The snow shone brightly under the dim light, mingling with the rain to create a glistening, slushy mess. Sarutobi Mishima glanced at the mix of snowflakes and rain before stepping inside the wooden house and closing the door behind him.
Shinki pulled out two bottles of fruit wine he had brought from the village and invited Mishima to sit down.
"Most places are already blanketed in snow. Only the unique geography of the Land of Rain prevents heavy snowfall. Still, this sleet will make the temperature drop even further," Shinki said.
"I didn't expect you to have something like this. Too bad it's not sake," Mishima commented as he took a couple of sips. The only downside was that the fruit wine was light—more of a drink than actual wine.
Shinki took a sip and chuckled, "I'm still young, not old enough for sake."
Mishima blinked, then laughed heartily. "If you hadn't said it, I would've forgotten you're not even fourteen yet. Impressive. At your age, I was still a Chunin, trailing after my sensei on missions and getting scolded."
Shinki smiled and then came straight to the point. "So, Captain Mishima, can you tell me why you've been lingering around? Is it secret protection or surveillance?"
The laughter died abruptly. Mishima, who had been mid-sip, froze, the bottle suspended in the air. After a moment of surprise, he sighed and put down the bottle. "I didn't expect you to catch on so soon."
"So, can you clear up the mystery?" Shinki asked, keeping his expression neutral.
Mishima placed the bottle on the table and sighed. "Before we left, the Hokage asked me to protect you discreetly. I wasn't originally on this rotation list."
"Captain Honda knows about my mission, which is why he leads the patrols, while I stay in the camp to keep an eye on things."
That explained why Honda, despite being the captain, led the patrols while Mishima remained at the camp.
Protection?
Mishima's words seemed sincere. But why would the Third Hokage send a high-ranking member of the Sarutobi clan to protect him during the rotation?
Was there an assassination attempt expected?
Piecing together what little information he had, Shinki realized that he wasn't chosen by mere chance; his name had likely been placed on the rotation list with intent. But if the Third Hokage truly wanted to protect him, why send him out of the village at all? It seemed unnecessary.
This meant that the Third Hokage hadn't put him on the list deliberately. Instead, someone else wanted him to be there. But since the Hokage didn't want trouble, he added a protector to the mix.
Who was targeting him?
The Elders? That seemed unlikely, as their positions were aligned with the Hokage, and Shinki had no conflicts with them.
That left one person: Shimura Danzo.
Danzo, stripped of his power as the Hokage's advisor, would surely harbor resentment, especially someone with his ambition and vengeful nature. If Danzo couldn't act against him in the village, he'd try to isolate him first.
And so, Shinki's name ended up on the rotation list.
But how would Danzo strike? Shinki, as the only medical ninja, wouldn't leave the camp easily, and with dozens of other ninjas present, an attack would be difficult.
"Thank you for your efforts, Captain Mishima," Shinki said.
"This is my mission. Let's hope it doesn't lead to misunderstandings," Mishima replied, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Being discovered so quickly was frustrating for Sarutobi Mishima. Protecting someone secretly, only to be found out within days, felt like a failure. If word got out, it would be a blow to his reputation.
With a stomach full of frustration, Mishima left the medical room.
Shinki walked over to the fire, peering out at the dark, rain-soaked night through a crack in the door. After a long moment, he turned back to the table, pulled out a sealing scroll, and laid out various materials and a dead crow he had caught on the way to the camp.
Originally, Shinki had planned to use the crow puppet during the New Year to send well-wishes to Tsunade, Kushina, and others. Now, it seemed he needed to use it sooner.
He prepared the materials and tools, then began working on the crow's body with practiced ease.
Once the crow's body was processed, Shinki fitted it with mechanical parts and a puppet core. Finally, he infused it with his unique chakra from the Tenseigan.
"Woosh!"
The lifeless crow blinked, then hopped up and flitted around the table.
Shinki took out a pen and a special intelligence scroll, quickly jotting down the key points of what had happened and encrypting it with a password. He attached the scroll to the crow's leg and ordered it to fly to Konoha.
The puppet crow, bearing its precious cargo, launched into the night, cutting through the rain toward Konoha.
Under Shinki's control, the crow followed a precise path, ensuring it wouldn't get lost or misdirected.
The crow puppet made swift progress, reaching Konoha within a few hours. It landed at the Senju compound and pecked at the window.
Tsunade, roused from her sleep, sat up, opened the window, and caught the puppet crow.
"Whose summoning animal brings me an intelligence scroll?" she muttered.
Thankfully, she didn't use force; otherwise, she would have realized it wasn't a summoning animal but a puppet.
She tied her hair up, securing the crow's wings and setting it aside before examining the scroll.
The scroll required a password.
Tsunade's brow furrowed. She had no idea who had sent the message, let alone what the password might be.
"Jing?"
Turning the scroll, she saw the word "Jing" on it.
Could it be from Shinki?
A thought crossed her mind, and her expression darkened. She clenched the scroll, grinding her teeth. "Hyuga Shinki, you better watch out when you return!"
**250**.
It worked.
"Unbelievable!"
Tsunade couldn't help but curse.
Not long ago, she had lost a significant amount of money at the casino and had been left with only 250 coins. Shinki had joked about it, and now he used that number as the password. It was rubbing salt in the wound.
Hyuga Shinki, you really had to mock me, even in an intelligence report?
You're going to pay for this when you get back!
Anger subsiding, Tsunade read the scroll. The frustration directed at Shinki faded, replaced by anger toward Danzo.
"Danzo, you're truly despicable."
With a few more muttered curses, Tsunade took the scroll and headed for Uzumaki Mito's room.
Mito, woken in the middle of the night, read the scroll. Her expression turned serious, realizing her granddaughter wouldn't let this slide.
"Little Tsunade, what's your plan? Do you need my help?"
"Grandma, I need to send a letter to the daimyo's mansion. I want to visit him."
"Of course. With the New Year approaching, a visit is appropriate," Mito agreed.
>>>>>
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