Deep within the dense forests of Central Land of Lightning.
The environment here was damp and cold, the air seemingly solidified, as a Ninja squad silently advanced through the mountains.
The seven individuals wore no headbands from any Ninja Village, making their identities difficult to discern.
Leading them was a young man with a clear disability.
He wore a black robe, half his face was bandaged, and the right sleeve of his body hung empty, swinging as he leapt. His remaining left hand rested on the hilt of the Ninja blade at his waist.
At a glance, it was evident this was an extremely elite squad. The seven maintained a stable formation even while moving, each fully focused and guarding a specific direction.
This was the "Special Tactics Unit" that, under the leadership of Danzo Shimura, was tasked with disrupting Kumogakure's logistics, having infiltrated the Land of Lightning from the Land of Frost.
And the one-armed man leading them, needless to say, was Danzo Shimura, disciple of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, as Danzo raised his left hand, the entire team halted in unison, turning their gaze to one of them.
"Otsu, how is it?"
The man called Otsu was named Mitokado Ichiro, a Jonin of the Mitokado Clan, and the only sensory Ninja in the entire team.
As it was a covert operation deep behind enemy lines, to prevent their identities from being exposed, Danzo had instructed them not to use their original names.
Throughout the operation, they were to refer to each other by the codenames "Kou, Otsu, Hei, Tei, Bo, Ki, Ko."
Mitokado Ichiro formed the 'Un' hand seal, closed his eyes, and sensed carefully for a moment, his expression growing increasingly grim.
"I've sensed a very massive Chakra. The number of enemies is unknown, possibly hundreds."
"Hundreds?"
Danzo couldn't help but frown upon hearing this.
Regardless, this was certainly not the scale of a normal logistics team. Had their infiltration been discovered?
Furthermore, how could Kumogakure still have such ample troops after the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku?
The situation was urgent, and Danzo didn't have time to think further. He quickly moved his squad.
A moment later, the seven appeared atop a towering cliff nearby.
Danzo Shimura's one-armed figure stood beneath the shadows of the trees, his sole remaining left eye sharp as an eagle's, watching the winding procession in the valley below.
"Captain, this scale... it's at least two full companies."
Beside him, his clansman, the Jonin Shimura Gyounin, couldn't help but whisper, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible tremor.
This was no logistics unit—it was clearly Kumogakure's reinforcements being sent to the front lines, incidentally escorting supplies.
Danzo's fingertips unconsciously stroked the hilt of his blade. It seemed the pressure Senju Mori was exerting on the main battlefield far exceeded his expectations, forcing the Third Raikage to such a grand display.
Danzo remained calm and did not foolishly attempt to attack this large force.
"Reinforcements..."
His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing, and his fingers unconsciously stroked the hilt of his Ninja blade.
"Target changed."
After a brief moment of thought, Danzo suddenly turned, his gaze sweeping over the six Jonin behind him, each with a different expression:
"Bypass them and continue towards the Hidden Cloud Village."
The squad moved swiftly in oppressive silence, penetrating deep into the Land of Lightning's heart like ghosts.
They were like the most patient hunters, traversing and scouting the mountains and valleys surrounding the Hidden Cloud Village, searching for the prey that could fulfill Danzo's ambition.
After several hours of searching, as they bypassed a heavily guarded supply warehouse, Mitokado Ichiro suddenly stopped, his face instantly turning pale.
"Captain!"
He pointed towards a distant valley, surrounded by steep rock walls, as if isolated from the world:
"It's in that direction... inside the valley... there's a... a massive, terrifying, chaotic, and hate-filled Chakra!"
"Cloud Thunder Gorge..."
Danzo murmured the name of the place, which he had extracted through genjutsu torture. The cold light in his single eye, which had been searching for prey, was suddenly replaced by a nearly pathological madness.
The greatest prey, it turned out, had been waiting for him here all along.
He barely hesitated, and the corners of his mouth, which had been tense from being deep behind enemy lines, even curved into a barely perceptible smile.
"Prepare for action!"
"Yes!"
...The so-called Cloud Thunder Gorge was nothing special; previously, it was just an ordinary valley among the countless others surrounding the Hidden Cloud Village.
Barren mountains, tranquil deep pools, rarely visited and shrouded in mist.
These were all its characteristics.
Until—it became the location of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Kumogakure's Sealing Jutsu was not mature. Since the First Hokage Senju Hashirama distributed the Tailed Beasts, the previous two Raikage had made multiple attempts to create controllable war weapons, but always ended in failure.
To prevent the rampaging Eight-Tails from destroying the Village, they had no choice but to house the Jinchuriki separately within this secluded gorge.
The rock walls acted as a natural cage, but in Mitokado Ichiro's perception, the Tailed Beast Chakra leaking from the Jinchuriki was like a lighthouse, constantly guiding them.
Danzo's squad moved like phantoms in the night, silently eliminating the guards patrolling the entrance and inside the gorge.
As he expected, only an ordinary Cloud Hidden Anbu squad remained. Under their absolute strength and carefully planned surprise attack, they couldn't even organize decent resistance before silently falling.
Looking at the Cloud Hidden Anbu uniforms on the corpses, a ruthless glint flashed in Danzo's sole remaining left eye.
"Change into their clothes."
A moment later, seven "Cloud Hidden Anbu," wearing masks, escorted a slender figure completely shrouded in a large cloak, leaving the Cloud Thunder Gorge and heading towards the nearby Hidden Cloud Village.
Beneath the shadow of the cloak was a pale, terrified, and numb young boy's face... The Hidden Cloud Village did not have a large-scale barrier covering the entire Village, but for the people living in this Village, the surrounding rugged mountains and deep gorges were themselves the strongest natural barriers.
The entire Village was like a fortress deeply rooted in the mountains, including the most prominent "Raikage Building," with countless structures embedded like eagle nests in the steep rock faces.
At the Village entrance, two Chunin on duty leaned idly against the mountain rocks when they suddenly saw an Anbu squad approaching with a captive.
"By order, transfer the 'Container' to the Barrier Unit for reinforced inspection."
The Anbu captain leading them spoke with a cold, unquestionable tone.
He didn't even wait for the guards to respond before striding into the Village on his own, with the other Anbu following in unison, as if they didn't even consider the two guards.
Their indifferent and arrogant demeanor caused the two Chunin to swallow their questions, and they could only grumble, watching the squad merge into the staggered shadows of the Village.
Concealed by his robe, Danzo quietly withdrew his left hand from his Ninja blade. Unbeknownst to them, the two Kumogakure Chunin's discretion had saved their lives.