The skirmish in the rain forest ended swiftly—so fast that the scent of blood hadn't even dissipated before the battle was already over.
"Don't just stand there."
Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice snapped Kaitō out of his daze. The man no longer reacted to such trivial things with emotion.
He flicked the blood from his short blade. No hint of satisfaction, no relaxation—just orders.
"Clean up the battlefield. Sink the corpses into the swamp. We've got ten minutes to move. Their main force might notice the vanguard's silence at any moment."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Kaitō and the other Chūnin jolted awake and immediately began clearing the site. But this time, when they glanced at Nishikawa Tetsu collecting the decoy rods nearby, there was no trace of scorn—only unease.
A Genin had spoken a few words, waved a few vials, and sent four elite Earth Release shinobi to a silent, paralyzed to death.
This wasn't just killing. It was surgical terror.
"Tetsu."
Fugaku approached him and lowered his voice. "How much of that toxin do you have left?"
"Used about a third just now," Tetsu replied matter-of-factly."But for the canyon battle… I've got something even flashier in mind."
…
The squad set off once more.
To avoid Suna's follow-up scouts, they abandoned their planned route and took a steeper path: a slick, moss-covered ridgeline winding through the jungle.
Hyūga Kō led the way, his Byakugan constantly active. Veins at his temples throbbed with exertion. His face was pale.
The Byakugan was powerful, but its cost in chakra and mental strain was steep.
"Hyūga-senpai."
While moving, Tetsu quickened his pace and approached Kō, holding out a small glass vial.
"What is this?" Kō didn't take it right away, scanning the bottle with his pale eyes.
"Concentrated blueberry extract, mixed with chakra activators."
Tetsu explained calmly.
"Drip it into your eyes. It relieves optic nerve spasms and improves oxygen delivery to microvessels. The Byakugan may be 360 degrees, but when maintaining long-distance focus, it causes intraocular pressure to rise—leading to peripheral blur, right?"
Kō paused.
That was a Hyūga secret. Worse—one specific to the branch family.
Because of the cursed seal, their Byakugan retained a blind spot. To compensate, they often overstrained their optic nerves.
But this was internal clan knowledge. How did this outsider Genin know?
"I'm a researcher. Know a bit about anatomy," Tetsu smiled, sensing the doubt."Don't worry—Fugaku's used my formulas too."
In the back, Fugaku twitched. His eye narrowed but he didn't deny it.
"...Very well."
Kō hesitated, then took the vial and dripped two drops into each eye.
A wave of coolness spread through his sockets. The stabbing pressure faded, and his vision sharpened immediately.
"...Thank you."
His tone had softened, and his gaze toward Tetsu was no longer cautious—it was respectful.
"Just mutual benefit." Tetsu slipped back into the ranks."We still need your eyes if we want to survive this."
Minato sidled up beside him, whispering, "Seriously, your social skills are insane. You got both a Hyūga and an Uchiha on your side."
Tetsu's expression turned odd. You're one to talk, future Civilian Fourth Hokage.
"In this squad, the longer our eyes work, the better our odds of living."
…
Thirty minutes later.
They reached their destination—Howling Gorge.
The terrain was brutal. Vertical cliffs rose hundreds of meters on either side. Between them, a raging, muddy river surged.
The wind shrieking through the narrow canyon gave it its name: a sound like howling ghosts.
"This terrain…"
Fugaku crouched behind a boulder, observing the river below, brows drawn tight.
"Perfect for an ambush—but if they're on boats and we're on cliffs, they can just use Water Release or speed up to break through. Our jutsu can't cover that wide an area."
"What if we collapse the cliffs?" Kaitō offered. "Use Explosive Tags to blow the walls and block the river."
"Won't work."
Tetsu shook his head, pointing at the rock formations.
"That's basalt. Extremely dense. And the wall structure is continuous. To cause a full collapse that blocks the whole canyon, we'd need thousands of well-placed tags. We don't have the inventory."
"Then what?" Kaitō frowned. "Just watch them float by?"
"Direct collapse is impossible—but we can leverage nature."
Tetsu knelt and began sketching a waveform on paper.
"Hyūga-senpai, check the opposite cliff's mid-section. Are there fracture points—concentrated stress lines?"
Kō activated his Byakugan, scanning across the gorge.
"There are. About eighty meters above the waterline. Several deep fissures, and some underground water seepage."
"Perfect."
Tetsu's eyes gleamed."That's a stress convergence point."
"We don't need to collapse the mountain. We just need to resonate with those fracture lines. Gravity will handle the rest."
He pulled out several kunai wrapped in strange metallic sheets—customized Explosive Tags.
"This is resonant demolition."
He turned to Minato."This mission's yours alone. You'll need to Body Flicker across that cliff and plant these at the exact fracture points—in five seconds."
Minato looked at the sheer, wet cliff face. Moss, mist, violent currents...
No fear. He smiled.
"Five seconds? I only need three."
"Good."
Fugaku took over, eyes fixed on the dark water below. That was the enemy's approach route.
"Hyūga Kō, report enemy position."
"Three kilometers out. Fast speed. Lead boat is a heavy transport vessel. Armor plating. And on deck—wait..."
His tone changed.
"Puppets. Dozens of puppets. The man on the bow has massive chakra—Sunagakure Jōnin Kazama Sōsuke, disciple of Chiyo!"
"A top-tier unit…"
Fugaku inhaled slowly. His chakra surged, Sharingan spinning ominously.
"Everyone—hide. No movement without my order."
"Tetsu, prep the trigger."
"Minato, be ready to move."
"Yes, sir!"
The rain intensified, masking every murderous intent lurking within the gorge.
Tetsu lay prone in the wet grass, fingers looped around an ultra-thin chakra wire. His eyes locked onto the bend in the river, where faint engine hums began to echo.
This battle isn't just about cutting off supplies.
It's about proving to this world—
That sometimes, knowledge is deadlier than ninjutsu.
"They're here," Kō whispered.
Blinding searchlights pierced the storm.
And then—like a steel beast born of war—the transport ship entered the mouth of the natural coffin.