Deep in the Land of Fire, inside a dense stretch of forest, stood a massive ancient tree. From the outside it looked ordinary, just another old tree among countless others. But the trunk was hollow.
The hollow space had long since been turned into a hidden shelter. At the moment, two Konoha shinobi were waiting inside.
The camouflage covering the opening suddenly lifted, and a third shinobi stepped in.
"Any luck?" Hizashi asked, raising his head slightly.
"The insects are dead," Shibi replied with obvious frustration.
Hanzō was far too cautious. Every now and then he would remove his mask, and the breath he released carried deadly poison. Any parasites clinging to him would die almost immediately.
The poison inside Hanzō's body came from the Black Salamander. Even the Konoha hospital kept records and samples of that toxin. In theory, with enough time, Shibi could breed insects that carried resistance to the poison, but that required several generations. That kind of work could not be done in a few weeks.
He had never expected to face someone like Hanzō, so he had never prepared insects for this situation.
Because of that, even when they managed to find Hanzō, they could never follow him for long.
Hizashi's Byakugan could only see about one kilometer ahead, and it still had blind spots. One kilometer sounded impressive, but against someone who had mastered the Body Flicker Technique, it meant almost nothing.
Compared to Hanzō, the three of them simply were not fast enough.
Even Tsume's ninja dogs could only help so much. Scent could be hidden or deliberately disrupted, and more than once they had followed the wrong trail and completely lost him.
The Aburame clan did have one other rare insect, the Micro-aromatic Beetle. It was so rare that the clan had almost stopped using it entirely. Its sense of smell was said to be hundreds of times stronger than a human's. If it caught a person's scent once, it could track that person across long distances without difficulty.
As the next clan head, Shibi carried one with him.
But rumors were still just rumors. Even if the beetle was incredibly sensitive, it still could not instantly locate someone moving as quickly as Hanzō. One moment he might be near the border, and the next he could already be deep inside the Land of Fire. Once the distance became too large, even the beetle would fail.
Silence filled the hollow tree.
The space was large enough to store supplies, and since discovering it, they had been using it as a temporary base. There was even a watermelon sitting in one corner.
And another one.
"So?" Tsume scratched her dog behind the ears. "It has already been a month. If we lose Hanzō again, we might not find him for another month."
Hanzō never stayed in one place for long. If they lost him now, the chance of tracking him again would be extremely small.
Tsume's meaning was obvious. If they wanted to stop Hanzō, this was probably their last chance. If they hesitated again, Sakumo would not arrive in time.
Stopping him meant facing a legend head-on.
There was no need to explain how strong Hanzō was. During the Second Great Ninja War, he had defeated the three young Sannin and allowed them to live. That alone was enough to show the gap between them.
But fortunately, they did not need to defeat him. They only needed to delay him for twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes sounded short, but in a fight like that, it could also mean death.
"What do we do?" Hizashi looked at Shibi.
Shibi was the captain. The decision belonged to him.
He adjusted his glasses slightly. His face remained calm, but inside, the situation was clear.
If they delayed Hanzō, they might die. If they did not, Hanzō would continue attacking Konoha shinobi.
Before this mission began, Hayashi had already said one thing very clearly. Only track Hanzō if you can do it safely.
In other words, survival came first.
If they lost Hanzō again, no one would blame them. This was a covert mission, not a suicide order.
Shibi looked at Hizashi, whose expression remained calm, then at Tsume, who was pretending to look relaxed while still stroking her dog.
The three of them had not originally been teammates. Most of their former teammates had already died in the war, and they had only been grouped together recently.
They did not talk much, except Tsume. Shibi and Hizashi were both naturally quiet people, while Tsume liked talking even when no one answered. Because of that, she ended up becoming the one who kept the team together.
It was a strange team, but their trust in each other was absolute.
"There is a high chance we die," Shibi said.
Tsume grinned. "The three Sannin survived. Maybe we will too. Maybe we will even become famous after this."
She paused, then added confidently, "Besides, I cannot die yet. I still have to become Hokage."
"Hokage?" This was the first time Hizashi and Shibi had heard her say that out loud.
"Of course. If I become Hokage, the first thing I will do is ban dog meat in Konoha. I will also make a special day for dogs. Every shinobi will have to raise one."
The hollow tree fell silent again.
Shibi turned to Hizashi. "What about you? Do you have a wish?"
Hizashi touched the forehead protector on his head. Beneath it was the Caged Bird Seal.
"I do not have one," he said quietly. "If I must choose one… I want to decide how I die."
Shibi let out a slow breath and stood up.
"Check your equipment," he said calmly. "We are moving now."