**Chapter 46: A-rank Mission: Finding Jiraiya**
"Strange, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should live within a specific barrier area. Why is she able to go out freely? I haven't detected any traces of a barrier in this vicinity for days."
And what kind of barrier for a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be set up in a shopping district?
Tsukasa Kaede's first reaction was that something was wrong, but then he understood.
Operating within a special barrier was what Kushina experienced during the first few years after becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
But now? Mito Uzumaki, that old woman, was simply too formidable. There was absolutely no need for any barrier to "protect" her! Tsukasa Kaede felt that the current strongest person in the Hidden Leaf Village was undoubtedly Mito Uzumaki, and no one dared to provoke her.
She had mastered the Reaper Death Seal, could forcibly extract the Nine-Tails' Chakra, could discern good and evil in people's hearts, and despite being 76 years old with not much time left, it was solely due to the Uzumaki Clan's formidable physique that she could still maintain high-pressure control over the Nine-Tails at this age.
Anyone who provoked such a being would die; the best possible outcome would be to perish alongside Mito Uzumaki.
Therefore, Mito Uzumaki could move about freely with her successor, and there wasn't even anyone monitoring them—no monitor could escape Mito's Sensory Perception.
"You are very disordered, both in your mind and your Chakra."
Mito Uzumaki looked at Tsukasa Kaede, who was about to nonchalantly brush past her, and said hoarsely, "Even Shimura Danzō's situation isn't as complex as yours."
Tsukasa Kaede paused. "Is that so? It seems you also know a lot about Lord Danzo. However, you might be mistaken; I am not his direct subordinate."
"I didn't say that, but your minds are similar in many ways... I should say that every deep-minded person will have similar aspects in their psyche," Mito Uzumaki said.
Kushina looked at Tsukasa Kaede in astonishment, then at Mito Uzumaki, her face filled with disbelief.
Why would Grandma, who never spoke to strangers, suddenly bring up such a strange topic with a young ninja?
Complex? A complex mind was easy to understand, but what did a complex Chakra mean? Tsukasa Kaede, however, understood what Mito Uzumaki was saying, and he knew what she meant by mentioning Danzo.
Because Danzo must have already transplanted a Sharingan into himself, gaining an organ that didn't belong to him, and the Chakra flowing within that organ would be incompatible with his own body; naturally, it couldn't be hidden from Mito Uzumaki.
A transplanted organ was nothing, because Tsukasa Kaede's physical condition was countless times more complex than Danzo's! "Is that so? It seems you possess an astonishing Sensory Ability. In that case, was my fortunate appearance before you also intentional on your part?"
"No, that's not it. This is purely coincidental. Compared to others, you are very special." After Mito Uzumaki looked at Tsukasa Kaede closely for two seconds, she lost interest and led Kushina into the yakiniku restaurant.
Kushina remained well-behaved and didn't say another word.
Tsukasa Kaede pondered for a moment, suspecting that Mito Uzumaki was referring to his body—a body not native to the Ninja World. Even if Chakra covered it, it would be difficult to conceal the truth from a Sensory Perception master of Mito Uzumaki's caliber.
But it didn't matter; Tsukasa Kaede didn't take it seriously. Currently, he was still some distance away from Mito Uzumaki's level.
Before he had enough strength, it was better to stay away from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Minato Namikaze might want to get close to Kushina Uzumaki, but Tsukasa Kaede had no such interest.
Their figures gradually faded into the distance.
Inside the yakiniku restaurant, the two were having a conversation.
"Grandma, why did you talk to that person just now?"
"Stay away from that person from now on. He is different from ordinary people, different in every way, be it his mind or his Jutsu."
"Then why don't you report him to the Village? Someone like that must be problematic, right? Lord Hokage wouldn't just sit idly by. He surely knows how special your Sensory Ability is." Kushina couldn't understand Mito Uzumaki's actions.
Problematic? Just report him, then. The adults in the Village who uphold the Will of Fire will surely find ways to eliminate the darkness... won't they?
Mito Uzumaki stroked Kushina's hair and, after a while, slowly said, "Your hair is very beautiful. Remember to take good care of it. It's a symbol of your identity and strength."
"...? Can I also possess your Sensory Ability? To perceive good and evil in people's hearts?"
"It's difficult, but not without hope. It depends on how you interact with that big fox."
...
Tsukasa Kaede truly didn't want such an interlude; he found it extremely troublesome.
This also made him lose interest in wandering around the Village, so he turned and returned to the Corpse Disposal Unit.
For all these days, his three assistants had continued to routinely process various corpses, leading to the addition of more new Memorial Stones in the external graveyard.
Ever since Tsukasa Kaede had devoured all the corpses for his own Cultivation, the graveyard hadn't added any new corpses for a long time, let alone disguised them as Konoha Shinobi to defraud the Land of Fire of generous compensation funds.
It wasn't until his Cultivation ended that this money-making operation resumed.
"Lord Tsukasa Kaede, here is the list of additions from the past week."
An assistant handed over a document. Tsukasa Kaede opened and scanned it, then signed his name at the end. "Another 3.52 million Ryo generated for the Village. Good performance. Is there anything else?"
"There's one more thing. Lord Danzo has assigned you an A-rank Mission," the assistant said respectfully.
Tsukasa Kaede didn't even lift his head, casually tossing the document back. There wasn't a trace of surprise on his face, as if he had already anticipated it.
"Next time something like this happens, you should prioritize the important matters, not the other way around," Tsukasa Kaede said.
"You're not surprised?"
"Should I be surprised? One of you three is definitely from Root. Such obvious things don't need to be deliberately mentioned, because whether exposed or not, it won't affect the actual situation," Tsukasa Kaede said. "Give me the mission brief."
The assistant handed him a Scroll.
Tsukasa Kaede slapped his hand onto it, releasing the Sealing Technique formula, and unrolled the Scroll to view its contents.
"This? Are the battles on the Front Line already so arduous that they have to assign me to do something like this?"
An astonished expression appeared in Tsukasa Kaede's eyes.
Because the mission brief clearly stated that he was to rush to the Land of Rain to search for Jiraiya, who had been missing for over two years! This A-rank Mission was far more complex than just infiltrating the Land of Rain; the real difficulty wasn't in "how to find Jiraiya" at all!
The assistant dropped his emotional disguise and said meticulously, "The situation on the Front Line seems to have become more complex. Lord Orochimaru's offensive has not achieved the expected progress, and even with Lady Tsunade leading a unit to provide support, they still haven't managed to achieve significant results."
(end of chapter)