"We're finally almost there," Inuzuka Midori sighed as she spotted the town up ahead.
Aaron glanced at her. "Weren't you the one bragging about your insane stamina and asking me to teach you Armament Haki early? Tired already?"
She grinned. "Not tired. Just bored. Running for hours gets old."
As they neared the Hidden Grass Village, all four changed into civilian clothes. No one was foolish enough to stroll into another nation's ninja village wearing full ANBU gear, that would be like showing up in enemy territory with a flashing neon sign that said Arrest Me.
After observing the perimeter, Aaron noticed that the Hidden Grass didn't have a large-scale barrier system like Konohagakure did.
So he led the team in through a remote, lightly guarded edge of the village.
"Ninja village" was really just a polite term. In reality, these places were closer to small cities. Even Konoha couldn't station guards on every street corner; they relied heavily on barrier detection systems. Grass certainly didn't have that luxury.
Their infiltration went smoothly, no resistance whatsoever.
"Wow… is the Hidden Grass always this run-down?" Midori muttered, eyeing the weathered buildings.
Before Aaron could respond, Kenshi spoke calmly. "Partly because of where we entered. And partly because of the war. Not long ago, this area was a battlefield between Konoha and the Hidden Stone."
Aaron lightly flicked Midori's forehead with two fingers. "See? That's called paying attention. Try it sometime."
Midori puffed out her chest proudly. "Thinking too much gives me a headache. I fight. You tell me who to punch."
Aaron stared at her, speechless. It took real talent to admit you were muscle-for-hire with that much pride. Cute kid. Shame about the mouth.
"Kakashi, Kenshi keep an eye on her. Don't let her blow our cover," Aaron ordered.
If they were exposed, he'd just have to take things by force. Realistically, there probably wasn't anyone in Grass who could stop him.
After all, there was a certain ruthless logic to infiltration: if no witnesses survive, technically, no one saw you. Mission accomplished.
Kakashi and Kenshi both nodded. They were well aware that this teammate was… unpredictable.
The sun still hung high in the afternoon sky.
"We split into three teams," Aaron said. "Kakashi and I operate separately. Kenshi, you're with Midori."
There was method to the arrangement.
Aaron could infiltrate alone, even storm the place outright if necessary and walk out unscathed.
Kakashi had been promoted to jonin during last year's war and now wielded the Sharingan. His combat strength was more than sufficient to handle himself solo.
Kenshi had the brains but lacked overwhelming firepower. Midori had respectable combat ability but wasn't exactly a master strategist. Together, they balanced each other out.
"I'll locate Grass's ANBU headquarters. Kakashi, gather intel on how their rank-and-file ninja feel about the recent war. Kenshi and Midori dig up information on the three captured Grass shinobi."
"We regroup here at sundown."
"And if you're discovered," he added calmly, "make as much noise as possible. I'll come to you."
No objections.
The four split into three directions, beginning their operation inside the Hidden Grass.
Aaron used a Transformation Jutsu to take on the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged man before blending into the streets.
It wasn't paranoia, his real face simply drew too much attention. If some overeager Grass kunoichi decided to strike up conversation, that would be… inconvenient.
A guy had to look out for himself.
As he wandered through the village, he subtly observed the layout and infrastructure.
Until now, he'd rarely left Konoha except when forcibly deployed during the war. Entering another hidden village like this was new territory.
To his surprise, Grass had copied Konoha's structure fairly well.
There was a ninja academy. An ANBU division. He even spotted a reasonably large Hidden Grass Hospital that looked fully operational.
That genuinely caught his attention.
Medical ninja were rare commodities. Aside from Konoha, almost no village had a systematic training program for them.
Konoha's advanced medical corps existed largely because of Tsunade. Thanks to her reforms, medical ninja could be assigned to every squad during wartime, something other villages simply couldn't replicate.
Yet here was Grass, a minor village, running what appeared to be a legitimate medical facility.
If his mission weren't to steal ANBU intelligence, he might've gone inside just to take a look.
Instead, he headed toward the less populated outskirts, extending his sensory perception to locate concentrations of chakra signatures.
Based on Konoha's structure, ANBU headquarters were usually built in remote, barren sectors near the village edge, similar to where they had entered.
But when he had scanned that area earlier, he'd sensed only civilians.
After a more thorough sweep, he finally detected a cluster of shinobi signatures underground on the western side of the village.
The terrain there dipped lower than the east, near a river basin with dense forest growth. Few people passed through.
Above the underground complex stood an unremarkable courtyard built in standard Hidden Grass style.
He sensed minimal presence above ground, only two shinobi around chunin level guarding the entrance.
Perhaps they relied on the elite operatives below for true security.
Aaron vaulted silently over the wall and slipped into the courtyard.
Just as he prepared to descend into the underground facility, his sensory field picked up a strong chakra signature approaching from below.
He withdrew immediately and leapt onto the rooftop, waiting.
Moments later, a Grass ANBU operative emerged. As he stepped through the gate, the two guards bowed respectfully.
"Lord Morishita."
The man acknowledged them with a slight nod and left without a word.
Aaron's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Tracking him would be wiser than barging in blindly.
He followed from the rooftops, keeping a careful distance.
Digging through classified archives would take time days, maybe longer.
But acquiring an ANBU identity?
That could speed things up considerably.
This "Lord Morishita" clearly held some authority. Someone like that likely had unrestricted access to the facility.
If Aaron eliminated him and assumed his appearance via Transformation Jutsu, infiltration would become exponentially easier.
If Morishita's rank was high enough, he might even be able to request the documents directly letting Grass ANBU unknowingly complete the mission for him.
Now that… had potential.
Definitely worth a shot.
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