When Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara escorted Hanare out from backstage, the plaza was already packed with onlookers.
Konoha had enjoyed peace for a long time, so when people heard that ninjas might be fighting, their first reaction wasn't fear—it was to rush over and watch the excitement.
"Hiss... This is getting a bit out of hand. There are so many people."
Gaara was somewhat introverted, and being watched by such a large crowd made him a little embarrassed.
Naruto, on the other hand, waved casually at the crowd and shouted, "Everyone, don't worry! The spy who infiltrated the village has already been captured by us."
"It's this woman!"
After saying that, he pointed toward Hanare, who had already fainted and was floating in the air wrapped in Gaara's sand.
Hearing Naruto's words, the crowd froze for a moment.
"So that's why the fight was so intense. Turns out a spy infiltrated our village."
"Looking at their age, they probably haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet. And they managed to capture a spy from an enemy country?"
"Amazing! Could it be that three more genius youths have appeared in the village?"
Hearing the exclamations and praise from the crowd, even the usually aloof Uchiha Sasuke lifted his chin so high it was practically pointing at the sky.
A rare smile appeared on his face, and he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.
Wasn't this exactly the moment he had trained so hard for?
Just then, three ninjas wearing clothing bearing the Uchiha clan emblem suddenly appeared in the plaza.
The man leading them quickly stepped forward, but when he saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara, he was clearly taken aback.
"The disturbance just now… was caused by you three?"
Sasuke puffed out his chest and said proudly, "Shisui-nii, we captured a spy from an enemy nation."
Seeing the three of them so excited, Uchiha Shisui smiled and shook his head, a trace of nostalgia rising in his heart.
Back when he was in the Hidden Cloud Village, the first time he followed Yuzuru on a mission, he had felt exactly the same way.
Thinking of that, Shisui's expression softened.
He smiled and said, "In that case, you three can take the spy to the Police Force yourselves. I'll inform Yuzuru."
Hearing this, Naruto and Gaara clapped their hands.
"Great! Let's go right away."
Sasuke, however, walked over to Shisui and said proudly, "Shisui-nii, today is just the beginning. One day, I'll surpass both you and Nii-san and become the strongest man in the Uchiha clan besides Father."
Shisui patted Sasuke on the shoulder fondly and said with a smile, "I'll be waiting for that day."
————
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"Informing the village beforehand or setting up a barrier around the perimeter—wouldn't either of those methods have been better than acting directly?"
"It's only because the opponent was too weak this time. If they had escaped, that would've been truly embarrassing."
"And they want me to praise them? Catching a single spy and they've turned it into a Hollywood blockbuster."
"They're really impossible."
Hearing the voice beside her, Hanare slowly awakened from her unconscious state.
She opened her eyes and discovered that she was being held in a dark, damp prison cell.
Not far in front of her stood two men.
One had a conspicuous garlic-shaped nose and was asking questions like "What exactly is a Hollywood blockbuster?"
The other was extraordinarily handsome, carrying a natural aura that made it impossible to look away once you saw him.
Hanare's pupils suddenly contracted.
She didn't recognize the garlic-nosed man, but she knew the identity of the handsome man all too well.
Uchiha Yuzuru!
The strongest person in the ninja world today, the one who ruled over three great ninja nations—Uchiha Yuzuru!
"You're awake?"
Yuzuru's gaze swept over her. Hanare felt as though those black eyes were like a deep abyss, impossible to look at directly.
Footsteps echoed as Yuzuru and Uchiha Shisui walked up to Hanare.
Yuzuru said calmly, "What's your name? And why did you disguise your identity to enter Konoha?"
Hearing this, Hanare didn't know how to answer for a moment and could only say, "I do know some ninjutsu, but I stopped being a ninja long ago."
"Traveling the ninja world as a songstress has been my dream since childhood."
Yuzuru raised an eyebrow.
"Lift your head. You still haven't answered my question."
"In front of me, you'd better not lie."
Hanare raised her head and met those dark eyes again. Suddenly, an extremely bold thought appeared in her mind.
Her village had sent her to Konoha to investigate Yuzuru's next move so they could prepare in advance.
Now that Yuzuru himself was right in front of her, what better opportunity could there possibly be?
If she could use her secret technique on Yuzuru, perhaps she could perfectly complete this mission!
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
"My name is Hanare," she said slowly. "I was originally a ninja from Lockfront Village in the Land of Keys. This time, I came to Konoha under orders to gather intelligence."
"But before I could even carry out the plan, my identity was exposed by three youths."
"You should be able to verify it yourselves. I had only been here for less than a day before I was captured."
While she spoke, Hanare's pupils began forming hand seals.
This was her unique ability—she could secretly perform a technique through her eyes, allowing her to probe the target's memories without being detected.
'Even the village only knows that I'm skilled at gathering intelligence. They don't know that I possess a dōjutsu that can form hand seals through the eyes.'
'As long as I'm careful, it should be fine.'
'No matter how strong Uchiha Yuzuru is, if he doesn't know about my ability, it should be difficult for him to guard against or detect it...'
Quietly giving herself psychological encouragement, Hanare completed the seals of her eye technique.
In the next moment, she felt her consciousness blur.
Unlike the usual chaotic flood of images, this time she saw only emptiness.
"What's going on?!"
It was the first time such a situation had occurred, and a bad premonition rose in Hanare's heart.
Then, a terrifying fear that made her soul tremble surged into her mind.
Within the seemingly endless void, two crimson eyes suddenly appeared, suspended high in the sky.
Within those eyes, mysterious and eerie patterns rotated slowly. The cold, ominous aura they constantly emitted made Hanare feel as if her thoughts themselves were freezing.
"This is..."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Just as Hanare panicked, a slightly teasing voice sounded beside her ear.
"In front of these eyes, any dōjutsu will fade into insignificance."
"I've already recorded the sequence of the seals you formed with your eyes just now."
"So now..."
"Are you ready to face your own dōjutsu?"
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