Land of Grass, border frontline main tent.
As Shinji and Fugaku entered the tent, Jiraiya, who had been worried, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the mission was assigned by Hiruzen, the subsequent intelligence reports made his mood fluctuate wildly.
Spies from Iwagakure reported that the Third Tsuchikage's guards had been missing for several days. Moreover, his deployments on the front lines had been detected by Iwagakure for the past few days. This made him start to wonder if there were Iwagakure moles on the Konoha front line.
"What's wrong?"
Shinji saw Jiraiya's worried expression as soon as he entered, thinking something had happened. He looked around, but there was nothing strange about himself.
"Come, come, have a seat first." Jiraiya quickly stood up and said, addressing Fugaku, who had come in with him.
"Clan head Fugaku, you've had a tough journey. I heard you encountered Iwagakure's people on the way?"
Shinji came over and sat down. Without ceremony, he picked up a fruit placed nearby and took a big bite.
Jiraiya shook his head and chuckled, while Fugaku recounted his encounter with Iwagakure. Although he had received the information in advance, after hearing Fugaku's explanation in person, Jiraiya's face was covered in frost.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Land of Waterfall, one thing on the surface, another behind the back. They really did a great job."
It was no wonder Jiraiya was so angry. This incident had nullified Konoha's logistical efforts. Subsequently, only the Akimichi clan could open new transport channels.
"Senpai, has the news about the mole in the village been sent back?" Shinji asked.
Such matters could only be relayed faster by Jiraiya.
"Yes, I sent it out the first moment I received the news." Jiraiya composed himself, nodding.
"Not long after, the village replied with a secret letter. Shikaku only reacted after Fugaku and his group left the village."
"Now the entire village is on high alert, and it's said that several have already been caught."
Shinji propped his hand on the table, asking somewhat lazily, "Who is it?"
"Heh heh, some parasites." Jiraiya said, a hint of sarcasm appearing on his face.
Fugaku was startled at first, then sat down next to Shinji, deep in thought.
Got it.
Hearing Jiraiya say that, Shinji knew who it was without even thinking and said nothing more.
"Oh, right, since you're all here, let's confirm something." Jiraiya remembered something and quickly took out a scroll from the main table and unrolled it.
"These are my recent deployments based on terrain and Iwagakure's arrangements, but sometimes they are either detected as soon as they are on the road, or Iwagakure has already been lurking there."
Hearing this, Shinji and Fugaku exchanged glances. Jiraiya's words were very clear. He suspected there was a spy from Iwagakure on the front lines.
"Jiraiya-sama, are you sure?" Fugaku asked with a serious expression.
If this were true, Konoha's subsequent actions would almost certainly be exposed to the enemy.
"Honestly, no, I'm not sure." Jiraiya sat down helplessly, rubbing his temples.
"The front lines have almost all been secretly investigated, and there are hardly any, but every deployment is detected."
As Shinji lowered his gaze, he seemed to have thought of something and asked Jiraiya, "Senpai, has this happened before?"
"Huh?"
"Before?"
Jiraiya was startled by the question, then his expression gradually became serious.
"No."
"I've almost never encountered such a thing. If Ōnoki had it, he wouldn't need to engage in such stealth attacks on logistics."
"He could completely dismantle my offensives step by step, just as it is now. Then, during the final decisive battle, he would resolve us in an instant."
Jiraiya said, looking at Shinji, who was deep in thought, "Shinji, do you have any guesses?"
"Hmm..."
Shinji nodded. "Actually, I do have an idea. I wasn't sure just now, but since you've said that, I'm a bit more confident."
Then, he reached out and pressed his hand onto the ground inside the main tent. A transparent, perceptible barrier instantly spread out.
"This is?"
"The Imperceptible Land Boundary?"
A hint of surprise appeared on Jiraiya's face, as this was the Fuinjutsu of his disciple, Minato.
"That's right." Shinji vaguely said.
Then, he stated seriously, "Jiraiya-senpai, have you ever considered that all your commands are being overheard by a special sensory ninja?"
"And then, based on your deployments, relayed back to Iwagakure?"
"Impossible!" Jiraiya immediately shook his head.
If Iwagakure had such a monstrous sensory ninja, he would have been famous throughout the Ninja World long ago, or he could easily infiltrate other ninja Villages to steal intelligence.
And with Ōnoki's style, he would have already used such an ability to throw the entire Ninja World into chaos.
Most importantly, if such a person truly existed, how did he evade his senses?
Jiraiya wasn't boasting, but in the entire Ninja World, though he might not be the strongest, he was certainly among the elite.
Fugaku, who had been silent for a while, slowly spoke, "No, Jiraiya-sama, what Shinji said is indeed possible."
"Hmm?" Jiraiya turned to look, somewhat disbelieving.
Even Fugaku was saying this?
Shinji tapped his finger on the table, speaking slowly, "Jiraiya-senpai, you don't know something since you left the village."
"When I was escorting the Four-Tails Jinchuriki back to the village, people from a certain organization stopped me."
"Moreover, this organization should consist of rogue ninjas, and among them is a rogue ninja from Kirigakure."
"He had five hearts. If you hadn't encountered him before, could you imagine that?"
Listening to Shinji's account, even Jiraiya couldn't help but show surprise.
"A human with five hearts? No, he should be called a monster."
Fugaku, at his side, looked curiously at Shinji, who had fought them. "Indeed, a monster. It's said that both of them had Kage-level strength?"
He had only heard about it when discussing it with the Hiruzen.
"Yes, you could say that, and their strength was considerable."
Shinji nodded, holding up a finger. "And the other person among those two was a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure, known as the 'Tailless Tailed Beast'."
"This person's Chakra reserves were so vast that they could almost rival a Tailed Beast. Crucially, he possessed Water Release Ninjutsu, and the samehada he wielded perfectly complemented him."
"And this person, I only dealt with him when I left the village. Before that, he had faked his death and hidden inside samehada for about a month."