After piecing together all the clues, Rorin finally understood the full picture.
Before they had even arrived in the Land of Mountain Streams, its daimyo had already contacted the Akatsuki, planning to eliminate his rival during the succession ceremony.
That was why the mission given to them at the time was simply to protect him for five days until he successfully assumed the position of daimyo.
Having reached this conclusion, Rorin felt a headache coming on. He didn't know how to subtly pass on information about Hidan to Nara Shikamaru.
After spending the past few days together, Rorin had already come to regard Nara Shikamaru as a friend.
Naturally, he didn't want to see him fall into a smoking habit because of Asuma's death.
After thinking it over again and again, Rorin shook his head with a bitter smile. Looks like I'll have to rely on that vague "survival experience in the ninja world" story of mine again.
After packing his clothes, Rorin left his shop and went to meet up with Nara Shikamaru and the others.
...
Land of Mountain Streams, inn.
Having just gone back to sleep for a bit, the three of them yawned in unison. Seeing Rorin carrying a large bundle, Akimichi Chōza asked curiously, "Rin, what's that on your back? Food?"
Rorin replied simply, "No, just some clothes."
He then handed the scroll to Nara Shikamaru and looked at him with a meaningful gaze before speaking slowly,
"Shikamaru, actually, something strange happened after you all left today."
Nara Shikamaru paused mid-motion as he took the scroll, frowning slightly.
"What happened?"
Seeing that he had piqued his interest, Rorin proceeded to recount, in full detail, the mysterious death of the daimyo's younger brother.
After hearing the story, Nara Shikamaru frowned deeply and stared at Rorin.
"You suspect it was the daimyo's doing? But if he had that kind of power, he wouldn't need us to protect him at all."
Rorin shook his head, his expression serious.
"In my opinion, it's not his power. He's borrowing the strength of some other force. Shikamaru, have you ever heard of the Jashin religion?"
Nara Shikamaru shook his head and waited quietly for him to continue.
"During my years wandering the ninja world, I once heard about an organization called the Jashin religion. They possess a secret technique that uses an enemy's blood as a medium, causing the target to suffer any damage inflicted on the caster—and it can't be avoided."
"Wait—if the damage is shared equally, then wouldn't the user also…" Nara Shikamaru said in shock.
Rorin replied calmly, "The Jashin religion is filled with fanatical believers. So something like trading one life for another isn't impossible."
Of course, Rorin knew Hidan was perfectly fine, but revealing this much information was already enough. The rest was up to Shikamaru to figure out.
Nara Shikamaru silently committed the name "Jashin religion" to memory, then waved his hand.
"No matter what, our mission is complete. As for the affairs of the Land of Mountain Streams, we won't interfere any further. Let's rest up and head back to the Hidden Leaf Village."
Everyone nodded. Shortly after, the group of four arrived at the port, where they ran into Gaara and his team. After a brief discussion, they decided to travel together for a while.
After a night of rough travel, the two groups parted ways at the border of the Land of Fire.
Gaara and his group headed back to the Land of Wind. At parting, Rorin said he would visit them sometime in the future.
After saying goodbye, Rorin and the others also set off for the Hidden Leaf Village.
Compared to their hurried journey to the Land of Mountain Streams, the return trip was far more relaxed. They took their time, stopping along the way, and finally, six days later, they arrived back at the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Let's go report the mission first," Nara Shikamaru said.
No one objected, so they followed him to the Hokage's office.
According to procedure, after Nara Shikamaru finished reporting to Tsunade, they could collect their reward.
At that moment, Rorin spoke up. "Lady Tsunade, can I choose something other than money as my reward?"
Tsunade paused slightly, then asked in confusion, "Why?"
Rorin scratched the back of his head and smiled. "Because I'm not interested in money."
Everyone present couldn't help but sweat at that!
After thinking for a moment, Tsunade figured that as the young clan heir of the Kaguya clan, Rorin might have inherited a considerable fortune from his clan leader father. After all, he only had to take care of himself now. No wonder he hadn't taken on missions before—he simply didn't lack money.
Having filled in the gaps herself, Tsunade asked seriously, "Then what are you interested in?"
Naturally, Rorin had no idea Tsunade assumed his lack of interest in money came from inherited wealth.
The truth was simple—the system was too good. He would never run out of money!
Rorin said enthusiastically, "Lady Tsunade, I'd like to exchange my reward for an opportunity to learn a ninjutsu. Is that possible?"
Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but look at him in a new light. Money was an external thing; only personal strength truly mattered in the treacherous ninja world.
However, his request still gave her a headache. If he wanted to trade money for a chance to learn a technique, then it probably wouldn't be something simple—it might even be a forbidden technique.
"What ninjutsu do you want to learn?" Tsunade asked, watching him closely.
Rorin answered without hesitation, "The Multi Shadow Clone Technique."
Tsunade was momentarily speechless. Even the Ino–Shika–Chō trio were shocked—he actually wanted to learn a forbidden technique.
Seeing that she hadn't responded, Rorin quickly asked, "What's wrong? Lady Tsunade, is it not possible to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique?"
Tsunade thought for a moment. As a forbidden technique, the Multi Shadow Clone Technique wasn't something everyone could handle. It required an enormous amount of chakra. She wanted to advise him—sometimes, quantity didn't mean everything.
But before she could speak, Rorin's determined, fighting spirit-filled gaze stopped her. The words at the tip of her tongue were swallowed back.
She nodded. "Alright. I agree."
Rorin was overjoyed. Although he also coveted the Flying Thunder God, he knew that this mission alone wasn't enough to earn the right to learn it.
As for why he chose the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, it all traced back to that bug. The system's nanoscale biological bug had an automatic audio recording function, but unfortunately, it couldn't filter out useless information and leave only what mattered. It just dumped a massive amount of recordings on him.
So Rorin came up with a plan—use shadow clones to sift through the audio data, while his original body continued training the Eight Gates and Chidori.