Asuma found a suitable hotel, booked individual rooms, and met Shintaro and Kurenai on the street.
The three of them then went outside the city to find Shikaku.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Shikaku ended the day's exploration and took them back to the city to find a restaurant for dinner.
At night, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
Two hours later, Shintaro noticed that Asuma and Kurenai were asleep, so he went out and knocked on Shikaku's door.
It turned out that Shikaku had not locked the door since he had just returned to his room.
"Come in, the door is for you."
Shikaku's voice came from inside, so Shintaro entered and closed the door.
"I knew you would come to see me, when did you notice?" Shikaku asked with a smile.
Shintaro said, "I noticed something yesterday morning."
Shikaku nodded and said, "That's why I never treat you like a child. Tell me, what did you find?"
Shintaro shared his speculation: "I found more than ten ninjas in the city. They were hidden among the civilians and seemed to have a specific agenda."
"Moreover, I also discovered a Kekkei Genkai ninja. Seeing that most of these ninjas have water-attributed chakra, I believe they are from Kirigakure, known for families proficient in water attributes."
"On the surface, this mission is a C-rank task to explore the terrain. In reality, it's to investigate these Kirigakure ninjas' movements and objectives."
Shikaku couldn't help but applaud him and said, "Excellent, your eyes are quite useful."
Hearing this, Shintaro immediately tensed and said, "Sensei, what are you talking about? I don't understand, I only realized this through my sensory ninjutsu."
Shikaku smiled and said, "It seems you're not lying. Even if you said your Sharingan mutated, I would believe it more. There's no sensory ninjutsu where eyes shine when used."
Shintaro was shocked inside; he didn't expect his Six Eyes, which he relied on since time travel, to be detected by someone.
Shikaku continued, "Actually, if you hid it consciously, most people wouldn't be able to detect it. I only found out because I'm your teacher and have more frequent contact with you."
Shintaro nodded, mentally impressed by the other party's intelligence, and said, "Sensei, please don't tell anyone else."
Shikaku jokingly said, "If I reveal it, you won't kill me to silence me, will you?"
Seeing Shintaro quickly shaking his head, he stopped joking and said, "I have no intention of revealing your little secret, but I do need your help this time."
"There are at least ten more Kirigakure ninjas outside the city, and likely a Jonin among them."
"You can guess my mission."
"Indeed disguised as a C-rank mission to investigate Kirigakure's movements. It is actually an A-rank mission. However, given the current situation, the mission difficulty will likely escalate, and I'm afraid it may reach S-rank."
"We're actually surrounded by Kirigakure ninjas, but the pretense of a C-rank mission makes it difficult for them to act openly. If they discover our true objective, we might all be buried here."
"Our initial investigation plan now seems too risky. I have to rely on your keen eyes to investigate secretly. Don't worry, I'll ensure you receive A-rank or even S-rank mission rewards."
Shintaro clearly said, "No problem."
Shikaku instructed, "Don't tell the others about the real mission. The fewer people who know, the safer we are."
Shintaro replied, "Understood."
Shikaku then sent him back to his room.
❀❀❀
Late at night, outside the city, a group of ninjas stood behind the girl from earlier in the day, including the girl herself, making seven in total.
"Miss, it seems there's nothing wrong with those Konoha ninjas. We might get punished for acting recklessly like this!"
The girl crossed her arms confidently and said, "That's because your brains aren't working properly and you didn't see it. Anyway, I know those Konoha ninjas are here to sabotage our plans, so we must go and teach them a lesson."
Another ninja asked, "What are your orders, Miss?"
The girl said, "Go and kidnap the Konoha kunoichi, interrogate her and see how the Konoha ninjas react. Then we'll know their purpose here. As long as there are no casualties, it's not a big deal."
"By the way, especially don't harm the white-haired Uchiha. I'll handle him myself."
The ninjas behind her moved out and headed towards the city.
The girl clenched her fists and muttered to herself, "I'll make sure you remember my name, you smelly Uchiha…"
❀❀❀
The ninjas arrived at the hotel and approached the front desk for information.
The receptionist was so sleepy that he had dozed off, but was suddenly startled by several fierce ninjas demanding information. Terrified, he immediately pleaded for mercy and revealed all the information about Shintaro and the others.
The Kirigakure ninjas went straight to Kurenai's room, broke in, drugged her into unconsciousness, wrapped her in a blanket, and escaped through the window, quickly heading out of the city.
Shintaro and Shikaku reacted instantly, waking up from their sleep.
Shintaro rushed to Kurenai's room, found it in disarray and Kurenai missing.
Just as he was about to dash out, he bumped into Shikaku. Shikaku glanced inside the room and understood what had happened.
Without speaking, they exchanged serious looks.
Shikaku knocked on Asuma's door and forcefully woke him up.
Shintaro rushed downstairs, grabbed the front desk clerk by the collar and demanded, "Did someone just come here asking for our information?!"
The receptionist trembled and said, "Y-yes... there were some fierce ninjas asking for your information."
"So you gave it to them?!" Shintaro was furious.
The receptionist was so scared his legs gave out, and he knelt, pleading, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
At this moment, Shintaro didn't realize his blue eyes had turned red, with dark magatama appearing in them.
"Shintaro! Don't get too excited!" Shikaku immediately stopped him and then analyzed, "Calm down and think carefully, we didn't reveal any weaknesses, so the Kirigakure ninjas should only be testing us."
"Kurenai will be fine."
After hearing the analysis, Shintaro sighed, released the receptionist's collar, and calmed down slightly. However, he was still worried about Kurenai and said, "Let's chase them. They shouldn't have gone far."
Shikaku patted his shoulder to reassure him, then the three of them set off together, quickly pursuing the Kirigakure ninjas.
Shintaro believed that Kurenai's accident was likely due to a mistake in his own investigation. Therefore, the feeling of self-blame and concern for Kurenai made someone usually calm like him feel nervous for a moment.
However, during the pursuit, Shintaro calmed down and began reviewing his entire investigation process, not finding any flaws.
Suddenly, he thought of a figure, "Could it be that woman?!"