After leaving Lōran, Senju Hikaru didn't hesitate for even a moment—he headed straight toward the Land of Rivers.
This trip had already paid off beyond his expectations.
Far beyond.
Originally, his plan had been simple:
Take a portion of the Dragon Vein's chakra.
See if he could squeeze something useful out of the Hashirama flesh.
And check whether his Chakra Fruit had matured—so he'd have enough reserves to deal with whatever trouble came next.
But now?
Not only had Hikaru resolved his chakra problem—at least for the time being.
Yes, he'd plant seeds again later, but right now, his reserves were at their peak.
And more than that—
He'd gained something that mattered more to the Senju than anything else.
Wood Release.
On the surface, Wood Release had vanished from the shinobi world.
But Hikaru knew the truth—there were still people who could use it.
The tragic part?
Not a single one of them was a true Senju.
So for Hikaru—a legitimate Senju descendant—to awaken Wood Release…
The impact on the clan's morale was hard to even imagine.
Yes. He planned to reveal it.
But only to one person:
Senju Shōma.
Sometimes the value of a secret isn't in hiding it forever.
It's in revealing it to the right person—at the right time—so the secret turns into leverage.
"Still… the requirements for Wood Release are absurdly high."
He ran while thinking, calm as ever.
"Advanced Earth Release, Advanced Water Release… and Yang Release support before it even activates."
But the more he thought about it, the more "normal" it felt.
Wood Release was powerful enough to suppress even the extreme product of Yin Release—Susanoo.
That kind of thing almost certainly relied on an extreme level of Yang Release.
Without strong Yang Release backing it, Wood Release's value probably dropped sharply.
You could see it in Yamato.
To be blunt, Hikaru had always suspected Yamato became a "construction master" because he didn't have enough Yang Release to bring out Wood Release's true lethality.
As for Hikaru's current Wood Release…
He couldn't test it thoroughly.
He didn't have the reference materials.
And even if he did, there was no way he'd use it openly.
He was going to keep it hidden—until the right moment.
Still, even without manuals, even without public use…
He'd stumbled onto something interesting.
Seeds.
He found that even if he couldn't yet create branches and trunks at will, he could form small tree seeds.
They were condensed entirely from his chakra, and they could spread quietly through the area around him.
After several rounds of experimentation, Hikaru could now use the technique reliably.
For him, that was a major combat upgrade.
It meant he could face enemies who used to feel troublesome… with far more composure.
"Hmm?"
He moved swiftly through the Land of Wind. Under the glaring desert sun, his shadow stretched long across the dunes.
He'd been away from Lōran for nearly five days.
Five straight days of travel.
And maybe his earlier performance had been too convincing—because along the way, he hadn't encountered a single shinobi.
It actually annoyed him.
He was almost at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers…
When he sensed something and lifted his gaze.
A trained hawk swept across the sky.
Its cry was sharp—piercingly loud.
And with that cry, Hikaru clearly felt multiple presences converging on his position.
He couldn't help a quiet laugh.
"Finally."
He didn't stop walking.
If anything, he welcomed it.
He had no intention of "returning" cleanly and quietly.
He wanted to test what he'd gained.
And he hadn't forgotten that Pakura was currently in Kakashi's hands. If nothing went wrong, Kakashi should've already escorted her back to Konoha.
Hikaru understood some things about Pakura's situation…
But he needed more.
He needed intelligence—real intelligence—before he planned his next move.
If everything lined up, he might even be able to squeeze out more benefits.
More leverage.
Buzz—!
Without warning, a storm of kunai screamed toward him.
They tore through the air, completely covering his position.
Hikaru watched calmly.
Then—one-handed seals.
His chakra surged out in a thick wave.
In the past, he might've used Body Flicker to instantly leave the kill zone.
But now?
With no seeds draining him, he could afford simpler, louder answers.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground erupted.
A massive earthen wall rose with a roar.
And on the face of that wall—
Hikaru carved, with deliberate bad taste, a huge lizard head with five prayer beads.
Lizardmaru's likeness.
All the kunai slammed into the wall and stuck there, unable to break through.
"Hm?"
Hikaru's brow lifted.
He sprang backward, leaping away from the cover he'd created.
The next instant—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion detonated.
A sea of sand blasted upward, and Hikaru's earthen wall collapsed under the force.
Explosive tags.
The Suna shinobi chasing him weren't careless amateurs—they were experienced.
And the moment Hikaru landed, they followed up without giving him a breath.
"Wind Release: Great Air Cannon!"
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
"Wind Release: Wind-Slicing Blade!"
Multiple Wind Release techniques crashed toward him in rapid succession, stacking into a brutal barrage. The desert sands whipped into a frenzy, turning the battlefield into a raging storm.
These Suna shinobi were coordinated.
If this were an ordinary ninja, that opening bombardment would've shredded them.
Unfortunately for them—
They'd chosen the wrong opponent.
And their opponent's chakra was currently in a state of full release.
"Heh. This is interesting."
Hikaru smiled beneath the mask.
"Honestly, I was hoping for more people. Opportunities to waste chakra like this don't come often."
As the raging wind and sand slammed toward him, that faint red pigmentation appeared around his eyes in an instant.
Sage Mode.
...
"Report!"
At a Suna outpost near the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, a shinobi rushed in and delivered his findings.
"A signal flare was spotted to the northeast. We've also detected intense chakra fluctuations!"
This outpost had originally been ordinary—one of many along the border.
But after this incident began, its location made it invaluable, and it had been turned into a small forward command post.
Inside, not only were ANBU gathered—
Even a sensory unit was present.
And more importantly…
Chiyo and several captains were here, waiting for news.
Plenty of people were confused about why Chiyo had come personally.
At her level, she didn't need to involve herself.
But Chiyo's status was too high.
An elder of Sunagakure.
Head of the Puppet Corps.
Outside the Kazekage, almost no one outranked her.
Even ANBU had to obey her.
Especially since the ANBU Chief was her own younger brother.
"Did you find him?" Chiyo asked, and a trace of relief slipped into her tone.
They'd spent too long without solid information.
For a while, they even suspected the Konoha shinobi called Nightingale had already slipped out of the Land of Wind.
If he escaped, it would be bad for Suna.
And for Chiyo personally… it would be even worse.
Based on Ebizō's hints, Chiyo had developed genuine interest in capturing Nightingale.
She trusted her brother's judgment.
This man likely knew something about Sasori.
"Good." Chiyo's eyes hardened. "Send reinforcements."
She thought quickly, then spoke decisively.
"Everyone already knows he's suspected of possessing Flying Thunder God. Be extremely careful."
"And do not let him escape again."
"Yes!" the outpost commander shouted. "Forces will move immediately!"
He turned and left at once.
The garrison couldn't deploy everyone—they still had to hold the border.
But even limited numbers could serve as a net and a delay. Enough to prevent Nightingale from having an easy time.
Chiyo nodded, then shifted her gaze toward the ANBU.
"Viper," she ordered, "stay here and protect the sealing team. Maintain barrier stability. Understood?"
"Yes, Lady Chiyo!"
"Vulture," she continued, "take your squad and move. The garrison is support and restraint—you are the main force. Understood?"
"Yes, Lady Chiyo!"
Two ANBU captains immediately rushed out.
They all understood the same thing:
This mission was both important and troublesome.
Nightingale had hidden too cleanly—silent, invisible, impossible to pin down.
Maybe he'd stayed hidden too long and only revealed himself because he was leaving.
Otherwise, they might never have found him.
And the biggest issue of all—
If he truly had Flying Thunder God, then once he broke through a line, capturing him would become absurdly difficult.
Chiyo drew a slow breath and quietly stepped out of the command room.
She wasn't here to command.
She was here because she intended to meet Nightingale personally.
If he was captured—fine.
If he couldn't be captured…
Then Chiyo would have to see him privately.
...
"Sage Art: Earth Release—Earth Shore Return!"
Facing the stacked Wind Release barrage, Hikaru raised one hand calmly—index and middle fingers together, held upright.
A single seal.
And the jutsu was complete.
The benefits of the Advanced Earth Release Fruit were showing in full.
After consuming it, his understanding of Earth Release and its nature transformation had deepened drastically.
To the point that using Earth Release now felt like—
Ask, and the earth obeys.
He could've used the classic two-hand sign approach.
But Hikaru preferred one-handed seals.
He was a shinobi who excelled with a blade; keeping one hand free mattered.
A second earthen wall rose—again carved with the lizard head.
The Wind Release techniques slammed into it.
The already violent sandstorm became even worse, and a powerful cyclone began forming, swallowing the area.
Even the blazing sun overhead seemed to vanish behind the dust—leaving only faint afterimages and thin slivers of light.
The Suna shinobi frowned.
They lived in the Land of Wind, yes, but no one liked fighting blind.
Vision was crucial.
If you couldn't even locate your enemy—how were you supposed to handle him?
Especially when that enemy might have Flying Thunder God.
"Everyone close in!" a Suna commander barked. "Form up! Maintain mutual support!"
"Our reinforcements are almost here!"
The Suna shinobi moved instantly.
They were used to sand and wind, and they adapted quickly.
Within moments, they found their teammates and formed tight squads.
Each squad kept short spacing—close enough that any sudden gap could be covered immediately.
The cyclone began to settle.
Without fresh chakra feeding it—and with constant obstruction—it couldn't last long.
But the airborne sand still hung thick, grinding against sight and sound alike.
Then—
Before the dust could fully fall, a massive chakra surge burst outward.
Its volume and pressure made every Suna shinobi swallow hard.
They had over twenty people here.
And yet, in the face of that chakra…
They suddenly felt small.
"Sage Art: Earth Release—Earth and Stone Flow!"
The moment Hikaru's chakra climbed to its peak, the ground began to shake violently.
Countless grains of sand and shards of earth surged like a tidal wave, rushing to swallow the Suna squads whole.
"Dodge!" someone screamed.
In that moment, they couldn't hold formation anymore.
If they didn't move, the next second they'd be buried.
They scattered—
And in the exact instant their tight net broke apart…
A shadow slipped through the sand.
A figure was suddenly right in front of them.
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