At dawn the next day, a pair of bizarre figures arrived at the Allied Ninja Forces base near the border of Snow Country.
Two young ninja, covered in blood with torn clothing, dragged a prisoner into camp as dawn barely lit the sky.
Such a scene wasn't unusual—after all, this was the front line where the Allied Forces, made up of the four great ninja villages, engaged in fierce combat against the emerging Akatsuki organization from rival ninja villages.
Injured ninja returned to the camp every day, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
However, these two young ninja were the Jinchuriki of Konoha and Kumogakure respectively—and they had brought back an unusual prisoner, a bizarre monster that looked like a hybrid between a plant and a human.
Naruto Uzumaki casually tossed the heavily bound plant-like being onto the ground. Several Konoha ninja who were on night watch immediately surrounded the creature.
"You overdid it, Yugito," Naruto said as he walked past the crowd with Yugito Nii beside him. "I told you we needed one alive."
"He's still breathing," Yugito replied, pointing at the unconscious figure being dragged away.
"I practically risked my life stopping you from killing him," Naruto sighed. When she got angry, Yugito could be really scary—even her tailed beast, Two-Tails, couldn't control her. It caught him off guard, though he personally had no desire to kill. "I understand how you feel, however..."
Yugito stuck her tongue out at him and looked down at the blood-soaked state of her clothes. "I should probably go take a bath first. Look at me—I'm a complete mess."
"Go ahead. I'll report to Ero-Sennin first and then find you later," Naruto said. Since they had already reached their destination, it was time for him to start his mission.
After parting ways, each went about their own business.
As Naruto walked, he recalled last night's intense exchange with those plant-like beings.
Who—or what—were those guys exactly? Most of them were naked, offering no clues about their identities through clothing.
And most of them didn't even look fully human.
Clearly, these weren't ordinary ninja.
They had sneaked into Konoha's camp with clear intentions of sabotage, which meant they must've been in cahoots with the enemy—but who had sent them?
That was why Naruto risked everything to capture one alive.
Once the prisoner was interrogated, everything would become clear.
Right now, their top priority was to find Jiraiya and come up with a plan to sneak behind enemy lines.
Naruto quickly located Jiraiya. He found the older man standing at the edge of a cliff, using a telescope to observe the distant forest, trying to map out enemy movements before sunrise.
"Pot calling the kettle black! You're one to talk! Look at yourself—you look ten years older!" Naruto called out as he approached.
Seeing Jiraiya dragging himself forward with only one arm left, yet still refusing to give up the fight, made Naruto feel uneasy. Jiraiya was supposed to be a lion among men, not some broken-down old warrior clinging to life. "You really need some rest."
Jiraiya lowered his telescope and gave a wry, self-deprecating smile.
Let me sleep all I want once I'm dead. C'mon, kid, you're late again—what's your excuse this time?
"I brought you something," Naruto said, approaching Jiraiya and lowering his voice. "Ever seen a plant-based monster that walks upright?"
"I've never heard of anything like that. Have you been inhaling fumes or something? You're talking crazy."
"I'm serious. A few hours ago, Yugito and I barely escaped a monster."
So he actually got Yugito back safely. That escort mission was no easy task. Jiraiya decided to go himself and sneak Yugito back behind enemy lines.
For Jiraiya, infiltrating enemy territory wasn't difficult—he'd done it before. The real challenge wasn't getting out—it was pushing even deeper into enemy territory.
Even if he sent scouts in advance, there was still unavoidable risk. The enemy's strength shouldn't be underestimated, and they knew the terrain inside out. This wouldn't be simple.
Something was secretly interfering—they just didn't know what yet.
He knew his godson wanted to join the fight too. "I never intended to bring you along, Naruto," Jiraiya cut straight to the point. "Ever since I found out you were assigned to this mission, I've been arguing with Lady Tsunade about whether to let you come. I already gave her a full report of everything that happened."
"Tell me about it," Naruto requested, placing his hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. "I want to know. Who exactly are we dealing with? Why haven't you found a breakthrough yet?"
"Don't mock me, brat."
As he spoke, Jiraiya sat down and pulled out a map marked with nearby terrain features—the Konoha camp, both sides' controlled zones, and enemy strongholds.
"It's no problem for me to operate alone, but now I have to consider the safety of the entire force."
Naruto studied the marked areas closely and noticed all the attacks were happening behind enemy lines—behind the frontline.
Clearly, the scouts couldn't find a way past enemy defenses or locate their main bases.
"How come we don't even know where their main base is? We have sensor units!" Naruto expressed confusion.
"They prioritize attacking our sensors during small-scale conflicts," Jiraiya explained. "Once they strike, they immediately retreat. That's their current tactic—to destroy our intelligence network."
"So you mean their sensors can recognize our sensors?" Naruto repeatedly considered this statement, trying to find loopholes.
"That's right, Naruto. Sensors can do that. They can differentiate between humans and other chakra signatures inside a Ninja squad."
"Let me explain it this way," Jiraiya explained, almost like he was teaching a child. "I know you're only a true 'sensor' when you're in Sage Mode, same with me. But let's focus on our current mission—that's why we're here."
"Ah." Naruto muttered quietly to himself, continuing to study the map.
He had already established an intelligence-sharing agreement with Konoha. Kumogakure would periodically report their reconnaissance findings to Konoha. That way, Naruto could at least keep track of where Yugito's unit was stationed.
"I need a breakthrough..."
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