I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 389 Interviews don't have that many tricks; it's not like you're put down a broom or asked to clean.

Outside of battle, one of the biggest benefits Flying Thunder God Technique brings to Tatsuma is that it saves a lot of commuting time.

For example, while Shinnosuke and his friends were rushing to their destination, Tatsuma was leisurely staying in Konoha. At this time, Tatsuma was in the analysis class, enjoying the flower tea brewed by Inoichi while looking at information about the exchange shop.

For the past two years, Tatsuma's team has continued to fish for him from time to time, luring people from the Gold Exchange to attack him and providing the Analysis Class with a constant stream of "materials". Now, the Gold Exchange is no longer a secret place for Konoha.

The reason for not taking action is twofold: firstly, the timing is not right, and secondly, there is currently little need to do so.

Tatsuma previously proposed taking action against the Exchange Shop because the existence of the Exchange Shop caused far more harm to Konoha than any benefit. However, at this stage, the large number of Exchange Shop rogue ninjas on the move and being executed is a good thing for Konoha.

The existence of the gold exchange allows a continuous stream of rogue ninja to attack Tatsuma, and the information in their minds is a source of profit for Konoha.

Once the gold exchange offices within the Land of Fire are destroyed, the supply of these intelligence materials will be cut off. In addition, there are many gold exchange offices, and what Konoha has investigated and discovered so far is only a part of it.

No one knows if the gold exchange has any more secretive outposts. Since it's impossible to eradicate them completely now, and there's still profit to be made, the plan to destroy the gold exchange outposts has naturally been put on hold.

However, as the person who gathers the materials, Tatsuma has a very high level of access to this information. He can access almost all the information gathered from the minds of these rogue ninjas.

As for the remaining few, some concerned inhumane forbidden techniques, while others involved top-secret information, such as scandals involving high-ranking officials in various villages and countries, especially those involving the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Tatsuma had no right to access these.

As Tatsuma reviewed the intelligence, Inoichi, having finished his work, came to his side, sat down, and asked, "Are there any new flowers?"

"no."

Chenma took a sip of flower tea and said calmly, while Haiyi's face hardened and he said, "You should have said so earlier if you didn't have any new flowers. Do you know how expensive this tea is? Don't come here again if you don't bring new flowers next time."

"Even if I had it, I wouldn't have brought it with me."

Tatsuma rolled his eyes at Inoichi, then moved his teacup to avoid Inoichi's outstretched hand. Inoichi, somewhat annoyed, said, "Why?!"

"I can accept a moderate amount of gossip, but I cannot accept being rumored to be dating someone of the same sex."

Upon hearing this, Inoichi also realized what was going on. He instinctively wanted to deny it, but then suddenly remembered something and said, "That's not right. There are quite a few rumors about you and Minato in the village."

"Me? And Minato?"

Tatsuma was stunned, then looked incredulous, and filled with humiliation and indignation. Ino nodded and said, "There are a few older sisters in the analysis class who have collected a lot of gossip about you two. I heard it's all been compiled into a book."

"So that's why Kushina dislikes me so much! Turns out there are bad guys among the crowd!"

Tatsuma said with great distress, while Inoichi chuckled twice and said, "Then you don't need to send it over. It'll be more convenient for me to come and pick it up myself."

No, they didn't come to our door either.

"You definitely haven't been taking good care of your table. I'll go back and get you some fertilizer and lightning strike water. You should clean and wipe your table more often, and maybe it will bloom a few more flowers."

If all else fails, just give me the table; consider it my birthday present next year.

Thinking of the desk in Tatsuma's study, Inoichi felt incredibly tempted. Tatsuma twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "It's only the beginning of the year now, there are still more than nine months until your birthday next year."

"How about I go back and return the painting to you, and replace it with a table?"

Hai thought of the insincere painting that Minato had sent on his behalf this year, and made another suggestion. Tatsuma rolled his eyes and said, "Ha, there's no reason to ask for back a gift I've given away."

But he didn't send a gift this year, right? It's Haiyi's birthday this year, he should be in Shikkotsu Forest, so Minato probably helped send it again.

"I can't talk to you anymore, I still need to study the intelligence."

Tatsuma waved his hand, then pointed to his teacup and said, "Give me some hot tea."

"What kind of intelligence are you researching? I've already memorized it all. You might as well just ask me."

Today, Inoichi is no longer the young master who thought he could just coast along in the analysis class. He is now a core member and is responsible for handling almost all the intelligence work related to Tatsuma.

Upon hearing this, Chenma thought for a moment and said, "Has Gen recently been doing business with a gold exchange?"

"I don't know if there was a deal, but I did ask for some intelligence."

Even when he heard something related to Root, Haiyi had no intention of hiding it. After all, Root had no connection with the three clans of Pig, Deer, and Butterfly. Moreover, working in the Analysis Class, Haiyi had learned a lot about Root's dirty deeds, so he was even less inclined to keep it a secret for them.

Furthermore, the person asking the questions was Tatsuma, someone whose father had said that as long as it didn't involve top-secret information, other intelligence could be readily disclosed.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma pursed his lips and then said, "Could you elaborate?"

Hai nodded, then selected several pieces of information from the intelligence that Chenma had found, and began to explain them to Chenma.

The following day, the disheveled Shinnosuke team finally arrived at the mission location they had previously confirmed: a small market at the junction of three countries. It had no name, because if it had a name, there would be a dispute over jurisdiction.

The arrival of the three attracted the attention of some people. After all, the proportion of ninjas in this market was higher than that in the ninja villages of the five great nations. Ordinary people were the minority here.

"Shin-chan, I think we acted impulsively. We didn't know you had a bounty on your head. We shouldn't have come here in such a rush. We should have disguised ourselves first."

Yamanaka Satoru said in a low voice, while Shinnosuke said, "What if we're disguised and the examiners don't recognize us?"

"Please, Inosuke-sensei can catch us all easily, let alone a squad leader of the Dark Division."

Yamanaka was a little tired. That's how it is when you're studying with the prince. Even if you know what the right thing to do is, you have to listen to the "prince". Fortunately, Shinnosuke is a good person, so it's okay to complain a little.

"We haven't received any instructions to disguise ourselves; perhaps this is part of the assessment."

Harumichi's eyes lit up with excitement as he met the gazes of some of the ninjas who were looking at them. Shinnosuke pursed his lips and said, "Let's find a place to stay first, and then look for clues."

"Um."

Since they were already there, Yamanaka Satoru didn't say anything more. The three of them quickly found a hotel and checked in together. They didn't separate, after all, "you can't trust people you don't know well."

Any disguise or transformation technique will have flaws, but that doesn't mean they will definitely be able to find them. So-called secret codes for communication always carry risks, so it's better to live together and act together.

Night fell quickly, and Shinnosuke was about to take action when Yamashiro asked, "What's the situation around us?"

Yamanaka Satoru shook his head and said, "It's terrible. Compared to daytime, the frequency of people's movements around here is almost unchanged. This is a 'city that never sleeps.'"

As he spoke, he made a joke. Shinnosuke rubbed his face to clear his head and then asked, "Is anyone paying special attention to us?"

"have."

After sighing, Yamanaka Satoru said, "We've probably really been exposed, but there seem to be some kind of constraint here, so no one has made a move against us."

"So what do we do now?"

Harumichi scratched his chin and neck, feeling a little itchy, a reaction he had when anxious. Shinnosuke pursed his lips and said, "Perhaps, under these circumstances, finding the information we need is our test?"

After all, the conditions for carrying out ANBU missions are extremely harsh and demanding. Perhaps their current situation is the norm for ANBU ninjas during missions?

After Shinnosuke finished speaking, both Yamanaka Satoru and Harumichi thought it made sense. Seeing that the two agreed, Shinnosuke also said, "That should be it. I heard that when Tatsuma-senpai was on a mission, he was often surrounded and attacked by rogue ninjas."

What we're facing now is merely being spied on. Senior Chenma was able to lead his team to escape from being heavily surrounded and complete their mission. Compared to that, our situation is just a matter of trial difficulty.

As he spoke, Shinnosuke felt he had convinced himself. However, just as he was feeling a surge of pride, Yamanaka Satoru poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"But how can we get out of our current predicament?"

As a sensory ninja, Yamanaka Satoru could sense the surrounding situation and knew how many ninjas were eyeing them covetously. Given their current level, escaping under these circumstances would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

When there are no Jonin to guide them, Shinnosuke is the core of the team. Now it's his turn to come up with ideas. He pondered for a moment and then said, "Satori, use the Mountain Secret Technique to control any ninja who is monitoring us, and then cause a disturbance."

"How about I go out with Yuan Dao to look for clues while things are in chaos?"

"But this would mean we'd have to separate, which would conflict with our previous plans."

Yamanaka Satoru frowned. Hearing his concern, Shinnosuke took out a senbon needle, broke it in half, and handed one half to Yamanaka Satoru, saying, "The cross-section of a senbon needle cannot be imitated."

Taking the senbon, Yamanaka Satoru nodded. It was indeed more secure than any password for connection, but the risk factor during verification would be much higher, since it required physical contact.

"That's settled then. I'll stir up a commotion over there, and you can take the opportunity to escape through the window."

Yamanaka Satoru pointed to the door, then to the window opposite it. Shinnosuke and Haramichi both nodded. As they stood up, Shinnosuke said, "Let's do our best. We'll definitely pass this test."

"Hmm!" *2

In Konoha, at the Senju clan's residence, Tatsuma looked up from a massive amount of intelligence data, a smile spreading across his face. He murmured, "Found it. The weakness."

He then glanced at the clock on the wall and murmured again, "Two days have passed. I wonder if they've arrived yet."

(End of this chapter)