Naruto: The Teaching System - 271

Chapter 271: Shrouded in Suspicion

Grass Country, frontline command tent.

When Sawada and Uchiha Fugaku entered the tent, the worry on Jiraiya’s face finally eased with a quiet breath. The mission had been assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi, but the subsequent intelligence reports had sent Jiraiya’s mood swinging hard.

Spies from Iwagakure reported that the Third Tsuchikage’s bodyguard had been missing for several days. In addition, Iwagakure had detected his frontline deployments repeatedly over the past few days. That made him start to suspect there was an Iwagakure mole on the front.

“What’s wrong?” Sawada asked as soon as he stepped in, reading the concern on Jiraiya’s face. He glanced around but sensed nothing amiss.

“Please, sit,” Jiraiya said quickly, rising to greet them and gesturing especially to Fugaku. “Fugaku-san, you must have had a hard march. I heard you encountered enemy forces on the road.”

Sawada walked over and dropped into a chair. He had been on the move for days without rest. He said nothing, grabbed a piece of fruit beside him, and took a hard bite.

Jiraiya shook his head and let out a small laugh at the sight, while Fugaku recounted their encounter with Iwagakure. Though Jiraiya had received advance word, hearing the details from Fugaku’s own mouth put a colder cast on his expression.

“Takigakure smiles to your face and stabs your back,” Jiraiya said through gritted teeth. “They really did a fine job.”

No wonder he was angry. This mess had directly offset Konoha’s hard-won logistics work. After this, only the Akimichi Clan would be able to carve out new supply lanes.

“Jiraiya-senpai, did you send word back about a mole inside the village?” Sawada asked from the side. Only Jiraiya could get that message relayed quickly.

“Yes. As soon as I got the report, I sent it.” Jiraiya had calmed by now and nodded. “Not long after, the village replied by covert letter. Shikaku only connected the dots after Fugaku and his unit had already left the village. The whole village is now on high alert. Reportedly, several arrests have already been made.”

Sawada leaned his elbow on the table, his posture loose. “Who?”

“Heh. Parasites,” Jiraiya said with a thin, ironic smile.

Fugaku started at that, then sank into thought as he sat next to Sawada.

Got it. Hearing Jiraiya put it that way, Sawada knew who it meant and kept quiet.

“Oh, right. Since you’re both here, let’s confirm something.” Jiraiya suddenly remembered and pulled a scroll from the command table, then unfurled it. “These are my latest deployments based on terrain and Iwagakure’s dispositions. But sometimes they get discovered right after we set out, or Iwagakure is already lying in wait there.”

Sawada and Fugaku traded a glance. Jiraiya’s meaning could not be clearer. He suspected a spy at the front.

“Are you certain?” Fugaku asked, his face set. If true, Konoha’s follow-up actions would almost certainly be exposed directly to the enemy.

“Honestly, no.” Jiraiya slumped into his chair, rubbing his temples. “We have quietly investigated almost the entire front. There is almost nothing obvious in the lines. But every single deployment keeps getting discovered.”

Sawada lowered his gaze, as if something had occurred to him. Then he asked, “Has this ever happened before?”

“Hmm? Before?” Jiraiya blinked, then his expression slowly hardened. “No. I’ve almost never encountered this. If Onoki had an ability like that at his disposal, he wouldn’t need these harassing strikes on logistics. He could dismantle my offensive step by step just like he’s doing now, and in the final battle, he would wipe us out in an instant.”

He looked straight at Sawada. “Do you have a guess?”

“I do,” Sawada said after a brief pause. “I wasn’t certain just now, but what you said makes me more confident.” He crouched and placed a palm on the tent floor. A transparent, almost imperceptible sensory barrier rippled outward from his hand.

“This is… Minato’s sealing barrier?” Jiraiya said, surprise flickering across his face. It was a concealed detection array Minato Namikaze had devised.

“Something like that,” Sawada said noncommittally, then grew serious. “Jiraiya-senpai, have you considered that all of your orders might be getting overheard by a specialized sensory shinobi? And then relayed to Iwagakure according to your deployments?”

“Impossible.” Jiraiya shook his head at once. If Iwa had a sensory shinobi who was that capable, they would have made a name for themselves across the shinobi world or slipped easily into other villages to steal intelligence. Given Onoki’s style, he would have used such a tool to throw the entire shinobi world into chaos. Most importantly, if someone like that existed, how did they evade his own senses? Jiraiya was not bragging. He might not be the strongest in the world, but he was unquestionably among the elite.

“No, Jiraiya-sama,” Fugaku said after a long moment of silence. “What Sawada said is possible.”

Jiraiya turned, incredulous. Even Fugaku agreed?

“Jiraiya-sama,” Fugaku continued, “you have been away from the village, so you may not know. When I escorted the Four-Tails Jinchuriki back to the village, people from an organization intercepted me. That group is composed of rogue-nin. One of them came from Takigakure. He had five hearts. If you had not encountered him before, could you imagine that?”

Sawada tapped the tabletop with a finger, voice steady as he spoke. Jiraiya, listening, could not help but be startled.

“A human with five hearts? No. That is a monster.”

“Indeed. A monster,” Fugaku said. “The two of them were said to be Kage-level, were they not?”

“Yes,” Sawada nodded. “You could put it that way. And they were quite strong.” He raised one finger. “And the other one is a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, known as the Tailed Beast without a Tail. His chakra reserves are enormous, almost comparable to a tailed beast. More importantly, he wields Water Release ninjutsu, and the blade he uses, Samehada, fits him perfectly. I only engaged him after leaving the village.”

Sawada’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Before that, he feigned death and hid inside Samehada for about a month.”