Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 181 A Fei's Travels

Afei didn't land directly at the designated location. Always cautious, he had retreated to his own spatial dimension upon arriving in the Land of Owls, observing the outside world. However, things seemed to have gone beyond his expectations. He used his decades-long spying skills to open a rift in the space, only to be hit by a kunai before he could even see anyone clearly. His mask was made of a special material, so the kunai couldn't penetrate his defenses, but he was stunned for a while before remembering to pick it up. In all these years, apart from the Fourth Hokage, no one had ever noticed his spying. How long had he been open? He'd even pinpointed their location?!

The Sharingan records everything it sees faithfully, and Tobi briefly recalled what he had just witnessed. His location was the residence of the ruler of the Land of Owls, a place that served as both a residence and a venue for government affairs. He remembered that it should have originally been an enormous study, sparsely furnished with books, where the ruler conducted official business. However, what he saw was a row of neatly arranged shelves, books and scrolls filling almost every corner. Realizing he was in the wrong direction, he turned the opening, only to have a kunai fly in precisely, nearly piercing his eye. This caused the opening to close, and his space returned to darkness.

Is the person sitting on the throne a ninja?

This kind of thing is nothing new to Akatsuki. Hanzo of the Salamander did it before, and Pain killed his predecessor and inherited control of the Land of Rain. That strange war is unlikely to break out. Ninjas are a force to be reckoned with in such a remote little country. Anyone with a little strength can easily deal with ordinary people, let alone that ninja who discovered him.

[Saville branch calling Beichen, emergency report!]

[Beichen received, please speak.]

Someone used space-time ninjutsu to infiltrate the Flying Eagle Library, and their technique was quite unique, essentially connecting two different spaces. The person wasn't physically present, yet they appeared in my perception. After I threw a kunai in that direction, my perception vanished, and the kunai was left behind.

"...At least we can confirm that the other side isn't using the Flying Thunder God Technique. I'll report to my superiors immediately..."

"The other party is a prospective member of Akatsuki, named Tobi." Jinlun's voice suddenly interrupted the conversation. He rarely contacted the intelligence department directly anymore. Because there was too much information every day, he didn't have the energy to process it all, so he assigned different liaisons to different personnel to handle the calls and ensure nothing was overlooked. But this time, Naruto knew who it was just from the description; this was definitely not a situation that ordinary personnel could handle.

"Lord Kinlun! You're here too! What should I do if the other party is Akatsuki?"

[Leave him alone for now; he's probably not employed by anyone and is just wandering around. Prioritize dealing with the Sunagakure ninja.]

〖yes!〗

Please submit this report according to the normal procedure, along with my proposed handling method.

Yes, Lord Golden Wheel.

At this moment, completely unaware of his exposure, Afei quietly appeared in a corner of the Savile City-State. He carefully examined the kunai, confirming that it came from a chain store with stores all over the continent, easily accessible, even sold in remote corners, and saw nothing unusual about it. Since he couldn't go to the mansion, he decided to go out and learn about the local situation first. After much deliberation, Afei removed his overly conspicuous orange mask and covered his face with a headscarf. However, the only eye that could regain its pure black color was on the injured side, where the horrifying scar was still slightly visible.

Disguise either makes one appear unremarkable or highlights one or two particularly striking features. According to the intelligence Zetsu had gathered, the Land of Wind was planning a decapitation strike against this country. He wasn't sure how much this would affect the Land of Owls, as Akatsuki's intelligence network wouldn't waste time and effort on such a small nation. But ever since meeting the person who might be the new ruler, he had been intrigued by this clash. If the ruler was unprepared and isolated, he would indeed be doomed. But Kakashi was on his way, and if this perfectly timed hiring was intentional, then there would be quite a spectacle to watch.

Afei, disguised, stepped out of the alley. He had never paid attention to the streets of this small country before, always rushing in and out, making deals and flying away. In his memory, this place was very quiet, and he had never heard any noisy commotion. But this time, before he even left the alley, he was overwhelmed by all sorts of noises, even at the alley entrance there was an old man selling clay figurines. Looking around, he saw people coming and going, their clothes were all different, and their accents were very different. No matter how you looked at them, they didn't seem to be from the same region, but at this moment, they stood together so harmoniously, as if they had never fought fiercely.

"Young man, you're blocking the light." He was poked twice on the back by a hard stick, and he almost activated his Kaleidoscope Aura, but he held back and stepped aside.

The old man was satisfied. He stuck the stick he used to support the clay figurine onto a wooden board and molded the yellowish-brown clay onto the stick. Only then did Afei realize the old man had only one hand, and his eyesight seemed failing; he was very close to the surface. His hand looked weathered, yet very steady. With a few strokes of his small carving knife, a lifelike little figure appeared. Heaven knows why Afei was attracted to this seemingly useless thing. When he came to his senses, he had been standing by the stall for quite a while, watching three different little figurines freshly made, and seeing several children pestering their parents to buy their favorite clay figurines.

When the old man stopped what he was doing, turned around, and looked at him with a smile, Afei instinctively looked away, almost wanting to instantly disappear. However, the old man's words froze him in place: the guy actually asked him if he wanted to learn!

"No," Afei answered firmly, but unintentionally used his natural voice, "I just thought it was interesting."

Can clay sculpting save the world? The answer is clearly no. He shouldn't waste his time on such things; he has many other things to do.

The old man sensed the firm refusal and sighed regretfully, "Alas, if I don't find an apprentice soon, this craft will be lost."

"Is there no one else at home?" Afei didn't know why he had the urge to chat, and immediately realized he'd said the wrong thing. A disabled old man being forced to set up a stall—wasn't the answer obvious? Indeed, war... is something that must end.

However, the old man's answer was unexpected. He said angrily, "Don't mention those brats. They're all clumsy and say that sculpting clay figures is a waste of time. Humph!"

Afei snapped out of his emotions and realized he'd been overthinking things. He was speechless. "You have a child, and you're still out here setting up a stall?"

"What's wrong with hobbies? Otherwise, you'd be doing nothing all day and just relying on the government to support you? That's too shameful."

Ah Fei wondered if he had misheard. Had he just said who was supporting him?

"My granddaughter is quite talented, it's a pity she's a girl, girls in the desert have it tough... But things are much better now, some factories are starting to hire female workers..."

As Afei continued his brainstorming in silence, he suddenly felt that the world had become unfamiliar.