"Found them!"
The Iwa shinobi crouching on the ground opened his eyes, a spark of excitement on his weary face. "Three kilometers ahead, the target has stopped and hasn't moved. They must be resting." After tracking the target all the way from Iwagakure, nearly crossing half of the Land of Earth, they were finally catching up, just before the target could leave the country's borders.
Reflecting on the journey, it was impossible not to be impressed by how formidable the person they were pursuing was.
As a part of a team from Iwagakure that specialized in "hunting," they'd been on numerous similar missions, but they had never encountered such a difficult opponent before. It had taken them all the way to the border to catch up. Truly deserving of the title "Wandering Shrine Maiden"… though they still weren't sure. There was no concrete evidence that the person they were chasing was the famed Wandering Shrine Maiden, or even if the target was truly a spy from Konoha.
All would be clear once they captured the target.
Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Wenga didn't seem overly excited. Instead, he turned to another team member. "What about you, Wall Bee? Any discoveries?"
"No sign of scent dispersal. The target seems to be the real body, not a shadow clone. But there's always the possibility that they have some method of masking their presence. If their skills surpass mine, it's possible we've been deceived," replied Wall Bee, surrounded by his swarming bees.
"Wall Bee, aren't you being too cautious?"
The sensor ninja from earlier muttered under his breath.
"I've never met anyone who could evade both my sensory jutsu and your tracking skills!"
"Caution never hurts. Humility and vigilance help prevent mistakes born of arrogance. Our clan fell into disgrace because we were too proud. A hard lesson learned..."
His rambling made everyone's heads spin.
Still, despite their exasperation, they understood why this man—Uehasu Wall Bee—was so careful. The Uehasu clan, once a famous bug-user clan in the shinobi world, had a proud history alongside Konoha's Aburame clan, both tracing their lineage back to the Warring States period.
However, their fates had diverged drastically.
During the Second Shinobi War, the Uehasu clan volunteered as the vanguard for Iwagakure in their assault on Konoha. To counter the Uehasu's insects, the Aburame clan stepped forward. The ensuing battle between these ancient bug-user clans was fiercer than any conflict they had ever faced, even during the Warring States period. In the end, the Uehasu clan was defeated.
This loss shattered the Uehasu clan's standing in Iwagakure. Too many of their elite members had perished on the front lines, leaving the clan with little to rebuild from. Year by year, they weakened, their decline becoming so severe that they were now almost like the Kurama clan in Konoha—if not worse.
At least the Kurama clan had a future with their unique bloodline limit manifesting again in Kurama Yakumo, who might lead them back to glory.
The Uehasu clan wasn't so fortunate. It seemed that their family's vitality had been drained in that war. Their current generation still had a few skilled members, like Wall Bee, but the future looked bleak, with no promising heirs on the horizon.
"Enough, Wall Bee. If the target has abilities beyond our own, there's nothing we can do about that. What we need to do is focus on what's within our capabilities. Now that we've confirmed it's the real body, let's proceed with the plan."
Wenga cut off Wall Bee's incessant chatter, though he didn't blame him, understanding the Uehasu clan's predicament. With a decisive order, they prepared to move. For shinobi, the three-kilometer distance was nothing. They didn't split up but instead advanced swiftly, following the guidance of their sensor ninja.
Their team, excluding Kurotsuchi and Rinba, consisted of thirteen members, including Wenga.
This meant that Wenga commanded three full squads of elite shinobi. While teams usually consisted of three shinobi, there was often a more powerful captain leading them, making it a four-person unit. In this case, all three squads were comprised of elite members.
Not counting Wenga, six of the twelve shinobi were jonin. Including Wenga and Rinba, the group had a total of eight jonin-level shinobi, with some like Wall Bee having mastery over secret techniques.
Such a large force was deployed because the target was possibly the Wandering Shrine Maiden. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths for just a spy.
"Rinba, stay alert," Wenga warned as they closed in.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my role," Rinba replied, more serious than before, casting a glance at Kurotsuchi. Her task was to protect Kurotsuchi, and nothing else mattered—whether Wenga's mission succeeded or failed was none of her concern. Her sole responsibility was to ensure Kurotsuchi's safe return.
Kurotsuchi, unaware of Wenga and Rinba's conversation, was tense, gripping a kunai tightly. The veins on her hand bulged from the effort. Though she had seen combat before, this mission felt different. In the past, she had fought bandits and thieves alongside her grandfather, Deidara, and Akatsuchi, enemies who had no chance against them. But this time, they were up against a spy who had successfully infiltrated Iwagakure and stolen valuable information.
Whether the spy was the legendary Wandering Shrine Maiden or not, Doctor Shiso was certainly no ordinary person.
"Be careful," Wall Bee growled.
The team came to an abrupt halt as Rinba grabbed Kurotsuchi by the collar to stop her.
"It's an explosive tag."
A group of bees buzzed over the ground ahead, flying in a pattern that formed three lines, perfectly blocking the team's path. Kurotsuchi knew these weren't ordinary bees—they were bred by the Uehasu clan and had various abilities depending on the species. However, with so many types of bees, most Uehasu members only specialized in a few.
Wall Bee glanced at Wenga, who nodded in approval. Wall Bee then picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it towards the area where the bees had hovered. Immediately, the hidden explosive tag was triggered. The bees had already returned to Wall Bee's side, avoiding the blast.
The explosion signaled the start of action.
"The target is moving, southeast, very fast," the sensor ninja reported, his eyes closed as he used his jutsu.
Wenga remained silent, mimicking Wall Bee's earlier action by picking up stones and tossing them toward the spots where the bees had hovered. More explosions echoed. The other Iwa shinobi followed suit, quickly clearing the rest of the traps.
Ninjutsu consumes chakra, so whenever possible, shinobi prefer to rely on taijutsu or other methods to avoid wasting chakra. Even shuriken and kunai were used sparingly. Instead of using kunai to trigger the tags, they used stones, exemplifying the resourcefulness and survival instincts of the shinobi world.
"Wenga-ojisan, we..." Kurotsuchi began anxiously.
"Don't worry, they won't escape. Someone's already on their trail."
Wenga's calm assurance cut off Kurotsuchi's worries. She realized now that four members of their team were missing. A smart girl, she understood that her concerns had been unnecessary and that her words had only slowed down their mission.
She fell silent.
Without further words, Wenga signaled, and two of his squads moved out, while Kurotsuchi and Rinba followed at the rear.
Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi, exhausted and nearing her destination, couldn't afford to rest as Iwa shinobi closed in on her...
"A pincer attack, huh?"
Yakushi Nono remained calm and collected. She suddenly halted, closed her eyes, and tossed a flash bomb behind her.
The blinding light forced the Iwa ninja to shut their eyes, making them hesitant to advance. Instead, they shifted their positions to avoid getting hit by a sneak attack from Nono. However, they didn't hear the familiar whizzing sound of shuriken in the air. Instead, they heard something else hit the ground.
Another flash bomb? No, it wasn't.
Even with their eyes closed, they could still sense the intensity of the light. What hit the ground wasn't a flash bomb—they could feel the brightness rapidly fading. When they opened their eyes, they were greeted by a thick white smoke.
"A smoke bomb? You won't escape using such cheap tricks."
One of the Iwa ninja sneered, spouting threats. Still, he didn't recklessly charge into the smoke. Someone was watching from the shadows, ensuring that Nono wouldn't slip away. Smoke bombs could only cover a limited area. In a one-on-one fight, they might be effective at confusing the enemy, but right now it was many versus one.
"Wait, this isn't a smoke bomb—it's poison!"
Another ninja sniffed the air, detecting a faint, strange scent. His face paled, and without a second thought, he kicked off and retreated. But he didn't even manage two steps before his limbs went weak, dizziness clouded his vision, and the world turned upside down. Just before collapsing, he saw his comrades had already fallen to the ground.
"What kind of poison is this? So potent…"
With that bitter thought, the Iwa ninja succumbed and hit the ground.
"Only two... What a hassle! These pursuers…"
Nono stepped out of the smoke with a calm expression. She glanced at the two unconscious ninja, a hint of annoyance flickering in her eyes. After throwing the flash bomb, she had also tossed two specially made smoke bombs. These weren't filled with deadly poison but a sedative she had synthesized herself.
During her many missions, she realized that instead of focusing on creating lethal poisons, developing a sleep-inducing drug was much simpler and easier to counteract. It allowed her to subdue enemies without harming herself.
As long as the enemy was incapacitated, that was enough! Even if someone tried to force them awake, the lingering weakness and numbness in their limbs would prevent them from fighting for a while.
Unfortunately, this drug only lasted for a brief moment after being released, and its range was quite limited. It could only catch enemies off guard once. If they were prepared, the same trick wouldn't work again. Additionally, she had only prepared five of these enhanced smoke bombs, and her ninja tool pouch had limited space. Even with scrolls, it was inconvenient to retrieve items mid-battle.
She wasn't skilled in the kind of fighting that relied on manipulating scrolls and deploying ninja tools.
"You won't escape, Doctor Siso."
A voice echoed from all around, making it impossible to pinpoint the source. "Surrender now! If you give up and answer our questions truthfully, I can guarantee you won't suffer too much. But if you resist, we'll be forced to use... harsher methods. And that will be quite painful, I assure you!"
Nono didn't respond. She scanned the area, trying to find the source of the voice, but the speaker was moving. This reminded her of the Iwa ninja's special technique, the Rock Camouflage Jutsu, which allowed them to become invisible.
"This is troublesome," she thought.
Then, the next moment, she spotted Wenya and his team in her line of sight. Her previously calm expression turned grim, and her heart sank. Wenya had come after her himself.
After spending several years undercover in Iwagakure, Nono had learned about the village's most powerful shinobi, and Wenya was one of them.
Among the elite of Iwagakure, Wenya—a massive, bear-like man—was ranked in the top 15. He was the kind of opponent Nono least wanted to face. Though she was known as a legendary spy and possessed considerable combat skills, her abilities had weakened after years of not training as rigorously. While she could still handle ordinary jonin, someone of Wenya's caliber was a different story.
"This is going to be a huge problem," Nono muttered under her breath, her expression heavy.
"Doctor Siso."
"…Kurotsuchi?"
Nono was taken aback. She had been so focused on Wenya that she hadn't noticed the slender girl nearby. It wasn't until Kurotsuchi called her name that Nono realized she was there. Instinctively, she blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm an Iwa ninja! Isn't it obvious why I'm here?"
Kurotsuchi struggled to control her emotions, keeping her voice calm despite her urge to shout. "I should be asking you, Doctor Siso—who are you, really? Were all those things you told me lies?"
Nono remained silent.
She didn't feel she had done anything wrong. As a Konoha ninja, even if she had been forced into this mission by Danzo, she understood that if it hadn't been her, someone else would have done the same job. For the sake of Konoha's peace, someone had to make sacrifices.
But looking at Kurotsuchi, Nono couldn't help but think of the children at the orphanage. A soft spot in her heart made it difficult for her to hurt this girl.
"Doctor Siso, answer me! Who are you really? They're saying you're a Konoha spy, the so-called Walking Witch. Is that true? Tell me, Siso-sister!"
As Kurotsuchi's voice grew louder, Nono could only watch in silence.
Meanwhile, Wenya observed coldly, choosing not to strike while Kurotsuchi was talking. He merely gestured for his men to spread out and set up a trap, ready to ensnare Nono. They had the upper hand, but Wenya knew that while killing Nono would be easy, capturing her alive was much more valuable. The Tsuchikage's orders were clear: if possible, capture her alive.
A living spy was worth far more than a corpse.
Even with secret techniques to extract information from the dead, those methods were unreliable, depending largely on luck. Sometimes, they revealed important secrets, but often, they unearthed nothing but useless memories.
"…I'm a Konoha ninja."
Seeing the familiar face of Kurotsuchi, Nono felt a pang of sadness. She had spent several years in Iwagakure, and despite knowing she shouldn't form bonds with anyone there, she could never harden her heart toward children.
As soon as the words left her mouth, a bitter smile tugged at her lips.
Her love for children had always been her biggest weakness.
"Why? Siso-sister, I trusted you... Why would you…?"
"Because I'm a Konoha ninja, Kurotsuchi. Just like you're an Iwa ninja, I'm only doing my duty as a Konoha ninja. I infiltrated Iwagakure to gather information and protect my village from yours. Don't ask why—it's just the burden we both carry."
Nono took a deep breath, clearing her mind of any distractions, and steeled herself.
To return to Konoha, to see the children at the orphanage again, she would fight her way through even the toughest of odds. No one would stop her from going home—not even Kurotsuchi. Her gaze grew cold and steely as she surveyed the Iwa ninja surrounding her. A fierce, resolute killing intent radiated from her.
Kurotsuchi was left speechless by Nono's words.
It was true.
She was an Iwa ninja, and Siso—Nono—was a Konoha ninja. Their conflict didn't need any further explanation. The enmity between Konoha and Iwa determined they could never be friends. Kurotsuchi also knew that her grandfather was planning a war with Konoha.
If her overheard conversations were accurate, Iwa's forces might already be marching south. By the time this mission ended, she might not even need to return to the village. She could meet her grandfather and father directly on the southern border.
As Kurotsuchi fell silent, it seemed their conversation had ended. Wenya, seizing the moment, gave a small hand signal.
The battle had begun.
Under orders to capture Nono alive, the Iwa ninja refrained from using large-scale ninjutsu. Instead, they closed in for hand-to-hand combat. Even knowing Nono was a poison expert, and close contact posed a high risk, they didn't waver.
For the village, For the mission, Sacrifices were acceptable—even their own lives.
Wenya remained still. As the commander of the operation, he didn't need to act just yet. Nono wasn't an easy opponent. He wanted his subordinates to wear her down, depleting her chakra and forcing her to reveal her trump cards. Once she was sufficiently weakened, Wenya would step in for the final blow.
It was a brutal, yet highly effective, strategy.
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