Within the restricted zone, the thirty-two Konoha ninja and Sunagakure ninja conducted repeated reconnaissance sweeps. From time to time, members of both sides would cross paths—but neither interfered with the other.
Whenever they passed by, they would briefly confirm each other's identities. So far, no disguised infiltrators had been discovered.
Hagoromo's team remained airborne the entire time. He and Hyūga Hizashi had a clear division of labor: thanks to the Byakugan's advantage, Hizashi was responsible for battlefield surveillance, while Hagoromo handled communication with Minato's team.
Soon, the three-hour window was nearly up. As the morning wore on, the time for the talks approached. At that moment, the Kazekage and the Hokage—along with their respective escort units—began entering the restricted zone.
"The Third Hokage and our forces have entered the area…"
Hyūga Hizashi, who had been silent behind Hagoromo, suddenly spoke.
Despite the fierce winds at high altitude in the Land of Wind, Hizashi's voice carried with unusual clarity to Hagoromo's ears.
Before Hagoromo could respond, Hizashi paused only briefly, then continued:
"Kazekage detected. Warning—Fourth Kazekage has entered the surveillance zone. Total personnel: seventeen. The Kazekage himself plus sixteen bodyguards, matching prior intelligence."
"Priority target one: S-rank threat level—Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Priority target two: S-rank threat level—Sunagakure advisor Chiyo.
Priority target three: A-rank threat level—Sunagakure jōnin, tactical unit commander Maki."
Once enemy ninja reached a certain level of strength, Konoha naturally treated them as high-priority targets. Their intelligence would be compiled into shinobi dossiers and distributed to frontline personnel, complete with photographs, combat specialties, and threat assessments. That was why Hizashi could identify the key figures so quickly.
No one wanted to face Granny Chiyo head-on. Against her, one might not even get the chance to fully display their strength before being silently killed by poison. Worse still, her toxins could be mass-produced.
That was precisely why Tsunade had been stationed on this front—to counter Chiyo directly. Otherwise, no one could say how the war here would have turned out.
As a result, Konoha assessed Chiyo as slightly less important than the Kazekage in terms of political value—but potentially even more dangerous in practice.
As for why Hagoromo hadn't recognized a senior advisor like Ebizō, the reason was simple: he had joined this front halfway through the campaign. Thanks to his rotten luck, he'd never once received a standard intelligence handbook. In fact, in his experience, such handbooks didn't even exist—because no one had ever told him about them.
As for Kushina…
She was a little too carefree. Certain things just weren't reliable when it came to her.
That said, the Byakugan truly lived up to its reputation. With the Senju and Uchiha gone, there was at least some justification for the Hyūga Clan calling itself Konoha's strongest.
At this distance, Hizashi had already detected the Kazekage's group. If it were up to Hagoromo, he could have stared until his eyes popped out and still seen nothing.
In shinobi combat, detecting the enemy first was often decisive. In many situations, whoever struck first gained the upper hand—and striking first frequently meant victory.
Instant kills between ninja were common.
Just as Hizashi finished speaking, the scheduled check-in from Minato's team arrived right on time.
Long-distance mind transmission consumed a great deal of chakra, so if nothing unusual had happened, Hagoromo would normally respond with a single word—"clear"—and the connection would be terminated.
There was no choice. The Yamanaka-brand "walkie-talkie" was one-way communication. Even so, it was already impressively efficient and advanced.
Rumor had it that radio technology existed in the ninja world—but that was likely a decade away. Up to now, Hagoromo had never seen such a communication device.
This time, however, he couldn't simply reply with a single word.
Hagoromo quickly relayed everything Hizashi had observed to Yamanaka Inoichi. To ensure nothing was missed or misheard, he repeated the report once more.
"Understood…"
After a brief pause—during which Inoichi likely reported the situation to Minato and received instructions—the next order came through.
"Maintain close surveillance on the Kazekage. Repeat: maintain close surveillance on the Kazekage."
"Hyūga–Uehakuseki Team, acknowledged."
Once Hagoromo confirmed Minato's orders, the connection was cut. With the Kazekage on the move, Minato's side also had to prepare accordingly.
"Let's move closer and take a look," Hagoromo said to Hizashi.
Hizashi nodded in agreement. "I'll guide you. Turn to nine o'clock. Distance: forty-five."
With the direction and range provided, Hagoromo guided the Yatagarasu toward the target area.
Before long, he spotted the Kazekage and his escort.
Hagoromo then reduced altitude and maintained a safe distance—close enough to remain visible, but far enough to clearly convey that they had no hostile intent.
This was open, aboveboard surveillance.
At a moment like this, trying to hide would only cause more problems.
The distrust between Konoha and Sunagakure ran deep.
Truth be told, Hagoromo was tempted to fly directly over the Kazekage's head just to see his reaction—but he understood the gravity of the situation.
If you didn't have to court death, then don't.
Naturally, the people on the Kazekage's side weren't blind. They immediately noticed the small bird they hated to the core.
"Leave it alone. Continue forward. The meeting with the Hokage is paramount."
Because he had descended low enough—and wasn't too far away—Hagoromo faintly heard the Fourth Kazekage issue this order to his subordinates.
Hagoromo and Hizashi followed the Kazekage's group for some distance, until another Konoha team moved in to take over surveillance. Only then did they disengage.
Just as Hagoromo was about to ascend again, Hizashi suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait—something's wrong."
The Yatagarasu hovered in midair.
Hagoromo turned around and saw an expression of unprecedented gravity in Hizashi's eyes.
Yes—even eyes without pupils could convey a sharp gaze.
"What is it?" Hagoromo asked.
Hizashi released his grip but didn't answer immediately.
"Stay here. Don't move."
After saying that, Hizashi fixed his gaze on a single direction.
More chakra flowed into those Byakugan eyes—or so Hagoromo judged. How did he know?
Because the veins at Hizashi's temples bulged even more prominently.
Curious, Hagoromo followed the direction of Hizashi's stare.
But in his own vision—
There was nothing there.
Just barren, empty ground.
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