Under the green moss on the northern stone pillar, there were indeed many footprints. The footprints, based on their direction, clearly indicated that those strange dogs were no natural creatures of the ninja world. They had come from the north. After a short rest, the group continued moving forward, following the remaining footprints and other subtle signs that pointed the way.
The dense fog remained a persistent annoyance.
However—
After following those faint traces for some distance, the surroundings gradually changed. The ground underfoot became smooth and orderly, and the rows of cedar trees around them appeared unnaturally arranged, almost as if someone had planted them that way on purpose. They stopped in their tracks when they saw a massive, intricately carved stone gate blocking their path, with a grand stone palace standing proudly behind it.
"...Hey, who would build a palace in this creepy place?" Kakashi muttered to himself as he gazed up at the massive gate engraved with celestial patterns.
"Probably someone... or some people who wouldn't want to be seen," murmured Suigetsu, scanning the surroundings.
"By the way, this place is technically part of the Land of Fire, right? Doesn't the border patrol come through here?"
"Well…" Kakashi replied, drawing out his tone with a sigh. "Across the mountain, there's the Land of Iron."
It wasn't that the Leaf Village ninja lacked vigilance; it was just that the Land of Iron, being the only permanent neutral nation in the ninja world, had kept a strict adherence to past agreements with the shinobi. During the Second Great Ninja War, they only fought the Rain Village because of provocation, even then only defending themselves when Rain declared war.
Thanks to the honorable conduct of the Land of Iron's samurai, when Leaf Village troops were spread thin during the Third Great Ninja War, they had to reduce their patrol range. The border regions, like Sumiru Mountain adjacent to the Land of Iron, were completely abandoned. Later, it proved beneficial, as the Land of Iron maintained its neutral stance, refusing requests from Stone and Cloud Village to pass through and strike deep into the Land of Fire.
Both times, the Land of Iron had stood firm, threatening anyone who dared cross its borders with all-out resistance.
Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the Border Guard has continued to focus on high-priority areas, leaving remote places like Sumiru Mountain unpatrolled. So, no one had discovered that a magnificent palace had been built here.
"A permanent neutral nation, huh?" Suigetsu shrugged.
Living on the coast, the Mist Village had rarely intervened on the mainland since the era of the Second Mizukage, mainly skirmishing with the Leaf, Sand, or Cloud Villages. Their knowledge of the Land of Iron came mostly from reports.
Kakashi added, "Right, the Land of Iron stays neutral, so there's barely any guard presence in the Sumiru area, making it easy to exploit. If only…" He trailed off, realizing that having known this wouldn't have made a difference.
The Land of Fire has seen too much conflict.
There are never enough Leaf ninjas. The Border Guard always lacks personnel, and even now, they're stretched thin.
"Yeah, well, once we're back, I'll file a report about it. There are probably other spots like Sumiru Mountain, neglected and hiding who knows what," Kakashi thought, realizing this situation likely wasn't unique to Sumiru. Who knew what other hidden threats lay in forgotten places?
"Let's worry about that after we get back. Kakashi, we've got company!"
"Again?"
Kakashi flexed his fingers, and his kunai spun like a butterfly as he glanced upward. Odd-looking giant birds had broken through the clouds, entering their view. "Are those… birds?"
"If they're flying, what else could they be? Wait—something's falling from them!"
Right as the words left his mouth, feathers rained down like a storm.
Luckily, with their skills, dodging the barrage of feathers wasn't a problem.
"Hold on."
Itachi's Sharingan flashed red as he saw traces of chakra embedded within the feathers—patterns that were strikingly familiar, similar to the explosive tags his clan created and sold. These weren't feathers; they were bombs.
"Watch out! These feathers are explosive!"
As he spoke, Chisao had already grabbed Yugao and moved her aside. Being an Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan herself, her perceptive abilities weren't far behind Itachi's, the clan's rising star, so she, too, had sensed something off with the feathers.
But with Itachi there, there was no need for her to say anything.
True to form, Itachi warned them as soon as he noticed the threat. Although Kakashi also had a Sharingan, it wasn't an original, so he was a step behind Itachi and Chisao. Still, his movements were just as quick as he dodged the incoming feathers.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions reverberated through the mountain, and the intense flames dispersed the surrounding cold mist. The cleared view revealed more clearly the thirty or forty strange birds circling overhead.
"Birds that drop bombs?"
Suigetsu squinted at the birds in the sky, feeling a headache coming on.
Flying creatures… what a hassle! None of them were particularly skilled at aerial combat. In fact, ninja capable of aerial battles were extremely rare, and even within the Leaf Village, there weren't many who could fly.
Although there existed the technique Super Beast Scroll, which could theoretically be taught to anyone, it required a combination of the yang chakra nature and a decent level of artistic skill. While the Uchiha clan's prodigies could use the Sharingan to copy artistic techniques, the nature of yang chakra eliminated 99.9% of them as potential users.
Even Madara himself had needed the support of the shark-skin sword Samehada to enhance his yang chakra mastery before he could learn Super Beast Scroll.
In any case, these strange birds were indeed a troublesome foe for Kakashi and the others.
And, unfortunately, their troubles didn't end there.
Swoosh!
With a flash of speed, Kimimaro's bone sword struck out, piercing a strange, blue-scaled snake that had been slithering down the nearby rock wall.
"There are snakes!"
He shouted, alerting the rest of the group.
However...
When he was about to discard the pierced, monstrous blue-scaled snake, it suddenly split along the wound, dividing into two, and lunged at Kimimaro again.
"Splitting? Regenerating?"
Kimimaro raised his eyebrows slightly.
With a flick of his bone blade, he sliced through the two snakes with lightning speed, cutting them into segments. The pieces on the ground, however, did not die. They continued writhing, pulling back together and reassembling into four blue-scaled snakes, then launched a third assault on Kimimaro.
What on earth is this creature?
Kimimaro frowned.
Someone else might have been terrified by the relentless regeneration of these blue-scaled monsters, but for Kimimaro... He used to show a range of expressions when he was younger; he looked amusingly annoyed when angry. However, whether it was in his nature or an influence from Uchiha Itachi, as he grew, he became increasingly composed.
Now, he'd become an expressionless person, seemingly immune to fear, with a face as cold as the perpetually frozen northern peaks of the Land of Snow.
These endlessly regenerating blue-scaled snakes didn't faze him.
"Itachi, switch up. These creatures aren't affected much by taijutsu." Kimimaro stepped back with calm precision, switching places with Uchiha Itachi. These creatures weren't attacking from all sides but coming from one direction.
On the other side, Uchiha Itachi was dealing with a batch of monster dogs equipped with crossbows on their shoulders, which he had already thinned out.
When it came to handling these monster dogs, Kimimaro was even more efficient than Uchiha Itachi.
As Itachi and Kimimaro cooperated seamlessly to clear out the creatures, Ringo Ameyuri and Uchiha Chizuru took on the airborne monsters. Suigetsu Hozuki overlooked one fact: while none of them could fly, it didn't mean they lacked effective countermeasures.
Uchiha Chizuru unleashed wind blades that tore through the air, splitting the monstrous birds mid-flight with her deadly sword and wind combination technique. Suigetsu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
However, what surprised him the most was Ameyuri.
"Damn… Ameyuri, your lightning technique has really advanced, huh?" Suigetsu remarked, watching the vast, ominous cloud layer above roll with flashes of lightning. The deafening thunder made his ears ring.
This was quite the impressive sight!
"Ameyuri's strong," Chizuru commented curtly, glancing at Suigetsu.
"I know! Ameyuri's a genius; it's just…we haven't worked together in a while. I didn't expect her to improve this much," Suigetsu sighed. Though they were both from Kirigakure, he rarely needed to act as Deputy Chief in the Intelligence Division.
More often than not, it was Chizuru and Ameyuri teaming up, and they could handle most problems on their own.
And it looked like that was the case here too.
With Ameyuri going all out, the monster birds fell like rain under the relentless strikes of lightning. Even the ground-based monster dogs and snakes couldn't escape the devastating bolts.
---
Miroko Mountain, secret lab in the palace depths.
"Oh? Discovered the third beast pen?" Inside a tank resembling a bed, a child of about seven or eight lay submerged in thick, green liquid, with only his nose and eyes exposed.
"They're moving faster than I expected. But…it's already too late."
"Konoha, just wait! Soon, I'll be back!"
His delighted laughter echoed through the lab. Having successfully taken four bloodline limits with the Gimyaku technique, his mood was beyond elated. The strange, white creature Homma had brought with the Wood Release bloodline brought him tremendous delight. He not only gained the Wood Release but also a "vessel" beyond his initial expectations.
Lying in the tank, Hiruko felt his life force steadily replenishing, filling with nutrients.
Fortunately, he had used an abundant configuration for the nutrient solution.
Otherwise, his initial calculations would have left him starving in this new body, but now he was content. Even the likely destruction of the third beast pen on Sumiru Mountain couldn't sour his mood.
"Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru! Soon! I'll catch up to you, and then…surpass you all!"
---
On Hundred Flowers Street, in the casino called Nishidoin,
A young, attractive dealer gracefully escorted the high-rolling "Big Spender" out of the casino. Though she was gorgeous and enviable, she was somewhat unhappy, watching the guest who lived up to her name as a "Big Spender" leave after losing so much money — an excellent commission for the dealer!
Tsunade walked out of the casino in low spirits.
Beside her, Shizune held her pet pig Tonton, looking tearful.
They'd lost again — completely cleaned out.
Not a penny left.
In fact, they owed a significant debt to the de facto ruler of Hundred Flowers Street, the lord of the nearby areas — the head of the Jabami family. Tsunade had sought out a loan after losing all her cash the previous day, and the rather eerie head of the Jabami family had lent her the money without hesitation.
Shizune wasn't surprised by this.
After all, Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage and the last of the Senju clan.
Not to mention, as the most skilled medical ninja in the world, the noble families of the Fire Country were more than willing to lend her money — the more, the better, ideally without repayment.
Shizune was only worried because they had no money left and would likely have to sleep outdoors tonight.
After all, Tsunade never asked the same person for a loan twice in the same place.
Just as Shizune was despairing—
"What's this?"
Tsunade bent down to pick up a coin from the roadside.
"Huh?!"
Shizune was stunned. "Tsunade-sama actually picked up money? No way!" Could this really be happening? This had to be a joke, right?
But,
Strangely, even though she'd found money, Tsunade didn't look happy.
Holding the coin, a slight frown crossed her face, and a hint of dread stirred within her.
Then—
"A monster!!!"
Screams erupted down the street.
Chaos spread through Hundred Flowers Street like a domino effect. Standing in the street, Tsunade and Shizune watched as a pale, armored, winged creature with a horn, four legs, and two tails approached the street.
"It's a monster! Tsunade-sama, let's run! It's really a monster!"
Shizune screamed in terror.
But—
Tsunade didn't move, her brow furrowing deeply as a strange sense of familiarity stirred within her upon seeing the creature.