Naruto: How to Be an Undercover Shinobi

On the vast grasslands of the Land of Grass, a four-man squad moved swiftly across the open plains.

Leading them was a man with wild white hair tied into a sleek ponytail at the back.

It was none other than Sakumo Hatake, accompanied by three ANBU operatives.

Along the way, Sakumo's first impression was how quiet everything felt—silent, yet peaceful.

There were no signs of shinobi, only faint smoke rising from the chimneys of a few scattered homes.

It felt as if this entire land had been cut off from the rest of the shinobi world—just ordinary people, no ninja presence at all.

As Sakumo pondered this, a plume of smoke suddenly shot into the sky in the distance.

Although it looked like ordinary cooking smoke, Sakumo's seasoned instincts told him otherwise—from this distance, only a raging blaze could produce smoke that thick.

"Pick up the pace and stay alert!"

At his command, the ANBU team accelerated immediately.

In under an hour, the team reached Kusagakure, now engulfed in flames.

As he scanned the burning village, Sakumo's eyes darted around, searching for Reiji.

Soon enough, he spotted Reiji, Tsunade, and the three kids from Team 11 crouched among some tall grass.

"Hey! Reiji!"

From afar, Sakumo waved his arm as he approached.

"Stop right there! Who are you?!"

Reiji snatched up Teuchi's wolf tooth club and pointed it at Sakumo, shouting loudly.

Seeing this, Sakumo waved again, pointed at his own face, and yelled, "It's me! Sakumo Hatake!"

"Sakumo Hatake? Who's that? Never heard of him!"

Hearing that, Sakumo, who knew Reiji far too well, darkened and raised a middle finger.

"Dog Bro!"

"Oh~ Dog Bro! Hurry over here!"

Soon, the two teams met.

As Sakumo approached, he saw Team 11 gathered in a circle, with various items piled in the middle—mostly scrolls.

It looked like loot taken from Kusagakure.

He sat down beside Reiji and gave the spoils a quick, discreet glance before speaking in a low voice.

"Reiji, Lord Hiruzen has sent orders."

"What kind of orders?" Reiji gave Sakumo a curious glance.

"What else? You're being called back."

Then, looking toward Tsunade, Sakumo gave a slight nod and added,

"Princess Tsunade, Lord Hiruzen wants you to return with them."

To Sakumo's surprise, Reiji nodded without hesitation.

"We were already planning to head back. The mission in the Land of Grass is complete. Team 11 will be disbanded."

As soon as he said it, the three around the spoils—Rie and the others—visibly stiffened, then quickly returned to normal.

But their subtle reaction didn't escape Sakumo's sharp eyes.

Frowning slightly, he leaned in toward Reiji and whispered,

"Reiji, I don't know what you've been teaching those three, but you'd better come up with something. Their killing intent is too strong.

Keep this up, and darkness will start growing in their hearts."

Sakumo said it because he meant it.

As a veteran ANBU, he had killed more people than he could count—invaders from foreign villages, traitors from his own.

That's exactly why he was so sensitive to killing intent.

Rie and the others couldn't match him in that regard—but they were just kids.

Rie, the oldest, was only fifteen.

The youngest, Fugaku Uchiha, was barely ten.

Feeling Sakumo's intense gaze, Reiji let out a sly chuckle, casually slinging an arm over his shoulder and whispering,

"Relax, I've got my own unique way of keeping their minds steady."

As he spoke, he suddenly withdrew his arm, sat up straight, and—somehow—was now holding a book with an overly dramatic, flashy cover.

"Forbidden Love: Butsuma Senju vs. Tajima Uchiha."

The moment he read the bold title on the cover, Reiji froze.

Dog Bro, you've really outdone yourself. Last time I caught you reading, it was Hashirama and Madara. Now you've moved on to Butsuma and Tajima?!

You thick-browed, wide-eyed maniac… turns out you're a historian, huh?

Next time I see you, are you gonna be reading Ashura and Indra?!

Sakumo felt the shift in his ninja pouch and immediately turned to look at the book in Reiji's hand, his brain scrambling for an excuse.

"What the hell, Reiji?! Why are you reading that kind of stuff?!"

With a dramatic screech, Sakumo, desperate to avoid total social collapse, instantly pushed the blame onto Reiji.

The shout drew everyone's attention, and eyes snapped toward the book in Reiji's hand.

Reiji's face twitched. Slowly, he turned his head, dumbly staring at Sakumo, who was now making a show of disgust.

You little bastard—what are you, Pigsy?!

Without thinking, Reiji hurled the book straight into Fugaku Uchiha's hands and shouted,

"Here! A gift from your big bro Sakumo!"

Immediately, every suspicious gaze locked onto Sakumo.

Sakumo's eyes darted around. With a strained smile, he hooked an arm around Reiji's neck and laughed awkwardly.

"See? Your teacher's so thoughtful. He knew I didn't bring anything, so he helped me prepare a gift in advance."

Taken out of context, that line sounded perfectly fine.

But in this particular context... it was just weird.

Especially when Sakumo had his arm affectionately wrapped around Reiji's neck and was calling him "kind." To anyone watching with a certain lens, this was something else entirely.

And just as the stares got even weirder, Teuchi, who had been sneaking a peek over Fugaku's shoulder, suddenly covered his eyes and shrieked.

"What the hell is this?!

My eyes! My Sharingan's gonna burn out!

Damn it, I just awakened my Mangekyō!"

Hearing that, both Teuchi, who had been reading the book, and Sakumo, its unfortunate original owner, went beet red.

Now every suspicious look turned squarely to Sakumo, who had quite literally exposed himself.

Seeing this, Reiji finally breathed a sigh of relief. With a face full of exaggerated disgust, he peeled Sakumo's arm off and scooted away.

Not far off, Tsunade's face had gone completely black.

Even if Reiji didn't seem that sus anymore, she was not about to let him go full sparkle-coded disaster gay.

Without hesitation, Tsunade got up, walked over briskly, and plopped herself down beside Reiji, firmly placing herself between him and Sakumo.

Seeing that, Sakumo covered his face with both hands.

It's over. I'm done. Social death complete.

Should I wipe out all the witnesses? Or just end it here?

Witness: Reiji Sakuhō… might not be able to beat him…

Forget it, I'll just dig a hole and bury myself.

Just as Sakumo was about to unsheath his blade in self-destruction mode, a familiar dog-faced ANBU mask plopped down right in front of him.

Not far away, Reiji poked his head out from behind Tsunade, flashing a mischievous grin as he mouthed something silently.

Judging by the shape of his lips, it was probably:

"As long as you don't show your face, it's not social death!"