Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of towering trees, casting dappled shadows across the forest floor.
Between the trees and their shifting shadows, two figures and a dog raced swiftly along the branches, leaving faint afterimages in their wake.
Natsuhiko and Kakashi had already been traveling for a full day. They were steadily closing in on their target.
For convenience, Natsuhiko had asked Kakashi to summon his ninja hounds to help track.
The person they were assigned to capture was named Kashiwagi Kawa. According to the records, he was a Konoha ninja who had participated in the war and possessed a complete service history.
But that was only his surface identity.
His true identity, according to intelligence reports, was actually a Sunagakure ninja.
War led to many deaths—but it also created loopholes for enemy intelligence systems to exploit.
On the battlefield, when someone died, sometimes their body couldn't even be recovered. In such cases, you couldn't be certain whether they were truly dead.
Just look at Obito.
In Konoha, he had become a "hero of the Sharingan," yet in reality he was alive and well—only to be manipulated in circles by Uchiha Madara.
This Kashiwagi Kawa had most likely died during the war—or perhaps been captured, interrogated for detailed identity information, and then replaced by someone impersonating him.
For a ninja, disguising oneself wasn't difficult. Especially for the puppet masters of Sunagakure—each one of them was a master of disguise.
At that moment, Pakkun suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Natsuhiko immediately made a tactical hand signal.
Behind him, Kakashi halted instantly and drew a kunai, entering a guarded stance.
"There's a strong smell of blood," Pakkun sniffed carefully before speaking in a low voice. "And it belongs to the target you're tracking."
"However, that guy seems to already be dead. And over there—I smell other people as well."
"Other people?" Natsuhiko frowned slightly. He didn't recall this mission being assigned to multiple parties.
Anbu missions were generally issued one-to-one. The assignment would go either to an individual or to a single squad.
Since this mission had already been handed to them, under normal circumstances it would never be reassigned—unless they were informed beforehand.
"And the direction of the scent from the person we were tracking—is it heading that way?"
Natsuhiko had already sensed something was wrong, though his voice remained calm and steady.
"Heading north," Pakkun replied quickly. After a full day together, he had developed a bit of goodwill toward Natsuhiko. "And it's definitely not toward Konoha."
North?
Natsuhiko turned and exchanged a glance with Kakashi.
Both of them immediately realized the situation might be more serious than they thought.
They had been heading toward the Land of Rivers, which lay to the west of Konoha. If someone were returning to Konoha, they should be heading east.
But the scent trail was moving in an entirely different direction.
That could only mean one thing…
"Our mission's been intercepted," Natsuhiko sighed. "Looks like the situation isn't good."
"Captain, are you thinking of abandoning the mission?" Kakashi asked in a low voice.
Although Natsuhiko had told him he could just use his name, Kakashi believed that during a mission ranks shouldn't be casually ignored. So he still addressed him as Captain.
Abandon the mission?
Natsuhiko couldn't help but fall into thought. To be honest, he really did want to give up. Who knew what kind of person they might run into?
But he didn't dare.
And he certainly didn't dare say that out loud.
He wasn't Kakashi—who had the Fourth Hokage standing behind him.
Even if the Fourth Hokage was, in essence, a figurehead, the title alone carried weight. No one would dare make things difficult for Kakashi.
Natsuhiko was different.
As a ninja without backing, his only path was to faithfully carry out missions and obediently serve as a useful tool.
Sometimes I suddenly feel… the fallen Senju clan isn't even as good off as the Uchiha.
The Uchiha were nearly isolated to the brink of collapse now. The Second and Third Hokage's policies had almost driven them into separation from Konoha.
The other great clans had either been won over or brought into alignment by the Third Hokage. Without external support, the Uchiha were like trapped beasts.
And now that the war had ended, Konoha's higher-ups would inevitably turn their focus back toward them.
Internally, they were also split into two factions: the dove faction advocating peace, and the hawk faction pushing for a coup.
But no matter what, as one of Konoha's most prominent clans, they still had the ability to protect their own.
Shaking his head, Natsuhiko spoke seriously:
"Let's pursue them and see what's going on. That body holds a lot of secrets—including secrets of Konoha."
"I understand," Kakashi nodded decisively and gestured to Pakkun.
Pakkun got the message immediately and resumed tracking the scent trail with Natsuhiko and Kakashi following close behind.
Truthfully, Pakkun was afraid of dying too. In the original story, he had retreated before. The difference was that as a ninja hound, he could return to the summoning realm at any time, avoiding mortal danger.
As they pursued, Natsuhiko continued pondering who could have intercepted their mission.
Could it be Iwagakure?
Judging from the direction, that wasn't impossible.
But from this route, several countries were accessible.
For example, the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls—countries that had once been battlefields, ravaged by war—were all in this direction.
From the time Konoha and Iwagakure signed peace to the Fourth Hokage's rise, Konoha's borders had frequently suffered attacks by ninja impersonating Iwa or Kumo.
No one truly knew who these attackers were.
Perhaps small nations seeking revenge.
Perhaps arms dealers who didn't want the war to end, fearing the loss of profit, and thus trying to reignite conflict.
And setting aside the smaller nations, there was also Kumogakure to the north of Konoha—a village that had never signed a formal peace treaty with them.
"Just who could it be?"
Natsuhiko thought as he moved swiftly forward, but the matter was too complicated to untangle.
Soon, however, he stopped thinking.
He felt something.
A solitary figure, moving unhurriedly ahead. A corpse slung over one shoulder.
Natsuhiko focused his senses.
The man's chakra was immense—far beyond chunin level. Even by jonin standards, it was monstrous.
The stranger was wrapped from head to toe in a black cloak patterned with red clouds. Even his face was partially covered with cloth.
Suddenly, the man seemed to sense something and turned his head.
Those calm yet indifferent green eyes locked onto them.
In that instant, Natsuhiko felt like prey being stared down by a predator.
His expression darkened immediately.
He had already recognized who this was.
"That's… Kakuzu?"