Hyuga Hayaka was gone.
The newly appointed Captain Yamanaka Kazama had a lovely daughter.
Motomu had seen her during the full-moon celebration; her hair was the same creamy yellow as the rest of her clan.
She was tiny and seemed quite perceptive for her age.
The fact that he had been so free this past month was mostly due to the captain being on medical leave for his injuries.
Even though Motomu was on leave, he still kept up with the internal Anbu intelligence.
That old dog Danzo had already screwed over a group of Uchiha. He had somehow sent several clan ninjas to gather intel in the Land of Wind, only for them to run straight into a large force of Sand puppet masters.
Curiously, however...
Despite frequent skirmishes and heavy casualties on both sides, the situation at the front remained strangely calm.
This eerie stillness was truly baffling.
Compared to the bewildered higher-ups...
Motomu had a general idea of why things were this way.
It was because he had slaughtered the Hidden Sand's only Tailed Beast, Shukaku.
The Sand had lost their Kazekage, Pakura, and their Tailed Beast, plus Sasori of the Red Sand had likely gone missing.
On the other side, the only ones left to hold the line were the Chiyo couple and the recently emerging Rasa.
Their combat power simply didn't allow for an effective offensive.
They were likely waiting for other nations to make the first move.
As for the other nations, the only one currently unstable due to a recent coup was the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water.
The Sand was probably waiting for the Mist to tie down Konoha first.
Motomu felt his analysis was spot on.
The next Anbu mission would likely involve scouting either the Mist or the Sand.
Donning his mask, he walked into the Anbu's underground base.
There were far fewer ninjas in the base compared to the last time he was here.
A heavy, oppressive silence hung over everyone.
No one spoke.
Passing through the corridors, Motomu stood before the familiar equipment room.
Having no habit of tardiness, Motomu arrived for the briefing a few minutes early.
Even so, his teammate had already arrived and was waiting for him.
Upon seeing Motomu, Captain Yamanaka Kazama began introducing the newcomer.
"Motomu, this is a newcomer trained by Root to fill our vacancy. Code name: Pheasant."
Pheasant?
A newcomer from Root?
Motomu's gaze shifted from the captain, who wore an owl mask, to Pheasant.
Dressed in a black combat suit, the person stood a head taller than him, with fair skin and a slight swell of the chest beneath a slender neck.
A large black scroll was strapped to her back.
'Looks like she deals with ninja tools.'
Motomu was about to offer a greeting, but she cut him off before he could speak.
The woman's voice sounded cold and detached.
"My specialty is the Super Beast Pseudo Drawing. I provide high-altitude combat support and intelligence gathering."
"Lord Danzo places great importance on this mission."
"Captain, you should be aware of this."
Yamanaka Kazama nodded, about to say a few words, only to be cut off again.
"As long as you understand."
"The mission is to infiltrate the Land of Lightning to scout their intent for war."
"Ever since the last Chunin Exams, relations between the Cloud and Konoha have been on the verge of collapsing."
"The arrogant Third Raikage has unilaterally rejected our diplomatic delegation."
As this "Pheasant" finished explaining the mission...
Motomu got the gist of the current situation.
The Konoha leadership, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo, likely realized the situation was going south.
In the original timeline...
The Third War saw four great hidden villages besiege Konoha.
Then they all started backstabbing each other to settle old scores.
The Third Raikage was killed during this period after being besieged by Onoki's Stone ninjas.
Their Anbu intelligence squad was to scout the Cloud; first, to gauge their attitude toward Konoha, and second, to investigate the friction between the Cloud and the Stone.
The task was simple.
And the method to achieve it was equally straightforward.
Disguise themselves as Stone ninjas and kill a few Cloud Genin squads.
Once the enemy mobilized their troops and drew out high-ranking ninjas...
Motomu and Yamanaka Kazama would extract memory intel from the high-level Cloud ninjas.
"Is everyone clear?"
"Understood. Captain, let's begin the mission now."
He exchanged a look with Yamanaka Kazama.
Motomu could see that Captain Kazama wasn't upset about this woman usurping his briefing duties.
In fact, he looked quite relaxed.
Motomu didn't care to bother with her either.
As long as the mission went smoothly, he wouldn't complain.
Time was tight and the task was heavy; he still had to get back to take Anko and the other girl to the Land of Hot Springs for a soak.
Those two had changed their minds again this morning.
They'd agreed on the beach, but now they wanted the Land of Hot Springs. Motomu could only leave them to their indecision.
A round trip from the Land of Fire to the Land of Lightning would take about a week if they hurried.
And Motomu's squad was the type that traveled fast.
Amidst the towering, barren yellowish-brown mountains and rolling hills, the three-man squad appeared on a peak.
Swallowing a Soldier Pill, Motomu looked out.
In this place of constant thunder, aside from the sparse greenery in the valleys and the faint blue sea in the distance...
There was nothing but vast stretches of yellow mountains.
In his previous life, this place would be described as a desolate wasteland.
The kind where no amount of aid could help.
Yet in the ninja world, the power of ninjutsu had erected unique buildings among these peaks.
The capital of the Land of Lightning appeared before them.
Walking through the city built upon the mountain summits...
Motomu looked around with curiosity.
The people here generally wore more revealing clothes and had darker skin than those in the Land of Fire, somewhat resembling the style of Cobra.
"We'll rest today and organize our intel."
"The operation officially begins tomorrow."
Inheriting Hyuga Hayaka's fine tradition of slacking off.
Reaching the inn's entrance, Captain Kazama, disguised as a traveling merchant, spoke up.
With Motomu's eager support, it was two votes to one. Pheasant, who was about to frown and object, shut her mouth.
The inn was small, filled with burly Land of Lightning men sitting bare-chested and drinking.
These dark-skinned men had surprisingly large muscles.
For some reason, people from the Land of Lightning were all exceptionally well-built.
The three-man squad split up to begin gathering information.
Motomu knew that money makes the world go 'round, and he easily squeezed plenty of useful info from these muscle-bound men.
Most of those drinking in their spare time were rogue ninjas from the Land of Lightning.
Their intel usually had something to do with ninja business.
Sifting through useless chatter like "the widow to the east is nice" or "the girl to the west is supple"...
Motomu actually found some information that was useful to him.
According to a rogue ninja who often fished by the shore...
The Cloud's Turtle Island had been hidden.
The island, which used to be visible from the coastline, had vanished.
It seemed the Cloud ninjas were planning something big there.
Having a general knowledge of the plot, Motomu understood perfectly.
Turtle Island was a giant sea turtle raised by the Hidden Cloud, carrying a full island ecosystem on its back.
Furthermore, it was a key location in the original story where Naruto obtained the Nine-Tails' power.
The Cloud's attempts to master the power of Tailed Beasts also relied on this place.
Now that there was activity on Turtle Island, others might not know what was happening, but Motomu knew all too well.
The Cloud ninjas were most likely messing with a Tailed Beast.