
"No luck. Midori and I checked the locations listed in the intel our team leader gave us, but we didn't find anything useful."
Midori pouted.
"That's because you didn't use my strategy."
"If we'd tried my approach, we'd definitely have discovered something instead of coming back empty-handed."
Kenshi's eye twitched.
"How could we just ask people about them? They're ANBU members. Asking questions like that is basically writing 'I'm a spy' on your forehead."
Midori shrugged dramatically.
"Well, it was the best plan I could think of. I tried my best."
Suddenly
"OW!"
Midori yelped.
Kakashi blinked in surprise.
Aaron had appeared behind her without making a sound and lightly flicked her on the head.
So fast… I didn't sense him at all, Kakashi thought.
Aside from Minato Namikaze, he had never seen anyone move so unpredictably.
Aaron glanced at the three of them and briefly used his observation haki to scan the surrounding area.
Once he confirmed they were alone, he spoke.
"All right. Let's hear the reports."
"Kenshi, you go first."
Kenshi answered honestly.
"No results. I couldn't find any information about the three Grass ninja."
Aaron nodded calmly.
"That's fine. If it were that easy, I wouldn't have had to infiltrate the ANBU base myself."
Then he looked toward Kakashi.
Kakashi spoke next.
"From what I observed in taverns and other public places, the Grass Village isn't completely unified. A lot of lower-ranking ninja don't want another war."
Aaron nodded thoughtfully.
"Good work, Kakashi."
Then he crossed his arms.
"As for me… here's what I found."
"I searched the entire village and located the Grass ANBU headquarters."
"While preparing to infiltrate it, I ran into an ANBU squad captain leaving the base. I knocked him out, used a transformation to take his identity, walked straight into headquarters, read several classified documents… and even attended a high-level ANBU meeting hosted by the village leader."
Kakashi: "...?"
Kenshi: "...?"
They stared at him in stunned silence.
They had spent the entire day cautiously gathering bits of information.
Meanwhile, Aaron had casually impersonated an ANBU officer, read classified files, and sat in on a leadership meeting.
It felt like they weren't even playing the same game.
Midori's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Whoa, that's amazing!"
"Team leader, can I come with you next time? I want to try something like that too!"
Aaron smiled easily.
"Sure. Next time."
For some reason, when he said that, Midori briefly had the strange impression of a pigeon lazily flapping its wings in the distance.
Huh… must be my imagination.
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