Northeast of the Land of Bears.
Uchiha Shisui, Shirakumo Hayama, and Hyuga Tokuma moved north along the jagged rim of the Valley of Hell. They were searching for a narrow crossing point to bypass the treacherous abyss.
Soon, thanks to the precision of Tokuma's Byakugan, they located a relatively slim gap in the canyon. Hayama reached into his storage scroll and pulled out a heavy bundle of grappling hooks.
"Let me take care of this," Shisui offered.
He took the hooks and took aim at a massive tree on the far side of the valley. In an instant, his three-tomoe Sharingan flared to life, tracking the wind and distance with lethal accuracy.
Swish—!
The hook shot forward like an arrow released from a powerful bow. It traversed two hundred meters of empty space, piercing deep into the trunk of a giant tree on the opposite cliff. With a sharp hum of tension, a single rope now spanned the abyss, suspended over the churning plumes of toxic purple mist below.
Hayama secured the near end to a sturdy trunk. Without hesitation, Shisui stepped onto the line first. Holding his breath to avoid the rising fumes, he sprinted across the rope with practiced grace.
As he neared the far side, Shisui drew his kunai and used a Body Flicker Technique to vanish, reappearing on solid ground. His Sharingan swept the perimeter, searching for any hint of an ambush.
Only after confirming the area was clear did he signal back to his teammates. One by one, Hayama and Tokuma followed, crossing the deadly chasm.
"Cough... cough!"
As soon as they reached the safety of the Land of Bears' soil, Hayama let out a sharp cough, his lungs stinging from the trace amounts of toxin he'd inhaled.
"Captain Hayama, are you alright?" Shisui asked, his voice laced with concern.
Tokuma scanned Hayama's internal chakra flow with his Byakugan. After a moment, he gave a short nod to Shisui, confirming there was no lasting damage.
"It's nothing. Let's keep moving," Hayama replied, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his brow.
The three shinobi resumed their trek, moving through the canopy in a tight triangular formation. Shisui spearheaded the group, while Tokuma kept his Byakugan active on the right flank and Hayama covered the left.
They hadn't traveled far when Tokuma's voice cut through the silence like a blade:
"Something's happening up ahead!"
Shisui and Hayama came to an abrupt halt, perching on a thick branch.
"This... such massive chakra..." Tokuma's veins bulged around his eyes, his expression one of pure shock.
"Direction!" Shisui demanded, his head snapping toward his teammate.
"Northwest! Two kilometers out!"
As a Tokubetsu Jonin of the Hyuga clan, Tokuma's scouting range was exceptional, and his tone suggested something truly abnormal was unfolding. The trio moved with heightened caution, ghosting through the trees toward the border where the Land of Bears met the Land of Earth.
They reached the edge of a clearing just inside the Land of Bears' border. Hidden in the shadows of the foliage, the Konoha shinobi stared at the battlefield in disbelief.
Three Iwagakure ninja were locked in a desperate struggle against two women.
At the center of the chaos, a red-haired woman stood with three golden chains erupting from her back. Like living creatures, the chains lashed out; two Iwa ninja were already hoisted into the air, bound tight, while a third was pinned ruthlessly to a tree, a chain driven straight through his chest.
Nearby, a black-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, watching the slaughter with chilling indifference.
"Ugh!"
Gari spat a mouthful of blood. He stared at the golden link protruding from his abdomen, pinning him to the wood behind him. His eyes traveled up the chain to the red-haired woman, filled with raw shock.
"Explosion Style: Landmine Fist!"
Gritting his teeth against the agony, Gari channeled chakra into his right fist and slammed it into the golden chain.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted at the point of contact. The force shattered the chain's hold, allowing Gari to stumble to the ground. As the severed link lost its chakra connection and dissolved into light, blood began to pour from the gaping hole in his stomach.
He gasped for air, his previous arrogance completely vanished. That red hair... it triggered a memory of a clan once feared across the shinobi world for their sealing prowess.
"A survivor of the Uzumaki clan..." Gari wheezed.
He looked at his two teammates still trapped by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, his mind racing for a way to save them from these mysterious enemies.
"Captain! Run! Leave us!" one of the bound Iwa ninja screamed. "Get the intel back to the village!"
"Shut up!" Gari barked.
Ignoring his injuries, he suddenly lunged forward. As a member of the Explosion Corps and a Jonin of the Hidden Stone, the "Will of Stone" wouldn't allow him to abandon his subordinates.
He set his sights on the black-haired girl watching from the sidelines. She looked younger, more relaxed—perhaps even careless. To Gari, she looked like the weak link.
"Foolish," the girl muttered.
She didn't retreat; she met his charge head-on.
Gari's fist glowed with Explosion Style chakra. He was confident in his close-quarters combat; his signature move turned his very touch into a devastating mine. One hit was all he needed to end her.
But as their strikes were about to collide, the girl's black hair shifted. Beneath the bangs, Gari saw them—two crimson eyes swirling with the hateful pattern of the Sharingan.
In that heartbeat, Gari's body froze.
Uchiha Hikari closed the distance in a blur, her leg whipping around in a brutal roundhouse kick that connected squarely with his ribs.
CRACK—!
Gari was sent flying, his body smashing into a boulder with enough force to shatter the stone. The sheer pain snapped him out of the genjutsu. He slumped against the debris, feeling his ribs turn to powder.
He stared at the blood he'd coughed up, then looked up at the girl in terror.
The Uchiha Clan! It's the Uchiha!
Every shinobi who had ever walked a battlefield knew the golden rule: If it's one-on-one against an Uchiha, run. Never look into their eyes. Gari had fought them during the Third Great Ninja War; he knew their reputation was no exaggeration.
Uchiha... He looked at the girl.
Uzumaki... He looked at the red-haired woman.
What in the world was happening in the Land of Bears?
"I'm still not practiced enough at this," the red-haired woman sighed softly.
Another golden chain snaked out from her back, wrapping around the incapacitated Gari and dragging him toward his comrades.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains were more than a weapon; they were a mobile barrier. The number of chains one could manifest was directly tied to the user's strength. For the novice Uzumaki Vanilla, three was her current limit.
"Wait... someone is here!"
As she was binding the three Iwa ninja together within a sealing barrier, Vanilla's head snapped toward the treeline.
In a flash, Hikari's hand blurred, launching several shuriken toward the hidden observers.
Deep in the forest, Shisui was forced to reveal himself, drawing his blade to deflect the incoming steel. Clang! Clang! As the sparks flew, a cold shiver ran down Shisui's spine. The black-haired girl had already vanished from her spot, launching herself toward him like a kinetic projectile.