A ninja's enemies were never ordinary mountain bandits pretending to be tough, nor wandering warriors with swords.
A ninja's true enemy could only ever be another ninja.
For the first few days, the merchant caravan's journey passed without incident.
That peace lasted—right up until they reached a towering mountain range.
There was an old saying: Where mountains rise high, there will be paths for travelers. Where waters run deep, there will be ferrymen.
But there was another half to that saying—where mountains rise high, monsters gather; where ridges grow steep, trouble breeds.
In the shinobi world, such precipitous terrain was almost always accompanied by bandits.
Under normal circumstances, if a C-rank escort mission was handled by two ninja, one would stay with the caravan while the other went ahead to scout. Even then, they would never stray too far from each other—mutual support was vital.
This time, however, the team included Inuzuka Tsubaki.
The Inuzuka clan had always been masters of reconnaissance.
"Come on, Akamaru," Tsubaki said, crouching down. "Let's see if there's anyone hiding nearby."
Not long after, she returned with a serious expression.
"Akamaru picked up a lot of human scents," she reported. "Right along the only path up the mountain."
Most bandits were desperate villagers or idle drifters who couldn't make a living. If ninja encountered them and they hadn't attacked yet, they usually wouldn't slaughter them outright.
First, some bandits barely ever robbed anyone.
Second—and more importantly—it was impossible to know whether there were rogue ninja mixed among them.
Because of this, a two-ninja escort team would normally ignore such hidden groups unless they made the first move. After all, most bandits wouldn't dare provoke anyone wearing the Leaf's insignia.
As she explained these points of C-rank escort protocol, Tsubaki glanced toward the carriage—where Yuhi Shinku sat.
Noticing her gaze, Uchiha Ran looked over as well.
The carriage was empty.
Yuhi Shinku—and Domu Masano—were gone.
"Tsubaki," Ran said casually, "let me ask you something."
"Hm? What is it, Ran?"
"Do ninja… like fishing for trouble on purpose?"
"…What?"
"Never mind," Ran waved it off. "Just get ready to fight. There's a principle that says anything that can happen eventually will happen. Have you planned an escape route? Just in case there's a jōnin hiding among them."
Tsubaki frowned. "What are you even talking about?"
"Sorry, sorry," Ran said lightly. "First real mission, possible combat—I might be a little nervous."
Tsubaki shot him a look.
Nervous?
On his face, she couldn't see a trace of tension at all.
Somewhere in the mountains…
"Boss… are we really going to do this?" a man whispered. "There are two Leaf ninja down there. They look young, but they're probably ninja."
"Idiot," the man called Caotang snapped. "Lower your voice. Of course we're doing it. We just took over this bandit den—now's the time to establish authority. Two Leaf ninja are perfect."
His lips curled into a confident grin.
"With my strength as a chūnin, this will be easy."
"Then… how do we do it, Boss?"
"Do we even need to discuss that?" Caotang scoffed. "Send the bandits charging down to loot the caravan. Have them stall the girl. I'll kill the boy. Simple."
"Understood!"
The man turned to leave—
"Wait," Caotang called lazily. "Have logistics heat up a pot of wine. Spring's already here, but the Land of Fire is still freezing."
"…Boss, if you heat it now, won't it go cold by the time—"
Caotang snorted. "Two ninja, that's all. Relax. I'll be done before the wine cools. Watch me warm wine and behead a ninja."
He waved him off impatiently.
Tch… Caotang thought to himself. My second-in-command is an idiot. I never should've become a rogue ninja so casually…
"They're coming," Tsubaki said quietly, watching Akamaru's nose twitch nonstop. "Greed really does blind people."
"Then we fight," Ran replied calmly, already shifting into a combat-ready stance.
Whoosh—!
Several shuriken whistled through the air toward them.
At the same time, bandits poured down from the mountainside, clashing with the caravan's guards. Their numbers were roughly even—everything now depended on the outcome of the ninja battle.
As the shuriken flew, Caotang moved straight for Ran, while Tsubaki intercepted Caotang's subordinate.
"This round's in our favor," the merchant Maeda muttered happily as he noticed Yuhi Shinku and Domu Masano still hidden. Clearly, this was just the jōnin letting his students gain experience. Maeda stayed inside the carriage, grinning as he watched.
A ninja battle was a rare sight.
"Kid," Caotang sneered at Ran, "you're unlucky. Haven't been on many missions, have you? And you had to run into me. Since you're from Konoha, I'll give you a chance—leave now, and I won't make things hard for you."
What Caotang didn't know was that he had already stepped onto a path with no return.
Showing off in front of an Uchiha?
The Uchiha clan's posturing techniques had been perfected by history itself.
"Caotang-sama," Ran said gently, "you're very kind. But precisely because we're Konoha ninja… we won't abandon our client."
As he spoke, he drew the Zanpakutō from his waist.
"Tch. Poor kid—choosing death," Caotang scoffed. He casually tossed the umbrella in his hand skyward.
"Ninjutsu—Needle Rain Like Dew!"
The umbrella opened midair despite the lack of wind, spinning rapidly like a pinwheel.
Thousands of senbon burst forth, falling like rain toward Ran.
This was a signature technique of the Rain Country—just as iconic as the Uchiha's Great Fireball.
Facing the storm of blades, Ran lightly tossed his sword upward and formed seals with blinding speed.
Serpent—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
His left hand covered his mouth as he exhaled flame; his right caught the falling Zanpakutō.
Though he only displayed ninja-level chakra, Uchiha flair was never limited by rank.
A massive fireball roared forward.
In an instant, the senbon were incinerated completely. The umbrella snapped shut and flew back into Caotang's hand.
"Unveil yourself—Life Is But a Dream."
In the blink of an eye, Caotang found himself standing among his brothers, laughing and drinking wine that was still warm.
…An illusion? How was it triggered?!
He violently disrupted his chakra.
The illusion shattered.
And all he saw was a blade filling his vision.
Thck—
Caotang felt the world tilt.
From a strange angle, he saw his own body collapse.
"So… this is how it ends," he thought hazily.
"I wonder… is that cup of wine still hot… or already cold?"
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