Chapter 488

Because they were unfamiliar with Kusagakure, Kakashi first took his team members to scout various locations in the main city area of Kusagakure to facilitate route planning for later actions.

Kakashi did not share Muyue's thoughts; first, finding the ANBU base was rather difficult, and second, Kakashi felt there was a simpler way to find evidence.

To be more covert, Kakashi had Obito and the others use the Transformation Technique to disguise themselves; now they all appeared as ordinary adult men of the Grass Country, commonly seen on the streets.

"Kakashi, are you sure about this? It feels like we've wasted so much time with nothing to show for it," Obito questioned.

He felt that this didn't seem like an infiltration investigation mission; it was just wandering around.

"Less talking, more doing. I'm the team leader," Kakashi replied flatly, offering no explanation.

Every time he was about to think highly of Obito, Obito would open his mouth.

He planned to report the information to Muyue and let Muyue decide whether to approach this survivor of the Uzumaki clan.

However, as someone who had not undergone ninja training, there was no way she could escape from several ninjas, so Uzumaki Karei obediently stopped.

Red hair was a major trait of the Uzumaki clan; if someone had red hair and strong chakra, then they were most likely a member of the Uzumaki clan.

Although they were on a mission, they couldn't do anything illegal.

"Just pretend. Don't actually drink," Kakashi replied in a low voice.

Kakashi looked surprised.

When Uzumaki Karei heard Yokokawa Tsutomu's voice, her mind went blank instantly, realizing that someone might have noticed something.

"What a strange smell. Is it really good?" Obito sniffed curiously above the wine glass and found it was different from what he had imagined.

It was just that they couldn't win; the gap in strength was too large; otherwise, the Kusagakure ninja would definitely have started a fight with one of them.

Obito expressed his displeasure with an angry glare, but he truly didn't continue speaking.

Kakashi furrowed his brows; this was not the information he wanted.

This was, after all, an S-rank war mission; Kakashi had already mentally prepared himself for no results on the first day.

But combined with strong chakra, that was basically a solid confirmation.

"Take them out," the leading Kusagakure ninja ordered the one beside him when the left line had gathered enough people.

"Stand to the left," the registering Kusagakure ninja said in a commanding tone, ignoring Uzumaki Karei's question.

Yokokawa Tsutomu nodded, not finding anything wrong.

"If you want to eat, register properly. Write down any specialties or skills you have. Ninjas can register first. If you perform well, you can become a ninja of Kusagakure," the ninja maintaining order shouted loudly.

In the evening, after a day of investigation, Kakashi's team returned to the inn.

Seeing Rin Nohara speak, Obito let go of Kakashi's sarcasm and followed her toward the room.

Seeing this, Uzumaki Karei had no choice but to obediently stand in the left line, feeling somewhat lost inside.

Even with a job one likes, doing it continuously becomes tiresome, let alone this kind of boring, repetitive step. If it weren't for the fact that this was a task assigned by the Kusagakure leader, the Kusagakure ninjas would have started slacking off long ago.

Kakashi gave Obito a disdainful look; coming to a tavern without ordering a drink would be too suspicious.

Kakashi shook his head inwardly; with this little information, he couldn't make a correct judgment.

Kakashi quietly moved closer and then activated the Transparent World technique.

Kakashi gave Obito a speechless look. "If you talked less, others wouldn't think our team hadn't gathered any intelligence."

From a distance, Kakashi and the others saw a crowd gathering, and ninjas wearing Kusagakure headbands were shouting loudly to maintain order.

But she couldn't stay in Kusagakure; where else could she go? The war had made the Grass Country chaotic and dangerous, and Kusagakure was already one of the safest and most prosperous places in the entire Grass Country.

After spotting a group of Kusagakure ninjas drinking, Kakashi led Obito and the others to a nearby table and sat down.

Uzumaki Karei could only do her best to control her facial expression, praying inwardly that her identity would not be discovered.

He was worried that his subordinates might handle things poorly and be seen through by the Kusagakure operatives, so he came to take a look.

"Relying on their strong military power, they have never taken us small nations seriously."

Kakashi led the team into a seemingly bustling tavern. Pretending to choose a seat, Kakashi scanned the entire tavern, actually looking for any Kusagakure ninjas inside.

Bang!

"Damn Konoha and Iwa, fighting their wars on our land instead of their own."

They continued investigating Kusagakure and gradually arrived at the place where the village processed refugees.

Though they scorned it, good tea was still worth tasting.

Looking at Obito's clear, innocent eyes, Kakashi ultimately didn't tell him the truth—it was better to keep him simple.

So drinking alcohol was thrilling for Obito, practically testing the boundaries of Konoha's laws.

"Chief, these people can no longer contribute to Kusagakure, so we're sending them out of the village," the Grass ninja explained respectfully.

With the Transparent World enhancing his vision, the red-haired figure's body changed in Kakashi's eyes; a large amount of chakra inside him was exposed to Kakashi's view.

Kakashi fell into thought watching seven Grass ninja controlling over a thousand refugees.

Kakashi pretended to have everyone pour the sake into cups, furthering their disguise.

"There's war everywhere now, so it's really the same everywhere. But war isn't without its benefits—lately quite a few new teas of good quality have arrived," a stubbly Grass ninja snickered.

With only that much skill, it was clearly impossible to make a living in Kusagakure now; even moving bricks, he thought Hana lacked strength.

Given the traits of the Uzumaki clan members, sacrificing Uzumaki Hana to the Box of Bliss would be worth a hundred ordinary ninja.

Another equally safe and prosperous place was the capital of the Country of Grass, but without money you couldn't survive there—in a sense, it was harder to live than in Kusagakure.

"Let's go check other areas." Kakashi prepared to investigate outside the main district.

"Mm, and its color is a bit like Kushina-nee's," Rin Nohara nodded.

Then Kakashi shook his head again; there was still too little known information to jump to conclusions.

"Rin, look, there's a person with red hair over there." Obito was scanning randomly when he suddenly spotted a rare hair color and quickly told Rin Nohara.

Because Obito felt that if they really argued, he, as a squad member, would definitely be in the wrong, and if Rin took Kakashi's side, his heart would be broken.

PS: Sorry, updates may be fewer in the next few days because Xiaoju is adjusting his body.

Kakashi, like an ordinary customer, ordered three bottles of sake and several plates of appetizers.

After speaking, Yokokawa Tsutomu gave a few instructions to the Grass ninja and left.

"High mission intensity, few ninja..." Kakashi vaguely grasped a spark of inspiration.

"Oh, that red-haired person stopped." Yokokawa Tsutomu, about to return, showed an intrigued expression.

Hearing this, Kakashi also turned his gaze to the red-haired figure Obito had mentioned.

"Hana, twenty, can sewing be considered a specialty?" Uzumaki Hana asked cautiously.

As for what would happen to the people expelled, it was none of their business—after all, some of them weren't even from the Country of Grass.

Though after graduating and becoming ninja, they could take missions involving killing once the genin protection period ended, Konoha strictly prohibited minors from drinking alcohol; even selling to minors was illegal.

"I just went for a drink yesterday after finishing a mission. I heard each shop has quite a few new teas. Times are tough for everyone, after all. And we've had quite a few refugees lately," the stubbly Grass ninja shared his intel.

Because it bordered two great nations, the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, Kusagakure had often suffered from the overt and covert conflicts between these two great ninja villages, so most Grass ninja really had no good feelings toward them.

"Which shop had the new tea? Have you tried it?" the tipsy Grass ninja asked quietly.

"You can stay." Sensing the chakra inside Uzumaki Hana, Yokokawa Tsutomu showed a slight smile; he hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

The next batch of bodies would arrive soon, and he planned to dispose of Uzumaki Hana together with the ninja corpses.

Kakashi began to back away, about to form a Shadow Clone to have it follow.

Because many adult ninja loved to drink sake, Obito thought sake might be a very tasty beverage—it was just that some ingredients were harmful to minors, so minors weren't allowed to drink.

"Name, age, specialty. Hurry up and say it, or stand to the left," the registration Grass ninja said impatiently.

Uzumaki Hana wanted a peaceful, quiet life. If she exposed her abilities, she wouldn't be able to enjoy a peaceful life. This contradiction made Uzumaki Hana ultimately choose to conceal.

"But the Grass ninja seem quite resentful toward Iwa. Could it be they aren't cooperating?" Kakashi extracted a slightly useful piece of information from the mass of junk data.

The Grass ninja downed his sake in one gulp, the blush on his cheeks deepening slightly. He slammed the cup heavily onto the table and denounced the two great ninja villages waging war on the territory of the Country of Grass.

Yokokawa Tsutomu's arrival disrupted Kakashi's plans. To avoid affecting the mission, Kakashi didn't act rashly.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Yokokawa Tsutomu, who had come to inspect, casually asked as he saw the crowd walking toward the village gate.

"Hey, Kakashi, are we really drinking? That's forbidden," Obito couldn't help whispering.

Yokogawa Tsutomu stepped up to Uzumaki Karen, condensed chakra, and activated a secret technique to sense her chakra.

Although it was no problem for ninjas with superhuman abilities to maintain public order, in terms of work efficiency, with so many people, you'd need at least ten or twenty ninjas to be efficient.

As the leader of Kusagakure, Yokogawa Tsutomu was not as ignorant as an ordinary Grass Ninja.

"Aren't the great nations always like this?" a nearby Grass Ninja sneered.

"We didn't do anything today except walk around. We must be the team with the least results. Kakashi, as team leader, you're responsible." Obito tried to pin the blame on Kakashi.

"Could she be a survivor of the Uzumaki clan?" Kakashi subconsciously thought.

"It's precisely because we're tired that we should savor tea."

Ninja villages don't fall out over minor grievances; they usually cooperate when there's profit to be made.

The other Grass Ninjas looked at the stubbly Grass Ninja with contempt. Everyone was concerned about important national matters, but here he was slacking off.

"I'll try my luck outside," Uzumaki Karen sighed inwardly.

To make Obito understand, he would have to explain every detail of the cause and effect. Normally Kakashi might have the patience, but during a mission he didn't want to waste time like that.

He had also been watching the Grass Ninjas out of the corner of his eye. Obito simply couldn't understand why a group of people would be so excited about discussing tea. Was Kusagakure a ninja village with a tea-drinking culture?

This perception secret technique had a short range and was useless in battle, but it could be used to probe chakra in normal times.

Besides, as ninjas, it wasn't hard for them to fake drinking to fool ordinary people and ninjas who were already tipsy.

Normally, a mission of this level could take one or two months to complete.

"So we were just wasting time earlier, right? Those guys kept talking about tea leaves and didn't say anything useful," Obito complained after they reached a less crowded area.

The left-side group would be kicked out of Kusagakure; several waves had already been expelled earlier.

Obito nodded with some regret. He had an urge to give it a try.

She had no lofty ideals about restoring the Uzumaki clan; she just wanted to live peacefully until she died of old age. But even this simple wish was a luxury in the current shinobi world.

However, Uzumaki Karen dared not reveal herself, because she knew that the entire shinobi world harbored deep malice toward the Uzumaki clan. She never dared to say her surname in public.

"Alright, it looks like Teacher Muyue and the others are back. Let's go over quickly," Rin Nohara said with a helpless smile, acting as a peacemaker.

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information, Kakashi gave his teammates a look and led them out of the tavern.

In Obito's impression, good-tasting drinks didn't smell too bad; conversely, bad-smelling drinks were mostly bad-tasting.

Actually, Uzumaki Karen had a way to be accepted by Kusagakure, because her greatest strength lay not in sewing, but in her special Uzumaki physique.

Kusagakure wasn't wealthy itself, so there was no way they would support war refugees for free. Those who were useful could stay and work; those who were useless were driven out.

All Uzumaki clan members had red hair, but that didn't mean red hair indicated an Uzumaki member. There were also ordinary people with naturally red hair.

There were many hair colors in the shinobi world. Among the people Obito had seen, black hair was the most common, while red hair was the rarest. The only person he had seen with natural red hair was Kushina.

By this time, the Grass Ninjas were flushed and tipsy from drinking.

Although this unknown Uzumaki clan member had nothing to do with the current mission, the Uzumaki clan was after all Konoha's closest ally. If she was in trouble, Kakashi was willing to help a little.

Feeling the envious and jealous gazes around her, Uzumaki Karen sighed inwardly. This was not a good thing.

"You really have boundless energy, with such high mission intensity lately and you still have the mind for that."

Once my eyes recover, I will definitely keep up the massive updates. Earlier, I was even typing until four or five in the morning. Do you think I'm the kind of person who doesn't want to write?

Updates mean money for an author; more work means more pay. Orange is short on money and naturally wants to earn more, but lately my body just won't allow it. Please understand, brothers.