Naruto：Immortality and the Eight Inner Gates[Double agent]

Inside the construction team's tent in Kirigakure, Nara Shikaku and his two teammates collapsed onto their respective bedding after a grueling day of hard labor.

At this moment, they all shared one overwhelming feeling:

Exhaustion.

The life of an ordinary civilian was far from easy!

Before this, they had never experienced such a lifestyle.

Although the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans weren't exactly the most prestigious families in Konoha, they were still well-known and respected.

As heirs to their respective clans, they had never endured such plain and mundane hardships.

However, through this period of training, these three weren't entirely without gains;

At the very least, their once refined and pampered demeanor had been thoroughly stripped away.

As he rolled over weakly, Yamanaka Inoichi shuffled like a worm toward Shikaku and began mumbling softly.

"Ugh~ What is our sensei even up to?

Shikaku, do you think Sensei has already forgotten about us?

No matter what, shouldn't he at least give us our next mission by now?"

Hearing this, Shikaku nodded in agreement.

They weren't afraid of hardship or exhaustion. What they feared most was their unpredictable sensei forgetting about them entirely.

After all, they were still kids!

As Inoichi and Shikaku exchanged despairing glances and Akimichi Choza snored loudly in his sleep,

a tall figure suddenly pushed open the tent flap and leisurely walked in.

Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Rinjin.

"Yo~ My adorable disciples, all present and accounted for, huh?"

His relaxed voice echoed through the tent.

Hearing it, Inoichi's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Though his words were filled with resentment, the sight of Rinjin brought an overwhelming sense of security that filled his heart.

Living undercover in a foreign land brought a psychological pressure far greater than that of a battlefield.

On the battlefield, the constant barrage of ninjutsu, shuriken, and explosive tags was certainly life-threatening and stressful.

But at least there was always the chance to return to camp, where the presence of allies provided immense psychological relief.

Undercover work, however, was a different story.

The mind was constantly occupied with thoughts, reflections, and suspicions, leaving no room for rest—even sleep required keeping one eye open.

Every little sound or movement could trigger paranoia about their cover being blown.

On the battlefield, the worst outcome was death or severe injury.

Undercover? If caught, torture was inevitable, and the methods used to extract information were unimaginably cruel.

The goal was to extract the intel inside the spy's mind, which meant every conceivable method of breaking a person would be tested.

The harder someone resisted, the longer and more excruciating the torment would be.

For undercover agents, the mental strain alone was enough to break even the strongest adults—let alone these three kids.

As Inoichi's tear-filled eyes gazed at Rinjin like a wronged housewife, Choza suddenly sat up, his eyes still shut, but his nose twitching furiously.

The next second, Akimichi Choza's eyes snapped open, gleaming with excitement as he locked onto Rinjin.

"Huh?? Cheese and steak-flavored chips, Sensei!!!"

With that, he scrambled to his feet, crawling and rolling toward Rinjin, clutching his leg and staring up at him with drool dripping down his chin.

"Sensei! I love you!"

Seeing this, Rinjin covered his forehead in exasperation, pulling out a bag of chips from his ninja pouch and handing it to Choza.

"Good grief! I underestimated you! Turns out, you're the one with the strongest heart!"

Off to the side, Shikaku watched Choza's shameless display with a face full of embarrassment.

This was humiliating—Team Ino-Shika-Cho's reputation had just lost a leg!

But at least Inoichi and I are more reliable, he thought.

Turning to glance at Inoichi, Shikaku was shocked to find him discreetly wiping drool from the corner of his mouth.

Instantly, Shikaku covered his eyes with his hand, utterly mortified.

In the blink of an eye, Choza had devoured the entire bag of chips, licking the grease from his lips as he stared eagerly at Rinjin's ninja pouch.

He had a hunch—there had to be more treasures inside.

But Choza was an honest boy;

If Sensei didn't take it out, he wouldn't ask. He'd simply stare longingly, drooling as he watched.

Seeing Choza's wide, innocent eyes staring at him like a baby deer, Rinjin was completely speechless.

This kid had invested every single skill point into freeloading!

Hardening his resolve, Rinjin ignored Choza and turned to Inoichi and Shikaku, beckoning them over.

"First phase mission complete, graded A+.

Alright, mission's over. Now grab my hand—we're going home!"

Hearing this, Inoichi and Shikaku's eyes lit up.

Without a second thought, they grabbed their bedding rolls—along with Choza's—and darted toward Rinjin.

In an instant, Rinjin found himself with one kid clinging to his leg, two hanging off his arms, and three large, fluffy bedding rolls in tow.

Watching this, Rinjin's mouth twitched slightly. With all this luggage, my chakra might not hold up!

Unbeknownst to him, Shikaku caught the expression on his face and immediately misunderstood. Weakly, he asked:

"Sensei, we worked so hard to earn this. Can we take it home?"

"Of course!" Rinjin nodded.

After all, his kids had spent three months away from home and learned the value of thrift—how could he not support that?

At worst, he'd shamelessly borrow some chakra from the cats again.

It wouldn't be the first time, anyway.

"Hold on tight!" Rinjin instructed casually as he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

In an instant, Rinjin and his three disciples vanished.

The world spun for a moment.

When they reappeared, the four of them were standing inside Rinjin's home at 66 Mingcha Street, Konoha.

Releasing the disheveled Inoichi and Shikaku, Rinjin patted the head of Choza, who was still clinging to his leg.

"Choza, we're home!"

Hearing this, Choza continued to cling to Rinjin's leg, his eyes fixed intently on the ninja pouch.

It seemed he had developed a grudge against it.

Seeing this, Rinjin shook his head in exasperation. Reaching into the pouch, he pulled out the last two bags of chips and handed them to Inoichi and Shikaku.

"Alright, off you go. See you back here in three days!"

Hearing this, Inoichi and Shikaku nodded obediently, carrying their dusty bedding rolls as they left.

Watching them depart, Choza cast a suspicious glance at Rinjin's ninja pouch.

Perhaps convinced that the pouch was truly empty, he finally released Rinjin's leg, politely bid him farewell, and chased after his friends.

Watching the three kids bicker and laugh as they disappeared into the distance, Rinjin couldn't help but smile wryly.

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