"We shouldn't only understand his combat system and the trump cards of his Ninjutsu. We should also understand his ideology. What exactly does he want to do? What exactly does he believe in?"
"Only then can the village prepare more contingency plans if it ever needs to deal with him, and if we are to make an enemy of an enemy, we must first understand the full picture of that enemy, shouldn't we?"
"Do you really think that?" The short-haired female ninja asked, staring into her eyes.
"Yes, senior."
"Then how will you explain it to the village afterward?"
"I will tell the truth."
Mei Terumi answered without hesitation.
"And I will make it clear to the village that I wish to join the Ninja Way Origins Research Society and become one of its members."
"Have you gone insane?!"
This time, not only the short-haired female ninja, but the other two roommates blurted it out almost simultaneously.
Simply attending the ceremony was already dangerous enough, but afterward, she even intended to apply to join voluntarily.
If that was not madness, what was?
"No, seniors, I haven't gone insane."
Mei Terumi shook her head and spoke firmly.
"On the contrary, this is the most prudent and safest choice."
She took a deep breath, as though finally organizing the thoughts she had been brewing in her heart for a long time.
"If Shinichi Higashino and his Ninja Way Origins Research Society are truly pushing us, ninjas, toward a better future and truly creating mutual benefit between the two villages, then my participation and cooperation as a member of Village Hidden in the Mist can only benefit the village."
"But if he is merely using the name of the Sage of Six Paths while concealing ambitions unknown to others beneath it and intends to harm the village, then I will infiltrate the organization as a spy. I will work hard for him, earn his trust, and at the critical moment obtain the most important intelligence for the village!"
The short-haired female ninja remained silent, and after staring at Mei Terumi for quite a while, she finally spoke.
"Do whatever you want, then."
With that, she seemed to lose all interest in continuing the conversation, climbed onto her bed, and turned her back to Mei Terumi.
The other two female ninja each sighed and said nothing more before lying down as well.
The room immediately fell silent, and only the occasional chirping of insects drifted in through the window.
No one knew how much time had passed when a voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Then I'll go too."
It was the short-haired female ninja, and before Mei Terumi could react, she quickly added, "Of course, I haven't believed that kid's nonsense. It's just that, as a member of the intelligence department, I have a responsibility to thoroughly understand every aspect of the enemy. Nothing more."
Mei Terumi stared blankly at the motionless figure on the opposite bed, her lips parted slightly, but before she could say anything, two more voices followed.
"Then I'll go too."
The female ninja by the wall rolled over to face it and spoke as though talking to herself.
"I'm idle anyway, and getting out for some fresh air is better than being locked up in here."
The last female ninja, who had not spoken yet, remained silent for a few seconds before suddenly chuckling.
"Alright, alright. If all of you are going, how can I stay behind by myself?"
Mei Terumi stared blankly at the three senior ninjas in front of her. She wanted to say something, but her eyes reddened first.
"Seniors, you..."
The short-haired female ninja did not even turn around; she simply stuck a hand out from under her blanket and casually waved it in Mei Terumi's direction.
"Stop dragging it out and get some sleep."
"Yes!"
Mei Terumi immediately climbed into bed, and the prison cell quickly fell silent once more, yet she continued staring at the cold, full moon outside the window.
As she watched, she suddenly felt the moon seemed a little rounder than before, and the moonlight felt a little warmer.
She has not been persuaded by Shinichi Higashino, nor does she have any intention of serving him.
She's still loyal to the village and loyal to the Land of Water.
It's just… perhaps their ancestor, the Sage of Six Paths, never wanted the students of his Ninja Creed to become what they are today…
Perhaps the original nature of ninjas was never supposed to be like this from the very beginning…
Especially… ninjas should not be killing machines who must kill their companions at graduation in order to be acknowledged.
The young girl silently repeated these thoughts in her heart.
She herself did not know whether she was trying to persuade someone else or desperately trying to persuade herself.
Thus, on this night, a young girl who clung to the idea of investigating the enemy and even secretly carried a sense of mission as a spy quietly made up her mind. She tossed and turned beneath the moonlight and only fell asleep after a very long time.
And perhaps, someday in the near future, she would become the first official foreign member of the Ninja Way Origins Research Society, also known as the Shinichi Society.
An official foreign member who might be a spy, but then again, who knows?
Sometimes, when you spend too long acting as a spy, you end up becoming part of what you were spying on.
....
In Konoha, on the western edge of the village, in a remote area.
In the past, this had merely been a secluded corner overgrown with weeds and rarely visited by anyone.
But now, the vast stretches of weeds had been completely cleared away, and the number of people coming and going had noticeably increased, and among them were many Konoha ninja wearing forehead protectors and green flak jackets moving back and forth through the area.
Several buildings had already been erected on the open ground, and judging from the somewhat rough joints visible on the walls and the piles of loose soil around the foundations, which had yet to be fully cleared away.
These structures had clearly been completed in haste only recently, while those tall and smooth stone walls had most likely been directly formed using Earth Style Ninjutsu, and it had probably taken only a few days.
At this moment, inside the headquarters building bearing the signboard "Ninja Way Origins Research Society," in the center of the area, in a conference room on the fifth floor, five people sat around an oval table.
Shinichi Higashino, Minato Namikaze, Shinku Yuhi, Shibi Aburame, and Ren Inuzuka.
They had been elected as temporary representatives to oversee the society's preparatory work.
Although the society had not yet been officially established, there were simply too many matters that needed to be handled in advance, and it was impossible for Shinichi alone to shoulder all of that work.
First, he wanted more people to feel involved and create an atmosphere of collective effort from the very beginning.
Second, the number of applicants far exceeded expectations, and if everyone had to be gathered for discussion regardless of the issue's importance, it would be neither practical nor efficient.
Especially now, with the war still ongoing, everyone was busy with missions and could not always spare time to sit down for meetings.
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