Under the bright moonlight, several dark figures flashed through the forest.
“Pick up the pace!”
A muffled voice came from beneath a white animal-themed mask.
The figures racing through the forest were completely covered in black cloaks and trench coats.
Whenever the wind blew, their cloaks fluttered, revealing the combat uniforms and white harnesses underneath.
Led by ShihōinNaraku, the ANBU shinobi sped through the forest beneath the brilliant night sky.
They had already crossed the border of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Birds.
They were now close to the rendezvous point.
…
Whoosh—
A gentle breeze swept across the clear surface of a lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
The morning sunlight spilled over the land, awakening the silent forest after a night of slumber.
Soon, the chirping of insects and birds filled the air.
“Swish, swish, swish…”
Several figures appeared in a secluded area of the forest.
“Lord Dragon!”
“Mm.”
Aside from the shinobi maintaining the outer perimeter, ShihōinNaraku and the rest of the ANBU had already reached a forest roughly ten kilometers from the mission site.
They were waiting for the right moment to act.
“My lord, after scouting the area, we discovered three shinobi standing guard in that forest.
We haven’t completely searched the area farther out yet.
There are too many people in the capital of the Land of Birds, making a thorough search difficult.”
That was also why they had chosen to rendezvous in the forest.
The capital of the Land of Birds wasn’t particularly large, but it had a dense population and a chaotic environment.
Operating there would make unexpected incidents much more likely.
“Rotate shifts for guard duty and rest, but keep a constant eye on the mission site.
Our intelligence may not be one hundred percent accurate…”
The ANBU had its own procedures and protocols for carrying out missions.
As long as they followed the standard operating procedures, there was no need to change anything unless an unexpected situation arose.
However, dangerous assassination missions still required shinobi to adapt to changing circumstances.
ShihōinNaraku had carried out plenty of combat missions himself, so he was very familiar with the process.
After giving a few simple orders, he arranged for the others to rest.
Naraku himself approached the mission site and carefully inspected the surrounding terrain.
He needed to have a clear understanding of the area.
That way, if anything unexpected happened once the battle began, he could react immediately.
After completing his inspection, he returned to the concealed temporary base and rested.
…
The moon hung high in the night sky.
Every so often, the cry of an animal echoed through the silent forest.
Swish!
Several figures silently appeared in a relatively open patch of grassland.
The terrain here offered a clear view of the surroundings, making it difficult for anyone to launch a surprise attack.
The figures stood silently in place, keeping watch while waiting.
Time slowly passed.
Just as the group was beginning to grow impatient, a faint rustling suddenly came from the forest opposite them.
The waiting shinobi immediately became fully alert.
Some had already reached for their ninja tools.
Before long, several figures leaped out of the forest.
Seeing the Sunagakure forehead protectors worn by the shinobi leading the group, the waiting men relaxed slightly.
The Sunagakure team landed some distance away.
The shinobi who had arrived first were visibly displeased.
“Why are you so late?
You nearly missed the agreed time.”
“You Iwagakure shinobi are always so rigid!
The agreed time hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“Enough talk.
Exchange the intelligence first.”
After a brief verbal exchange, the leaders of both villages pulled out the scrolls they had prepared in advance.
“Together!”
“Fine!”
As soon as the words were spoken, the two leaders simultaneously threw their scrolls toward each other.
Then they caught the opposing scrolls at the same time.
Worried about being deceived, both men immediately opened the scrolls and inspected their contents.
Naturally, there wasn’t enough time to go through every detail.
As long as nothing obviously wrong was found, that was enough.
“No problems.”
“The Iwagakure shinobi are behaving themselves this time.”
The two leaders were speaking to their own subordinates as much as to each other.
The meaning was clear.
The other side hadn’t tried anything underhanded.
With the intelligence successfully exchanged, both sides relaxed slightly.
Next came the exchange of supplies.
This was the most important part.
Both sides took out enormous scrolls specifically designed for storing supplies.
Ordinary storage scrolls used by shinobi to carry weapons and other items couldn’t hold nearly enough.
Only specialized large-capacity scrolls could store such enormous quantities of supplies, and those scrolls were extremely expensive.
Ordinary shinobi couldn’t afford them, nor did they have any reason to use them.
Because the scrolls themselves were being exchanged this time, neither side could simply throw them over.
Each village sent one shinobi forward to physically exchange the scrolls.
At this moment, both sides quietly moved their hands toward the weapons concealed in their pockets, wary of any treachery.
But just as both sides focused their attention on each other—
“Fire Fist!”
A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the pitch-black, silent forest!
BOOM!!!
A sea of blazing flames erupted.
Amid the deafening roar, the flames transformed into an enormous flaming fist and shot forward with terrifying force.
The attack hadn’t even reached them yet, but the scorching heat was already bearing down on them.
The faces of every Sunagakure and Iwagakure shinobi changed dramatically.
“Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!”
Two Sunagakure shinobi immediately stepped forward.
Their hands blurred through a rapid sequence of hand seals.
Wind Release erupted.
The technique itself was fairly basic and possessed little offensive power, but with the two shinobi combining their strength, an extremely turbulent gale swept toward the incoming flames.
The Sunagakure shinobi intended to blow the sudden Fire Release attack back.
But they had clearly underestimated the ferocity of the flames.
The gale didn’t disperse the fire.
Instead, it fed the flames.
The fire grew even more violent and powerful!
“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!”
There was no time to blame the Sunagakure shinobi for their foolish move.
Three Iwagakure shinobi worked together and unleashed a massive, thick wall of earth directly in the path of the flaming fist.
“BOOOOM!!!”
The resulting explosion shattered the silence of the forest.
The flaming fist smashed through the earthen walls in an instant, and its terrifying impact slammed directly into the shinobi from both villages who hadn’t managed to escape in time.
“AAAH—!”
Screams rang out one after another.
“Damn it!
Who’s attacking us?!”
The surviving shinobi from both villages looked around warily through the blazing inferno.
At the last possible moment, they had managed to escape.
Then they turned and fled.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Before they could even wipe the blood streaming down their foreheads, a barrage of ninja tools shot toward them from directly ahead.
Several shinobi who failed to dodge in time were instantly turned into pincushions.
Their lives ended on the spot.
“Bastards!”
They hadn’t even seen their enemy.
And yet they were already on the verge of annihilation.
But before the surviving shinobi could celebrate, those who had managed to dodge the barrage suddenly noticed something terrifying.
Explosive tags were attached to the ninja tools.
And they were already burning.
“BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!”
Another series of tremendous explosions erupted.
Blazing flames soared into the sky.
Rocks flew in every direction as thick clouds of dust spread throughout the area.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
“There are still people alive?”
Swish!
The Konoha ANBU shinobi who had launched the surprise attack finally revealed themselves.
They stood atop the towering trees, looking down at the battlefield below as the explosions slowly subsided.
“Thud!”
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
A Konoha ANBU shinobi standing atop one of the trees suddenly widened his eyes beneath his mask.
A Sunagakure shinobi had somehow appeared behind him, gripping a katana.
“Don’t underestimate us Sunagakure shinobi!”
Bang!
The Konoha ANBU shinobi whose body had been pierced by the katana suddenly transformed into a section of wood.
Substitution Jutsu!