I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 314: Accepting too much funding will cause the company to unknowingly become someone else's property.

"Yamabuki, are you sure that person is an Anbu member? Also, does he have some ulterior motive for coming here? Like, is he actually a henchman of the Third Mizukage?"

Beside a bamboo and wood building, some ninjas were scattered around, while others chatted quietly in small groups. Tatsuma, dressed in an ANBU uniform, became the focus of many people's attention.

The ninja who brought Yuzuki here was now standing next to another ninja. Hearing his question, Yamabuki said:

"Boss Usamaru, judging from his strength, he is no worse than those Jonin, and his Water Release skills are the strongest I have ever seen among ninjas. Plus his age. If he really is from the Third Mizukage's side, he shouldn't be sent out to carry out this kind of mission, right?"

Although we've gathered quite a few companions, compared to Zhu Ping's group, our threat is really limited. Young powerhouses like Takasugi Shinsuke should be dealing with Zhu Ping's guys.

There are many rogue ninja in Kirigakure, but they have not formed a unified force. Many rogue ninja act alone. The gathering place that Yuzuki joined is mostly composed of Chunin, with a small number of Genin.

Even Usamaru, who is the leader, is only a special Jonin, and he was promoted because of his outstanding disguise ability. In terms of actual combat strength, he is only slightly stronger than most Chunin.

Zhu Ping's situation is different. Zhu Ping was an elite among the Jonin of Kirigakure and one of the first to betray the Third Mizukage, so he was highly regarded. In addition, he had been in power for a long time and had attracted many Jonin in similar situations to join him.

Usamaru scratched his head, still looking at Tatsuma with some distrust in his eyes, and said, "Yamabuki, we still need to confirm. How about this, he said he's from the Anbu, so you go ask him about things related to the Anbu and see if he can, or won't, answer."

Yamabuki paused for a moment, then said, "But, Boss Usamaru, we don't know anything about the Anbu either. Even if he gives a random answer, we can't verify its truth."

"Let's go ask him first. If he has something to hide, he'll definitely evade the question or give wrong information. Then we can check it again and find out, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yamabuki nodded, and the two then discussed some details in hushed tones.

Tatsuma didn't hear what they were saying. After all, they weren't close, and they were outdoors with a lot of conversations around them. His hearing wasn't sharp enough to be able to separate any audio track.

However, he had a rough idea of ​​what was going on. He didn't look at the two of them, but he could still see them out of the corner of his eye.

Although the two spoke in hushed tones and even made veiled gestures, making it impossible to decipher their conversation through lip reading, Tatsuma could roughly guess from their distrustful gazes that they were definitely going to test him.

Sure enough, when it was time for dinner, Tatsuma was eating some food in a secluded spot when Yamabuki strolled over and sat down not far from him, eating his food bite by bite.

After a while, he asked, "Takasugi Shinsuke, may I call you Shinsuke?"

"casual."

"Alright. Shinsuke, you're from the Anbu, do you know what arrangements the Third Mizukage made against us?"

After Yamabuki finished asking the question, Tatsuma looked up at her with utter disdain and said, "Would a whale care about the itching caused by barnacles?"

"Forehead"

Yamabuki blushed slightly. Compared to the entire Hidden Mist Village, or even to Tatsuma alone, their "organization" seemed somewhat inadequate.

They only have less than thirty Chunin here, and none of them could handle the Water Wave Technique that Tatsuma had just demonstrated, let alone those truly lethal ninjutsu.

"Speaking of which..."

Tatsuma looked at Yamabuki and said, "You think you can defeat a wild beast with just three or five fleas? You're really dreaming."

"Haven't you joined us yet?"

Tatsuma's repeated belittling made Yamabuki feel a little uncomfortable, so he changed the subject and said, "By the way, the Anbu should have quite a few outposts and supply stations, right? You should be able to use them when you go out on missions."

"We can share the locations of some supply depots now; our supplies are running low."

"Supplies are scarce? I haven't seen any supplies you have."

Tatsuma tilted his head slightly, and although it was clearly a sarcastic remark, he asked it with an incredibly ninja-like tone. Yamabuki's face flushed red again. Tatsuma, too lazy to waste any more words on him, said:

"I'll tell you the location of the supply depot, but what can you offer in exchange?"

"Aren't we on the same side? Why do we need to exchange?"

"Ha, I told you, I only want to destroy, while you... seem to only want to survive."

The repeated taunts made Yamabuki's face turn ugly. He asked, his face ashen, "What do you want in exchange?"

"I need information on the whereabouts of ninjas loyal to Kirigakure, preferably high-ranking members. Those you can't kill, I'll do!"

Suppressing the shame brought on by his chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), Tatsuma tried his best to maintain his crazy persona. Upon hearing this, Yamabuki frowned and said, "You should have seen it too. We are just a group of Chunin and Genin gathered together."

"We used to have no contact with higher-ups even in the village, and now it's even more impossible."

"I used to operate on the East Coast and accumulated some intelligence resources, as well as a number of intelligence contacts. I can have them assist you in investigating the situation on the West Coast, but you will have to cooperate as well."

Tatsuma's words suddenly alerted Yamabuki. It wasn't enough that Takasugi Shinsuke came alone; he was also trying to squeeze people into their already small organization.

However, they are indeed short-handed and not very strong, limiting their scope and intensity of operations. It would be good if new, trustworthy forces joined them.

He glanced back in the direction of Usamaru, then turned back and asked, "How many people do you have? What's their strength like?"

"It's no less than what you have here, and it's no weaker than what you good-for-nothings have."

Upon hearing this, Yamabuki's eyes brightened, and the wariness in his eyes lessened considerably. If it were just three or five people, he would have worried that Tatsuma was trying to plant some pawns in their organization to attack them.

But if there is an equal number of people helping them, and with the manpower and resources here, if Chenma's goal is to eliminate them, then he can just attack them directly, so why would he need to infiltrate?

"Really? You have thirty or even more people?"

"I have about this many people I can call upon in an emergency. If you think that's not enough, I can bring in more people."

"I'll go talk to Boss Usamaru about it. Shinsuke, you can eat slowly."

Yamabuki picked up the plate and ran towards Usamaru. Suddenly seeing her subordinate running over, she was puzzled, wondering what could have made Yamabuki so anxious.

When Yamabuki came to Usamaru's side, she explained the situation in a few words, and Usamaru's initial doubts turned into shock.

Ignoring the questioning looks he received from others, he rushed to Tatsuma's side and asked, "Lord Takasugi Shinsuke, is what you said true?"

"It's up to you whether you believe it or not."

Tatsuma looked dismissive of any explanation, but Usamaru, after a moment's thought, chose to believe him and continued, "Mr. Takasugi Shinsuke, what are your command authority details after your companion joins the party?"

"How many times do I need to emphasize this? All I want is destruction and slaughter. You want to control those people? No problem. You just need to find more ninjas loyal to Kirigakure."

Upon hearing this, Usamaru's expression also became excited. If thirty Chunin joined, their organization, although still not as powerful as Choppei's, would be much stronger.

However, he will also have the ability to survive, and his dream of counterattacking Kirigakure when he leaves Kirigakure may be on the agenda.

"Mr. Takasugi Shinsuke, when would you be able to bring your team to the team?"

"If you're in a hurry, three days should be enough. But before that, I'll tell you the locations of a few of the secret service's supply points."

Tatsuma looked at Usamaru with a half-smile. Usamaru looked embarrassed and said, "Lord Takasugi Shinsuke, I shouldn't have tested you like that. I believe in your determination to rebel against Kirigakure. As for the supply station and such, there's no need to mention it again."

"That won't do. If you don't raid the supply depot, what will my men eat when they arrive? This porridge that's practically just clear soup?"

As he spoke, Tatsuma shook the plate in his hand. Usamaru wanted to say something, but Tatsuma lazily said, "Bring me the map."

"All right."

Usamaru didn't refuse and readily brought out a map of the Land of Water, which Tatsuma quickly marked.

These are all information extracted by the Konoha Analysis Team from the Hidden Mist Village's Anbu. Although more than half a year has passed, they are still somewhat useful.

There are alternatives for passwords and ciphers, but abandoning or relocating a place like a supply depot would be too costly. The level of leaks by the Kirigakure Anbu is not enough to make Kirigakure change even these things.

But after finishing the drawing, Tatsuma still said, "I have been away from the Anbu for some time now, and perhaps the Anbu has already noticed."

These supply depots won't be abandoned easily, but they might be guarded or ambushed. However, it seems you, having nothing left, have no other options.

Usamaru looked at the map in his hand, nodded, and said, "I'll have someone scout out the nearby supply depots. By the way, Lord Takasugi Shinsuke, I do have some information about the whereabouts of a high-ranking member of Kirigakure. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Although he had just expressed his trust in this guy named Takasugi Shinsuke, Usamaru was still a little uncertain, so he decided to test him.

The location information of the high-ranking official in Kirigakure that he mentioned was from a ninja he encountered during a mission before he defected from Kirigakure. That person lived outside the village for many years.

Usamaru wanted to use that person to test the true purpose and strength of "Takasugi Shinsuke". In addition, that person was a loyal follower of the Mizukage. If he was killed, Usamaru would not feel any regret at all, and would even be happy.

Tatsuma also showed interest and asked, "Who is it?"

"Hozuki Gengetsu of the Hozuki Clan."

(End of this chapter)