Chapter 568 The worst incident in history

As the commander, Jiraiya kept the most Ninja with him, bearing the greatest pressure.

The small unit he led had over sixty Ninja, even more than Muzuki’s so-called vanguard unit.

This was actually very dangerous given the unknown spies within the unit.

Therefore, Jiraiya did not choose a fixed base but moved around every day to prevent their location from being exposed and ambushed.

“This is the vanguard of our reinforcements; more reinforcements will arrive soon, and then it will be our turn to counterattack!”

Jiraiya gathered the unit and introduced Muzuki, who had arrived as reinforcement, to boost morale.

After a painful defeat and being chased around by the enemy, the morale of the Land of Grass unit was extremely low.

“It’s Lord Mu Yue.” Soon, a Ninja recognized Muzuki, showing a joyful expression.

Muzuki was a powerful individual on par with Minato Namikaze; every additional powerhouse of such strength could influence the battle.

“Lord Mu Yue once killed a Jinchuriki on the Hidden Mist battlefield. If he can slay an Iwagakure Jinchuriki this time as well, let’s see how arrogant the Iwa Ninja Force can be!” a Konoha Ninja couldn’t help but think.

Iwagakure’s two perfect Jinchuriki had put considerable pressure on Konoha’s unit in the Land of Grass; no one wanted a Tailed Beast Ball suddenly appearing in front of their face while fighting.

Watching the changes in the Ninja unit’s expressions after Muzuki’s appearance, Obito’s heart surged with longing.

The Ninja he wanted to become was like Muzuki—someone who could provide a great sense of security, end wars, and save people from distress.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze paid close attention to the Ninja’s expressions, but they did not see any Ninja showing disdain or other negative expressions.

“It all depends on Muzuki’s perception,” Jiraiya said, unsurprised.

After all, a spy capable of infiltrating a Ninja unit should be able to hide their emotions as a basic skill.

“Everyone, hold on a little longer. The main force of the support unit will arrive soon, and the final victory will surely belong to Konoha,” Muzuki encouraged with a gentle smile.

Casually offering a bowl of chicken soup, Muzuki swiftly used Appraisal Technique on the Ninja in front of him.

“Name: Yamanaka Kōsuke”

“Chakra: 4600”

“Skills: Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient), Mind Transfer Jutsu (Proficient)…”

“Name: Miki Hanpei”

“Skills: Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient)…”

“Victory belongs to our Konoha!” shouted a Konoha Ninja Muzuki wasn’t familiar with, full of passion.

“Name: White Zetsu”

“Chakra: 13000”

“Skills: Mayfly Technique, Impersonation Technique…”

Muzuki’s expression remained unchanged as he memorized the disguised appearance of the passionate White Zetsu, then continued to use Appraisal Technique on the other Ninja.

After the appraisal, Muzuki found that the situation was actually not bad; there was only one White Zetsu in Jiraiya’s small unit.

“Next, we need to rendezvous with the other scattered small teams to prepare for a counterattack,” Jiraiya announced the latest order.

The Konoha Ninja Force had been constantly on the move recently and was accustomed to sudden transfer orders. Everyone quickly began to act according to Jiraiya’s command.

“Muzuki, have you sensed anything?” Jiraiya walked to Muzuki’s side with his disciple and asked in a low voice.

According to normal logic, his small unit was the most likely to contain a spy, not only because it had the most people but also because he, the unit commander, was there.

“There’s a Ninja who is very likely an Iwagakure spy,” Muzuki thought for a moment before replying.

The Appraisal Technique worked as well as Muzuki expected in finding White Zetsu, but since Muzuki used the excuse of sensing good and evil, he didn’t use definitive words, only saying “highly probable.”

“Highly probable?”

“He harbors an extremely deep malice towards me. If given the chance, he would not hesitate to kill me. To that extent, it’s as if he has an irreconcilable hatred for me,” Muzuki said without changing his expression.

“Highly probable? He must be a spy then,” Jiraiya felt that Muzuki was being a bit too conservative.

Even if a Konoha Ninja had some personal grudge against Muzuki, it wouldn’t be this exaggerated.

“Who is it?”

Muzuki summoned paper and a brush from a scroll, then quickly sketched the disguised appearance of the White Zetsu on the paper.

“He probably looks like this. I don’t know him, so I’m not sure of his name,” Muzuki handed the drawing to Jiraiya.

“If I’m not mistaken, this person seems to be named Sakoda Seiichi; he’s a Chunin,” Jiraiya said after looking at it.

Originally, Jiraiya didn’t know him, as it was impossible for Jiraiya to know all the Ninja in a thousand-person Ninja unit; he only knew all the Jonin and Chunin he had interacted with.

But after they dispersed, and with the need to find spies, Jiraiya specifically memorized the names of all his subordinates to facilitate investigations.

“It’s him. Although Sakoda Seiichi isn’t from a clan, his family were residents who joined Konoha during its early days. I didn’t expect him to become a spy now,” Minato Namikaze sighed.

Sakoda Seiichi’s family had been protected by Konoha, and he himself grew up under Konoha’s protection. Minato Namikaze found it a bit difficult to understand why such a person would become an Iwagakure spy.

However, recalling that even the Sarutobi Clan had produced a spy, Minato Namikaze found it quite normal again.

With a Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan as a precedent, Minato Namikaze wouldn’t be too surprised even if a spy appeared within the Ino–Shika–Chō now.

“Since he’s a native Konoha person, why would he betray his Village?” Obito found it a bit hard to accept.

He thought spies were Ninja disguised from other Villages, but he didn’t expect them to be Ninja from their own Village who had defected.

“Could it be someone from another Village disguised using Transformation Technique?”

Minato Namikaze shook his head and explained, “Even the most sophisticated Transformation Technique cannot escape the perception of a sensory Ninja.”

“Although all Ninja have Chakra, everyone’s Chakra is actually different, but this difference is imperceptible to ordinary Ninja.”

Obito looked disappointed. Minato Namikaze’s meaning was clear: if it were a Transformation Technique disguise, how could it escape the sensory Ninja of the unit?

“Money, life, power, status—there are too many tempting things in this world,” Jiraiya sighed.

He didn’t know what benefits Iwagakure had promised, or if Sakoda Seiichi and others had some leverage against them, but the fact remained that they were spies.

“This is tricky. If this news gets back to the Village, it will probably affect Konoha as a whole,” Jiraiya grew more annoyed the more he thought about it.

These spies were not only hard to find, but even if found, announcing it could easily affect morale and even have a negative impact on the entire Konoha.

“Let’s wait until the unit has fully assembled before deciding. For now, let’s not take any action to avoid alerting them,” Muzuki reminded.

To use the White Zetsu to trick Iwagakure, they couldn’t let the White Zetsu realize they were exposed before the information was transmitted.

Jiraiya and the others nodded. No one knew if there were other spies in the other small units.

Worried about prolonged delays, Jiraiya issued the highest-level assembly order, instructing all active small teams to gather as quickly as possible.

Under the high mobility of the Ninja, Muzuki and the others’ team quickly grew, from one hundred to two hundred, then three hundred, finally reaching about seven hundred people when fully assembled.

Muzuki also used Appraisal Technique intensively during this process to search for White Zetsu. In the end, Muzuki found three White Zetsu.

Aside from Sakoda Seiichi, who was found first, there was also the injured Jonin of the Aburame Clan, Long Ye Aburame, and the last Hyuga Clan Ninja in Jiraiya’s unit, Hinata Hyuga.

Jiraiya was stunned when he learned that the only Byakugan Ninja remaining in the unit was a spy.

Even a Ninja from the Hyuga Clan had problems; no wonder they were defeated so miserably.

“What has this world come to, that even a Ninja from the Hyuga Clan would betray?” Jiraiya was extremely puzzled.

The Hyuga Clan was a rather peculiar clan in Konoha.

The Hyuga Clan had a strict main house and branch house system. The main house was not merely superior in status; it also had absolute control over the branch house, capable of easily controlling the life and death of branch house Ninja through the Caged Bird Seal.

Hinata Hyuga, who was in Jiraiya’s unit, was naturally from the Hyuga branch house. The Hyuga main house was very rare and seldom went to the battlefield.

“This is too abnormal; there must be some secret behind it,” Minato Namikaze frowned deeply.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to categorize this spy incident as the worst spy incident since Konoha’s founding.

The Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, and Sarutobi Clan were all veteran Ninja clans of Konoha, and each family had many Ninja holding important positions in various departments.

Among them, the Sarutobi Clan was the most significant, with its clan head, Hiruzen Sarutobi, currently serving as the Third Hokage of Konoha.

If news spread that Ninja from their families were spies for other Villages, the consequences would be unpredictable.

If even Ninja from such well-established Ninja clans could become spies, did it mean there were many more spies of ordinary identity?

“Uncovering the secret of the spies is important, but currently, the most crucial thing is to defeat the Iwagakure Ninja Force,” Muzuki pointed out the current priority.

Muzuki knew the reason, but he couldn’t say it directly. The best way was to guide them.

“Muzuki is right. The most important thing now is to prevent the Iwagakure Ninja Force from invading the Land of Fire,” Jiraiya nodded.

While spies affecting morale was important, allowing the Iwagakure Ninja Force to invade the Land of Fire itself would affect the entire Land of Fire. This situation was different from the one with Hidden Mist.

Next, the group began to discuss how to use the spies to create a trap for the Iwagakure Ninja Force.

They had already discovered the spies. The situation had now become one where the Iwagakure Ninja Force thought they were on the first level, and they themselves were on the second level, but in reality, the Konoha Ninja Force had already reached the third level.

Directly arresting the spies was the most foolish method. The optimal solution, of course, was to use the spies and the hidden support unit to create an information gap and give the Iwagakure Ninja Force a surprise.

PS: Although published today, this chapter counts as yesterday’s and does not occupy today’s update.