Nightfall.
Moonlight poured down like silver silk, outlining the towering trees, each over ten meters tall, in sharp clarity.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Standard ninja sandals pounded against the thick trunks of giant trees as fifteen shadowy figures darted through the endless primal forest at breakneck speed.
Arashi led the charge, short blade in hand, his black cloak billowing behind him like bat wings.
Ahead, dangling branches and vines blocked their path.
He flipped his blade.
Zing!
A flash of cold steel sliced through the air, cleanly severing the obstructing vines and branches. Yugao Ryoma and Cho followed close behind, slipping through the path Arashi cleared, occasionally using their sensory skills to adjust their course.
The team's toughest defender, Iwakuma, brought up the rear, ever-ready to handle sudden threats.
Boom! Rumble!
About five hundred meters to the right rear of the tactical squad, the ground quaked, trees toppled, and wild beasts fled in panic. If the team hadn't been leaping through the treetops, they'd have had to deal with a stampede.
Cho vaulted through the forest, her sky-blue chakra tracing rippling patterns in the air like plucked strings, spilling outward and carrying a flood of information back to her mind. Especially from that noisy right flank, where a petite figure wreathed in crackling lightning was flattening everything in her path.
After three days of grinding, they'd finally found a rhythm.
The key? Let Hikari operate solo on the team's right wing.
Her wide-range sensory abilities ensured she wouldn't lose track of them, and her raw power meant she feared no danger. The rest of the team could skirt her position, moving stealthily from the opposite side.
Cho, Yugao Ryoma, and Hikari's sensory skills blanketed the area, creating two teams—one overt, one covert. If either hit trouble, the other could rush to support.
Best of all, Hikari's distance meant her trail didn't need cleaning up, saving the team a ton of work.
This makeshift squad was finally clicking.
"Hold."
Yugao Ryoma signaled, and everyone froze in place, awaiting orders.
He pulled out a map, releasing his insects to gather environmental data and cross-check it with their route. Satisfied, he confirmed, "We're about ten kilometers from the Land of Lightning's border."
"Thunder Drum Mountain is roughly two hundred kilometers east of the border. If we push through the night, we'll arrive by morning. A day's plenty to blow the mines to bits," Arashi said, mentally calculating the distance. The goal was so close.
"No need," Cho cut in, shaking her head.
"Thunder Drum's got a massive ore vein, and Cloud Village runs five mining sites there. Intel says those mines are critical to them, so security's likely tight. The mines aren't going anywhere. We should rest up, infiltrate tomorrow, and plan based on what we find."
Yugao nodded quietly. As a fellow sensory ninja, he agreed Cho's cautious approach was smarter.
Their team looked strong, but only Hikari, Arashi, and Iwakuma were built for head-on fights. The rest were fragile. Charging in blind risked walking into a trap and getting crushed.
Plus, Danzou had given him more than just this mission. He needed the team to stay combat-ready afterward.
Crunch! Snap!
As they hashed out the plan, a sharp sound of breaking branches came from the right. Heads turned to see a silver-haired girl in an owl mask strolling toward them.
"Done moving?" Hikari asked.
"We're camping here tonight," Yugao Ryoma decided. "We'll hit Thunder Drum Mountain tomorrow, scout first, then plan."
"I've checked the area. It's clear," Hikari said.
Cho released her hand seal, her chakra ripples fading. The others didn't need orders—they split up and got to work, each handling their tasks with practiced coordination.
In pairs or trios, they erased their tracks, their efficiency noticeably sharper now.
No matter how skilled or strong a ninja was, a team needed time to gel to achieve that synergy where one plus one equals more than two.
In the ninja world, four-man squads were the standard combat unit, with specialists in command, support, close combat, and ranged attacks. Together, they could take down enemies far beyond any one of them's individual strength.
Thanks to the Root's brutal training, these ninjas lacked personal will, limiting their potential as standalone powerhouses. But their teamwork was eerily flawless.
Rumble!
Iwakuma raised a stone hut from the earth, flattening the grassy ground and erasing their footprints and traces in one go.
Arashi slipped off alone.
Minutes later, he returned lugging a headless deer corpse, hot blood dripping from its cleanly severed neck. He carefully placed it before Hikari, mindful not to splash her with gore.
Without a head, Hikari couldn't tell the deer's species. It was as big as a boar, with a thick mane of grass-like fur around its neck.
She casually pulled spices from a sealed scroll.
Hikari gathered chakra in her palm, cycling through wind, water, and fire attributes to prep the meat.
Candlelight flickered inside the stone hut.
Clack!
A stone table and five stone benches rose from the floor. Arashi, practically glowing, scrambled to claim a seat. Yugao Ryoma and Cho were already seated across from him, waiting.
Smack, slack, smack!
Hikari patted the cleaned deer meat, her touch gentle, almost soothing. Orange-red flames from her palm seeped into the meat, and soon, a savory aroma filled the air.
Ever since she'd impulsively used her Sky Rending technique combined with Fire Release to roast a boar two days ago, her role had shifted from deputy captain to head chef.
And it was an upgrade.
Her status in the squad had skyrocketed. Even the iciest member, Yugao Ryoma, praised her cooking. After every meal, the team's morale visibly glowed brighter, their bond growing by the day.
Sizzle!
Dripping fat hissed on the ground, the air thick with an irresistible meaty scent.
The twelve teens removed their masks and sat in a circle around Hikari as she grilled. Their faces stayed blank, but their eyes betrayed their hunger.
They might've lost most human emotions, but primal instincts still lingered.
"Dig in," Hikari said.
The twelve lined up, slicing chunks with kunai and wolfing them down.
From task-driven machines to beasts with raw desires—this had to count as progress, right?
Hikari carried the sizzling deer meat into the stone hut.
"Thunder Drum has five mines: one at the summit's east and west, three around the mountainside. Before we move in, I'll send my marked bugs to scout. You all stay at the base of the mountain and lay low—don't get spotted."
Normally tight-lipped, Yugao Ryoma was now laying out the battle plan in detail.
"I'm going with you," Hikari offered, setting the meat on the stone table.
Yugao's bugs could slip through anything, but their simple minds couldn't relay much detail. Secondhand intel was no match for her Byakugan's direct view. She wasn't betting her safety on his bugs.
This body was just a shadow clone, but it carried the Root's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and the secrets of Otherworldly Kami's genjutsu. The former let her tap into Root's resources freely; the latter held the mysteries of the Mangekyo Sharingan and the ultimate illusion.
If she could unravel how Otherworldly Kami worked, she might bypass the Mangekyo's limits and force the technique out another way.
There was precedent.
From Root's scavenged Uchiha texts, she'd been stunned to learn Izanagi, the technique that turned illusion into reality, was once a Mangekyo ability. A prodigy had reverse-engineered it for regular Uchihas to learn, leading to its later abuse.
Her main focus was on cracking the Eight Gates, but Otherworldly Kami had been shelved. If the Sharingan could filter impurities from life force, her priorities might shift.
"Your moves make too much noise," Yugao said.
"Unless I'm going full speed, I can control my strength. No issues," Hikari replied, tearing off a leg of meat and handing it to him.
"Fine."
Yugao took the meat, thought it over, and agreed. Not because of the food—her sensory skills were legit, and she could fight. fight. Two elite jounin, one for offense, one for support—they'd have the edge, whether they fought or fled.
Chomp, chomp.
Tactics settled, Iwakuma and the others demolished the table's roast. The deer was tastier than boar, and Hikari's precise chakra control made the flavor peak perfection.
Everyone's lips curled into faint smiles. Good food really did lift spirits.
"Nar—Ikuma!—where'd your last story leave off?" Hikari asked, chewing, eyeing Iwakura's stony face.
Eating and bunking together had thawed their bonds.
They'd started swapping stories during downtime.
"Something about avenging your dead family?" Arashi said, gnawing meat, curiosity glinting in his eyes.
This guy, who'd been a brutal instructor when Arashi joined Root, was now a rock-solid, almost gentle teammate. It was like he was two different people.
Cho and Yugao Ryoma kept munching, faces neutral, but their perked ears gave away their interest.
Iwakuma chewed slower, his tawny eyes distant, then spoke. "Yeah, I got my revenge."
The room went quiet.
"That's it?" Hikari asked.
"Yep."
"What kind of story is that?" Arashi swallowed, his voice jumping an octave.
"What do you want, then?" Iwakura's tone stayed low and steady.
"Like, how you described your enemy's evil before. Or go into how you pulled off the revenge, how you joined Root," Hikari said, practically coaching him on wrapping a tale.
"…Alright, lemme think. After training, I went for revenge. Failed, fled, and ran into Lord Danzou. He saved me. Said he'd help me get revenge if I served him and trained his ninjas the way I trained myself. I agreed."
Iwakuma finished in one breath, then tore into his meat, grease glistening.
"So Lord Danzou killed the ninja for you?" Arashi pressed, hungry for details.
"No. He caught her and gave her to me as a gift." Iwakuma gripped his meat tighter. "I turned her into this. Ate her for a long time."
Chomp…
Hikari and the others slowed their chewing.
"Sometimes curiosity's better left alone, huh?" Cho shot Arashi a glare, her fragrant meat now tasting like wax.
"Fair," Arashi conceded, shrugging and diving back in. Two bites later: "Hey, Cho, how'd you join Root?"
"Ugh."
Cho groaned, at a loss with this clueless teammate.
"If it's like his and ruins my appetite, don't bother," Hikari said, crunching bone.
Her teeth, influenced by her Kaguya bloodline, were as tough as steel, despite not being skeletal bone.
"I'm not that dramatic," Cho said flatly. "I was an Anbu. Root needed sensory ninjas. Lord Danzou got a transfer order from the Third Hokage, and here I am."
"Lame," Hikari said.
Cho's story was logical but dull. Iwakura's was way better—it even clued her into who'd cooked up Root's crazy training.
"Eh, it's fine by me," Arashi said. "I was Anbu too. Saw Lord Danzou's epic deeds in a mission scroll and volunteered for Root."
"You're the real weirdo here," Hikari muttered, unable to hold back.
"Lord Danzou's sacrificed so much for Leaf. Back in the Third War, his eye and right—" Arashi—"
"—Arashi!" Iwakura cut him off sharply.
Arashi bit his tongue, the cursed seal there silencing him.
"Ryoma, you recall anything about that thing I asked you about?" Hikari pivoted fast.
She didn't want to dig into Danzou Danzou. The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal locked down all leaks—speaking or even thinking about spilling triggered paralysis.
"Nope," Yugao Ryoma said, icy as ever.
Then, his eyes sparked. "Yato, can you do me a favor?"
Hikari licked grease off her lips. "Depends. What's it?"
"Find someone."
The room stilled.
"That's… it?" Hikari asked, after a long pause.
"Yep." Yagao nodded, dead serious.
"So the clue's clue 'he's a person'?" Hikari raised an eyebrow. Talk about vague.
"He loves to laugh."
"Quit with the fluff, gunk, give me something solid!" she snapped.
"Pfft!" Cho snorted. Arashi and Iwakuma cracked faint smiles.
Yugao was Danzou's right-hand man—only Hikari's strength let her jab him like that.
"He's… different. His smile's like sunlight," Yugao said, trying.
"Still fluff!" useless!" Hikari shot back.
As they bickered over clues, the others piped in with tips.
The candlelight danced, casting their silhouettes around the table, lingering late into the night.