"Yamada Nakajirō, fifty years old, joined the Konoha registry twenty years ago, has always lived by chopping wood, no parents, no children, lives alone."
Jiraiya unfolded the scroll and read out the information about the target.
The three of them were hiding in a tree, observing the target's dilapidated mud house.
At this time, the target had not yet returned home.
Before this, they had already searched the target's house once.
Unfortunately, they hadn't found anything useful.
"Why don't we just have someone from the Hyūga clan come and look? Wouldn't that confirm it?" Kushina lay on a branch, looking at the target's house in confusion.
The Byakugan of the Hyūga clan could see the flow of chakra within the human body.
As long as they saw the chakra, they could confirm if the person was a spy, right?
Why bother with reconnaissance?
So troublesome.
She, Kushina, the future Hokage, wanted a fight with punches to the face!!
"He could also claim to have been a wandering ninja. What would you do then?"
Gin retorted to Kushina.
Konoha allowed wandering ninjas to join, and they wouldn't even make a separate record.
The situation in Konoha was different. When Hashirama was still around, anyone who joined Konoha was welcomed without question.
Later, the Second Hokage improved the entry procedures.
First, a guarantor was needed to enter Konoha. After that, they had to pay a certain amount of money to Konoha every year. For the first three years, their background was investigated, and for the next three years, they were closely watched, and for the last three years, they were left alone.
Only after nine years could they become ordinary villagers, without any involvement in ninja matters.
If the person had children born in the village, they might have a chance to enter the ninja academy.
This prevented most spies from infiltrating.
After all, no village would be willing to pay such a seemingly foolish price.
Except for villages that had been destroyed, like the other four major ninja villages.
Of course, there were other ways for spies to infiltrate, but this was the least suspicious.
As for how Yamada Nakajirō was exposed, Gin didn't know.
Kushina couldn't refute Gin's words, so she snorted and turned her head away.
You know so much.
"So, Gin, do you have any good ideas?"
Jiraiya asked Gin. Although this task was difficult, it was also a test for them.
Gin rubbed his chin with his hand.
"Capture him, beat him up, and make him confess. If he is, he is. If he's not, he still is."
Gin didn't want to waste time here and preferred a straightforward approach.
Jiraiya: ...
Namikaze Minato: ...
Kushina roared angrily, "Can't you be more humane?"
What was the point of a confession obtained through torture?!
Gin rolled his eyes at her. "We're ninjas, not officials. What do we care about evidence?"
Finding evidence would be a waste of a ninja's time.
Kushina was furious but couldn't find a way to refute him. She felt he had a point and kicked at him in anger.
"Die!"
Gin dodged easily.
"Enough, stop messing around." Jiraiya hurriedly stopped Kushina.
This small place couldn't afford to be exposed.
Soon, everyone quieted down.
Because the target's figure had appeared.
They saw an old man with white hair carrying firewood, walking back.
This was their target, Yamada Nakajirō.
Watching Nakajirō, Jiraiya began assigning tasks.
"Minato and Kushina, gather information from the surroundings. Gin, you stay with me and keep an eye on him."
"Yes!" Minato and Kushina quickly disappeared from the spot.
Gin and Jiraiya continued to hide in the tree.
Nakajirō opened the door and went inside.
Gin and Jiraiya jumped down from the tree and quickly leapt onto the roof.
Jiraiya nodded to Gin.
Gin raised his finger towards the roof.
Finger Gun.
"Whoosh."
A small, concealed hole appeared.
Gin looked through the hole.
He saw the target cooking, and after eating, he threw the dishes aside and lay on the bed to rest.
There was no abnormal behavior.
They watched until late at night.
When Minato and Kushina returned.
They met again in a hidden place not far from the target's house.
"People around speak highly of Nakajirō. He is known as a kind old man who often helps others. He was even cheated out of a lot of money recently."
Minato began to recount the detailed information they gathered during the day.
Although the evaluation was good, he had no friends.
That in itself was unusual.
"Could there be some misunderstanding? He doesn't seem like a spy, just a lonely old man."
Kushina felt pity for him. He was already miserable, just got cheated, and now being suspected of being a spy.
Hearing Kushina's words, Jiraiya's face suddenly tightened.
"Kushina, you forgot one of the ninja rules: ninjas must not let emotions affect their decisions."
Kushina lowered her head, not speaking.
"Alright, don't blame her." Gin surprisingly defended Kushina.
"We've been competing for the last place in the written exams. How could she know?" Gin said nonchalantly.
Unfortunately, the last place had always been Gin's spot. He never wrote anything.
"I'm going to kill you!!" Kushina, embarrassed, with her red hair floating menacingly.
Gin had been curious for a long time, wasn't this ability a jutsu?
"Enough, Kushina."
Luckily, Minato stopped her in time; otherwise, she would have been beaten by Gin.
Kushina was upset, but he looked like he felt sorry for her.
Gin looked at the two of them showing affection and made a "tsk" sound, full of disdain.
"But this guy is definitely a spy."
Jiraiya was interested.
"Why do you say that?"
Minato and Kushina also perked up their ears. They really hadn't seen any flaws.
Gin grabbed the mission scroll from Jiraiya's waist, opened it, and pointed to the character description.
"Just from this description, if he's not a spy, something's wrong."
In many spy movies from his previous life, many spies were just like this, fitting a template.
"Don't make arbitrary judgments." Jiraiya angrily punched Gin in the head.
The next moment.
They stared at each other.
"Ah!!" Jiraiya clutched his fist and rolled on the ground.
Gin slowly pulled out a small nail from his head.
"I was prepared for you this time."
He had fallen for this move last time, but Gin wasn't one to suffer a loss.
Jiraiya stood up, looking at the blood mark on his fist, almost in tears.
He had been tricked by his own student.
Looking at Gin's smug face.
This kid really held grudges.
"Bang!"
Gin crouched down, clutching his head.
"It hurts."
"Hmph." Jiraiya snorted twice, "Not so smug now, are you?"
Gin looked defiantly at Jiraiya.
"Next time, I'll use poison."
"Hiss!!" ×3.
Gin was terrifying.
"Shh!" Jiraiya suddenly became serious. They all looked towards Nakajirō's house, seeing a shadow darting out of the house, speeding away.
The fast movement exposed the ninja identity of the person.
It confirmed the target was a spy.
"He's moving so soon."
They were all surprised; he wasn't hiding at all.
"This time, I'll leave it to you." Jiraiya said to the three, "I'll go notify the others."
Could your excuse be any more obvious?
Gin looked at Jiraiya speechlessly. With your abilities, if you went after him, he wouldn't even have time to run.
Minato just smiled wryly.
But Kushina believed it.
"Leave it to us!"
"If we don't chase now, it'll be too late."
Gin reminded.
The three of them used Shunshin no Jutsu, disappearing instantly, turning into fast-moving shadows, chasing Nakajirō.
Watching them chase, Jiraiya's figure "puffed" into smoke and disappeared.
Although Shunshin no Jutsu was suitable for short-distance movement, it was also faster than normal ninja movement over long distances.
But the three stayed close to the target, moving quickly through the forest.
Trees quickly moved past on both sides.
Soon, Nakajirō stopped.
The three also scattered, hiding in three trees.
Nakajirō stood still, trying to find something.
Suddenly, he tilted his head back until it was resting on his back.
Grinning.
"I see you!"
"Boom!!" "Boom!!" "Boom!!"
Explosions sounded from three places simultaneously.
But Gin and the others instantly surrounded Nakajirō in a triangular formation.
"When did we get exposed?" Kushina asked Minato softly.
But at this distance, everyone could hear.
Unexpectedly, Nakajirō had black lines all over his face, twitching at the corners of his mouth, and shouted at Kushina, "Can you respect me a little when you monitor me? You made so much noise, even non-ninjas could have noticed!"
Who would have thought, as soon as he got close to his house, he saw the tree moving strangely from a distance.
He pretended not to notice, then casually returned home.
But these idiots were still making noise even at night!!
Are all Konoha ninjas this unprofessional?! Kushina felt a bit guilty under his reprimand. Maybe their actions were a bit too noticeable.
No way, they are Konoha ninjas, and he is an enemy spy. Why should she feel guilty? "Prepare yourself!!"
She gripped a kunai, her face serious. As long as she killed him, no one would know about her mistakes.
Spies really deserved to die!!
"Your thoughts are written all over your face!!"
Nakajirō couldn't believe it. How did Konoha manage to produce such ninjas?
Kushina unconsciously touched her face. No way her thoughts were showing.
"Kushina! Minato!" Gin suddenly called out to them.
"Hmm?" They both looked at Gin.
They saw Gin making a subtle hand gesture, and both of them, expressionless, got into position.
"Run!!" Gin shouted.
The three of them disappeared instantly.
Nakajirō's face broke into a smile.
"Just now noticing! It's too late!"
Figures emerged from the ground, rushing towards the three with even greater speed.
"This was a trap all along!?"
They were targeting Kushina!!
(End of Chapter)