Naruto: I Can Upgrade My Techniques Infinitely

Between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth lay two smaller countries. For this mission, Nara Kazuki and his squad planned to cut through the Land of Grass.

"Captain, why do we have to change clothes?" Uchiha Itachi asked while adjusting his disguise, clearly puzzled.

"Because we're passing through the Land of Grass. It might be a minor country that no one really pays attention to, but that's exactly why we need to be careful," Kazuki replied casually, then turned his gaze toward Shisui—and paused.

"…White Crow, what exactly are you doing?" Kazuki looked at Shisui, trying not to lose his composure.

Shisui paused mid-motion, blinking up with confusion. He was in the middle of putting on a wig.

"Captain, when a three-man squad infiltrates enemy territory, isn't the optimal disguise posing as a married couple? Itachi's still a child—makes the setup more convincing, no?" Shisui asked sincerely.

Kazuki twitched. Of course he knew this tactic—posing as a couple with a child was one of the most effective covers. A family unit attracted less suspicion, and the presence of a child lowered enemy vigilance.

Kazuki inhaled slowly.

"You… crossdress really naturally," he muttered.

Before him now stood not Shisui, but a genuinely cute girl with a soft smile, dimples, and even a pair of slightly pointed canines showing when she grinned. No henge—this was pure disguise.

"Ahem. Captain, this is my first time crossdressing," Shisui said, clearing his throat, face tinged with red.

Kazuki gave him a silent thumbs-up.

If Shisui ever time-traveled to his past world, he'd probably send half the population into cardiac arrest. That face, combined with that shy little blush? Lethal.

Kazuki's thoughts drifted: if he had Shisui dress up like Rin in front of Obito… could he completely shatter that guy's psyche?

He quickly discarded the idea. He already had a lifelike Rin puppet prepped for that job. True psychological warfare.

"Alright. This time, White Crow and I will pose as husband and wife. Crow, you're our child. Our objective is to cross through the Land of Grass, into the Land of Earth, and reach the outskirts of Iwagakure to extract our embedded spy," Kazuki said, tone serious. So what if someone had to crossdress?

Especially since it wasn't him doing it—it was Shisui.

"Understood, Captain," Shisui responded quickly. Itachi also nodded without complaint.

Kazuki frowned slightly. Was he too hung up on crossdressing? In this godforsaken ninja world, if it meant surviving and completing a mission, shinobi would do far worse than wear a dress.

Even seducing targets, suffering their perverse touches, or worse—nothing was off-limits.

'I'm still too fixated on appearances…' Kazuki sighed inwardly.

He glanced back. Shisui's face was still bright red. Kazuki cleared his throat and began the infiltration.

Before departure, he had stocked up on local specialties from Sunset Town. Perfect for helping their merchant disguise feel authentic.

The easiest, most common method to enter the Land of Earth was blending into a traveling caravan. That was the plan.

Everything proceeded smoothly. Once the merchant caravan heard that "Kazuki and Shisui" were a couple heading to the Land of Earth for business, they welcomed the trio warmly.

Kazuki had considered sneaking through the border directly, but the Five Great Nations didn't actually border each other. The minor nations sandwiched between them served as buffers—without them, the major powers would've devoured each other's land centuries ago.

That night, Kazuki was thinking over the next phase of the plan—entry strategy, fallback routes—when a voice called out.

"Mr. Kuroki, are you awake?" asked the caravan leader.

"Still up. What is it, Mr. Shiraiwa?" replied Kazuki, using his alias Kuroki Hōsai. He stepped outside the tent—and froze.

Beside the caravan leader Shiraiwa Sekido stood a woman. She blinked at him… then gave him a faint smile.

"Let me introduce you. This is a traveling merchant from the Land of Fire. She and her group have joined us for the journey into the Land of Earth," the leader said, cheerful.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. A merchant group from the Land of Fire, joining now?

He eyed the new arrivals.

No way, he thought. I can't be that lucky. Could it really be Yamanaka Mai?

Sure enough, once the caravan leader wandered off, the woman approached him.

"…Akashika?" The voice confirmed it.

Itachi and Shisui instinctively moved to guard positions, but Kazuki waved them down.

"This is my former Anbu captain, Fox. She retired and now works in trade. Bad at it, though," Kazuki added dryly.

Yamanaka Mai gave him a sidelong glance.

"You didn't need to tack on that last part," she huffed. She wanted to make money, alright?

Itachi and Shisui relaxed and greeted her politely.

"Looks like you're on a mission. I won't intrude," she said knowingly.

Kazuki didn't intend to drag her into it either. Her caravan included too many civilians.

But as she walked away, Kazuki couldn't help but feel intrigued.

People—complicated, dangerous creatures. A large group wasn't always a good thing. He wondered if Mai had run into any problems yet.

Back in Konoha, he hadn't paid much attention to her merchant work. But now? He'd be keeping an eye on it.

"Captain, is that senior a real merchant or…?" Shisui asked, clearly curious.

"Don't overthink it. She's just a merchant," Kazuki replied, exasperated.

Who knew Shisui had such a vivid imagination?