Motomu returned to his reserved room.
He stood by the window, gazing out at the sea beyond the mountain peaks.
The deep blue seawater crashed against the embankments and cliffs on both sides, splashing white foam.
According to what the rogue ninja had just said, Turtle Island, covered in spikes and its own natural ecosystem, had always been stationed there.
The Cloud Ninja's indifferent facade had deceived many spies who came to the area.
Few people bothered to investigate the truth of Turtle Island, simply treating it as a massive summoning beast.
In a situation like this, where things were hidden in plain sight...
...the other ninja villages had no idea that this giant turtle was actually a tool used by the Cloud Ninja to train perfect Jinchuriki.
Unfortunately...
Motomu's timing was good, but his strength was still lacking.
Trying to find Turtle Island right under the nose of the Cloud Ninja—especially during the era of the Third Raikage at his peak—and defeating the Jinchuriki undergoing perfect Jinchuriki training was nothing short of a dream.
It was an absolute pipe dream.
Tailed Beasts were easy to deal with inside incompetent Jinchuriki.
But once they became perfect Jinchuriki, the difficulty level was entirely different.
He would likely miss out this time.
He wondered if the Cloud Ninja had fully controlled the Two-Tails or the Eight-Tails.
Or perhaps both had been completed.
Motomu sighed, his mind continuing to race.
A Tailed Beast being fully controlled wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him.
A powerful force like a perfect Jinchuriki would certainly be deployed on the battlefield during wartime.
One could see that from the historical combat involving the combination of Minato and the A-B combo.
Ever since the Ryuchi Cave incident, Motomu was well aware of his current situation.
The White Snake Sage's injuries, even if not fatal, were certainly not light.
It could be clearly seen from the fact that it hadn't even uttered any threats during their last meeting, despite its usual stubbornness.
Likely, the possibility of it coming to the ninja world for revenge in the short term was slim to none.
As for Danzo, Orochimaru was keeping him occupied.
Uchiha Madara had shown no movement yet, likely still keeping an eye on Nagato.
The Anbu tasks were also quite easy for him and didn't put much pressure on him.
In the short term, he could perfectly well work his Anbu missions while collecting his salary.
At the same time, he could go abroad and try out the Hide-and-Seek game.
He wanted to see what the situation would be like for Hide-and-Seek in a crowded place.
He had already tried it in deserted areas in the wild.
He really hadn't tried it with many people in a city yet. What if that was how it was meant to be played?
In the capital city, there were many ordinary people and few ninjas; even if he was discovered, it would be easy to handle.
Besides, this wasn't Konoha.
If people from other countries got scared, so be it.
Moreover, he still had his Kidney waiting to be upgraded.
He couldn't be greedy and try to have his cake and eat it too.
The experience points given by Hide-and-Seek were a bit meager, but it was enough to increase the level of a low-level Pokemon like the Kidney.
Releasing a Sharingan daily didn't affect his strength much.
On the mountain, the night wind was very sharp.
The gale rattled the windows loudly.
Illuminated by the warm yellow light of the tungsten lamp...
...the inn room was warm and bright.
Motomu finished exchanging information with his teammates.
According to the Captain's investigation, the Cloud Ninja had secretly set up several Anbu squads along the coast.
The numbers weren't high, but their strength was considered elite among the Cloud Anbu.
The strength of the Captain and Pheasant didn't lie in direct combat.
If they were surrounded and attacked, they would likely end up dead at a young age.
Casting a secret glance at the expressionless Root ninja...
...Motomu didn't look for trouble, reporting only some trivial daily information that had nothing to do with Turtle Island.
Captain Kazama didn't blame him for the uselessness of the intelligence after listening to what Motomu had to say.
He nodded and then turned his gaze toward Pheasant.
Pheasant, who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, seemed to be expressing her dissatisfaction with the Anbu's low efficiency. Only after a cold snort did she reveal the information she had gathered.
According to her...
...there were two squads of Cloud Genin within the capital.
These two teams seemed very familiar with each other; whenever one team was attacked, the other would certainly provide reinforcements.
They perfectly met the criteria for Motomu's three-man target.
They could take action as long as the targets left the city and moved away from the enemy Anbu located on the coast.
Upholding the idea of slacking off whenever possible, Motomu and Captain Kazama immediately agreed to Pheasant's plan.
Satisfied with their replies, Pheasant's expression seemed somewhat happy.
Motomu couldn't be bothered to care what the woman was thinking; he only needed to complete the mission.
After arranging for Pheasant to continue monitoring the Cloud ninja squads using her Super Beast Scroll...
Motomu returned to his room.
He took off the merchant disguise headscarf he had bought in Loulan.
He pulled the newly purchased Black Glasses over his head and put them on.
Once his preparations were complete...
Big Eyeball No. 1 flew out smoothly, braving the strong wind as it soared outside.
There weren't many pedestrians on the streets.
Using its optical stealth, the Big Eyeball easily bypassed the most crowded areas.
Scanning the surroundings, the person in front of the corner of the pedestrian street had just left, and the person behind had not yet appeared.
Seeing this opportunity, Motomu immediately activated the Hide-and-Seek game.
[SYSTEM: DING]
[SYSTEM: YOU HAVE TRIGGERED THE HIDE-AND-SEEK GAME]
As the system notification sounded...
Motomu's perspective rose from the Big Eyeball once again.
His view shifted into the third person.
[SYSTEM: AVAILABLE TRANSFORMATION SLOTS]
[SYSTEM: 1. DAZZLING TEACUP (GREEN CHALLENGE OPTION: SELECT CHALLENGE TO INCREASE EXPERIENCE GAIN BY 10X)]
[SYSTEM: 2. YELLOW STEAMROLLER (PURPLE CHALLENGE OPTION: COMPLETE CHALLENGE TO UNLOCK SIZE TRANSFORMATION MULTIPLIER)]
[SYSTEM: 3. FREE CHOICE]
'Whoa!'
'The system's pulling out some new tricks for me!'
'A steamroller!'
'Can that thing even exist in the ninja world?!'
'And!'
'Something the size of a steamroller is a gadget the ninja world natives have never seen before.'
'Isn't transforming into that in the middle of the street a bit too arrogant?!'
'However...'
'The reward for completing this purple challenge is really tempting.'
'Unlock size transformation multiplier?'
'Does this mean that the larger the Big Eyeball becomes during Hide-and-Seek, the more experience it will get?'
'This...'
Motomu suspected his system had awakened some kind of mind-reading function.
He had just been thinking about the Hide-and-Seek games he played in his previous life...
...and the system immediately hit him with this.
But jokes aside...
The purple challenge was still an added bonus.
No matter how ridiculous it was...
He wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Casting a lingering look at the location he had carefully chosen, Motomu ordered the Big Eyeball to fly outward.
[SYSTEM: 3]
'Huh?'
'What does that mean?'
[SYSTEM: 2]
'Shit! Is there a time limit on the transformation?!'
Hearing the system suddenly start a countdown, Motomu couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
He only got the reward if he completed the challenge.
How could he possibly complete it here?
Was he about to miss this chance?!
Motomu took a close look at the transformation slots displayed by the system.
[SYSTEM: 1. DAZZLING TEACUP]
[SYSTEM: 2. YELLOW STEAMROLLER]
[SYSTEM: 3. FREE CHOICE]
The Dazzling Teacup he had chosen before was preserved in the first slot.
The second slot was refreshing with a new option as usual.
As for the third slot, Free Choice remained free.
If he wasn't mistaken, the first slot should be bound to the option selected last time.
Since it could be bound, even if he failed this time, he could continue trying next time.
Motomu heard the system countdown reach one.
Whether it was true or not, he could only give it a try.
The Big Eyeball, which hadn't flown far before returning to its original spot, immediately began its transformation.
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