*"Uh… little girl, are you talking to me?"*
The rain fell in a quiet drizzle as Kaguya Hikari, holding an umbrella, smiled down at the girl huddled under the eaves and bent forward to ask.
Her tone was gentle—nothing like the sharp-edged hostility she'd shown the ANBU earlier.
If the ANBU guarding Kirigakure's gates saw her now, they'd probably all groan inwardly at this shameless *"face-loving"* hypocrite and the unfairness of a world that favored the pretty.
*"Mm! Hello, big sister. My name is Haiguri. I heard the village is hunting spies and enforcing a lockdown—no one's allowed to leave. But I can't see… so I don't know if the ban's been lifted yet."*
At the mention of her eyes, the girl's bright voice dimmed slightly, as if ashamed of her disability.
Kaguya Hikari's gaze softened as she took in the delicate face obscured by a blindfold. Her voice grew even warmer.
*"The lockdown isn't over yet. It might take a few more days…"*
*"...I see. Thank you, sister."*
After a polite reply, the girl lowered her head silently.
——
*Drip. Drip.*
The rain grew heavier.
Drops gathered along the eaves, forming rivulets that splashed onto the girl's head and shoulders, soaking her silver-gray hair into damp clumps. She shrank further under the overhang, trying to escape the downpour.
*"Little… Haiguri, why aren't you going home in this rain?"*
Kaguya couldn't help but ask, pity stirring in her chest.
*"My home is outside the village."*
The girl's voice sank even lower.
Kaguya Hikari fell silent as she watched the blind girl curled up alone under the eaves.
*Home outside the village. With Kirigakure locked down, she's trapped here—homeless.*
The realization weighed on Kaguya's heart.
Memories flickered through her mind—her family slaughtered in her childhood, the scene still vivid. If not for her brother's protection, she might've ended up just as lost and alone.
And now, with her brother missing… wasn't *she* just as adrift?
For a moment, she felt an overwhelming kinship with Haiguri.
*"Don't be scared, Haiguri. Where's your home? I'll take you back, okay?"*
*"R-Really?"*
The girl lifted her face, a joyful smile blooming.
Kaguya found herself smiling back, helpless against the girl's infectious cheer.
*"But… the village's lockdown…"*
Haiguri hesitated.
*"Don't worry. I'm a jōnin of Kirigakure. The ban doesn't apply to me."*
Maybe it was vanity, maybe it was the urge to seem heroic—but Kaguya didn't mention her *"ANBU connections."*
*"A jōnin?! Dad said jōnin are the strongest shinobi! Big sister, you're amazing!"*
The girl's awed tone made Kaguya's lips twitch upward uncontrollably.
Growing up under her brother's shadow, Kaguya had always been *"Kaguya Shun's little sister."* Praise for *her* alone was rare.
The girl's admiration hit just the right spot, lifting Kaguya's mood slightly despite her brother's disappearance.
*"I'm not *that* strong. So, Haiguri—where's your home? I'll take you there now."*
*"Thank you, big sister! My home is in Tanzaku Gai, in the Land of Fire."*
The girl's voice was pure innocence.
Behind her blindfold, Haiguri's smile widened as she *"watched"* Kaguya's grin freeze.
——
**Street Corner.**
The rain grew torrential.
A dense curtain of water swallowed Kirigakure whole.
Under the eaves of a building facing the village gates, two figures—one tall, one small—stared at each other.
*"So let me get this straight. You're from Tanzaku Gai in the Land of Fire. Your father brought you here for business, but he vanished. Now you want to hire a shinobi to escort you back home to find your family."*
Haiguri nodded, having fleshed out her backstory further.
*"Then why not just ask Kirigakure's shinobi to find your missing father first?"*
Kaguya's sharp eyes caught the inconsistency.
*"The money Dad left me won't last. If the village can't find him quickly… I'll starve."*
*Logically, it makes sense.*
Kaguya tapped her chin, deep in thought.
Unnoticed, Haiguri activated her **Byakugan**, studying the brown-haired, blue-eyed woman through the blindfold.
*Seven kunai hidden at her waist and thigh, plus one sealed scroll. 1,230 ryō in her inner pocket. Five explosive tags on her lower back. Twenty senbon and four shuriken in her weapon pouch. Chakra reserves at jōnin level. Muscle and bone density average. Right index finger's nail conceals an unknown purple powder.*
*Not a taijutsu specialist. If I need to flee, keep distance. If I ambush her up close, it's over.*
She'd been staking out this street for three days.
Kirigakure's lockdown was causing chaos.
Every day, merchants and villagers flooded the gates, begging for updates. But as civilians, they couldn't defy the ANBU's orders.
*But civilians can't… shinobi can.*
Haiguri firmly believed: *Until true equality exists, every rule made by man can be broken by man.*
That was an iron law, universal across all worlds.
And now, she'd finally found someone with the power to break the rules.
She didn't know this woman's name, but the way the ANBU at the gates bowed to her spoke volumes.
*Hopefully, she'll take pity on a helpless blind girl and help me escape. If not… I'll have to take her form and try my luck.*
*And to play the part convincingly, I'll need certain answers straight from the source.*
(Of course, without genjutsu, her methods would be… *physical.*)
As Kaguya pondered, Haiguri's hidden hands shifted subtly. Beneath her sleeves, her fingertips pulsed with pale, bone-like protrusions.
*"Haiguri… can I see your hand?"*
The bone spikes retracted instantly. Haiguri's fists clenched in feigned nervousness.
*How did she know?!*
*Am I exposed?*
Her mind raced, searching for flaws in her act—but found none. Swallowing her tension, she obediently offered her left hand.
Kaguya seized it.
The girl's skin was soft, warm—almost fragile. No calluses from weapons or training.
*Not a henge.*
But something still felt *off.*
With the Mizukage missing, the Elder missing, her brother missing, even his ANBU subordinates gone… Kirigakure was a powder keg. And Kaguya's guard was at its peak.
This girl's timing was *too* perfect.
*Today, of all days—right after I questioned the ANBU about my brother, right as I left, this blind girl just happens to be trapped by the lockdown? And I just happen to have the authority to bypass it?*
The story held up… barely.
But the holes were glaring.
Worse, *nothing* the girl said could be verified. That was the hallmark of a lie.
*My brother was one of the strongest in the world. Whoever made him disappear… could they have used a trick like this?*
*And why target* me *now? To stall me from searching for him?*
Her thoughts spiraled.
*"Haiguri, you remember I'm a jōnin, right?"*
*"Yes. Sister is amazing."*
Still gripping the girl's wrist—so slender it could snap with a twist—Kaguya's blue eyes locked onto her.
A killing intent so thick it distorted the air pressed down.
*"Then you should know… I'm a* **sensory-type ninja.** *And your chakra—*"
Her voice turned to ice.
*"—is* **blindingly bright.** *"*
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