Skirmish
The reconnaissance net was one of Shirō's more recent innovations, the result of years of trial and error.
It consisted of insect-like puppets powered by a small internal chakra source, designed to serve as relays in a detection network. Shirō's first idea had been to link the system directly to his own senses, but he quickly abandoned the thought—tampering with his own nervous system was far too risky.
Human experimentation was also out of the question, so in the end he settled on using the snakes of Ryūchi Cave. Low-ranking snakes were plentiful, bred quickly, and held little standing in the hierarchy. They were ideal test subjects.
The system's best host turned out to be the Gray Snake, already a natural tracker. When combined with the perception net, its sensory abilities rivaled those of the Inuzuka's ninken or even the Aburame's kikaichū.
Still, the design had serious drawbacks. The fragile puppets required time to set up, and the network placed heavy strain on the host's brain. For the Gray Snake, normal reconnaissance could be maintained for a full day, but in high-intensity mode it could only endure for three minutes before collapse.
That limitation alone made the technique unreliable in combat, but even so, Shirō refused to discard it. Once set, its detection ability was powerful enough to catch nearly anything below jōnin level—and sometimes even them.
Thus, Shirō and his team advanced steadily while deploying the network. By noon, the setup was complete, and the Gray Snake had linked in. Their journey to the border was uneventful, interrupted only by a few groups of mountain bandits.
Shirō's squad never lifted a finger. Such rabble were easily handled by the minister's samurai escort, and the ninja's priority was the minister himself. Bandits, after all, were sometimes bait for ambushes. The possibility of enemy shinobi using them as a distraction, however slim, meant it was better to conserve strength.
The older samurai understood this well, but some of the younger ones were less gracious. They sneered at Shirō, Shikamaru, and Tai Yi, dismissing them as pampered heirs riding on family names.
The trio ignored them. Shirō, older in spirit than in appearance, had long outgrown such childishness. Shikamaru and Tai Yi had seen enough of the world not to waste breath on prideful men. Strength would speak for itself.
"Wait. Something's coming."
Shirō's voice sharpened. A pulse from the Gray Snake's net flowed into his mind, and he raised a hand for the convoy to halt.
The lead samurai, a grizzled veteran, immediately obeyed. Unlike his younger companions, he knew the weight of a shinobi's warning.
"Shirō," he said tersely, "what are we dealing with?"
Shirō formed a quick seal, syncing his vision with the Gray Snake. His eyes narrowed.
"Roughly thirty shinobi. Their chakra signatures are faint—the strongest only at chūnin level. No village insignia. They're moving straight for us."
Nakamura, the squad leader, frowned. "No headbands? Then we treat them as rogue elements. Eliminate them before they become a problem. Tai Yi and I will stay with the minister. Shirō, Shikamaru—you're on strike."
"Understood."
The veteran samurai turned to Nakamura, still skeptical. "Are those two truly enough?"
Nakamura's answer was calm, yet carried weight. "This mission came directly from Hokage-sama. Their ability is not in question."
That ended the discussion. The samurai fell into formation around the minister's carriage, while Shirō and Shikamaru stepped forward.
Shirō flicked a shuriken into the treeline, a wordless signal that their presence had been uncovered.
Then he produced a vial of blood, smearing it across his palm. "Heh. Wrong day to cross our path," Shikamaru muttered, glancing at the shadow of a massive cloud overhead.
"Summoning Technique: Blue Snake!"
With a puff of smoke, the Blue Snake coiled into existence, its tongue flicking in anticipation.
"Blue Snake—Binding Genjutsu!"
"Hissss~"
At once, the enemy who emerged from the brush froze, their movements locked by the snake's illusion.
"W-what is this?! My body… won't move!"
Shirō's eyes sharpened. "Projection, begin!"
His magic circuits flared, and a series of paper bombs shimmered into existence, projected into Shikamaru's waiting shadows.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!"
Shikamaru's shadow snaked outward, attaching the projected tags directly to immobilized enemies.
"Detonate."
The forest lit with a thunderous roar as the tags erupted, the rogue shinobi torn apart before they could even resist.
When the smoke cleared, the path ahead was silent once more.
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