Naruto: How to Be an Undercover Shinobi

A night had passed since Reiji ran into Kagami while out shopping.

The next morning, he started training with a drowsy Rie.

The little girl was already eleven and had graduated from the Ninja Academy a while ago.

Chances were, Konoha would soon assign her a Jōnin instructor for missions.

So, for now, this was the perfect time for some extra training.

Standing in the courtyard, Reiji wore a black yukata and wooden clogs. He reached into his robe and pulled out two palm-sized scrolls.

"Here—scrolls for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Study them on your own when you have time."

Rie caught the scrolls deftly and looked at Reiji with wide-eyed curiosity.

"Brother, are these techniques really that strong?"

Reiji paused to think, then explained slowly.

"The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is powerful. It creates physical clones that can help with training, cleaning, or really just about anything."

Rie's big eyes lit up. She looked at him with excitement.

"Brother, can it help me with math? With my homework?"

Reiji rolled his eyes and gave a reluctant nod.

Delighted, Rie jumped up and carefully tucked the scroll into her ninja pouch like it was a precious treasure.

"What about this one?" she asked, holding up the Lightning Release Chakra Mode scroll.

"It'll make it hurt less when you get your butt kicked," Reiji replied with a scowl.

Rie's smile froze instantly, and she shrank her neck like a scolded kitten.

Just as Reiji was about to start explaining the mechanics of the two techniques, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.

One of his clones in the Land of Iron had been destroyed.

In that memory, Matatabi was being ambushed while on vacation.

Without another word, Reiji told Rie to train on her own, formed a one-handed seal, and vanished.

After four rapid uses of the Flying Thunder God Technique, he arrived in the Land of Iron.

Not far ahead, over thirty shinobi were attacking Matatabi under the command of a short man.

The ground split apart, square blocks of earth rising one after another to block Matatabi's counterattacks.

Leading them was none other than a young Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.

He was chaining hand seals nonstop, then slammed his palms onto the ground.

"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"

In an instant, a massive, dense wall of rock rose up, encircling the restrained Matatabi.

At the same time, countless stone arms emerged from the wall and ground, reaching out to bind her.

But Matatabi wasn't easy prey. Among the Nine Tailed Beasts, she might not be the fastest, but she was by far the most agile.

Blue-black flames danced across her body as she darted left and right like a nimble spirit, unleashing massive fireballs from her mouth.

Just then, Ōnoki floated up into the air and shouted,

"Ninjutsu unit, restrain the Two-Tails for two seconds! I'll cut off her tail!"

"Yes!" the scattered shinobi roared in unison.

They all formed seals together.

"Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon!"

In the next moment, multiple earth dragons burst from the ground beneath Matatabi, lunging at her like a frenzy of serpents.

At the same time, a glowing white cone appeared in Ōnoki's hand.

Reiji's pupils narrowed.

He could feel an intense threat radiating from that translucent cone.

If that hit him head-on, it'd be bad—really bad.

His thoughts raced, and without hesitation, Reiji formed a single seal.

The Flying Thunder God Technique activated.

In a flash, he appeared right above Matatabi's head and shouted down, "Kitty, jump!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Matatabi relaxed. Her tensed nerves eased, and with a powerful leap, she soared into the air, dodging the writhing mass of earth dragons below.

At the same time, Reiji rapidly formed hand seals.

"Five Elements Seal!"

With a sharp shout, he slammed his hand onto her head.

In an instant, Matatabi transformed into a large mass of chakra shaped like a cat and dove straight into Reiji's stomach without resistance.

Ōnoki roared in fury as he saw her about to be sealed, and aimed the glowing cone at Reiji.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A brilliant beam of light swallowed Reiji's figure.

All the Iwagakure shinobi looked up at the sky, eyes blazing with excitement.

This was the legendary Kekkei Tōta—Dust Release!

As the white light faded, Ōnoki scanned the area where Reiji had stood, his brows still tightly knit.

Did he get him?

Or did he escape?

The moment Reiji appeared above the Two-Tails, he'd recognized him.

That quiet infiltration of the Iwagakure council… it was burned into Ōnoki's memory.

...

Not far away, hiding behind a pile of rubble, Reiji was rubbing his stomach with a lingering sense of dread.

That was way too close.

Half a second slower, and he would've taken that thing straight to the face.

The ninja world really was terrifying.

A casual appearance from the Third Tsuchikage, and he'd nearly been wiped out.

Still... bullying my kitty?

That's not something I can just let go.

In his mind, Kitty's furious voice rang out.

"Reiji, hurry up and beat that big-nosed creep for me!

He's so annoying! I finally get a vacation, and he's still harassing me—what a pervert!"

Hearing that, Reiji gave a small nod.

"Let's get him. No one bullies my Kitty!"

As he spoke, he clapped his hands and channeled a large amount of Kitty's chakra.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

In the next instant, smoke erupted in all directions as over a hundred shadow clones appeared at once.

"Go! Flying Thunder God Technique!"

With a low shout, Reiji's main body vanished first, and many of his clones disappeared along with him.

At the center of the battlefield—the only place marked with a Flying Thunder God seal—clones erupted in droves.

Chaos broke out immediately. Clones wreathed in blue lightning flickered across the field, and blood splattered everywhere.

Against Reiji's mass of clones, ordinary Jōnin stood no chance.

These clones weren't like Naruto's early ones, which just charged in blindly.

Reiji's clones had mastered both the Flying Thunder God Technique and Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Which meant every one of them packed serious firepower.

Ōnoki quickly descended to the ground, surveying the mess below.

This wasn't a situation where wide-range ninjutsu would help. And one-on-one techniques felt painfully slow against this guy's insane speed.

As soon as he landed, Ōnoki smashed a clone with a stone-coated punch, then shouted,

"Everyone, regroup around me!"

The moment they heard the command, the Iwagakure shinobi unleashed their signature techniques to force back the clones they were fighting and began retreating toward Ōnoki.

Just then, a square brick suddenly shot toward him. Without thinking, Ōnoki tilted his head, narrowly dodging it.

The instant the brick passed by his ear, Reiji appeared—his fist slamming hard into Ōnoki's forehead.

A moment later, the world spun, and Reiji's real body flashed to the distance, grinning from ear to ear.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

With another low shout, smoke burst out again. This time, the clones vanished the moment they formed, moving before even fully materializing.

Ōnoki's eyes went wide.

They'd only been fighting briefly, but he'd already gathered quite a bit of intel.

First, this mysterious man was clearly a master of Fūinjutsu—he'd sealed the Two-Tails into himself with ease.

Second, his Taijutsu was top-tier. His sprint speed far surpassed even high-speed movement techniques.

And third, most crucially, his space-time ninjutsu required a medium.

That medium... was the strange symbol drawn on the brick.