The four of them were disguised as a small merchant caravan, moving slowly along a man-made road.
Calling it a "road" was generous—it was merely a relatively flat dirt path. After constant rainfall, muddy patches were unavoidable. Even so, in the Land of Rain, a road like this was considered well maintained.
The horse-drawn cart struggled a little, but it could still pass.
A single horse pulled the wagon, which was piled high with goods—real goods, not props. Everyday supplies commonly needed by city residents.
The realism was impeccable.
Hyūga Akira sat atop the cargo and asked Murakami Hana, who was driving the cart,
"How much intel do we have on the Konoha shinobi?"
Murakami tossed a scroll back without looking.
"It's all written in there."
Akira caught it. On either side of him sat Yuki and Yuka, who leaned in to read as well.
According to the intelligence:
The enemy team was led by a jōnin suspected to be from the Sarutobi clan
Accompanied by three chūnin of unknown background
The key detail was the Sarutobi clan crest observed on the leader.
The other three had no visible clan markings.
Their mission: gathering intelligence on Iwagakure and Sunagakure activities within the Land of Rain.
As for Amegakure?
They had outright ignored it.
"…Damn."
Akira felt like his luck had hit rock bottom.
If it were just unaffiliated Konoha shinobi, there might still be room to maneuver.
But killing someone from the Sarutobi clan?
That was a whole different level of trouble.
The current Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—was the Sarutobi clan head.
Konoha loved to preach equality between civilian shinobi and clan shinobi, but reality was very different. Clan shinobi always held higher status.
Especially the clans tied directly to the Hokage's faction:
Sarutobi
Shimura
Utatane
Mitokado
These four clans wielded enormous political power.
The Sarutobi clan, in particular, possessed both strength and authority.
The Shimura had power but lacked numbers.
Utatane and Mitokado were… frankly unimpressive in combat—but with two Konoha elders backing them, their status was untouchable.
If Akira got involved in killing someone from these families?
He was finished.
At that point, he was already seriously considering how to defect back to Konoha.
"According to the route," Murakami added casually,
"we'll encounter the Konoha team on the next stretch of road."
That detail wasn't in the scroll.
"Murakami-jōnin," Akira asked carefully,
"do you… have a plan?"
Murakami stroked his chin.
"A plan? Simple. We approach them, act friendly. Once they lower their guard—kill them."
…That's not a plan at all!!!
And with that approach, they wanted to kill Konoha shinobi?
They didn't even know what jutsu the enemy specialized in!
Akira took a breath.
"Then… how about hearing my plan?"
Sarutobi Naoshi led his team steadily forward, all four disguised as wandering ninja.
Such groups were common in the Land of Rain.
Naoshi despised them. In his eyes, wandering ninja were nothing more than thugs who bullied civilians.
But their numbers were large, and they appeared in every country—making them a perfect cover identity.
Many shinobi used this disguise.
"We'll reach the next city soon," Naoshi said.
"It's close to the Land of Wind. We should be able to pick up information on Sunagakure's movements there."
Their assignment was to monitor both Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Another Konoha team had already headed toward the Land of Earth.
With the international situation growing more tense by the day, intelligence from these two great nations was critical.
"I heard Konoha already sent people to infiltrate Amegakure," one chūnin complained.
"So why are we being sent too?"
They'd heard rumors—but had no idea who was sent or what they'd found.
If they did know, Akira would already be dangerously close to exposure.
"Apparently the infiltrator couldn't get anything useful," another chūnin replied.
"That's why we were deployed."
Just rumors, of course. No one knew the truth.
But in reality, their mission was connected to Akira.
Hiruko had gained almost nothing from him. Konoha couldn't just sit and wait forever—so a direct reconnaissance team was dispatched.
None of that had been shared with Akira.
"Alert!"
A voice suddenly cut through the conversation.
"Someone approaching ahead!"
The team immediately stopped chatting.
Their movements didn't change, but mentally, they were ready to strike at any moment.
A small merchant caravan appeared ahead.
No one relaxed.
They were deep in the Land of Rain—combat could break out at any second.
"Who are you people?" a young voice called out from the caravan.
Sarutobi Naoshi studied them carefully.
At the front stood a middle-aged man in coarse clothing, his face weathered by hardship.
Two guards flanked the wagon, expressionless.
A teenage boy sat atop the cargo, staring at them with open curiosity.
It looked like a legitimate supply convoy.
And that matched what they'd seen before—no major trading companies here, just countless small merchants scraping by.
"We're wandering ninja, just passing through," Naoshi replied calmly.
The boy jumped down and walked over.
"Then… are you available for hire?"
Naoshi's eyes sharpened.
"Sorry," he said evenly.
"We're already under contract and heading to the next city. If this job ends soon, maybe next time."
The boy sighed dramatically.
"Who knows when we'll meet again…"
He walked back to the wagon, looking genuinely disappointed.
Both groups continued forward.
On the surface, nothing changed.
But both sides watched each other closely, moving parallel along the road—ready to react at the slightest provocation.
Then—
"Something's wrong! Run!!"
The sensory-type ninja shouted in alarm.
Too late.
BOOM!!!
The entire wagon exploded.
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