Shinno

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After they settled the matter of teaming up, Naoki began looking through the mission list again, while Itachi stood properly at his side and waited quietly for him to choose.

When Naoki turned to the second page, a name suddenly caught his attention.

'Shinno? Who names himself after a divine farmer? That is a bold choice.'

After silently mocking the name, Naoki looked over the mission carefully.

The task was simple. They were to escort a physician named Shinno to the Land of Rice Fields, which bordered the Land of Fire.

Staring at the mission description, Naoki frowned slightly. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

After a short while, he finally remembered.

In his hazy memories, there had indeed been a remnant of the Sky shinobi who disguised himself as a physician and traveled from country to country. While building his reputation, he also stole confidential forbidden techniques from various shinobi villages whenever he found the opportunity. That man seemed to be named Shinno. Later, he had apparently created an artificial Tailed Beast called Zero-Tails and caused quite a disturbance.

'Could it be him?'

After thinking for a moment, Naoki decided that whether it was truly that man or not, he was taking this mission.

Once the acceptance procedures were completed, Naoki and Itachi soon met the client.

Naoki carefully examined the man named Shinno standing before him, and his answer became clear. Whether in appearance or dress, this man largely matched the Shinno from his memories.

Without question, this was the Sky shinobi remnant and the future creator of Zero-Tails.

Now that he understood the other party's identity, Naoki introduced himself without showing anything on his face. "My name is Naoki Hyuga. I'm a Konoha chunin and the squad captain assigned to your commission. The teammate beside me is Itachi Uchiha, a Konoha genin."

Shinno, who looked to be just over thirty, was very polite. He bowed and said, "Then I will be relying on you both this time."

"We'll do everything we can," Naoki said. "But before we set out, I need to understand the situation."

After a pause, he asked, "You raised the mission to B-rank for a reason, didn't you? Tell me who your enemies are."

Shinno looked a little uneasy and coughed twice. "They are not exactly enemies. It is only a small misunderstanding. While I was traveling through Kumogakure, there happened to be a theft in the village. They suspected I was connected to it. But as you know, I am only an ordinary physician. How could I possibly be involved in something like that?"

'Like hell I believe that.'

Naoki laughed inwardly and then thought, 'This man seems very skilled at stealing.'

Kumogakure was not an easy place to infiltrate. Even Konoha's high-level spies would have difficulty slipping inside, let alone stealing intelligence, ninjutsu, forbidden techniques, or anything of the sort. Yet this ordinary-looking Shinno had managed to steal something from Kumogakure, and more surprisingly, he had escaped in one piece. That was enough to make anyone take notice.

Considering that this man might be useful later, Naoki did not expose him. After a little preparation, the three of them set out for the Land of Rice Fields.

The moment they left the village, Naoki witnessed Itachi's seriousness.

Whether choosing their route or selecting campsites, Itachi handled everything methodically and without fault.

On the road, he even corrected mistakes on the map he carried from time to time. When they camped, he recorded the day's journey and occasionally added his own thoughts and observations.

Itachi's presence saved Naoki a great deal of trouble.

Naoki naturally did not stay idle either. He used the Tenseigan's unmatched insight to observe Itachi and Shinno constantly. By studying changes in their expressions, the movement of their facial muscles, and the contraction and relaxation of their bodies, he trained his observation and predictive ability.

Sensitive as he was, Itachi quickly noticed this. However, he assumed Naoki was only assessing whether he was a qualified genin, so he did not resist it.

Shinno undoubtedly noticed as well, but he did his best to conceal it. He acted as if he knew nothing and spent each day cheerfully talking about interesting things he had encountered while traveling.

After several weeks of stopping and walking, the three finally reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields.

Seeing that the sky had grown dark, Naoki ordered, "Itachi, find a suitable campsite. We'll rest well tonight and cross the border tomorrow."

"Yes."

Itachi answered properly, then jumped into the trees to search for a good campsite.

Shinno smiled beside Naoki. "Naoki and Itachi are worthy descendants of noble clans."

Naoki waved a hand dismissively. "A surname doesn't matter. In the shinobi world, strength does the talking."

Shinno kept smiling. "I have met many shinobi during my travels, but very few as outstanding as you two. I imagine it will not be long before your names spread through the shinobi world."

Knowing exactly what sort of person Shinno was, Naoki paid little attention to his flattery and shifted the conversation to medicine.

It had to be admitted that Shinno had genuine skill in medicine. In particular, his knowledge of bandaging techniques, the body's meridian network, and herbal pharmacology was far beyond that of an ordinary physician.

This was one reason he could disguise himself as a physician and travel across nations. Otherwise, he would have been arrested as a spy long ago.

After Itachi found a campsite with a wide field of view, the three ate dry rations while discussing the body's meridians. Of course, it was mainly Shinno explaining while Naoki and Itachi learned.

The body's meridians were not mysterious to Naoki, who had been born into the Hyuga clan. But within the clan, meridian knowledge served the Gentle Fist. Shinno's explanation came from a medical perspective. Different fields, different lines of thought, and different viewpoints collided, giving Naoki a deeper understanding of the body's meridians.

Itachi listened very seriously as well. Before long, he had filled several pages in the small notebook he carried.

The body's meridians were not exactly unfamiliar to the Uchiha clan, who possessed the Sharingan. However, the Uchiha had no medical inheritance tied to meridians, which made Shinno's knowledge especially valuable.

Shinno taught attentively, but he naturally had his own purpose. In his eyes, Naoki and Itachi, two heirs of Konoha's great clans, were worth befriending. Once he established a personal connection with them, he would have two more sources of help if he operated in Konoha later.

As they talked, Naoki suddenly asked, "By the way, what exactly did Kumogakure lose? Why are they so determined to trouble a physician like you?"

"How would I know? This has nothing to do with me at all." Shinno laughed awkwardly, then explained, "If not for a plague in a village over in the Land of Rice Fields, and an old friend there sending me a message begging me to come, I would never have wanted to travel around at a time like this."

Knowing he would not get anything useful from Shinno's mouth, Naoki said, "All right. That's enough for today. Rest. We still have to travel tomorrow."

Itachi immediately used wire and bells to lay several warning trip lines around the camp. Then he jumped up and chose a tree branch with a good field of view to rest on.

Watching Itachi set traps so skillfully, Naoki sighed inwardly.

'The Uchiha really are good with ninja tools. Itachi is this young, yet even his traps already have structure.'

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