Under the bright moonlight, several dark figures flashed through the forest.
"Speed up!" commanded a stern voice from beneath a white animal mask. The shadowy figures darting through the trees wore black cloaks and windbreakers. Occasionally, the night breeze would lift their cloaks, revealing combat tights and white ANBU armour underneath.
The ANBU squad, led by Shihouin Naraku, rushed through the forest, taking advantage of the moonlight to guide their path. By now, they had crossed the border of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Birds, not far from their designated meeting point.
...
A gentle breeze swept across the clear lake, creating slow-moving ripples on the water's surface.
The morning sunlight woke the silent forest that had been sleeping through the night. The sounds of insects and birds began to fill the air.
"Oink, oink..."
Several figures appeared in a hidden spot within the forest.
Along with the shinobi from the outer realm, Shihouin Naraku and his ANBU members had arrived in the forest, ten kilometres away from their mission location. They waited patiently for the right moment to strike.
"Captain, after our reconnaissance, we found three shinobi guarding that section of the forest. We haven't thoroughly checked the areas beyond that point. The capital of the Land of Birds has a large population, making it difficult to conduct a proper inspection," reported one of the ANBU members.
This was precisely why they needed to meet in the forest. Although the capital of the Land of Birds wasn't large, its dense population made the area chaotic and unpredictable.
"Remain vigilant and rest according to schedule," Naraku instructed. "Keep an eye on the mission site. Our intelligence may not be completely accurate..."
ANBU had its own protocols and procedures for completing missions. Following standard procedure was usually sufficient, with adjustments made only when unexpected situations arose. However, these dangerous assassination missions still required a shinobi's own ingenuity and adaptability.
Shihouin Naraku had carried out many combat missions before and was familiar with these procedures. After giving simple instructions, he arranged for the others to rest while he personally approached the mission site to inspect the surrounding environment.
He needed to be aware of the terrain and conditions so he could react properly if something unexpected happened during the battle. After completing his inspection, he returned to their temporary hideout and rested.
...
The moon hung high in the night sky.
From time to time, animal sounds broke the silence of the quiet forest.
Swish!
Several figures appeared silently in a relatively wide clearing. The open space offered clear visibility in all directions, preventing enemy sneak attacks.
The figures stood quietly in place, alert to any movement around them as they waited.
Time passed slowly. Just as they were growing impatient, a rustling sound finally came from the forest opposite them.
Everyone immediately watched with intense focus and vigilance. Some had already reached for their ninja tools.
Soon, figures jumped out from between the trees.
Seeing the Sunagakure headband worn by the leader of the new group, the waiting shinobi relaxed slightly.
The first group, who had arrived earlier, looked at the Sunagakure team with mild annoyance.
"Why are you so late? We almost missed the agreed time," one of them complained.
"You Iwagakure shinobi are always so rigid! It's not even the agreed time yet," retorted the Sunagakure leader.
"Stop the useless talk, and let's exchange information first," another cut in.
After this brief exchange between the Sunagakure and Iwagakure shinobi, their leaders took out scrolls they had prepared beforehand.
"Throw them together!"
"Fine!"
At the same moment, both leaders tossed their scrolls to each other, catching them simultaneously.
Concerned about possible deception, both opened the scrolls and began checking their contents. Under the circumstances, it was impossible to verify all the information thoroughly, but a quick check confirmed there were no obvious problems.
"No issues here," declared the Iwagakure leader.
"The people of Iwagakure behaved well this time," acknowledged the Sunagakure leader.
Both leaders nodded to their subordinates, signalling that neither side had attempted any tricks. The successful exchange of information brought relief to both teams.
Next came the exchange of supplies, the most critical part of their meeting.
Both sides produced large scrolls specially designed for storing supplies. Regular scrolls used by shinobi for storing weapons couldn't hold nearly as much. Only these specialized scrolls could store large quantities of supplies, and they were extremely expensive.
Ordinary shinobi couldn't afford them, nor did they typically need them.
For this exchange, they couldn't simply throw the scrolls at each other. Instead, one side had to send a shinobi forward to exchange scrolls directly.
At this moment, both groups quietly reached for weapons in their pouches, ready to prevent any treachery.
But as both sides focused intensely on each other—
"Fire Style: Blazing Fist!!!"
A tremendous roar suddenly erupted in the dark, silent forest!
BOOM!!!
A blazing, raging flame appeared and transformed into an enormous flaming fist that surged forward in an instant.
Even before it reached them, the intense heat was already palpable, causing all the Sunagakure and Iwagakure shinobi to pale.
"Wind Style: Air Current Dance!"
Two Sunagakure shinobi quickly formed hand signs. They released a basic wind technique with almost no offensive power. With their combined efforts, a chaotic gust blew toward the flames.
The Sunagakure shinobi attempted to push back the sudden Fire Style attack!
But clearly, everyone had underestimated the violent power of the flames.
Not only did the strong wind fail to extinguish the fire, it instantly fueled it, making the flames even stronger!
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
There was no time to blame the Sunagakure shinobi for their miscalculation. Three Iwagakure shinobi worked together to create an extremely thick wall to block the flaming fist.
BOOM!!!
The explosion completely shattered the forest's silence. The fiery fist smashed through all the walls instantly, and the terrifying impact directly hit two shinobi who had no time to escape.
"AAAHH—"
Screams filled the air...
"Damn it! Who attacked us?"
Looking at the raging flames, the two shinobi who had escaped at the last moment glanced at each other warily, then turned to run.
Sniff, sniff...
Before they could wipe the blood from their foreheads, a barrage of shuriken and kunai flew toward them from the front.
In an instant, one shinobi who couldn't dodge in time was struck by the weapons, turning him into a human pincushion. He lost his life in the blink of an eye.
"Bastards!"
They hadn't even seen their enemy, and they were already being wiped out.
But before the remaining shinobi could take another breath, while dodging the projectiles, they noticed with horror that paper bombs attached to the weapons were burning.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Another massive explosion sounded.
Fierce flames rose into the sky, debris flew everywhere, and thick smoke and dust filled the air.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"There are still survivors?"
Swish!
The Konoha ANBU shinobi who had launched the surprise attack finally revealed themselves. They stood on tall tree branches, looking down at the explosion site below, waiting for the smoke to clear.
Thunk!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh was heard. The eyes of a Konoha ANBU standing on a large branch suddenly widened beneath his mask. Behind him, a Sunagakure shinobi held a katana that had run him through.
"Don't underestimate us, Sunagakure shinobi!" he snarled.
With a puff of smoke, the Konoha ANBU, impaled by the sword, suddenly transformed into a wooden log.
Substitution Jutsu!