Late at night, atop a watchtower in an Iwagakure outpost.
Two Iwa ninja stood on the platform, gazing into the distance as they carried out night watch.
"I heard a patrol team went out earlier and never came back?"
One of them asked curiously.
"No idea. People come and go from this place all the time—who knows,"
the other shook his head, then added cautiously,
"But we still need to be careful. Konoha already did this to Kirigakure—huh? Who's there?!"
Before he could finish, something felt wrong.
They didn't even have time to cry out.
A black shadow suddenly leapt up beside them.
Under the moonlight, a long blade gleamed with a cold sheen. By the time they registered a pair of scarlet eyes, they were already collapsing to the ground.
The shadow stepped forward, checked their heartbeats, and only after confirming both were truly dead did he slowly stand up.
Moonlight poured down, revealing his face.
It was Haori.
He cautiously scanned the surroundings once more, then nodded to the crow beside him.
The crow immediately took flight, vanishing into the night.
"What a pain,"
Haori muttered under his breath as he watched it leave.
Iwagakure had clearly learned from Kirigakure's mistakes. On the way here, they'd encountered multiple patrols and all sorts of inconspicuous traps.
Without the crows' early warnings and the Sharingan, slipping in unnoticed would've been nearly impossible.
"And there seem to be more people here than expected…"
Standing on the tower gave Haori a clear view of the camp below. Faint figures moved among the tents.
A rough estimate—counting those still out on patrol—put the number at fifty or sixty.
"Looks like they're storing a lot of supplies…"
His head throbbed.
Three people against that many.
Calling this a confident raid would be generous—it was closer to a pipe dream.
If they could escape, fine. If they failed… even adopting the French tradition of surrender probably wouldn't save them from some memory-restoration techniques afterward.
If they were really unlucky, they'd be paraded out and used as examples.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Before Haori could dwell on it further, shouts suddenly erupted from outside the outpost!
Mixed in were the sounds of combat and exploding tags, tearing through the quiet night.
Clearly—Guy had made his move.
Their plan was simple.
Guy would draw fire.
He wasn't suited for stealth missions, but his taijutsu was strong and his body absurdly tough. He could attract attention, then lead pursuers into a prearranged ambush zone before retreating.
Haori would infiltrate the outpost itself and destroy the supplies. Fire Release was his forte—and he was fast.
As for Yamashiro Aoba, the team's sole support and already heavily taxed, he had no direct combat role.
He was responsible for intel, and if things went south, providing cover for the retreat.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly…"
Watching Iwa ninja scramble inside the camp, Haori clenched his teeth.
He glanced at one of the fallen guards, formed a hand seal—
Poof.
A cloud of smoke erupted, and Haori transformed into that ninja's appearance.
Adjusting his voice, he shouted in perfect imitation:
"North side! Konoha ninja—hurry and reinforce!"
The Iwa ninja below didn't question it. A large number immediately rushed out.
Haori leapt down, feigning injury as he hurried toward the warehouse.
"Maeda, why are you—"
An Iwa ninja started to question him.
Then froze.
Several kunai wrapped with explosive tags flew straight toward them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of explosions tore through the outpost.
Using the darkness and the smoke, Haori gripped his long blade and charged.
"Damn it, an ambush!"
"Watch out, there's a disguise!"
"Someone infiltrated the camp—reinforcements!"
"Protect the warehouse! Don't let the fire spread!"
Blade flashes cut through the smoke as Haori moved like a phantom among them.
Smoke hindered vision, but this wasn't the Hidden Mist Technique—no chakra interference.
His Sharingan could still pick out figures clearly.
And even if it were the Hidden Mist, techniques came in levels. Otherwise, he'd have been dead long ago back in the Land of Whirlpools.
"Scatter! Earth Release—Earth Spear!"
A shout rang out as an Iwa ninja rapidly formed seals.
Jagged earthen spikes burst from the ground, forcing Haori to dash out of the smoke.
But he wasn't concerned. The smoke wouldn't last long anyway—and his gaze had already locked onto the warehouse.
He'd heard someone shout "Don't let the fire spread there!"
That alone told him everything he needed to know.
"An Uchiha?"
The Iwa ninja stared at Haori coldly.
"And you are…"
"Suma-shi?"
Haori recognized him instantly—the tokubetsu jōnin stationed here.
"Got some nerve, coming here alone,"
Suma-shi snorted, eyes filled with icy amusement.
"Is Konoha out of people, or are you just that arrogant?"
"Arrogant or understaffed—either way, at least I don't attack my own teammates."
Haori glanced down at the bodies pierced by earth spikes and the injured Iwa ninja, then smiled.
"But really, I should thank you."
"You—?!"
Suma-shi froze, then his face darkened.
His Earth Release had been meant to force Haori out—but it had injured his own men.
He'd tried to control it, telling himself anyone impaled must already be dead—but he never got the chance to explain.
Haori had already struck.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh.
A dense volley of senbon shot from Haori's hands as he rapidly formed seals.
"Ninja Art: Senbon Rain!"
If Genma Shiranui were here, the senbon in his mouth would've dropped—this was his signature technique.
In an instant, what had been a cloud of needles became a raging storm.
"Damn it—Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Suma-shi knew there was no time to explain. He raised a wall in desperation, hoping to save as many as possible.
Senbon didn't deal massive damage, but Suma-shi was convinced this Uchiha boy was ruthless.
The framing had been flawless—who knew if those needles were poisoned?
"Trying to save them now—isn't it a bit late?"
Haori's voice rang out again as the earth wall rose.
At the same time, a blue glow lit up the sky.
Crackling arcs of electricity filled the air.
"Lightning Release: Swift!"
"Damn it—it's Lightning Release!"
Suma-shi's face twisted.
Lightning Release heavily countered Earth Release.
"Scatter! Now!"
He leapt aside first. Any ninja who could still breathe scrambled—crawled—away.
Electrified senbon tore through the earth wall, clearing a path exactly as Haori intended.
He sprang backward, then turned toward the warehouse and formed seals once more.
A massive fireball—three meters high—erupted from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"No—!"
Suma-shi roared, powerless to stop it as the fireball slammed into the warehouse.
For a brief moment, everything went silent.
Then—
A tremendous force gathered.
The next instant, a deafening explosion and a pillar of fire shot straight into the sky.
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