Nohara Rin's eyes snapped open.
She released the Spirit Transformation Technique, her soul snapping back into her body. The transition left her gasping, but her message was urgent.
"I was discovered the moment I entered the base," she said quickly, anxiety sharp in her voice. "I think it's a trap. They were waiting for us."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "A trap?"
"They've surrounded the area," Hanekawa confirmed, his eyes closing as he activated his Mind's Eye technique. In his perception, dozens of Hidden Cloud ninjas converged on their position from all directions. "We need to leave. Now."
Tsunade nodded, already moving. Even protecting Rin and Kurenai, she could fight her way out if needed. Few ninja in the world could threaten her and Hanekawa simultaneously.
The Cloud ninjas emerged from the trees in coordinated formations, cutting off every escape route.
Hanekawa scanned the group. The leader was Dodai—the Lava Release user and one of the Cloud's elite. But his attention snagged on a familiar figure standing beside him.
Samui.
Their eyes met across the clearing. In that instant, Hanekawa understood. This wasn't random. She'd orchestrated this.
So that's how it is, he thought. But how did they know we were coming?
The answer came quickly. New battlefields meant new commanders. Tsunade was the logical choice for opening a second front. The Cloud had gambled on her leading the team—and they'd won.
But was this about testing his limits? Or exposing him?
"Capture them!" Dodai's voice cut through the tension.
He formed seals rapidly, chakra surging from his body. The ground beneath them rippled as molten rubber erupted upward, forming a hollow sphere designed to trap them all.
Hanekawa's hands moved on instinct.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A barrier of water rose between them and the advancing rubber. The two substances collided with a violent hiss, steam rising where they met.
Tsunade didn't waste time with subtlety. She stomped the ground.
The impact was catastrophic. The earth buckled, and nearby Cloud ninjas flew backward like leaves in a hurricane, gasping as the wind knocked the air from their lungs.
Rin and Kurenai moved as one. Rin's soul separated from her body, taking control of an advancing Cloud ninja while Kurenai unleashed a Water Style technique. A dragon of pure water erupted from her mouth, slamming into the possessed ninja with enough force to send him flying. Rin's soul retreated just before impact.
The water dragon burst apart, drenching the surrounding ninjas and knocking several unconscious.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Samui appeared behind Hanekawa, moving faster than most jonin. She didn't draw her blade—instead, she threw a punch aimed at his spine.
Hanekawa pivoted and caught her fist.
The impact sent a tremor through his arm. She's stronger than before. But there was something else—something he felt transfer into his palm during the contact.
Samui's expression remained cold. She pivoted on her heel, her leg rising in a devastating kick that turned her thigh into a white blur.
Hanekawa released her fist and stepped back. Her kick whistled past, missing by inches.
"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Spear!"
Dodai's attack arrived immediately. Stone spikes erupted from the ground, aimed directly at Hanekawa's chest.
Body Flicker Technique.
Hanekawa vanished and reappeared ten feet away. Samui was already moving, her short blade flashing toward him.
He drew the Thunder Fire Sword and met her steel.
The blades rang together, sparks scattering. Samui pressed forward, her movements precise and controlled. But Hanekawa noticed something—she wasn't trying to kill him. Her attacks had openings. Deliberate ones.
Dodai's hands moved in a complex seal pattern. His eyes fixed on Hanekawa with grim determination.
After several seconds, Dodai's face darkened. His expression twisted into something between anger and shock.
The seal had failed.
"Your restriction..." Samui's voice was quiet, but Hanekawa caught the meaning in her eyes.
"What restriction?" Hanekawa played innocent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Samui's composure cracked for just a moment. Her heart felt heavier than it should.
"Hanekawa!" Tsunade's voice boomed across the battlefield.
She drove her fist into the ground. The earth fractured like glass, and gravel exploded outward in a lethal spray. Cloud ninjas screamed as sharp stones tore through their skin, blood spraying across the forest floor.
"Time to go," Hanekawa said.
He sprinted backward without hesitation, then launched himself into the air.
"Everyone, retreat!" Samui's voice cut through the chaos, her face suddenly urgent.
Hanekawa's mouth opened wide.
"Water Style: Explosive Water Wave!"
Every ounce of his chakra gathered in his lungs. Water erupted from his mouth like a tsunami, falling from the sky in a deluge that transformed the forest floor into a raging lake. Waves crashed in all directions, forcing the Cloud ninjas to scatter and defend.
Before they could recover, Hanekawa moved again.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Thick fog exploded outward from his position, dense enough to blind even experienced shinobi. The world became a gray void.
"Wind Style!" Dodai barked.
A Cloud ninja with wind affinity stepped forward and blew the mist away with a powerful gust. But by then, Hanekawa and his team had vanished into the forest.
"They're gone," Dodai said flatly.
Dodai shook his head, frustration evident. "We can't stop them."
"Hanekawa is too strong," Samui said quietly, her expression unreadable.
The same thought that had haunted the Third Raikage's final days echoed in Dodai's mind: Why didn't that blind fool recognize this talent?
The Hidden Cloud had missed their chance. Now, that same genius might become their enemy.
"The restriction didn't work?" Samui asked, her voice low.
"No," Dodai confirmed with a heavy sigh.
Samui absorbed this in silence. The confirmation made everything more complicated. She'd hoped—but that hope was fading.
"I sent him a message," she said slowly. "Now we wait to see if he comes."
"First, we move the base," Dodai replied. "They know our location now."
---
Several miles away
Hanekawa finally slowed, his team catching up as they put distance between themselves and the Cloud ninjas. He closed his eyes and activated his Mind's Eye. No pursuit. They were safe.
"That base was strange," Tsunade observed, her frown thoughtful.
"They wanted an ambush, but realized they couldn't win," Hanekawa explained casually. "So they cut their losses."
Tsunade accepted this without question. "Rin, use Spirit Transformation Technique to contact Hizashi and the others. Now."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
Rin's hands formed seals. Her soul separated from her body, leaving her physical form standing motionless in the forest.
Moments later, the sound of rapid movement announced the arrival of the nearest ninja team. Their captain was Inuzuka Tsumugi.
Tsunade smiled at her arrival. "Perfect timing. We need your tracking skills."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Tsumugi replied, tapping her nose with her claws. Chakra flowed through her, amplifying her sense of smell a thousandfold—the secret technique of the Inuzuka clan that made them the finest trackers in the ninja world.
"There are many of them," Tsumugi said after a moment. "They're moving. Transferring their position."
"Not on my watch," Tsunade said coldly. "I don't care what they're planning. This opportunity is too good to waste."
Hanekawa stepped forward. "The Hidden Cloud has numbers and strength. We can't take them alone with just thirty teams. Someone needs to return to the main camp for reinforcements."
"I left a slug in my tent," Hanekawa added. "It can use reverse summoning."
Tsunade's smile widened. "Clever. I'll go back. If you go, Danzo will find some excuse to keep you from the battlefield."
She formed seals and pressed her hands to the ground.
A massive slug materialized in a cloud of smoke.
"Follow them from a distance," Tsunade instructed. "Harass them when you can. Slow them down." She turned to the slug. "Use reverse summoning to get back to the main camp."
The slug nodded, and Tsunade vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Let's move," Hanekawa said.
He leaped forward, Kurenai, Rin, and Tsumugi following close behind.
---
During the pursuit
Hanekawa opened the note Samui had slipped him during their fight. The message was simple: We need to talk. Alone.
Troublesome, he thought, stroking his chin.
The Hidden Cloud couldn't ignore his current strength and status. That was obvious. But this complicated everything. Without Wood Style, if the Cloud exposed his spy status, it would become a liability. Even with Tsunade's support, Orochimaru and Danzo would use it as leverage to restrict his movements.
Only Wood Style—proof of his connection to the First Hokage's bloodline—would make any accusation seem like a desperate lie.
He needed to find a way to obtain it soon.
For now, though, he'd meet with Samui. Gauge their intentions. Buy time.
---
Konoha Headquarters
Tsunade materialized in Hanekawa's tent, smoke clearing around her. She looked around briefly, then headed toward the command center.
Orochimaru was reviewing maps when she entered. He glanced up, mildly surprised.
Danzo's reaction was immediate and hostile.
"Why did you attack my Root operatives?" His face flushed with anger. "Do you understand the consequences of harming your own comrades?"
Regret flickered through him. If only Tsunade and Hanekawa had actually killed them. Then he'd have grounds to move against them, reputation be damned.
"They were in the way," Tsunade said flatly. "I found the Hidden Cloud unit."
"Where?" Orochimaru's voice cut through Danzo's sputtering.
"Northwest of the Frost Country." Tsunade laid out the situation with clinical precision. "I'm mobilizing support now."
She turned and left without waiting for a response.
"Damn it!" Danzo's hands clenched into fists.
"Your Root operatives lack sufficient strength," Orochimaru observed calmly.
Danzo had no response. What could he say? Against Tsunade and Hanekawa, few ninja in the world could claim superiority.
"Orochimaru," Danzo said carefully, "are you simply going to let them do as they please? Remember what you promised me."
"This small victory won't change anything," Orochimaru replied. "The real targets are the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer Bee. That's where we focus."
"Then what's your plan?"
"Tsunade and Hanekawa will weaken them for us," Orochimaru said with a thin smile. "When both sides are exhausted, we strike. Focused on a prize that one ignores a lurking threat."
Understanding dawned on Danzo's face. Of course. They couldn't defeat the Raikage and Killer Bee alone. But they didn't need to. They just needed to wait for the perfect moment.
"I see," Danzo said slowly.
But frustration still gnawed at him. Everything had gone wrong since Tsunade and Hanekawa arrived. Everything.
He was furious.