The stamp hit the paper at the mission desk.
The registration ninja glanced at the report, then looked up at Kitahara Kaede.
"Still keeping it this brief?"
"Target point clear. Route clear. Supply points clear."
Kitahara Kaede took his receipt and turned to leave.
He had walked a dozen paces down the street when a voice called out from behind.
"Kitahara Kaede."
Kaede paused and looked back.
The man approaching wore the standard ANBU undershirt with a short sword strapped to his lower back and a Mist Village forehead protector tied firmly across his brow.
He wasn't wearing a mask.
Kaede scanned the surroundings.
The street was empty; they were the only two there.
The man looked and dressed like an ANBU mber. Since he hadn't stopped him in front of others and had co alone, it was likely just a conversation rather than an arrest.
"Is sothing the matter?"
The ANBU stepped closer, his gaze heavy and oppressive.
"You've been leaving the village quite frequently lately."
"Just doing my missions."
"On several occasions, you've appeared in areas that weren't part of your assigned mission zones."
The fact that the man hadn't exposed him in public suggested he lacked concrete evidence. However, the fact that he could make such a statent ant Kaede had been under surveillance for so ti.
This was a probe.
The abandoned lighthouse? The west side of the coastline? Or so other ti?
Kaede quickly reviewed his recent routes in his mind.
He couldn't simply deny it. A denial would be equivalent to telling the man exactly which locations were problematic.
"Reconnaissance habits," Kaede replied.
The ANBU narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
Kaede looked up. "I make it a point to familiarize myself with the roads, water sources, blind spots for sentries, and retreat routes near a mission site in advance. If I'm ever ambushed, I won't be wasting ti trying to find my way out."
The ANBU remained motionless. "Few shinobi of your rank are like you."
"And few shinobi of my rank have a mission completion rate like mine," Kaede countered.
The ANBU's expression darkened. "You're very confident."
"I'm just afraid of death," Kaede responded quickly. "People who aren't afraid of dying usually die quite early."
The two locked eyes.
The ANBU stared at him for a few seconds, then a faint, thin smile touched his lips.
"Caution is a good thing."
"But excessive caution can sotis draw unwanted attention."
Kaede nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Go on then."
Kitahara Kaede turned and walked away.
He rounded the first corner, maintaining a steady pace. He turned down the second street and casually bought so food. As he stepped into the third alley, he paused for a heartbeat.
No one had followed him.
At least, no one was following him openly.
This was actually more unsettling. Being arrested on the spot wasn't the scary part; the scary part was knowing the net had already been cast, and they were simply waiting for him to step into it.
Once he returned to his residence and shut the door, Kaede stood in the center of the room and closed his eyes.
His previous mission routes surfaced one by one in his mind.
Solo patrols, coastline surveillance, the reef areas, the abandoned lighthouse...
The frequency wasn't astronomical, but it was higher than that of an average Chunin. Furthermore, too many of his missions had leaned toward the coastline.
The Mist Village was not like the Hidden Leaf; here, everyone watched everyone else. Soone who had been unremarkable as a Genin but showed a sudden change in capability after becoming a Chunin was naturally prone to scrutiny.
Kaede opened his eyes.
The frequency was abnormal. He wasn't fully exposed yet, but it was suspicious. The problem was that he didn't know exactly how much the other side knew.
He couldn't initiate contact with Pakura for the ti being. He also couldn't take any more solo coastline missions. His future routes had to overlap perfectly with standard mission paraters.
Alternatively, he might have to avoid her entirely and let Pakura judge for herself if it was safe to appear.
Kaede sat at his table and set his things down.
Being a spy in the Mist Village ant the greatest danger wasn't the wars outside, but the village's own internal system of attrition. Anyone could be suspected; anyone could vanish one day.
He picked up a piece of bread and took a bite.
'I need to be more careful.'
***
A few days later.
At the mission desk, Kitahara Kaede stood before the mission board and selected a low-risk request.
Beside him, two shinobi who had just returned to the village were handing in their receipts, speaking in hushed tones.
"Did you hear? That outpost to the southeast was almost impossible to crack."
"The Earth Style ramparts were too thick. Water Style couldn't break through, and Explosive Tags were useless."
"What happened then?"
"Later, a female Chunin stepped up. She used so kind of jutsu—high-temperature mucus that lted right through the earth wall. Once the supports collapsed, the leading Jonin charged in. The whole thing was over in less than half an hour."
"What kind of jutsu was that?"
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