"Gensui, how many this time?"
"Sixty-two."
"That's not quite enough. The village needs more new blood."
"Yes, Lord Ifu."
The medical ninja named Gensui lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the densely packed infants inside the carriage compartment before him.
The horse-drawn carriage lurched along the uneven, pitted road. The wheels frequently sank into puddles, making the ride inside the compartment as uncomfortable as being tossed around inside a tumbler.
Soon, some of the infants couldn't endure the constant jolting. Coupled with being pressed against unfamiliar children and missing the security of their guardians' arms, they began to wail loudly.
One child's cry triggered another, and soon the carriage filled with a cacophony of sobbing and crying, greatly irritating the few ninja assigned to guard them.
"Shut up!"
The harsh shout only had the opposite effect; the crying intensified, drawing stares from roadside vendors and pedestrians.
"Damn it," one ninja muttered under his breath. "Only a few of these brats will survive in the end anyway. Why do we have to bring all of them back?"
"These are Lord Mizukage's orders," another retorted. "Would you want your child entering that academy?"
"Never," the first ninja replied meekly, silenced. His eyes, however, burned with resentment. Being the lowest in rank and strength among his peers, he could only vent his frustration on the infants.
He retrieved a sedative from his pouch, divided it into dozens of small doses, diluted it with water, and, using a syringe, injected the liquid into the arms of the crying children one by one.
Shortly after being injected, the infants stopped crying and fell into a stupor, slumping over unconscious.
Much quieter now.
"Be careful, kid," another ninja warned. "It'll be hard to explain if you kill any of them."
"Understood. This dosage is definitely safe," the ninja replied confidently.
Ifu nodded. He was the supervisor responsible for transporting this batch of "cargo." The quota for this trip was fifty living children; losses were acceptable as long as they didn't exceed ten.
Two missing-nin had emerged from the last graduating class. Starting with this batch, the academy would implement even stricter, harsher management, ensuring loyalty to Kirigakure was engraved into every child's heart.
Only through such measures could the Land of Water, with its small population, hope to compete with the other four Great Shinobi Countries.
It's been so long since I've seen the sun properly, Ifu sighed inwardly. Even the locals despised the Land of Water's climate. How wonderful it would be to live inland. The war must expand.
After exchanging greetings with the city gate guards and presenting their passage documents, the carriages were inspected. The guards then waved them through, their eyes filled with undisguised disgust as they watched the departing ninja. These few guards were among the small number who knew the truth behind these transports.
The ninja escorting the carriages clenched their fists, wanting to teach the guards a lesson, but Ifu's intimidating presence kept them in check.
"No need to get tangled up with them," Ifu stated coolly.
"Sooner or later, I'll gouge their eyes out," one muttered venomously.
"Acting high and mighty just because they're gate dogs," another added.
This last comment was spoken deliberately loud. Seeing the guards glare back, wanting to react but daring not to, the ninja smirked and continued onward.
Beyond the city gates lay a desolate, sprawling forest. The vegetation was dense, the air thick with moisture, and visibility began to decrease steadily.
The Kirigakure shinobi were accustomed to this kind of weather. To them, anyone foolish enough to attempt an ambush here was courting death. All Kiri ninja fought at their peak near water and in the mist.
Suddenly, Ifu heard the faint rustling of leaves in the distance. It didn't sound like the wind; it felt more like the subtle vibration caused by a shinobi landing on a branch.
"Stay sharp. Someone might be coming," Ifu warned.
Drawing their weapons, the ninja surrounded the two carriages. Gensui, the medical ninja, quickly retreated into a carriage compartment with the infants.
Ifu leaped to the top of a tall tree, hoping to use the height advantage to spot any potential enemies.
From the woods ahead came the distinct sound of bird calls.
Birds? What birds would live in this kind of forest?
Was that sound earlier also a bird?
Two doubts surfaced in Ifu's mind. Looking down, he could only make out the hazy outlines of the carriages. His teammates guarding them seemed fine.
Ifu jumped down from the treetop. As the only Jōnin in the squad, his extensive combat experience prevented him from making the mistake of rushing towards potential danger.
"We're heading back to the city for now. We'll come out again tomorrow. Something feels off today."
"Yes, Lord Ifu!" the four remaining subordinates responded in unison.
As Ifu turned the carriages around, a sudden thought struck him like lightning.
"Where's Jinzo? Have any of you seen him?"
"No."
"Haven't seen him."
The remaining ninja exchanged uneasy glances, searching the surroundings, but found no trace of their missing comrade.
"Go! Move, now!"
Ifu violently kicked the horses' flanks. He and the remaining ninja hastily retreated, the renewed jolting of the carriages rousing the infants from their drug-induced sleep, filling the air once more with cries.
"Waaaaahhh!"
The incessant crying was maddening, but the ninja had no time to worry about the children now.
Another bird call echoed through the mist.
This time, Ifu saw it – a fleeting flicker of blue light within the fog.
"Who's there?!" he bellowed. The Jōnin leaped onto the roof of a carriage, pulling out shuriken and launching several into the mist-shrouded trees.
"Gensui!"
The cry of one of his subordinates echoed through the woods. Suddenly, Ifu's vision warped. The forest transformed into a vast ocean, the carriage beneath his feet slowly sinking.
Genjutsu? When did they cast it?
His chakra flow felt completely normal. He focused chakra to his feet, yet found himself unable to stand on the illusory water.
In the distance, a colossal wave, dozens of meters high, roared towards him with world-destroying momentum, threatening to engulf the rapidly submerging Ifu.
Flailing wildly, Ifu desperately formed hand seals. His chakra responded, yet no ninjutsu would manifest. Why can't I use any techniques?
The massive wave crashed down. Raging seawater flooded the Jōnin's throat, nose, filled his clothes, suffocating him, plunging him into agonizing pain.
Glug glug, glug glug.
"Lord Ifu!"
As Ifu resurfaced, sputtering, he saw Gensui swimming towards him from a distance. Overjoyed, Ifu realized his medical ninja was still alive.
"Quick, heal me!"
"Right away."
Ifu heard another bird call just then. He felt a sharp, intense pain. Why does medical ninjutsu hurt so much?
The ocean vanished. The Kirigakure Jōnin's pupils contracted violently. Before him stood a silver-haired young man, his right hand crackling with lightning as it pierced straight through Ifu's chest.
Around them lay the other ninja, all struck down by a single, instantly fatal blow.
"You... You're... that defector... the Raiton user..." Ifu choked out.
"I am a missing-nin, that's true," Kakashi stated calmly, withdrawing his hand. "But not from the Land of Water."
The Kirigakure Jōnin collapsed lifelessly.
The infants' cries were still piercing. Kakashi opened the carriage door. Inside, apart from a few who had wet themselves, none of the children were harmed.
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