Fleeing from Konoha

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"Boss, check, please."

At the barbecue shop, the man went to the counter to pay.

It was clear he wasn't a ninja, as he carried no traces of being one, just a regular Konoha villager. However, from his attire, he seemed to be from a well-off family.

"Thank you for supporting our business. The total is thirty thousand ryo."

Haruno Kizashi reported the bill.

As an ordinary Chunin in Konoha Hidden Village, like most Chunin, he worked part-time when not on missions to support his family.

After all, as a family man with a wife and daughter, he had to shoulder some responsibilities of a man.

But the problem was here.

The barbecue shop where he worked part-time wasn't a place he applied to on his own but was recommended by someone.

Three years ago, he was a waiter at this shop and was promoted to manager two years ago. Now, he's the acting store manager.

His salary also increased accordingly, making him a 'successful person' in the eyes of many peers.

In the past, he aimed to become Hokage by becoming a ninja, but now he's ended up as the manager of a high-end barbecue shop in Konoha... To be honest, this experience feels somewhat fantastical.

But Haruno Kizashi knew all this was manipulated by a woman behind the scenes.

Asami Shinsui.

A woman whose true identity seemed exceptionally mysterious to him.

She was one of the high-level administrators at Konoha Hospital, rumored to be preparing for the hospital director position.

This barbecue shop was controlled by Asami Shinsui from behind the scenes.

From the lowest-level waiters to various managerial roles, and even him as the acting store manager, all were 'spies' under Asami Shinsui's command.

The reason he quickly became a 'successful person' in the eyes of others and his wife and daughter was because his intelligence work was exceptional, leading to him being specially promoted to acting manager at this barbecue shop.

Though he was quite satisfied with the salary.

It even made him consider giving up his ninja profession and turning to the food industry, aiming to become a king of barbecue.

Taking the thirty thousand ryo from the customer before him, Haruno Kizashi pondered.

Usually, during periods without missions, he would stand at the counter in the barbecue shop, responsible for the cashier work.

This way, he could observe more people and make his superior content.

But after collecting the money, Haruno Kizashi noticed something was amiss.

The thickness of the three ten-thousand-ryo bills felt slightly off.

From the appearance, nothing looked abnormal, but only by touching it would one notice the anomaly.

Haruno Kizashi looked strangely at the customer who had paid. The person gave a perfectly ordinary smile and walked away steadily.

"..."

This guy... is also one of us?

Haruno Kizashi was stunned.

But a subordinate of Asami Shinsui in the intelligence department was someone he would definitely recognize, and he wouldn't mistake them.

In other words... this was an intelligence officer from another team, not under Asami Shinsui's jurisdiction?

Haruno Kizashi gazed at the street view outside the shop in Konoha, feeling the urge to scream as if he'd seen a ghost.

What is it with this village?

Why is it that no matter where he goes, he always encounters 'our people'?

The top layers might be unaware, but at the bottom, it's almost like a sieve, completely penetrated, right?

So far, the intelligence officers he's met have varied in their work.

Construction workers, people handing out movie flyers on the street, cleaners in public restrooms, orchard guards, farmers sowing crops under the blazing sun... Every conceivable profession is practically covered.

Now, even the barbecue shop customers are 'our people'...

It feels like eventually, even the stray dogs and cats he encounters will be 'our people'.

At this rate, Konoha is doomed.

Having a waiter take over his cashier duties, Haruno Kizashi quickly hid in the restroom and took out a note.

On it was a series of completely unintelligible numbers and symbols.

It looked like careless doodles by a child, with no apparent pattern.

After deciphering it correctly, Haruno Kizashi realized it was a list.

On the list were names, some unfamiliar, some familiar to him.

"Jiraiya, Sarutobi Ryu, Sarutobi Linko, Might Duy, Hyuga Takeshi..."

A total of over thirty names.

Half of them were well-known Jonin in Konoha.

Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.

The eldest son and daughter-in-law of the Third Hokage.

Though not a Jonin, it was said that the Chunin Might Duy possessed frightening Taijutsu.

Besides, there were ninja from the Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and the Three Families of Ino–Shika–Cho.

What do these names mean?

Is this a roster of people to be assassinated next?

Quickly, Haruno Kizashi rejected this answer.

He had a gut feeling that this wasn't an assassination list.

This list seemed more like it was conveying some information.

"Forget it, I'll leave it to the higher-ups to resolve. Even if I knew, it wouldn't have any significance."

He was just an ordinary Chunin, an ordinary acting manager at a barbecue shop. Such complex matters were not things a minor character like him could solve.

Whatever this list signifies, it forever remains a game of struggle among those at the top, having nothing to do with him.

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In a hotel in the Land of Tea.

"Oh man, what a bother... at a time like this..."

Jiraiya put down his pen for writing, holding the scroll handed to him not long ago by Konoha Anbu, which recorded important information from his teacher, the Third Hokage.

He hoped Jiraiya would partake in a top-secret S-Class mission.