The time spent on the mission didn't seem to match the distance covered, but in enemy territory, every step required ten-fold caution. It had taken three days and four nights to cross a mere 50 kilometers.
On the fourth day, nature couldn't decide whether to help or hinder: the rain finally stopped.
This shift was a double-edged sword. The clear skies provided excellent visibility for long-range reconnaissance, which benefited the squad's objective. However, the light was equal for both sides—Amegakure sentries could now spot them just as easily. Worse yet, the convenient "trace-erasure" provided by constant rain was gone. Instead, the post-storm mud was a perfect medium for leaving footprints, making them incredibly easy to track.
Regardless of the risk, the mission had to be completed. But out of respect for their own lives, the squad halted three kilometers outside the enemy base.
They wouldn't—and couldn't—go any further. Pushing deeper into that density of enemies was less like a mission and more like suicide.
At this range, the burden fell on Yamashiro Aoba. While Ui's bio-electrical sensing was great for detecting proximity, it couldn't provide visual details of troop movements or base layouts. Aoba, however, possessed a Summoning Jutsu that was far less conspicuous than Ui's massive crows: The Crow.
Eyes in the Sky
"Ready? Summoning Jutsu?" Ui signaled.
Aoba gave a sharp nod. The squad split into two-man cells hidden in the high canopy of two massive trees. Ui and Aoba focused on the reconnaissance, while Asuma and Kurenai handled close-range security.
Aoba summoned a dozen ordinary-looking crows. To minimize chakra fluctuations that might alert sensors, he had performed the summoning while they were still at a safe distance.
Using a combination of the Summoning and a simple Possession Technique, Aoba established a visual link with the first bird. The crow would fly over the base in a natural trajectory; to avoid suspicion, it wouldn't linger, merely circling once before moving on.
Aoba sat with a blank sheet of paper on his lap, one hand covering his left eye to maintain the link, the other hand sketching rapidly. He recorded every building, patrol route, and troop cluster the crow's eyes flickered across.
Multitasking like this would have been child's play for Ui's brain capacity, but for a standard young ninja like Aoba, it was an immense mental strain. To keep the ruse believable, he couldn't fly the birds in a rhythmic pattern. "One every thirty minutes" was too predictable. They had to be released at irregular intervals, mimicking natural bird behavior.
The process was tedious. The squad remained in position for the entire day.
Near the end of the session, Aoba tried to land the final crow inside the base, acting as if the bird were simply thirsty and looking for a puddle. As the crow descended, a kunai whistled through the air. It was thrown lazily—likely a bored sentry or a student practicing—but it forced Aoba to perform an emergency mid-air dodge and retreat.
The close call almost made Aoba jump out of his skin. If a normal crow is hit, it bleeds; if a summoned crow is hit, it vanishes in a "poof" of white smoke. Any ninja seeing a bird disappear into thin air would immediately sound the alarm.
Fortunately, they remained undetected.
The Findings
The reconnaissance was a success. Konoha's intel had estimated 600 to 800 ninjas at this location. However, Aoba's count showed that the vast majority were gone. Fewer than 200 remained.
This suggested Hanzo of the Salamander was planning a major move, and notably, it wasn't directed at Konoha. If it were, the numbers would be increasing, not decreasing.
As night fell, the squad began their extraction. With the mission 80% complete, they just needed to get back to the border. The return trip was faster; they were familiar with the terrain now. But as they distanced themselves from the base, Ui noticed a chilling change.
The Rain Ninja patrols had completely vanished.
Ui signaled the team to go to maximum alert. Two hours later, they came to a dead stop.
"Do you hear that?" Ui whispered, breaking the silence.
The others nodded. "We hear it."
Through the silent night, the distinct, rhythmic clink-clink of kunai and shuriken clashing carried over a long distance. There was a battle ahead, directly on their extraction route.
The Expert's Appraisal
They moved forward cautiously until they saw the glow of fire—likely trees ignited by Fire Style. Then, they found the bodies.
Not one or two, but a pile of Rain Ninjas.
Ui knelt to inspect the remains. The death was gruesome. The bodies were shriveled, desiccated like ancient mummies. Their mouths were locked in wide, silent screams, and their empty eye sockets formed three hollow pits on their faces.
Ui recognized the pattern. This wasn't the work of a group; it was a high-level specialist using a specific nature transformation.
While Ui was processing the scene, Yuhi Kurenai stepped up to a body. At this age, she wasn't yet the cold, stoic kunoichi of the future; she was still in the "cute" category. Her face was illuminated by the flickering fire as she twitched her small nose and blinked those large, expressive eyes.
Looking at the shriveled, horrific corpse, she whispered to herself:
"The aroma of malt... like roasted grain."
The cute, melodic tone of her voice made Ui's brain automatically fill in the rest of a bizarre commercial: "An expert! Come try the new 'Candied Shinobi' platter!"
Ui stared at her in shock. Who says girls are the "softer" ones? This girl looked like she was ready to plate the corpses while they were still warm.
Young Kurenai... I, Kamishiro Ui, salute you. You're a real man.