The next day, Seina was called to another mission, coincidentally with Kakashi, Genma, and Raido. It was the Hokage herself who summoned them to her office, not Shikaku, which immediately signaled something unusual.
"What's this about?"
"We've received intelligence from one of our spies about the Land of Hot Springs. Kumogakure has managed to negotiate an unofficial contract in exchange for land to build a base near the border with the Land of Fire," Tsunade-sama growled, clearly irritated by their audacity. "Apparently, construction started two weeks ago, and we didn't even notice. Your mission is to sabotage the base, the construction, the company involved, the contract—everything you can think of. We need the Land of Hot Springs to withdraw from this agreement."
Hearing the scale of the mission, Seina stifled a groan of exhaustion. This was clearly not the type of mission that would wrap up in a couple of days.
"Kakashi, you'll lead the mission. Take as much time as necessary."
They left her office at a slow pace, all already prepared to depart. Exiting through the northern gate, they headed toward the Land of Hot Springs.
"Seina, you've got a seal there, right?" her sensei asked. She nodded.
"Perfect. Let's not waste any time, then."
They all grabbed her arms, and she molded her chakra to use the hiraishin. They reappeared in a village near the border with the Land of Fire.
"It's best if we locate the base they're building and then find a hidden spot to set up our own temporary base," Kakashi suggested. "This seems like it's going to take a while. Seina, can you give us a direction?"
"Why don't we fly?" she proposed. "From the sky, they wouldn't detect us, and we'd avoid traps while reaching the destination faster."
"Good idea."
Without delay, she summoned her creature and rose above the clouds under multiple camouflage spells. Genma and Raido were visibly amazed at the sight of her black dragon. Perhaps they had expected a more conventional summoning? Regardless, reaching Kumo's half-built base was a breeze. From afar, they saw a squad of Kumogakure shinobi guarding and protecting their new territory deep within the forest of the Land of Hot Springs.
"I spotted a safe spot about 10 minutes back," Raido said, looking over the dragon's shoulder. "With some barriers, we should be well-protected."
"Lead the way."
Seina followed Raido's directions, doubling back. The "spot" he mentioned was a dense forest area with prominent rocks and bubbling water. She couldn't even see it at first due to the thick trees surrounding a small clearing with hot springs. They jumped off her dragon mid-air due to the lack of landing space, and she unsummoned it. Kakashi pitched his own tent while Seina set up magical barriers alongside the traps and barriers Raido and Genma placed.
Once inside, they ignored Raido's exclamation—he was the only one unfamiliar with these kinds of tents—and sat at the dining table. Kakashi took the lead in the discussion.
"Alright. Now that we're here, let's start planning. First, we need to determine how many ninjas are guarding the construction, how many are patrolling, how often the teams rotate, and the extent of their surveillance," Kakashi began. "We also need to find out which construction company is doing the work, how many people know about this agreement, and the nature of the contract itself."
"Then we should split into teams," Seina suggested.
"Yes, though I hate to admit it, that's the most efficient approach, even if it's riskier… We'll form two teams: one to scout the construction site and the shinobi guarding it, and another to gather intel on the agreement." Kakashi glanced at her. "You're better suited for investigating the agreement, while I'm more experienced with tracking Kumo's ninjas. That leaves you two… Any preferences?"
"I'll go with Seina," Genma said after exchanging a look with Raido.
"Then I'll join you, Kakashi."
"Perfect. We've got the whole day ahead of us, so let's get started."
"Should I leave one of my summons with you for communication?" she offered her sensei. He nodded, accepting one of her spiders.
"Can your summons communicate?" Raido asked.
"Not exactly. I perceive everything my creatures perceive since they're my creations and linked to me. If you talk to it, it's like you're talking to me, but I can't reply verbally."
"Very clever. It'd be amazing if you could speak through them."
"Actually, I created them without vocal cords and cast a silencing jutsu on them. This way, no one notices their presence."
They left the tent shortly after their conversation, none of them keen on staying longer than necessary, especially since Kumo was their adversary. Moreover, having her there was an added risk. Considering that, she realized the best way to gather intel discreetly was to change her appearance. She halted Genma outside the tent.
"Wait a second. I've got an idea."
Genma raised an eyebrow but nodded. Seina cast a couple of spells to alter her clothing and appearance, transforming into a young girl with brown hair, brown eyes, and a green-and-blue kimono. Then, she did the same to Genma, making him look like her father. They also hid their ninja headbands to avoid recognition.
"Wow. You're both unrecognizable," Raido exclaimed. Kakashi blinked at her transformation. "I can't even sense anything off."
"Let's go," she said with a wink, adjusting her voice slightly to ensure it wouldn't be recognized.
They bid farewell to the others and headed toward the nearest village.
"How do you want to approach this?" she asked. "Blend in with the locals and see what we overhear? Or look for someone suspicious to follow?"
"Yes to the first, no to the second. We should focus on finding a builder. From what we saw earlier, there's no work camp near Kumo's base, so I imagine they're staying in the nearest village."
"But wouldn't that raise suspicion? People are bound to ask questions."
"Maybe their camp is farther from the village," he shrugged. "We'll figure it out once we arrive."
It didn't take them long to arrive at a brisk pace. The moment Seina spotted the first townspeople, she grabbed Genma's hand and put on a childlike expression. Genma didn't flinch, instead breaking into a smile as he began pointing around like a typical tourist. Seina played along but was actually sharpening her senses, listening for anything interesting. They strolled around at a snail's pace, but no one was openly discussing anything related to Kumo or the construction company.
Eventually, she gave up and activated her passive legilimency, tuning into the surface thoughts of the people around her. She picked up on fatigue, lustful thoughts, anger, grief over a loved one's passing, and heartbreak from a breakup—nothing particularly unusual or suspicious.
"Otou-san, can I go to the bathroom?" she asked, tugging on Genma's sleeve.
Genma nodded, blinking. Seina slipped away into the crowd and then used her abilities to camouflage herself. She tailed an elderly woman hobbling down the street with a limp. Just as Seina had thought, the woman was a grandmother. While her surface thoughts hadn't explicitly mentioned Kumo or the construction company, something about her fear had piqued Seina's curiosity. She approached the old woman quietly and cast the imperius curse to guide her toward a nearby park bench.
"Let's see what's going on, oba-san…"
Seina delved carefully into the woman's mind using legilimency. The woman, named Keiko, was a retired seamstress. She had worked since the age of thirteen and had retired alongside her husband, Eiji, five years ago. Neither of them had planned to work again; their house was paid off, and they had some savings. The problem was that Keiko had recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness requiring expensive medications, which had drained much of their money. At this rate, they were at risk of running out of money for food.
Three weeks ago, a man had approached Eiji with an offer: a significant sum of money in exchange for construction work deep in the forest. Eiji had accepted without hesitation, believing the payment would be enough to cover his wife's medications for years. Keiko had felt guilty about her husband having to work again, even for a few months, but when Eiji revealed who the client was and what they were building, she had begged him to back out.
Seina probed deeper into the couple's recent arguments. Eiji had confessed to his wife that he'd seen Kumo ninjas lurking around the construction site. Beyond that, he had kept his head down, uninterested in knowing more—he only cared about the money.
Satisfied, Seina released the woman and returned to Genma before anyone could grow suspicious. The entire exchange had lasted no more than ten minutes.
"Look, just in time," said her supposed father as she returned from the bathroom direction.
They ate their orders quietly, taking a few minutes to finish before leaving the area. They wandered away from the busy streets, searching for a quieter spot with fewer people.
Muffliato, she cast mentally, sensing the spell activate. "We can talk now."
"What did you find?"
Seina recounted everything she'd heard, done, and discovered. When she finished, the jōnin seemed deep in thought, considering her words.
"Interesting. It seems we have a lead," Genma said. "Did you mark the woman?"
"Of course. The workers return home each night to avoid drawing attention, so I assumed her husband would be back this evening. I left one of my summons behind."
"Well done. We'll interrogate the husband discreetly. Even if he wants to stay out of it, he must know more than he's telling his wife. We'll see if this Eiji can give us the name of the construction company, how many people are involved, their shifts, and so on."
"What about the agreement? It's obvious that neither Eiji nor any of the workers will have that information."
"No. Eiji and the others are just pawns. Let's look into that while we wait for the husband to return home."
"Where do we start?"
"At the government building," Genma said, nodding toward a three-story structure in the distance. "Let's see if they have any incriminating records stored there."
"What time do the town hall workers take their lunch break?"
"Good thinking," Genma replied with a grin. "Let's find out their schedule."
Luckily, the lunch break was set to begin in 20 minutes, so they hid nearby, waiting for the time to come. Seina watched through one of her tiny summons as the workers left. Once the coast was clear, she teleported herself and Genma inside using the hiraishin technique. It was so easy it felt almost boring. Even without hiraishin, all it would've taken was an alohomora spell to get in.
"Start searching over there," Genma instructed, pointing. "I'll stay here. Look for documents without signatures, seals, or client information."
Seina nodded, rummaging through drawers, files, cabinets, and safes, but found nothing. Everything appeared legitimate. Contracts were signed, stamped, and properly documented—nothing out of place. She moved to the second floor, then the third, but came up empty.
With only half an hour left before the workers returned, she decided to use a locator spell despite not knowing exactly what she was looking for.
"Point me fraudulent documentation."
To her surprise, the spell directed her to a specific location. She followed its guidance, eventually ending up back on the first floor. Genma joined her with a frown, holding a few papers that looked significant.
"Find anything?"
"My spell says there's something here."
"In the locker room?"
"Apparently," she said, pointing to a set of small lockers labelled with employee names. "Whoever it is must be very confident about the privacy of their locker."
Using a spell, she unlocked one of the lockers. Inside, she found food, tissues, a pill case, and other mundane items. However, she noticed the compartment seemed smaller than it should have been.
"A false bottom?" Genma chuckled as she removed the panelling.
"Bingo."
She grabbed the cream-colored folder and opened it. Genma and she flipped through the pages, realizing they had what they needed. Seina duplicated the contract and left the original exactly as it was to avoid raising suspicions. She also copied the pages Genma had found before they left, not forgetting to check the name on the locker. Or rather, the name of its owner.
"It's better if we stay away from the village for a while. A lot of people have already seen us around for hours."
They headed into the forest, noticing that the sun was beginning to dip, though it would still be hours before it set. Sitting down, they pulled out the papers to review the situation. Seina read through the documents carefully, immediately sensing something was off.
"The names don't match."
"What do you mean?"
"The names. Look," she showed him the list of hires. "While I was searching, I found documents from the same construction company, but the staff list was entirely different."
"This is troubling," Genma said with a serious expression. "Can you think of a reason why they'd keep a record of illegally hired people for an illegal project?"
Seina pondered. If she were organizing such a scheme, she'd aim to leave as little documentation as possible. Paper trails create risks. So why record the names? Unless… She reopened the folder, paying close attention to the workers' profiles.
"They're all over 60," she exclaimed in surprise.
"Exactly. Elderly people die from all sorts of causes."
"Do you think Kumo plans to get rid of them all once the project is complete?" she asked in horror.
"How else would a secret base stay undiscovered if more than 50 civilians know where it is?"
"Those bastards," she spat angrily.
Her skin prickled at the realization. It was entirely plausible. Who would investigate the deaths of a few elderly folks? A heart attack here, a bad fall there… Worse, if these workers were smart, they'd probably told no one about their jobs, thinking it would keep them safe. They could disappear quietly, and no one would ever know. Using regular employees from the construction company would have made it impossible to eliminate them all without raising questions. This was the perfect crime.
They ate in silence, reflecting on their grim discovery, perched atop a tree. Hours later, when Eiji finally returned to the village, she felt a pang of pity at the sight of him. The old man looked fragile, walking slowly with a hunched back from years of labour. That someone would exploit elders like him was sickening. She almost felt guilty about intercepting him before he reached his home.
She used legilimency on him, as she had with his wife. As expected, Eiji knew more than Keiko. He could name most of the elderly workers toiling away at the Kumo base. He was fully aware that what he was doing was illegal and could cause significant trouble with the Land of Fire, with which the Land of Hot Springs had agreements. But he couldn't afford to stop unless he wanted to leave his wife to suffer in agony until she succumbed to her illness.
The construction company had "hired" the elderly in name only, without any signed contracts. All it did was supply materials and equipment, while Kumo's ninja paid the workers directly. Each day, they received a fixed amount, but since no one knew when the project would end, they wouldn't receive the bulk of their payment until it was finished. This meant they might not see a cent if Kumo decided to eliminate them before completion.
The last thing she gleaned from Eiji's mind was that he and his "retired" colleagues estimated that the project would be complete in about a week. She let him go after erasing the memory.
"And?" Genma asked.
"We should head back to the tent. The others returned a while ago."
In minutes, they reached the tent. As expected, Kakashi and Raido were inside, waiting for them.
"Finally. What have you two been up to all day?"
"We've gathered a lot of intel," Genma said, handing over the documents. He detailed everything they had uncovered, up to Eiji's interrogation. Seina took over, recounting what she'd seen in the old man's mind. When she finished, Kakashi and Raido exchanged glances.
"And you two?" she asked.
"The base is at least 500 square meters, based on what we observed of the construction. About 46 civilians are working there. They're being watched by a squad of four Kumo ninja—a jonin and three chunin, I'd say," her teacher explained. "But that's not all. There are additional ninjas patrolling the perimeter. Altogether, I detected the scent of 12 individuals."
"That many?"
"Yes, they seem very invested in this project."
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"You need to identify everyone involved in this. Once we have the list of corrupt parties, we'll deal with them," Kakashi said. "That will resolve the Land of Hot Springs' part of the conflict."
"And what about the base? We can't afford a direct confrontation; it could cause an international incident."
"I know. We also need to handle the civilians working on the project."
"I can take care of that," she offered. "I can modify their memories so they forget they ever built a base for Kumo, and pay them off with funds stolen from Kumo or the construction company."
"That's a good idea," Raido nodded. "That would leave us with just the Kumo ninja to deal with."
"We can't let them live. They know the identities of the civilians and the collaborators who helped build the base. As soon as they realize something's off, they'll retaliate."
"...I know," her teacher said with a grim expression. "The good thing is, if we kill them, even if they suspect us, they can't accuse us without admitting to their illegal actions. That would tarnish their reputation with other nations."
"Though it would still provoke Kumo," Seina pointed out.
"We don't have much choice. Even if you modify their memories, they'll know something's wrong as soon as they return to Kumo."
"Wait a second. I've got an idea," she said, a wide grin spreading across her face.
"Let's hear it," Kakashi said, smiling back. Genma and Raido turned to her.
"Let them finish the project without interference. Let the Kumo ninjas return to their village, and we'll deal with the ones left behind. I can protect the civilians with a couple of weak barriers to keep them safe from any attacks."
"And the base?" Genma asked.
"Simple. Remember what I did to Sasuke's house?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.
Kakashi stared at her blankly for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, leaving Genma and Raido baffled. It took him two full minutes to catch his breath, clutching his sides from laughing so hard. Wiping a tear, he finally regained his composure.
"You're a genius, Seina," her teacher said proudly.
"Will someone explain what she means about Sasuke's house?" Raido raised his hand like a schoolboy. Genma nodded, exasperated but amused.
"With her powers, Seina can hide anything she wants, becoming the Secret-Keeper of whatever she conceals. That means unless she tells us where Kumo's base is, no one can find it," Kakashi explained, smiling as the other jonin's jaws dropped. "Which means the brand-new Kumo base will vanish off the map. No matter how hard they try, they won't remember where it is or find it. That way, we avoid confrontation, don't destroy the base, and leave no trace of our involvement."
"Not to mention that Konoha would gain a base for free, without paying a single ryo," she added with a wink, as Genma and Raido looked stunned.
"I like this plan."
"All we have to do is wait for them to finish the project. Once they leave, we'll clean up the traitors in the Land of Hot Springs, eliminate the small squad left behind, and problem solved."