Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 202: Sorry, I’m a Spy~~~

Chapter 202: Sorry, I'm a Spy~~~

A lively and uplifting flute melody echoed along the main road, drifting away like a bluebird carried by the wind.

As Hagoromo Gengetsu traveled, he glanced at a nearby long caravan. In his spare time, a wandering musician was happily playing the flute there.

The melody was beautiful.

For once, Hagoromo Gengetsu slowed his pace and listened intently.

As the tune ended, the audience burst into applause.

Hagoromo Gengetsu nodded in approval and was about to leave when his gaze swept over a guard standing next to the caravan.

The guard appeared no different from the others, but his heartbeat quickened as soon as Gengetsu appeared.

Now, it beat even faster.

Hagoromo Gengetsu withdrew his gaze and continued on his way.

A few minutes later, the guard, confirming that the person he had seen had gone far away, finally sighed in relief and quickly said to those beside him, "I need to use the restroom."

After speaking, he walked into the dense forest by the road, took out a scroll, and wrote, "Sighted Hagoromo Gengetsu. Time and place."

After finishing, he was about to perform a summoning technique when a hand patted his shoulder, and a pair of eyes met his.

The guard lost consciousness instantly, without even the chance to feel shocked or terrified.

"The frequency of these people from Konoha's joint investigation department has been quite high lately," Hagoromo Gengetsu remarked thoughtfully as he glanced at the scroll the guard had just written, flames rising from his palm and swiftly burning the scroll.

On his way to Mt. Katsuragi, he had already encountered several batches of Konoha ninjas.

Initially, he thought they were on some mission. Now it seemed that these people had only one goal: to find the whereabouts of Lockfront Village.

The search teams included not only Konoha ninjas in uniform but also undercover agents disguised in various identities within the ninja world, just like the guard in front of him.

The intensity of this search far exceeded that of the past two years.

Hagoromo Gengetsu learned a lot from the guard's mind.

Currently, not only Konoha but also the other four major ninja villages and the medium and small ninja villages under their control had mobilized most of their forces, both openly and covertly, determined to uncover the whereabouts of Lockfront Village.

In individual battles, the power of the ninja villages does not stand out.

But war is their forte.

Now, the Five Great Ninja Villages intended to shift the situation to their area of expertise.

"This reaction is quite intense. Have the Five Great Ninja Villages finally realized they're no longer the players but the pieces?" Hagoromo Gengetsu chuckled, not taking it too seriously.

His current target remained the key to all his plans: the Rinnegan!

"I'll come for you later, big medicine," he murmured before disappearing once more.

Unlike Gengetsu, who did not care much, the sudden large-scale search by the Five Great Ninja Villages caused trouble for others.

Pain, also on the move, sensed the anomaly in the ninja world. After extracting memories from several Konoha ninjas using the Human Path, he understood the situation.

"The entire ninja world is searching for Hagoromo Gengetsu's forces? That works."

If White Zetsu hadn't failed to locate Lockfront Village, he wouldn't have minded spreading the information.

But now...

Pain halted, touching the ring on his hand.

Soon, the Akatsuki members, notified, appeared beside him as holograms.

"What's the matter, Leader?" Kisame, on vacation after Itachi's death, asked curiously.

"The Five Great Ninja Villages are now fully searching for Hagoromo Gengetsu's forces. Everyone, be cautious. If anything seems off, you may suspend your tasks," Pain said indifferently.

Pain hadn't forgotten that his subordinates were all S-rank missing-nin. If discovered by the ninjas from the various villages, it would be hard to escape given the current mobilization.

Before completing the tailed beast capture missions, it was best not to lose any members.

"Great!" Deidara was the first to express his approval. "I've been flying over the sea for so many days. It's exhausting. I'll take this chance to rest. Hmm!"

"I've already been resting. Since the leader says so, I'll just rest a bit longer," Kisame chuckled.

Deidara turned to Kisame and asked, "Are you still at the hot springs street in the Land of Hot Water?"

Kisame had mentioned during the last meeting that he would vacation there, and Deidara had been "curious."

Now, given the chance, he wanted to confirm the location again.

Kisame, not suspecting Deidara, nodded. "Why, do you want to come too?"

Deidara grinned, "Of course! That street is a part of my artistic creation!"

Knowing what Deidara meant by "art," Kisame quickly waved his hand. "Better not."

Meanwhile, Kakuzu reported to Pain, "We have located the Five-Tails Jinchuriki training in the Rocky Mountain Range of the Earth Country. We've reached there and will proceed cautiously."

Pain nodded.

He merely provided a warning; if the Akatsuki members had their own plans, he wouldn't stop them.

"Message delivered. Now, disperse."

With that, Pain's hologram vanished, and he continued on his way, his target unchanged.

Others might fear the ninja village forces.

But he was different.

If discovered, he would simply eliminate them.

No one could escape the sight of the Rinnegan.

At the same time...

On a distant coastline...

"The hot springs street in the Land of Hot Water; the Rocky Mountain Range in the Earth Country. Thank you, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Leader."

Feeling the thrill of being a spy for the first time, Deidara cheerfully created a small bird, wrote the information on it, and sent it flying away.

After that, he cheerfully approached Sasori.

Sasori glanced at Deidara.

For some reason, this guy had been inexplicably cheerful lately.

"Deidara, are you sure you're alright?" Sasori asked coldly, distancing himself.

Deidara patted his chest, "Of course! Sasori, I've got a fantastic artistic creation to show you. It will definitely blow your mind! Hmm!"

Deidara eagerly anticipated the moment he would reveal he was a spy, savoring the drastic reaction from Sasori.

Such wonderful art, especially between two artists.

He couldn't wait!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions resounded within Mount Sumeru.

"There's a secret base here!"

"There are ninjas! It's likely that mission involving Lockfront Village!"

"Gather reinforcements! Seal off this area! Quick!"

...

People's circumstances vary.

While the Five Great Ninja Villages' large-scale search had yet to find Hagoromo Gengetsu or the Akatsuki, it stumbled upon others.

Hiruko, sitting at home and bewildered by the approaching ninja attacks, muttered, "Is this much force necessary? I haven't been in the ninja world for years."

He still had no idea what had happened.